Betfred - New Sponsor for World Snooker Championship

Posted 21 April 2009 in Latest News

Betfred.com Replaces 888.com as Snooker Tournament Sponsor; Tournament Renamed Betfred.com World Snooker Championship

Independent UK bookmarker Betfred.com has recently announced its sponsorship for the next four years of the World Snooker Championship, replacing 888.com as the former sponsor. The tournament will now be known as Betfred.com World Snooker Championship. The event will be televised this Saturday, April 18, and will finish on Monday, May 4, at the Crucible Theater located in Sheffield.

This tournament is definitely one of the most anticipated events in offline and online gaming, as it features top snooker players such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Stephen Hendry, Ali Carter, Steve Davis, and Shaun Murphy. Just last year, its 127 hours of BBC Sport coverage was watched by 24.5 million people. Aside from that, it was also watched by the rest of the world, with 60 million viewers from Eurosport and 10 million viewers from CCTV5 in China.

Both Betfred chairman Fred Done and World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker expressed their happiness in this partnership. Furthermore, according to Walker, the four-year agreement is proof of snooker’s popularity not just in the UK but all over the world as well, much like the popularity of casinos and games like online blackjack and online roulette.

Since August 2008, the World Snooker Association was already on the lookout for a sponsor to replace online casino 888.com, which withdrew its sponsorship two years earlier than previously agreed. The casino company was facing economic hardships, hence its withdrawal decision.