The
World Snooker Association has signed a two-year renewal of the title sponsorship deal for its upcoming UK Championship with British online and land-based gaming giant
William Hill.
First held in Blackpool in 1977, the UK Championship is the second biggest snooker ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the sport's ‘triple crown' events alongside The Masters and the World Championship.
Set to run from December 1 to 9 from the York Barbican Centre with a total prize pool of £625,000, this year's rechristened WilliamHill.com UK Championship will feature 32 of the sports best players including 23-year-old defending champion Judd Trump.
"There is a fantastic buzz about snooker at the moment, exemplified when young sensation Judd Trump won the title in York with an incredible display of potting," said Barry Hearn, Chairman for the World Snooker Association.
"William Hill recognises that this sport is going places and it wants to be involved and we welcome it back with open arms to sponsor this outstanding tournament. It was clearly delighted with the amount of exposure it got for its brand from the event last year. The WilliamHill.com UK Championship is one of our biggest world ranking events and is watched by many millions of people worldwide.
"We look forward to working with the team from William Hill again with the target to deliver another exceptional event."
Other top names set to compete at this year's WilliamHill.com UK Championship include Mark Selby, a two-time winner of The Masters and past champions Stephen Maguire and Mark Williams.
"The WilliamHill.com UK Championship is one of the highlights on the snooker calendar and we're delighted to continue our association with the event," said Kristof Fahy, Marketing Officer for William Hill.
"Snooker has a massive global reach and our sponsorship will enable us to reach over 100 million potential customers across the world."
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