World Snooker have signed an initial 1 year sponsorship deal with internet poker firm Pokerstars.com to sponsor next weeks Masters tournament from Wembley. Last years sponsors Saga's withdrawal left the prestigious event without a big name sponsor so this deal will be a huge relief for World Snooker and the fans.
Barry Hearn's long involvement with Pokerstars through the premier league has obviously paid off and even if it is not a huge deal financially it gives the whole event that bit more credibility and something to build on.
Barry Hearn said: "There’s been a lot of gloom around snooker so it’s a relief to have a sponsorship deal done. The Masters didn’t have a sponsor on it, so thankfully someone has come in at the last minute.
“Pokerstars are a major company and the biggest online operator in the poker industry. It’s potentially a good partnership for World Snooker, and although it’s only a one-year deal, we’ve got a credible brand name on board.
“It's very difficult to do a three-year deal with the event starting on Sunday but hopefully they will share our enthusiasm and we can sit down to talk about a longer deal afterwards.”
“I can’t go into details, but the deal is an expectable amount of money. “I think the sponsorship is worth a lot more but it’s up to us to prove our worth to people on the back of the TV ratings for the event.”
