World Snooker unveils latest Chinese event

World Snooker has furthered its presence in the Chinese market by announcing a third event in the shape of the Haikou World Open.
The tournament will be staged in the city of Haikou on Hainan Island in South China for the next five years. The 2012 edition of the world ranking tournament will run from 27th February to 4th March. The world's top 16 players are automatically seeded into the event, to be joined by 16 players who come through the qualifying rounds, which run from 11th to 14th January. There will also be eight wild cards at the final venue. A total prize fund of $600,000 will be on offer, with the winner to collect $115,000.
World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn explained "the popularity of snooker in China continues to grow at a phenomenal rate and we have capitalised on that by establishing a third full ranking event, alongside the China Open and Shanghai Masters.
"We expect to make more announcements about events in China in the coming weeks.
"Hainan Island is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and an ideal place to stage one of our world ranking tournaments. The players competing in the event are in for a wonderful time and it's fantastic to be taking snooker to a new part of China. I have no doubt that the fans there will show the same passion and enthusiasm for our sport that we have seen at our other tournaments in China."
Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui is currently ranked No.9 in the world, while China has two other players in the top-50 in the shape of Liang Wenbo and Xiao Guodong.