Saudi Arabia has agreed a deal with World Snooker to host a ranking event for the first time after signing a 10-year deal with the sport’s governing body. The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will be held in Riyadh from October 4-10 with total prize money of $3.29 million as part of the 2020-21 World Snooker Tour calendar. “This is a giant leap forward for our sport. We have enjoyed tremendous global expansion over the past decade, particularly in Asia and Europe and we are thrilled to stage a new and momentous tournament in the Middle East,” World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said. The tournament will include all 128 tour players and the world’s top 32 will enter at the third-round stage, with four local players competing in the first round. Saudi Arabia´s General Sports Authority chairman Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud said, “This partnership adds further to our hosting of a diverse range of international sports in Saudi Arabia.” Saudi Arabia has been accused of using top-level sport to cover the country´s dubious human rights record.