What is the gold ball to be used in Saudi Arabia snooker tournament? 167 maximum explained
Everything we know about the inclusion of a 23rd ball at the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
Fresh from wading into countless sporting events across the globe, Saudi Arabia has waded into elite professional snooker with a controversial innovation making waves across the sport.
The Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker event will pit the eight top players in the world against one another over three days of action.
The format of the competition is fairly standard, with one glaring exception: the gold ball.
Details are starting to emerge about the role of the gold ball in proceedings, though prize money for hitting the new maximum of 167 remains unclear. Yes, you read that correctly. A new maximum of 167, to replace the hallowed 147.
RadioTimes.com brings you all the details about the gold ball to be used at the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker event.
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What is the gold ball?
The gold ball is set to be the 23rd ball on the table at the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker event in Saudi Arabia.
It will join the 15 reds, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black on the tables across the tournament.
The ball – officially titled the Riyadh Season ball – will be worth 20 points, theoretically leading to the possibility of a 167 maximum break, rather than the traditional 147 maximum.
However, details remain scarce about the usage of the ball and the rewards for completing a 167 maximum.
The World Snooker Tour has simply said: “This gold ball will be worth 20 points and can only be potted once all other balls have been successfully cleared from the table if a player is on a maximum break to make it 167.”
Where will the gold ball be on the table?
Mark Allen shed more light on the placement of the gold ball with a revealing comment on Instagram.
He said: “We've been told it's going in the middle of the baulk cushion. It will be removed once a 147 is no longer possible in a frame. If moved legally during the frame, it stays where it finishes.”
The baulk end of the table is the end where the yellow, green and brown reside. Allen suggests the ball will begin on the cushion and can be moved legally, but not hit directly until the very end of a match.
The answer to the question of where the gold ball will be on the table is fairly simple: it won't be on the table for long in most matches. If, as in so many matches, the first red is sunk without being followed by a black, the gold ball will be immediately removed from play.
Will the 167 maximum count in records?
Snooker purists and those who rightly hold the revered 147 maximum in such high regard will naturally be disappointed by the idea of the magic number being altered.
In all likelihood, if a 167 break is made during the tournament, it will likely be heralded as the 'highest break in snooker' but as the WST rules do not account for a gold ball, it is unlikely to be recognised by many.
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