By Phil Haigh

Copyright metro

Barry Hearn does not think players will get their scheduling wishes (Picture: Getty Images)

Matchroom Sport president Barry Hearn is aware of player concerns over the snooker calendar, but does not envisage the situation changing.

World number three Neil Robertson has spoken out about issues surrounding events being held around the globe and wanting the calendar to be organised more geographically, with the Asian events closer together.

The former world champion is on the board of WPBSA Players and amending the schedule of events is something he is pushing for, while the new Professional Snooker Players Association also want to address these issues.

‘The scheduling, long-term, is something I want fixed,’ Robertson said. ‘I don’t want us bouncing all over the world. There’s jetlag, but not only that players are having to pay out double or triple the travel expenses than we really need to. That could be condensed.

‘I’m sure we could get a situation where the calendar is better structured in and around the Asian events and then we work our way back to the UK.

‘There’s no reason to fly to Shanghai and all of a sudden you’ve got a week gap out of nowhere. Then you go into Saudi and then you go back to UK, then you’re going back to China again. Then you’re going back to UK and then you’re going back to China again.

‘It’s too much and there aren’t many sports which put that kind of demand on players. Just because a promoter says that they want it this way, I don’t think is really enough.’

Neil Robertson has aired grievances of players about the schedule (Picture: Getty Images)

Hearn disagrees with that final sentiment, though, and insists the wishes of television companies and promoters are what dictate tournament placement on the calendar.

Organisers in China do not want all their events on the spin and Hearn says the television companies are the ones holding the cards.

‘I’ve got another idea. Why don’t we cancel all the tournaments and just give the players all the money?’ Hearn sarcastically suggested to BBC Radio Essex.

2025/26 Snooker season so far

Jun 30 – Jul 23: Championship League – Leicester, England
Jul 28 – Aug 03: Shanghai Masters – Shanghai, China
Aug 08-16: Saudi Arabia Masters – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Aug 24-30: Wuhan Open – Wuhan, China
Sep 11-21: English Open – Brentwood, England

‘That’s not practical. And the idea of saying “I don’t understand why we don’t do three events back-to-back in China,” actually, the TV companies in China who are our bread and butter don’t want three events back-to-back.

‘They don’t want to finish their snooker in three weeks for the year, and the customer is always right.

‘Players are very famous for creating situations that please them, and we do our best to do it, we do do some back-to-back events, but we are led by the requirements of global television companies that are powerful, and they make the decisions, not us.’

Hearn expects more tournaments outside the UK (Picture: Getty Images)

With the three Triple Crown events still based in the UK, along with the four Home Nations tournaments and a string of other competitions, including the Tour Championship, Players Championship and British Open, the majority of the professional circuit is still based in the UK.

That means most players are based in the UK, but Hearn says travel is going to be necessary as the sport looks to expand internationally.

‘We are still too UK biased, in all honesty, which pleases the players cause they don’t have as much travel,’ he said. ‘But it doesn’t necessarily please the growth of a global game.’

Zhao Xintong became China’s first world champion in May this year (Picture: Getty Images)

He added: ‘The tournament schedule is very full and there’s lots of players that, every now and again, take a tournament out and that’s their choice. There’s no obligation for them to play in every tournament. It’s for them to make that decision.

‘When you’re 40 you have a different set of criteria for your life to when you were 21. A 21-year-old player wants to play every minute of every day because it’s their career, their passion and they’re getting somewhere. When you get older, you get a bit more choosy, but we can’t let the whole of the sport of snooker be that choosy.

‘We go where the money is, and people say Saudi, and are going to Qatar quite shortly. We have to listen to the market and we go where we’re wanted, and we go there for the maximum amount of money which hopefully will change people’s lives.’

The suggestion of a tournament in Qatar will mean more travelling for players, but also more prize money, which Hearn sees as the primary objective for the sports decision-makers.

‘When I first got involved with snooker the prize money was £3.5m for a year and the game was going bust,’ he said. ‘And the reason it was going bust was because frankly we listened to the players too much, and we have to listen to the commercial side of the business because that’s what pays our bread and butter.

‘The prize money’s gone from £3.5m to £20m following commercial decisions that actually, at the end of the day, it’s really all about, how big is the prize money, can we make it bigger?’