The Grand Finals of the World Series will be staged inside the Kremlin, the iconic seat of Russian power.
They will no longer be held in November but have instead been switched to March of next year.
A replacement event will still be staged in Moscow on November 22-23.
"The chance to hold the final in the Kremlin, one of the world's most iconic buildings, was irresistible," said Pat Mooney, chief executive of the World Series.
"It will be the ultimate launching pad for snooker in Russia.
"Eurosport, who have been covering the event, and the World Series of Snooker have had thousands of ticket enquires from fans all over Europe.
"We originally fixed the final for Moscow next month but when a chance came to play it in the Kremlin in March, John [Higgins] and I decided we could not possibly say no.
"However, to avoid disappointment for fans an additional World Series leg will be run on the original dates towards the end of November at another venue in Moscow."
What an amazing thing this is. Has there ever been a more extraordinary venue for a snooker tournament?
Vladimir Putin, when he was Russian president, played a frame against Tony Blair, the then British prime minister, at Chequers a few years ago.
Perhaps he could get a wildcard?
4 comments:
Which building in the Kremlin? Some are rather more grand than others...
John Higgins isn't the best tv presenter/interviewer but fair play to him for the World Series. He's done what fans have been crying out for the WSA to do (stage tournaments in continental Europe) and his point has been well and truely proven. The biggest thanks from all snooker fans however should go to whoever it is / they are in Eurosport who decided to cover snooker so extensively. Thank you those people!
Putin has a prior engagement with a 'third party promoter' and is unavailable
It's nice for people around the world to be able to see live snooker.
However the "event" isn't the best quality-the "qualifiers" on Saturday were awful.
I hope they are able to improve the quality of play for next season.
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