Hearn unveils blueprint for future of snooker

Barry Hearn has revealed plans which would see his Matchroom Sport business take a controlling interest in the commercial side of snooker.

Hearn's blueprint for the future of the sport contains the recommendation that a new business should be set up to buy World Snooker Ltd, the business arm of the World Professional Billiard and Snooker Association, for a nominal £1 fee.

Shares valued at £500,000 (€556,87) would then be issued, and Matchroom would take up a 51% holding, with the rest split between commercial partners and the players.

Hearn was appointed to chair the World Professional Billiard and Snooker Association in December, replacing Rodney Walker, but he could pass on that role if he gets the green light to run the commercial side of the sport.

New tournaments have been announced for next season, notably a four-day ranking event in Berlin to be known as the European Masters, which is scheduled for February 3-6.

The Grand Prix, staged in Glasgow, will be nudged forward on the calendar from October to September and rebranded as the World Open, following concerns that the BBC no longer wish to televise the event.

There are also plans for a one-frame shoot-out knock-out event in January 2011, likely to be an event where Hearn brings to snooker the razzmatazz he has injected into darts.

Hearn has also revealed his intention to raise prize money from £3.5m (€3.9m) to a minimum of £4.5m (€5m) in each of the next three seasons, by using the £3m (€3.34m) of funds in the WPBSA bank account, and declared that luxuries such as courtesy cars will be stripped away.

Following those three seasons, prize money would increase by 5% year on year.

Under the proposals, there will be no bonuses for 147 maximum breaks at tournaments other than the World Championship, and a new Pro Tour will include events in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, from which the top 24 performers will go forward to a Tour Championship.

The plans are subject to a vote next month where the players will decide if they back Hearn. That vote is scheduled for May 5, two days after the Betfred.com World Championship final.

Hearn has stated he will walk away from the WPBSA if the players decide not to adopt his plans.