World Series Snooker Has a New Sponsor in Sportingbet plc

Online gaming operator Sportingbet plc has signed a 3 year agreement to become the title sponsor of the World Series of Snooker - a series of invitational events that gathers some of the world's top players together with local talent in various locations throughout Europe.

The Sportingbet.com World Series of Snooker as it will now be known, now in its second year, was developed in response to the growing popularity of snooker in Europe and the lack of live events for fans.

“We are delighted to announce Sportingbet.com as our partner for the next three years," said John Higgins MBE, former World Champion and joint creator and Executive Director of the Series. "Both myself and CEO Pat Mooney have been impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity shown by the team at Sportingbet.com.”

"Like ourselves, they see the growth potential of this sport in Europe and it is our intention to further develop our existing events, bringing the total number of events staged in season 2009/10 to seven locations."

Andy McIver, CEO of Sportingbet commented, "We are proud to be associated with the World Series of Snooker - it is an ideal partnership of two growing businesses in a growing market - a rarity in the current economic climate. We look forward to a long and successful association."

The recently concluded 2009 event saw a star-studded field play in Jersey, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow and Portugal. In the finals held at Portugal, Shaun Murphy, recently defeated by Higgins in the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, gained some measure of revenge by beating Higgins 6-2 to win the inaugural event.

Plans are to take the event to seven countries this year, with the competition set to include Spain and Greece, with a possible showpiece location in the UK. The new series kicks-off next weekend in Killarney, Ireland.

Written for Online Keno by Joy