Top snooker players set for Galway

Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Irishman Fergal O’Brien will be among the snooker kings heading to the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway in March.

Tickets are now on sale for the tournament, which takes place at the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway from 14 to 18 March. The event is the climax of this season's Players Tour Championship Series. There have already been 12 tournaments around the UK and Europe, with the top 24 in the Order of Merit going through to Galway.

The draw for the first round of the Grand Finals will see Dominic Dale take on Xiao Guodong, with the winner facing new sensation and current UK Champion Judd Trump. Current World Champion John Higgins will also take on Jamie Jones, with the winner facing Andrew Higginson.

Ben Woollaston will compete against China's top player Ding Junhui, with the winner to face World No. 1 Mark Selby, while Martin Gould will take on Stephen Lee. The winner of this pairing will face Michael Holt.

Shoot-Out Champion Barry Hawkins will take on Jack Lisowski, the winner of which will face new Masters Champion Neil Robertson. Irish favourite Fergal O'Brien will take on Joe Perry, with the winner facing former World Champion Graeme Dott.

Mark Davis will also play against Tom Ford, with the winner to face former UK Champion Stephen Maguire, while Ricky Walden will take on Matthew Stevens, with the winner to face three-time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. The full match schedule can be found at www.worldsnooker.com.

A spokesman for World Snooker said: “It's a tremendous line-up of leading players, with a great mixture of legends of the sport and rising stars. We know there's a great appetite for snooker in Ireland and we hope that, when fans see who is in the field for this tournament, they will snap up the tickets.”

There will be a top prize of £70,000 from a total prize fund of £250,000 plus a lot of ranking points at stake in the Grand Finals.

The event, which is co-promoted by THE Agency Ireland, will be televised by channels around the world, including Eurosport, Shanghai TV, Beijing TV, Guangzhou TV and Now TV, bringing Galway into the spotlight on a global scale.

Tickets can be booked on 0818-719300 or 0844-8472455 or via www.ticketmaster.ie.