Davis nuts over Brazil
Steve Davis hopes the Brazil Masters can become a regular fixture on the snooker calendar.
Last Updated: 14/09/11 8:19pm
Steve Davis is hoping the Brazil Masters can become a regular fixture on the snooker calendar.
The inaugural four-day event, which sees new world number one Mark Selby amongst the 16-man field, gets underway on Wednesday at the Costao do Santinho resort in Florianopolis.
It will be the first major snooker tournament seen in South America, and Davis, who takes on Ali Carter in the first round on Friday, expects big things.
As well as the likes of Selby, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Hendry, local players Igor Figueiredo, Sobradinho de Dues and Noel Rodrigues, are also in the draw.
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Davis, who first played in Brazil in 1981, when he took on Rui Chapeu in a televised match, told worldsnooker.com: "It's great to see all the fans in Brazil and to be back here after all these years, both as a player and as an ambassador for snooker.
"People in the UK don't realise how popular the game is worldwide."
Davis, who sits on the World Snooker board but remains an active player at the age of 54, added: "It's spreading like fire across many areas of the globe like China, Europe and South America. It's up to us to support that growth by staging tournaments.
"It would be fantastic to have a regular tournament in Brazil every year, even if I'm not involved as a player.
"They have a very good player now in Igor Figueiredo and hopefully he will be the first of many."
