World Snooker prize money on the rise amid changes to tour policy
Barry Hearn has announced significant changes to the World Snooker tour next season as well as increased prize-money.
Last Updated: 08/04/13 5:31pm
Total purses for the 2013-14 season will rise to £8m from £6.4m with the world champion earning a record £300,000.
Hearn wrote to all tour players on Monday to confirm the structure of the season and confirmed that in nine of the 12 ranking events, all players will take part in the first round.
The World Championship will remain seeded for the top 16 - members of which will also be invited to the Masters - but Hearn said the time had come for them not to be receiving guaranteed money from tournaments in which they were seeded into the last-32.
Hearn's letter read: "As the prize money increases, the seeding system currently in place becomes increasingly inequitable.
"It is simply wrong to allow for one player seeded above another to receive guaranteed income at the levels now on offer just for showing up.
"I firmly believe that to be the best you have to perform like the best and I am more than happy to reward winners handsomely.
"It is therefore my intention to have all 128 players start at in the first round for ALL Main Tour ranking events over time. Certain commercial constraints do not allow this to happen at all events for this season however, going forward, all new Main Tour ranking events will adopt this structure."
Hearn also made a veiled warning to current world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan about participation in the Australian Open, which he says every player is expected to support.
O'Sullivan returns to action in the defence of his Crucible title next month but has previously had trouble handling certain parts of the worldwide schedule.
