There is a buzz because of snooker money - Trump

World number 1 Judd Trump says snooker been hoping for nan immense prize money connected connection astatine nan Saudi Arabia Masters for much than a decade.

The tourney successful Riyadh, which has been fixed nan unofficial title of being nan sport’s ‘fourth major’ by organisers, is nan biggest ever staged extracurricular nan UK.

With a £2.3m prize money and £500,000 winner’s cheque, only nan World Championship successful Sheffield is comparable.

"There is simply a different benignant of buzz akin to nan Crucible present and everyone passim nan past 10-15 years has hoped this would hap to snooker," Trump told BBC Sport.

"We person watched nan different sports return nan money distant and everyone is happy and excited by this opportunity. Some of nan events we spell to successful nan Home Nations isolated from Northern Ireland - which is simply a awesome venue - consciousness a spot 2nd tier successful really they are group up. You tin consciousness nan excitement here.

"There is simply a buzz because of nan money and nan chance for players to support their families."

The Saudi tourney and different events for illustration nan Xi'an Grand Prix successful China person helped swell nan prize money connected connection connected nan master circuit to a grounds £19m, astatine least, this season.

Mark Allen, classed number 2 successful nan world, said: "I admit it tin alteration someone’s life, unless you are a possibly a Ronnie, Judd aliases Ding that is group for life.

"It is simply a huge, immense magnitude of money we are playing for but it is not what we are reasoning about. We are present to effort and triumph a tournament.

"You don’t commencement retired successful nan crippled to triumph £500,000, you commencement retired to beryllium world champion and world number one. They are nan dreams you person arsenic a young boy and that shouldn’t change."

Snooker's World Championship has been held astatine nan iconic Crucible successful Sheffield each twelvemonth since 1977.

Trump says "there’s nary existent logic for it to move here" to Saudi Arabia.

"This is simply a large one," he said speaking astir nan Saudi Arabia Masters.

"At nan infinitesimal to person nan 2 biggest tournaments complete present would not make excessively overmuch sense.

"They request to spell astir increasing this and making it arsenic charismatic and adjacent to nan World Championship arsenic imaginable and that looks for illustration nan thought to me."

Trump added he would "like to spot nan World Championship move astir nan world and alteration venue each year".

It was past held extracurricular of England successful 1975 successful Australia. South Africa and Jersey person been nan only different hosts.

Allen added: "There was a batch of chat astir nan World Championship moving erstwhile we were successful Sheffield. I’m not really bothered either way.

"This will sound bad but we request to spell wherever nan astir money is because that’s really nan athletics will grow."

Northern Ireland's Allen has called for nan world rankings to "move to a points-based system" pinch little weighting towards nan large tournaments.

Since 2014-15 snooker rankings person been based connected prize money won - excluding astatine definite tournaments.

"You could beautiful overmuch suffer successful nan first information of each tourney and triumph successful Saudi and nan Worlds and you’re astir apt going to beryllium number one," he said.

"It’s clip to find a equilibrium pinch a points-based strategy that we’ve been trying to get from nan past fewer years."

Englishman Trump, nan 2019 world champion, agrees.

"The rankings still request to beryllium looked astatine because we evidently person 2 large events now that guidelines retired measurement supra thing other truthful it is very difficult for anyone who doesn’t triumph 1 of them to beryllium number one," he said.

"I would overmuch alternatively beryllium winning 5 aliases six events a twelvemonth which would make you consciousness for illustration a acold much deserving number one."

Allen, 38, says this is "absolutely" nan champion clip to ever beryllium a snooker subordinate pinch nan large prize money connected offer.

"The young boy Robbie McGuigan, who has conscionable turned master from our nine is perfectly buzzing," he said.

"He knows thing but what he’s knowledgeable these first fewer months and its rubbed disconnected connected maine and Jordan [Brown] successful nan nine and it has fixed america an added other incentive.

"It is nan champion clip you could inquire for to beryllium a snooker player. It is astonishing what World Snooker person done successful nan past 12 to 18 months because it wasn’t awesome for a while."

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness money has invested successful respective sports astatine nan apical level, including golf, football, Formula 1, boxing and tennis.

It has won nan correct to shape nan finals of a revamped Asian Champions League shot tournament, nan 2034 Asian Games, 2027 Asian Cup and 2029 Winter Olympics, and is group to big nan shot 2034 World Cup.

Critics declare nan finance is to summation legitimacy and deflect attraction from contention complete Saudi Arabia's quality authorities grounds and its effect connected nan environment, a believe known arsenic 'sportswashing'.

Allen said: "It’s an easy get-out but it is thing to do pinch me. I americium present to play snooker and that is each I’ll ever attraction on. We sewage to a batch of countries that person issues and we person our ain issues successful nan UK and cipher ever questions that."

Trump echoed those sentiments.

"I deliberation each state has their ain issues," he said. "Especially successful nan UK astatine nan infinitesimal it is not good.

"I tin only spell connected really I americium treated present by group stepping information and everyone is very friends and it is very safe."