BetVictor Renews WST Sponsorship
Leading betting and gaming operator BetVictor has renewed its longstanding sponsorship deal with the World Snooker Tour. As part of the new agreement, the operator will act as the named title sponsor of eight tournaments during the upcoming 2023/24 season.
BetVictor will sponsor the World Snooker Tour’s European Series and Home Nations Series.
©Joao Guerreiro/Pexels
Successful Partnership
BetVictor has reiterated its commitment to its partnership with the World Snooker Tour. The online gambling firm has been announced as the title sponsor of eight tournaments during the 2023/24 season. The BetVictor sponsored tournaments will include the four BetVictor Home Nations Series events, alongside the BetVictor Championship League, promoted by Matchroom Multi Sport.
As in previous years, the leading money winner across the BetVictor Series will be rewarded with a massive £150,000 bonus. The bonus race has proved incredibly popular amongst fans since it was first launched in 2020. The bonus race was won by Judd Trump in its first two years, before John Higgins took the prize in 2022. If last year’s competition is anything to go by, this year will promise some great drama.
Last season the competition to win the bonus prize came to a nail-biting finish, as Robert Milkins had to win the final event in the series to land the cash. Milkins did just that, beating Shaun Murphy 9-7 at the BetVictor Welsh Open. The win marked Milkins’ second career ranking title, after winning the Gibraltar Open in 2022.
Milkins described his win over Murphy as “the icing on the cake”, praising his opponent’s competency. Things had seemed to be going well enough for Murphy, who levelled the match at 5-5. However, Milkins went on to dominate, winning four of the following six frames to win the top prize of £80,000 and the Ray Reardon Trophy.
The addition of the £150,000 bonus took Milkins’ earnings for the week up to £230,000. Prior to that, the most he had ever earned in an entire season was £139,000. The victory also brought Milkins back up the global rankings and into the top sixteen.
£150,000 Bonus Prize
Speaking on behalf of the World Snooker Tour, Chairman Steve Dawson recounted the high-stakes drama of last year’s series. Last year may have been one of the most memorable in recent years, but there are hopes that this year’s series could top it. Dawson stated:
“Last season, we went to the last tournament in Wales with no fewer than 11 players in with a chance of winning the £150,000, and the race went down to the final night when an emotional Robert Milkins had the best moment of his career. It could not have been more dramatic!”
Dawson was delighted to bring BetVictor on board for another year. He described the betting and gaming operator as an outstanding partner for the sport, and so it made sense for both parties to continue the successful partnership.
Snooker is a phenomenally popular sport, reaching an estimated global audience of 500 million fans. Each BetVictor-sponsored event will be broadcast live by a wide range of broadcasters across the world. Amongst those televising the series are Eurosport and discovery+, who are both host broadcasters for the BetVictor home Nations Series and BetVictor European Series.
That level of exposure is opportune for BetVictor, as it seeks to boost its brand recognition and reach out to new customers. The positive reputation of the World Snooker Tour also helps to build trust in the BetVictor brand. The operator’s renewed partnership serves to showcase not only its commitment to the sport, but its commitment to fans.
Snooker Tours Europe and UK
The sponsored events that snooker fans can look forward to will take place across the UK and Europe. The BetVictor Championship League will kick things off at Leicester, from June 26th to July 21st. Next, the BetVictor European Masters will take place in Nuremberg, Germany from August 22nd to 27th.
Fans can head to Swansea for the BetVictor Shoot Out, which will be held from December 7th to 10th. In the new year, the BetVictor German Masters will take place in Berlin from January 29th to February 4th.
The BetVictor Home Nations Series, which has also been named in honor of the heritage bookmaker, will begin this fall. The BetVictor English Open will be held at Brentwood from October 2nd to 8th, before the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open heads to Belfast on October 22nd to 29th.
The home series will continue in Scotland, with the BetVictor Scottish Open to be held in Edinburgh from December 11th to 17th. After a brief break for the Christmas holidays, the action will come to a head in Llandudno. There, the BetVictor Welsh Open will take place from February 12th to 18th.
All of the money won by players in the eight events will be added up on the BetVictor Series Rankings. After the final event concludes in Wales in February, the top player on the money list will be awarded the now infamous bonus of £150,000.
Earlier this June, BetVictor announced that it had changed its corporate name to BVGroup. The new name comes with a new corporate identity, which includes an updated logo and website. The rebranding exercise serves to better reflect the company’s expansion into a gambling operator with numerous brands and B2B technology solutions on offer.
