World Snooker has announced details of a brand new competition being added to the snooker season calendar – and it will take place next month.

Picture by Monique Limbos

The Romanian Masters will be a 16-player invitational event taking place between Wednesday, March 14 and Sunday, March 18. The total prize fund stands at 200,000 Euros (£175,000).

The event will be held in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest which earlier this season hosted the European Masters final which Judd Trump won after beating Stuart Bingham in the final.

No news has yet been announced on which 16 players will be invited to play but World Snooker said it would release more details about the new event in due course.

Sanctioned by World Snooker, the tournament will be organised by McCann Bucharest and McCann/Thiess Events.

The 20/17/2018 Season Calendar so far

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to add this event to our 2017/18 World Snooker Tour calendar. We know how popular snooker is in Romania so it’s fantastic to be heading back there for a tour event.

“The players who make it to Bucharest will enjoy a fabulous atmosphere in an amazing city.

“We now have 29 tournaments on our global calendar this season. Our sport is growing around the world in terms of popularity and prize money so each event added to the Tour is great news for the players and fans.”

Adrian Thiess, Event Promoter, added: “We are excited to have this event in Romania and to continue our efforts in featuring a snooker sports tradition in Romania. It means a lot the relationship we have with Ronnie O’Sullivan and the fact that he is keen to play in Romania. During the spring of 2016 we made a partnership with World Snooker for three snooker events in Romania and we are committed to honour this partnership.”