The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, part of the 2020/21 World Snooker Tour calendar, will run from October 4 to 10 in Riyadh.

It will be a world ranking event with all 128 tour players in the field and will carry total prize money of £2.5 million ($3.3 million/€3 million).

The newly formed partnership with World Snooker kick starts a ten-year deal.

It will see the Kingdom – which has organised a glut of top level sporting events in recent months, including the recent world heavyweight boxing re-match between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr - organise a Tour event every year for the next decade.

However, human rights organisation Amnesty International has highlighted the country's "abysmal" human rights record.

"This is a giant leap forward for our sport," said World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.

"We have enjoyed tremendous global expansion over the past decade, particularly in Asia and Europe, and we are thrilled to stage a new and momentous tournament in the Middle East.

"We have a packed calendar throughout the year which creates a competitive marketplace for new events.

"Snooker has grown to such an extent that we are now creating exceptional tournaments at this level.

"For the fans in Saudi Arabia it is a wonderful opportunity to see the best players in the world competing for a huge title.

"We look forward to working with our partners on delivering a huge event.”

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, added: "One of our biggest ambitions is to bring snooker to every corner of the planet so this is a step of huge significance.

"It gives us a firm footprint in the Middle East and we believe this will be the beginning of a boom for our sport in the region."