Fans in Wolverhampton enjoy seeing snooker world's best in action

Fans of the green baize spoke about the excellent arena and benefits to Wolverhampton as they came to see the best in the snooker world in action.

Event director Donna Beresford said she hoped the tournament would be the beginning of a long-term partnership with the city

The opening day of the Cazoo Players Championship saw hundreds of snooker fans travel to Aldersley Leisure Village to watch the first two best of 11 frames matches in the arena.

With tickets costing as little as £15 per session and a two-table set-up in the arena, there was plenty of space to watch former world champions Neil Robertson and Mark Williams take on Kyren Wilson and Gary Wilson respectively.

Jayne Shephard and Richard Shephard from Cookhill were first in line to get their seats

Richard and Jayne Shephard were first in line to get their seats at the table, having travelled up from Cookhill in Worcestershire, and said they liked the venue and thought it would bring more eyes to Wolverhampton.

Richard, 55, said: "The venue looks great. We've had the chance to go to other events over the years and this place is comparable to places like Alexandra Palace.

"We travel and watch a lot of snooker and having events come here is great as it helps bring eyes to the region and gets more people interested in snooker."

Fans were in early to get the best seats

Jane, 52, said: "I think it's fantastic to see this here. It's really accessible being in the middle of the country and the auditorium looks amazing.

"I hope it'll bring more people to come and watch events like this and visit cities like Wolverhampton more."

The tournament also marked another sporting occasion for Aldersley Leisure Village, which has previously hosted the PDC Grand Slam of Darts, as well as having hosted a range of comedy events at the leisure village.

Anne Thomson and Mark Westbury were looking forward to a night of action

Mark Westbury from Wednesbury was able to get a front row seat between the two tables with his mother-in-law, Anne Thomson, and the 38-year-old said it was the first time he'd been to an event like this since lockdown started.

He said: "It's a chance for an evening out and I love my snooker, so it was a great chance to come and watch Mark Williams, who is a top lad.

"This event puts Wolverhampton on the map to me as it will make other sports think 'Well, snooker's done it there, so why can't we?'"

The two-table set up will see six days of action from the top 16 players in the world

For event director Donna Beresford, the tournament was an excellent opportunity to capitalise on the level of interest in the sport across the region.

She said: "We saw the impact that darts had here through our sister company, the PDC and with this being a prestigious tournament, we thought it was an ideal opportunity to bring the event here.

"Benefits to the area will be huge numbers of accommodation and catering and the exposure from being on ITV, as well as the excellent support we've had from Wolverhampton Council.

"I hope this can build a long-term link with Wolverhampton as we're already returning next year and we've got this excellent arena with the two table set-up, meaning that people can see all the action."