Snooker news - 2021 Scottish Open to be played in Llandudno, Wales after 'contractual issue' forces change from Glasgow

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Updated 18/08/2021 at 08:24 GMT

Mark Selby is the defending champion of the event, which had been held at the Emirates Arena in the Scottish city from 2016 to 2019. The event will now be held in Llandudno, Wales. The change came just a day before tickets were due to go on sale for the event, which is due to run from 6-12 December.

The 2021 Scottish Open will be held in Llandudno, Wales.

The World Snooker Tour had intended for the event to be held at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, where it was held between 2016 and 2019.

However, a "contractual issue" forced organisers into a late change of venue, one day before tickets were due to go on sale.

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The event, which runs from 6-12 December, will now be held at the Venue Cymru in the town on the northern Welsh coastline.

A spokesman for WST said: “We were disappointed with this decision, particularly as it came one day prior to the box office opening. This left us unable to find another venue in Scotland to host the event – we exhausted all possibilities but none of the suitable alternatives had the relevant dates available.

“We realise this will come as a blow to Scottish fans and players to miss out on a tournament in their own country this season. We fully intend to return the event to Scotland for the 2022/23 season.

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“We are delighted to stage the event in Llandudno which has proved a fantastic location for a wide range of our events in the past and has always found great support amongst our fans in North Wales and beyond."

It is the second year in succession that the WST event will be held outside of Scotland.

Last year the event was held in Milton Keynes, with Mark Selby securing back-to-back Scottish Open triumphs with a dominant victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.

The Venue Cymru will also host the Tour Championship in March and April of next year, as it did each year between 2015 and 2019.

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