Hong Kong government’s ticket system slammed by ‘angry’ snooker boss over Masters touts
- City’s snooker governing body says Urbtix needs to be ‘kept up with the times’ and Hong Kong people deserve a world-class platform, not have to ‘suffer’
- Snooker body’s chairman ‘really angry’ with ‘ridiculous’ system after scalpers buy up the best seats for October tournament
The government-run system selling tickets for the Hong Kong Masters has been slammed by the city’s snooker chiefs, who said it was outdated and unfit for world-class events after touts bought large quantities of seats.
Tickets for the Masters, which will take place at Hong Kong Coliseum between October 6 and 9, swamped the black market before they went on sale, with final seats selling for HK$2,000, nearly four times the official price.
Once the total of 28,600 seats were available on Wednesday, all high and middle-priced seats – costing HK$280 to HK$580 – sold out by 6pm. Lower-priced tickets cost HK$100 to HK$130.
The Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council (HKBSCC) on Friday called on the city to “keep up with the times” and give the public a ticketing system befitting of the calibre of event, while its chairman Vincent Law Wing-chung told the Post he was “really angry” at a system he considered “ridiculous”.
“I have mixed emotions,” Law said. “I am pleased to see that many snooker fans are looking forward to the Masters after five years since the last one.
