Organisers of the World Grand Prix have apologised after kicking dozens of snooker fans out of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park facility before a match concluded on Tuesday night.
An announcement asking snooker fans to leave the Kai Tak Arena early on March 4, 2025. Photo: Hongkongreality, via Facebook.
At around 11pm, spectators were told to leave the Kai Tak Arena on Tuesday, midway through the late-night match between English snooker players Kyren Wilson and Matthew Selt, local media reported.
Pictures circulating online showed a large video screen displaying an English and Chinese announcement. “Due to local curfew rules in place for the venue it has to clear of the public by midnight,” it partly said in English.
The organisers, the World Snooker Tour, issued a statement in the early hours of Wednesday. They confirmed that “some spectators were required to leave early before the match concluded” and said they “sincerely apologise for this situation.”
The World Snooker Tour also promised that “from 5 to 9 March, spectators attending evening sessions will be allowed to remain at the venue until the conclusion of the matches.”
The World Grand Prix in Hong Kong on March 4, 2025. Photo: World Snooker Tour.
The organisers also pledged to compensate the affected fans. Those holding a ticket for the Wilson-Selt match on Tuesday are eligible to redeem a ticket of the same value on Wednesday and Thursday, subject to availability.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law called the request for fans to leave early “deeply unsatisfactory.” She also demanded that organisers and the venue make sure fans can finish watching the games during the remainder of the competition.
HKFP has reached out to the Kai Tak Sports Park for comments.
Wilson came from 3-2 down to beat Selt 4-3 after fans were requested to leave, according to local media reports.
Earlier on Tuesday, Scotland’s four-time world champion John Higgins played England’s Ali Carter and won 4-3, while world number one Judd Trump defeated fellow Englishman Gary Wilson.
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