Mumbai, June 13: The 3rd Indian Open World Ranking Snooker Tournament is to be conducted in Hyderabad from July 4 to 9 and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the exclusive broadcast and digital rights to telecast it in India and the Indian Sub-Continent.

The tournament, carrying a total prize fund of 3 lakh pound sterling, is to be telecast 'liv' on Sony SIX, daily from 5 PM to 8 PM, a media release said today (June 13).

In addition to the live coverage, snooker enthusiasts will also be able to live-stream all the matches on Sony LIV. Since its inception in 2013, India, as host country, gets a wild card entry for six snooker players.

Sixty four out of 128 of the world's top cueists have qualified for the tournament from the preliminaries that was held in Preston, UK, and the list includes Michael White, Shaun Murphy, Barrie Hawkins, Ricky Walden, Mark Davis, the release said.

In the past the tournament, which was held in Delhi and Mumbai, has seen the participation of leading snooker players from around the world including world champions Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Mark Williams as well as current legends Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham, along with top Indian cueists Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta, to name a few.

"I am very pleased that SONY SIX is partnering with BSFI to cover the event live on all the five days of the tournament during prime time slots. Snooker will be taken to a whole new level with Sony SIX coming on board for the first time since Indian Open started 3 years ago," said Capt PVK Mohan, President of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India and the International Billiards and Snooker Federation.

"BSFI in its new partnership with SPN is excited about the prospects that are likely to develop in Cue Sports. The Indian Open is a marquee event which has become very popular with both domestic and international players and is highly rated among the ranking events that take place around the globe," he added.

PTI