The World Snooker Tour (WST) has expanded its partnership with online car retailer, Cazoo, as the latter becomes the main sponsor of the British Open for the first time.
This deal extends the brands’ portfolio of snooker sponsorships, which also includes the Cazoo Masters, Cazoo UK Championship, Cazoo Champion of Champions and the trio of Cazoo Series events.
Steve Dawson, Chairman of WST, commented: “We are thrilled to join forces once again with Cazoo for the fantastic British Open which proved a great success when we brought it back on to the calendar last season. Cazoo have an outstanding set of snooker properties across the season, bringing massive global exposure for their brand.
“With extensive free to air coverage on ITV and the best players in the world competing for the title, the Cazoo British Open will once again reach a vast audience of snooker fans. We are excited to work with the Cazoo team on building this far-reaching partnership.”
The 2022 Cazoo British Open is set to take place from 26 September 2 October at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes and will see ‘prominent’ Cazoo branding on the main set, players’ waistcoats and interview and media conference backdrops.
“We’re excited to extend our partnership with WST and Matchroom to include the 2022 Cazoo British Open,” added Alex Chesterman OBE, Founder & CEO of Cazoo.
“This deal will grow our audience as we continue to build Cazoo into a household brand and deliver the best car buying and selling experience across the UK and Europe.”
Snooker’s British Open was first staged in 1985 and remained on the calendar until 2004, then returned in 2021 after a 17-year gap. Mark Williams is the defending champion having beaten Gary Wilson 6-4 in the final in Leicester.
Cazoo continues to add to its list of sponsorships throughout sport, which also includes football (Everton, Aston Villa & the EFL), cricket (The Hundred), rugby (Welsh Rugby Union & 2021 Rugby League World Cup), golf (European Tour), horse racing (Epsom Derby & St Leger) and darts (PDC).
From the beginning of next season, the brand is also going to sponsor Spanish LaLiga football teams Real Sociedad and Valencia FC and French Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille.