BGC Partners to Sponsor the Masters

World Snooker is delighted to announce BGC Partners as the new title sponsor of the Masters, snooker's greatest invitation event.

BGC Partners is a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets with offices in over 35 major cities.

THE BGC MASTERS is being held at Alexandra Palace in London, it will start this Sunday and will run until 22nd January.

China's Ding Junhui will be defending his title against the rest of the top 16 players in the world including the likes of Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Selby.

The BGC Masters will be broadcast live on the BBC, Eurosport, CCTV5, GSC Shanghai and Now TV Hong Kong, with highlight coverage in Australia, India, Thailand, Malaysia and the Middle East.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “It gives us great pleasure to bring in a new title sponsor for one of our biggest tournaments, especially one as prestigious as BGC Partners.  This is a huge step forward for our sport and demonstrates the growing appeal of snooker on a global scale.

“Snooker is on the rise and the momentum built by a tremendous UK Championship last month will be continued at the BGC Masters as we already have outstanding ticket sales.  The world's elite players will put on a fantastic show at Alexandra Palace and I'm sure our new friends at BGC are going to enjoy what they see.”

Shaun Lynn, President of BGC Partners said: “The Masters is one of the most prestigious and well-recognised events in the snooker industry's calendar and BGC Partners is proud to be title sponsor for the first time this year. BGC prides itself on the excellence of the services our world-class brokers and state-of-the-art technology provide to clients around the globe. We are delighted to join with the world's top snooker players in presenting this championship event to snooker enthusiasts and sports fans worldwide.”

Tickets for certain matches at the BGC Masters are still on sale – for details call 0871 620 7052 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/ticketsAbout BGC Partners, Inc.BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP) (“BGC Partners” or “BGC”) is a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commercial real estate, property derivatives, commodities, futures, and structured products.  BGC's technology helps customers, including many of the world's largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments and investment firms, determine the value of a transaction through optimal pricing that reflects the market environment.  Trades, conducted OTC or on exchange, are executed through BGC's voice, hybrid, or fully electronic brokerage services.  BGC also offers financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics regarding financial instruments and markets through its eSpeed, BGC Trader, and BGC Market Data brands, and provides clearing, processing, and other back-office services.  Named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC has offices in over 35 major markets, including New York and London.For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com