Today sees the start of the 2015 Sangsom Six Red World Championship, marking the seventh staging of the event first held back in 2008.
Originally known as the Six Red Snooker International, the event was first won at the Montien Riverside Hotel in Bangkok by Ricky Walden, who defeated Stuart Bingham 8-3 to claim what was at the time his biggest career title.
Despite the alternative format, the result clearly provided Ricky with a significant confidence boost, as he would go on to win his first career ranking event title at the subsequent Shanghai Masters a couple of months later.
When the Six Red event returned to Thailand the following year under the title of the Six Red World Grand Prix, the tournament was won by the ever-popular Jimmy White, 8-6 against Barry Hawkins in a close final.
Operating under its current title of the Six Red World Championship, the 2010 event saw a third consecutive all-English final which was won by future 15 red king Mark Selby against 2008 champion Ricky Walden.
Following its absence in 2011, the event returned in 2012 and saw Mark Davis win the event for the first time with an 8-4 victory against Shaun Murphy, before incredibly he repeated the feat a year later against the first non-English player to reach the final of the event, Neil Robertson.
The achievement was all the more impressive for Davis after he had already won the former 6Red World Championship in Killarney back in 2009, making it three six red world titles in total.
His reign was ultimately ended though in 2014 by Kritsanut Lertsattayatthorn at the last 16 stage, while Ricky Walden was also able to make it through to the final in Thailand for the third time in his career.
Both Lertsattayatthorn and Walden however were to lose to Stephen Maguire, who won the last three frames in a thrilling final to edge out Walden and seal victory.
Maguire returns in 2015 to defend his title and you can view details of both the draw and format for this week’s event at worldsnooker.com