KUALA LUMPUR: Following their lucrative World Tour Finals outing, Malaysian doubles stars Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei hope for another big payday at the Malaysia Open at Axiata Arena on Jan 7-12.
The Super 1000 tournament, which kicks off the 2025 World Tour season, will offer an increased prize money of US$1.45 million (RM6.48 million) - an 11.54% jump from this year's US$1.3 million purse.
The Malaysia Open heads the quartet of Super 1000 tournaments next year, all of which offer the BWF-mandated minimum prize money of US$1.45 million.
This will remain in place for the 2026 edition, although Super 1000 hosts can opt to have more prize money than the minimum requirement - like the China Open which offered US$2 million in 2023 and 2024.
The Malaysia Open's prize money has steadily increased since regaining its Super 1000 status in 2023, rising from US$1.25 million to US$1.3 million this year.
This means bigger winnings across all competition stages. The singles champions will now claim US$101,500, up from US$91,000, while the doubles winners will receive US$107,300, marking a significant increase from this year's US$96,200.
The singles runners-up will earn US$49,300 while the doubles runners-up receive US$50,750. The prize money for both singles and doubles events in other stages: semi-finalists (US$20,300), quarter-finalists (US$7,975), last 16 (US$4,350), and first-round exits (US$1,450).
However, the increased stakes have raised questions whether Malaysian shuttlers can capitalise on home advantage.
Since the tournament's elevation to Super 1000 status, local players struggled to advance beyond the quarter-finals.
However, recent performances have given Malaysian fans reason for optimism.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin and Tang Jie-Ee Wei will end 2024 on a high after their World Tour Finals runners-up finish in Hangzhou earned each pair US$100,000.
They will look to maintain this momentum and claim a larger share of the increased US$1.45 million prize pool on home soil at the Malaysia Open.