The biggest deal in squash history has been signed - and it will bring the very best in the sport to Bermuda for the next three years.

Following the success of the Bermuda Open, tournament organisers have put pen to paper on a $350,000 deal that will see the Professional Squash Association Masters Championships come to the Island in 2005 and 2006 followed by the World Open Championships the following year.

Prize money of $100,000 will be offered for the next two years with the 2007 championship offering a $150,000 purse - one of the largest prizes ever to be competed for on the Island.

And in what could prove to be a massive coup for one of Bermuda's two pros, the organisers have managed to persuade the PSA to break with the tradition of only inviting the top 32 players in the world to the tournament and have allowed a single ‘wildcard' entry.

This could be filled by either Nick Kyme, who got a wildcard this year and is ranked 80 in the world, or James Stout, based in Belgium, who is ranked 148.

Stephen Young, President of the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, told The Royal Gazette: “We are absolutely delighted and honoured to have been chosen as the venue for the PSA Masters in 2005 and 2006, and the PSA World Open Championship in 2007.

“These are the absolute premier events in squash and it shows that the PSA must have been very impressed by our ability to put on major tournaments.

“Bermuda has long been known as a first class tourist destination and we are going to ensure that everyone who comes to the Island for these events will enjoy both a warm welcome and wonderful squash.”

Tournament chairman Kim Carter and director Ross Triffitt, both flew to Qatar over the weekend where it was officially announced that Bermuda would be the next hosts of the PSA Masters Championships.

“We are very pleased to say there was a tremendous buzz of excitement in Qatar when we announced the biggest deal in the history of professional squash,” said Triffit, immediately after the ceremony in the desert paradise.

“ We have been overwhelmed by the exceptional hospitality of the Qatar Squash Federation, thanks to President Nabil Ali Bin Ali and Tournament Director Hisham Algosaibi. They have proved to us that it will be a hard act to follow to host the PSA Masters to the same standard of the Qatar Squash Federation, but it is a challenge that we look forward to.”

With a BSRA membership of nearly 600, Bermuda boasts more squash players per capita than anywhere else in the world and has long held an unnaturally important position on the squash map despite its size.

Former world champion Rodney Isles lived here and David Palmer, a finalist in this year's Bermuda Open and a former world number one, is also a resident.

Exhibition matches and tournaments have long drawn top class players, although this year's tournament, which offered $56,000 in prize money, attracted eight of the world's top ten to a specially-constructed all-glass court at Bermuda High School.

The PSA Masters is the second most prestigious squash tournament on the PSA calendar, rank ed only behind the PSA World Open, and could be compared with the PGA Masters in golf - entry has always been restricted to the top 32 players in the world as determined by their rankings at the end of December.

The 2004 PSA Masters was held in Qatar this weekend where Peter Nicol, who beat Kyme here, defeated Palmer in the final.