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Four-time winner Mark Selby would like to see the World Snooker Championship continue to be held in the UK while the Crucible is refurbished, despite the World Snooker Tour’s assurances. The ‘clown from Leicester’ knows all too well that Matchroom Sport boss Barry Hearn will want to “move around”.
Last update: March 24, 2020 5:41 PM
Mark Selby would like to see the World Snooker Championship stay in the UK when the Crucible is renovated.
Mark Selby said he would like to see the World Snooker Championship stay in the UK when the Crucible is renovated in 2029 and possibly even 2030, but he knows Matchroom Sport boss Barry Hearn has “a variety of ideas”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has helped secure the future of the Sheffield tournament amid fears the tournament could move to China or Saudi Arabia. Agree to stay in the city until 2045Includes option to continue until 2050.
This historic stadium hosted the famous blackball final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis in 1985, and in 1997 fans witnessed Ronnie O’Sullivan score a maximum of 147 runs in just 5 minutes and 8 seconds.
But seven-time champion O’Sullivan insisted on a move from the Crucible, which has hosted the tournament since 1977, amid criticism that the venue was cramped and outdated.
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Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn said the Crucible Theater was ‘not fit for purpose’, but wanted the World Championship to remain in the stadium once renovated. Now his wish has come true!
The £45 million refurbishment will add up to 500 seats to the current 980 and improve spectator facilities.
The game has exploded in popularity in China, with the number of active players reaching 60 million, and the current world champion, Zhao Xintong, is Chinese.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia tried to use sports as a driving force for economic growth and expand its scope to include golf, boxing, and soccer.
Last year’s Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Jeddah boasted a prize money of £2.3 million and is one of the sport’s four major tournaments.
The World Snooker Tour is hoping to leave Sheffield for just that period of time, with no alternative venue yet to be decided.
The artistic feel of the ‘new’ crucible – a ‘circular’ design with up to 500 new seats!
Selby, a four-time world champion, hopes the event will not be taken overseas despite WST’s assurances.
“I would like to continue playing in England,” said Selby, who has been away from the game for health reasons in recent weeks. “I know Barry Hearn. Sometimes he has different ideas. He wants to move them, but we are playing a lot of tournaments in China right now. We are playing a lot of big tournaments in China.
“There are big ranking events in Saudi, and the prize money for them is the same as the World Championships now. So, I mean, it’s not like they don’t have big tournaments. They still have big tournaments.
“If it’s going to be moved, it might as well be in the UK, wherever it is.”
Possible destinations include Alexandra Palace in London, where the World Darts Championship is held, or Manchester Central, where the Tour Championship is held.
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Selby expects a ‘competitive’ world
Zhao Xintong won the 2025 competition, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the final.
Selby, who won the Crucible in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, suffered a shock first round loss to Ben Woollaston last year but bounced back to claim his third UK Championship title and 10th Triple Crown event at the York Barbican in December.
With the likes of O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, Wu Yize, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and defending champion Zhao Xintong all in the mix to win the coveted title this year, Selby believes it will be “very competitive”.
“I think there are probably 16 to 20 players I could pick who could win,” the 42-year-old said.
“We have Robertson who is number one on the money list. There is also Kieran Wilson. He hasn’t had the best season but he has won it before. Murphy has done well this season and Mark Allen has also performed well.
“This year will be difficult to predict and what I can guarantee is that the two weeks leading up to the match will be a great standard for snooker in Sheffield.
“I think this shows how strong the game is right now.”
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David Beckham thinks Ronnie O’Sullivan could become the best snooker player of all time as he talks about going to the snooker hall with his team-mates after training with Manchester United.
‘Ronnie is the best player of all time’
Can O’Sullivan win a record eighth world title in Sheffield?
O’Sullivan made history by achieving the best break in the history of the professional game. Scored 153 points in the first frame to win 5-0 against Ryan Day at the World Open in China..
The seven-time world champion reached a ranking final for the first time since losing at the World Grand Prix two years ago. Thai star Un-Nooh hit up to 147 en route to a 10-7 win..
“Ronnie’s 153 was an incredible achievement,” Selby said. “It had to be him, right? If anyone was going to do it, it had to be him. It was probably the only record he didn’t have.
“Ronnie is the greatest player of all time and it doesn’t really surprise me what he does. He’s just an absolute genius and a credit to our game.”
This year’s tournament begins April 18th and runs until May 4th.
