Eurosport presenter fires ominous ‘start of the end for the World Snooker Championship’ warning to Barry Hearn
EUROSPORT presenter Radzi Chinyanganya believes that taking the World Snooker Championship abroad would signal the “start of the end” for the event.
The World Snooker Championship has been played at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre since 1977.
It has hosted countless memorable moments and has become synonymous with the sport.
In 2017, Matchroom president Barry Hearn agreed a 10-year extension with Sheffield City Council for the Crucible to continue staging the event.
Earlier this year, speculation began to mount over whether the event could move following the end of its current contract in 2027.
The World Snooker Championship partnered with Riyadh Season, leading to speculation it could eventually head to Saudi Arabia.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has also penned an ambassadorial deal with the Middle Eastern country.
Speaking on the Talking Snooker podcast, however, Chinyanganya offered a stark warning to the sport’s stakeholders.
He said: “I’m open to a dialogue, but I’m not open to the World Championship going abroad.
“I’ll go as far as to say, I think if you take the worlds abroad, it will be the start of the end for the worlds.”
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The Crucible only has a seating capacity of 980.
Earlier this year, snooker star Hossein Vafaei took aim at the venue.
He said: “You want to go somewhere really nice as a player, you walk around the Crucible and it smells really bad.
“As a player I’m honest, it’s just really bad. Everything’s so bad. You go to other venues in other countries and you see how nice they treat you. Everything is shiny. But here it’s completely different.
“If you ask me do I want to come back here again, I tell you no way. The practice room, do you see anything special? I feel like I’m practising in a garage.”
O’Sullivan, 49, added: “The Crucible is a great venue, don’t get me wrong.
“It’s got great history and I’ve got some great memories there, but as a snooker player, you thrive in being in an environment where everything is catered for.
“It’s hard to get in and out, it’s hard to get a proper allocation for practice times, it’s a busy place and the World Championship is a massive event.
“I think Saudi Arabia could get hold of this tournament, grab it by the scruff of the neck and turn it into a Wimbledon or a French Open or US Open, and really make it a super event.”
Kyren Wilson is the reigning champion, having beaten Jak Jones at the Crucible last May.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins