Barry Hearn: Crucible cannot be home of snooker for much longer
Barry Hearn has insisted Sheffield can maintain its status as the home of the World Snooker Championship but the future of the famous Crucible is less certain.
The iconic venue holds 980 spectators but the sport has come under pressure from money from the likes of Saudi Arabia and China to move the event away from the theatre for the first time since 1977.
Kyren Wilson claimed his first title on Monday with a 18-14 victory over Jak Jones.
“The priority is to stay in the Steel City of Sheffield because it’s been our home for a long, long time,” Hearn, 72, said yesterday.
” But we have a duty to everybody to listen. We listen to the fans, listen to the local people, we also listen to the players.
“The effect on prize money. We look at the conditions, and say the game has moved on, and deserves better than the current conditions.
“I think it’s a new-build within the city. It can’t be an expansion of the Crucible. There isn’t enough space. The building is too small.
“But I think there are other buildings that could be converted… but I need a venue to stress the importance of the event, the quality of the event.
“You can’t stick it in a leisure centre, and say ‘this is our World Championships’, just for the sake of another 1,000 [or] 1,500 tickets a session.”
Last 10 Crucible finals
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Score |
| 2015 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 18–15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Mark Selby (ENG) | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 18–14 |
| 2017 | Mark Selby (ENG) | John Higgins (SCO) | 18–15 |
| 2018 | Mark Williams (WAL) | John Higgins (SCO) | 18–16 |
| 2019 | Judd Trump (ENG) | John Higgins (SCO) | 18–9 |
| 2020 | Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 18–8 |
| 2021 | Mark Selby (ENG) | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 18–15 |
| 2022 | Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) | Judd Trump (ENG) | 18–13 |
| 2023 | Luca Brecel (BEL) | Mark Selby (ENG) | 18–15 |
| 2024 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | Jak Jones (WAL) | 18-14 |