Why Kyren Wilson would take 'half the prize money' to keep World Championship at the Crucible amid growing investment from Saudi Arabia, China
Published 21/10/2025 at 18:24 GMT+1
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Snooker has undergone great investment from overseas in recent years, pertinently with the emergence of new events in Saudi Arabia. It has proved a lucrative venture for the players on tour, and while Kyren Wilson wants the sport to grow worldwide, he explained why he does not want the World Championship to move from the iconic Crucible Theatre - the tournament's venue since 1977.
Wilson would 'rather have half the prize money' in order to remain at Crucible
Video credit: TNT Sports
Amid the growing influence of Saudi Arabia and China on the snooker calendar, Kyren Wilson wants the World Championship to remain at the famous Crucible Theatre.
The season's pinnacle event, which Wilson won in 2024, has been held at the Sheffield venue since 1977.
Despite the World Championship representing the most prestigious prize on offer in the sport, its prize pot is noticeably comparable to that of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters - the event which was inaugurated in 2024 and also offers lucrative bonuses for maximum breaks.
The contract between the World Championship and the Crucible is due to expire in 2027, and amid uncertainty over its future, Wilson explained why he would always want the event to take place at the iconic venue - even if it was to become less financially attractive than other events.
"It’s a really difficult one," he told TNT Sports. "I’ve played out in Saudi recently, I think it’s a fantastic area to go and play snooker, but you just can’t replicate the Crucible.
"I would honestly rather have half the prize money and stay at the Crucible, that’s how much I enjoy it there.
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Wilson 'survives a scare' to down Lines in decider
Video credit: TNT Sports
"But I want the game to grow. I can see if it goes elsewhere, everybody else is going to have to up their game.
"I can see the benefits for the sport, but also I love having the family there, the crowds from the UK coming and supporting. In an ideal world, just make the Crucible bigger."
Wilson was speaking after his tense victory over Oliver Lines in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open - where he defends his title.
He was facing an early exit - as he has already suffered at the British Open and English Open this season - but fought from 3-2 behind to level and then win the decider, doing so with a 66 break to bring a victorious end to the lengthy afternoon encounter.
Wilson faces Ryan Day in the second round - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Wilson 'survives a scare' to down Lines in decider
Video credit: TNT Sports
'Players need a little bit more of a voice'
The Professional Snooker Players Association is a new independent body formed by many of the top players on tour, which aims to represent their commercial interests.
Following his first-round win over Robert Milkins on Monday, Mark Allen voiced his frustrations with the progress of the players' council, saying the group of which he is a leading member has been acting "too slowly" to engage in talks with the World Snooker Tour (WST) and World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
Wilson clarified his position on the situation, and sympathised with the efforts of Allen.
"I must admit I feel bad on Mark Allen," Wilson said. "I know he’s been quite vocal, and he’s not [received] as much support from the players.
"It’s been a sort of difficult time for me, my focus has been elsewhere. So I would love to hopefully be more vocal in the future.
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'You don't want to come across like you're spoilt' - Wilson explains his stance on Players Council
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"Both of my children love the game, and from my point of view if I can make a difference for a better game for the future, I’d like to be a part of it. The players need a little bit more of a voice, that’s my thing."
Asked what he would consider improvements to the sport, Wilson responded: "Better venues. I’m going to sound greedy but increase in prize money.
"We’re in a fantastic period where China is on the rise, Saudi is on the rise.
"We want the other tournaments to follow suit. You’ve got to be careful because you don’t want to come across like you’re spoilt, because at the end of the day, I’m loving life on tour. I’d love it to be a little bit better."
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Speaking to Metro, Judd Trump and Mark Selby were in agreement that venues were at the forefront of their concerns, while the former warned players pulling out of events could become increasingly common if action is not taken.
Trump said: "I think there’s not been enough change over the last few years. I think most of the players kind of feel like it’s on the same path, nothing really gets changed. We’re just all trying to fight for the same thing and that’s the best for the players.
"I think sometimes it’s falling on deaf ears. I think you’re now seeing a lot more players skip events than they used to, just because certain events probably aren’t fit for snooker.
"Hopefully there’ll be something good that comes of it. If not, I think there’s just going to be a period where there’s going to be more and more players pulling out of events that they probably don’t see fit.
"For me, I think at the moment the playing conditions aren’t anywhere near as good as they used to be.
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‘It is going far too slowly’ - Allen wants Players Council progress in talks with WST and WPBSA
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"There doesn’t seem to be as much care taken when venues are being picked, it’s not really with snooker in mind. It’s more of a cost thing rather than trying to do the best for the players and the best standard and the best atmosphere, the best arenas."
Selby compared the situation to making Manchester United play on a pitch with "moles holes everywhere and expect them to play to the top of their game".
"Obviously we want to work with World Snooker," the four-time world champion said. "We don’t want to be against them, we just want to feel like we’ve got more of a say by doing it all as one rather than just go individually and say why you’re not happy.
"I just think a lot of the time people think players are moaning, but the conditions we’ve played in the last, I don’t know… I can’t really remember a tournament where we’ve gone there and you think the conditions played really good, win or lose. It’s been a long while, and I was speaking to a few of the boys and they were saying the same.
"Like Brentwood [the English Open], I got to the semi-finals, but the conditions were as bad as I’ve ever played in. Then just going to leisure centres as well. We’ve got more money in the pot now than we’ve ever had and going to venues like that, I think the game’s a lot bigger than those kind of places.
"We can only play as good as we can play depending on the conditions you have."
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Northern Ireland Open, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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