Why Crucible deal is a winner for everyone as World Championship remains at home of snooker
By Dave Hendon
Updated 24/03/2026 at 15:06 GMT
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Decision to extend the World Championship's stay at the Crucible Theatre until 2045 will benefit fans, players, politicians and the city of Sheffield as speculation of moving snooker's biggest event to Saudi Arabia proved to be little more than talk. The Crucible is more than just a room where snooker is played and future generations can now experience what the fuss is about.
‘What a story’ - Un-Nooh 'stuns' O’Sullivan to become World Open champion
Video credit: TNT Sports
The news that the World Snooker Championship is remaining at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield until at least 2045 is a stunning development and puts an end to the long saga surrounding the future of the tournament.
For the past few years, speculation has been rife as to whether the Crucible, with its 980-seat capacity, would retain snooker’s showpiece event beyond the current contract, which runs out in 2027.
World Snooker Tour has played hardball and got what it wanted, a £45m investment for a renovated venue with 500 extra seats plus additional backstage space and hospitality areas.
The playing area will remain much the same as before, so the uniquely intimate feel to the arena will not change, but with more than 20,000 extra tickets available across the 17 days it means significantly more people will be able to attend the annual snooker marathon when the new Crucible opens its doors in 2030.
Talk of moving the championship to Saudi Arabia was just that – talk. However, the possibility of leaving Sheffield, whose economy is annually boosted to the tune of £3 million thanks to the snooker circus rolling into town, has sharpened minds at the highest levels of government.
Sheffield City Council were understandably determined to keep the event and Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the Crucible for discussions last month, which accelerated the process.
- World Snooker Championship to stay at Crucible until at least 2045 in landmark deal
- 'Scared' O'Sullivan makes World Championship U-turn - 'I felt like I would embarrass myself'
- Watch: Un-Nooh hits 'genius' 147 in World Open final against O'Sullivan
There is a sense that everyone wins with this deal. The government and council can say it has saved the day for Sheffield. Fans previously unable to get tickets will now have more opportunity. Additional ticket revenue is likely to lead to a prize money increase for players. And the sport retains its ties to history and the undoubted prestige the Crucible brand carries.
Long-time snooker fans will be delighted. Many have been going to the Crucible since childhood. Increasingly, spectators fly in from all over the world to experience the atmosphere and be part of the show. Over decades, friendships have been established, golden memories made.
This is not just rose-tinted nostalgia. The Crucible is more than just a room where some snooker is played. It means a great deal to a great many. It’s a collective experience to sit silently in those orange-brown seats, watching the best in the world undergoing the greatest test the sport can offer.
For the players, it represents the peak of achievement to last the course in this pressure cooker environment and follow in the footsteps of those who have scaled its heights before.
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Zhao became China's first world champion at the Crucible in 2025.
Image credit: Getty Images
If you close your eyes, you can picture the genuinely iconic scenes played out in this quiet enclave of South Yorkshire: Barry Hearn barrelling into Steve Davis after his first world title victory in 1981. Alex Higgins tearfully beckoning his baby daughter after receiving the famous silver trophy a year later. Cliff Thorburn sinking to his knees following his 1983 maximum.
Dennis Taylor waving his cue over his head after his victory on the final black in 1985. Ronnie O’Sullivan tossing his chalk into the crowd after making the fastest ever 147 break in 1997. Just last year, Zhao Xintong holding the Chinese flag aloft as his country’s first ever world champion.
There are many more moments of wonder from the past and now there will be many more in the future.
The new deal acknowledges the need to modernise in a corporate world while also maintaining the link to the sport’s pioneers, who set snooker on its path before anyone knew it would be such a popular television attraction.
We have lost some of them in recent years, most prominently Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths and John Virgo, but they helped to establish a legacy for snooker which at one time was unthinkable.
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Watch in FULL as Un-Nooh makes 'genius' 147 in World Open final against O'Sullivan
Video credit: TNT Sports
In the 1970s, the World Championship was played in relative obscurity at a series of substandard venues. Mike Watterson, the promoter in 1977, was inspired to give the Crucible a try after his wife, Carole, saw a theatre production there.
The first ever session of play drew an audience of only 245, but interest soon built and it quickly became apparent that Watterson’s foresight had created something very special.
Thorburn, who won the title in 1980 and was a mainstay at the Crucible for more than a decade, summed up this brave new world when reflecting on it in retirement. ”I felt like I was in Heaven on earth. I was mesmerised to be there,” he said.
He’s not alone. And now many more players, fans and even those yet to be born will have the opportunity to learn what all the fuss is about.
Stream the 2026 snooker season, including the World Championship, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
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