Barry Hearn once said that he didn’t want his tombstone to read: ‘This is the man who took the World Snooker Championship away from the Crucible’. After today’s news, he can rest easy that won’t be the case.
Snooker’s most prestigious tournament is staying in Sheffield for the foreseeable future after a deal was struck to keep the event at the iconic Crucible Theatre until at least 2045, with an option to extend that to 2050. Even the seemingly ageless and endlessly dynamic Hearn won’t still be pulling snooker’s strings as he approaches his 100th birthday. Although if anyone can...