‘The strongest the sport has ever been’published at 16:42
Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn was at the Crucible earlier this week, saying the event could move from Sheffield in 2027, unless the building was improved or a larger venue was built nearby in the city.
He also spoke to the media for half an hour and felt the sport was in a great shape, saying a new ranking event was scheduled to take place in 2025 in Qatar “sometime after January and before June”.
“I’m very happy with the game when I look at snooker,” he added. “Next season we’re going to hit £20m in prize money and that has been a goal of mine for ages and ages. In 2010 when we took over with £3.5m [prize money] and we promised the players £4m to 5m the next season.”
On the rise of the game in the Middle East, Hearn added: “We’ve spent a lot of our lives saying China is a massive market and it’s true but it’s not alone. The players are getting more freedom in their contract, they can enter and do what they like as long as it does not clash with WST events.
“For snooker as a whole, this is the best it has been in my lifetime and this is the strongest the sport has ever been.”