03 October 2023 , 09:29
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The World Snooker Tour (WST) has rubbished Ronnie O'Sullivan's suggestion of moving the World Championship from the Crucible.
O'Sullivan hit the headlines after supporting the idea of hosting snooker's biggest event in another country. The Crucible in Sheffield has been the World Championship's home since 1977 and it hasn't been hosted overseas since 1975, when Australia had the honours.
Seven-time world champion O'Sullivan threw his weight around the idea of moving tournaments abroad during a scathing review of the facilities at the Brentwood Centre. The venue in Essex is currently hosting the English Open, a ranking event.
O'Sullivan believes venues in Britain aren't as good as those in China or the Middle East and has called on his homeland to do something about it. "Yes, I'd go with that," said The Rocket when asked whether the World Championship should be played overseas.
"I would say to anyone putting on a tournament, there has to be a criteria, a level they have to come up with. Be accountable. This (the English Open) to me is not good enough, someone should be judging them and saying this is not suitable.
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"If tournaments are like this, have every tournament in Asia, have every tournament in Saudi Arabia. It’s not even just snooker. Our airlines are so down the pan. Maybe we are just falling apart as a country. Brexit, maybe we are done over here.
"Have the whole tour in China, keep us out there. Keep the World Championship here if you want. They don’t care any more here. When we had tobacco sponsors they were amazing and went out of their way for all the players."
O'Sullivan added: "Don't just ask me, go ask Stephen Hendry. Every event was like a special event. Now it’s like a car boot sale, and it hasn’t changed or got better in 12 years. It’s hard as a player to turn up at these tournaments and feel like you actually want to try. You do, as you have pride in performance.
"The venues here, and people walking up and down, the crowd... I’d like to see someone, a good promoter get hold of these tournaments and just make them a bit better. Nothing has really changed in 12 years, you go through the motions at these tournaments. I don’t want to be ultra-critical but sometimes the truth needs to be told."
The Crucible has hosted the World Snooker Championship since 1977 (Getty Images)Do you agree with Ronnie O'Sullivan? Let us know in the comments below!
Yet a WST spokesperson has rejected O'Sullivan's verdict. The organisation has defend the growth of the sport by highlighting the demand for tickets in the UK, with an increase of 300 per cent of the past 10 years.
A statement read: "We are a global tour and in the UK it's important that we bring events to many different regions so that fans across the home nations have the chance to see live snooker. Our choice of venues is based on many factors including size and backstage facilities for the players.
"We are setting new records for sales at every venue year after year. Today the arena in Brentwood was sold out well in advance. We have focussed on the fan experience to make it a great day out for people of all ages.
"And for the players, overall prize money has increased and is set to hit record levels this season. We always listen to feedback from the players but we feel we are making significant steps forward as a global sport."