Should the Snooker World Championship leave the Crucible?

There are certain venues that are intrinsically linked with sporting events and individual sports. Tennis and Wimbledon, football and Wembley, golf and the Open – and, since the World Championship was first hosted there in 1977, snooker and the Crucible. The Sheffield venue is the sport’s key location and is currently opening its doors to the 2022 tournament. 

Yet, despite its history and a feeling that the Crucible is integral to the atmosphere around the event, a number of snooker stars have suggested that the World Championship should move away from this iconic arena. What are their arguments, and is it likely that snooker may turn its back on the Crucible?

Judd Trump is among those suggesting the event should move elsewhere, citing the capacity of around 1,000. Although he acknowledges that the small venue creates atmosphere, he believes that the pinnacle of the calendar deserves larger crowds. He said: “It’s an amazing venue but is it the best place for the World Championship now? Probably not, I don’t think. 

“It needs an historic, prestigious event there, maybe put the UK Championship there but the Worlds needs to go to a bigger venue, for me. The pinnacle of the sport shouldn’t be held back spectator-wise, there should be thousands! If you can sell the Masters for 2,200 people, the Worlds should be getting 5,000 at a massive stadium or arena, not a little theatre.”

He added: “I know it brings the excitement with the crowd so close, it makes you more nervous, but I think they could do that on a bigger scale somewhere else. It’s the World Championship, everyone’s going to be excited, everyone’s gearing up for it all year, but I think it’s just a little bit held back.”

These views were echoed by Stephen Maguire, who suggested the Alexandra Palace (where the Masters is held) as a potential new venue: “I’m not slagging the Crucible, but I’m not the biggest fan of the Crucible, I think it’s small. I’ve said that from day one when I qualified, it’s very small and it takes a bit to get used to. 

“I’m tall, I like a walk in, and you don’t get the walk in. But it is special, it’s got a special atmosphere on top of that, so it’s kind of 50-50. I would move it, yeah, I would. 

“I think Ally Pally has made itself our best venue by probably a good distance. The way they do it, the way they set it up is exciting there. So why is the Masters the second biggest tournament but it feels like the biggest? I don’t get that, but they keep going on about history, but history has to start somewhere, doesn’t it?”

There have always been criticisms about the Crucible, and history for history’s sake is not reason enough to remain at a venue

It’s worth stressing that this is far from a popular view among the top seeds. Barry Hawkins described the venue as “amazing”, while Stuart Bingham called it “the home of snooker”, a comment repeated by four-time world champion John Higgins. Kyren Wilson described talk of leaving the Crucible as “utter nonsense”, while Joe Perry is “totally against” leaving Sheffield.

2005 world champion Shaun Murphy said of the Crucible: “Well, it’s the best. You know, we play in bigger arenas, we play in bigger cities around the world. But, you know, if you go to Hong Kong and you say the word ‘Sheffield’ to someone on the street, they’ll say ‘steel and snooker’. And snooker and Sheffield go hand-in-hand. They are synonymous with each other around the world. 

“This is the 46th year that this tournament has been in this great venue, and I’m sure there will be many, many more to come because we all love coming back to Sheffield.” It’s worth noting, however, that Murphy has also criticised the hospitality on offer.

One of the interesting ideas floated is the potential for a second Crucible in Sheffield. Neil Robertson has proposed that a second venue could be opened “so you give everyone who qualifies the one-table experience”. 

The world No. 3 said: “My idea is to make it kind of like Wimbledon, where you have Centre Court and Court One. I think if you had two Crucible venues that are equal, it would be an amazing experience for everyone to end their season [and] Sheffield is well equipped to deal with that. 

“Being the world championship, it should be the biggest event from the start, not the semi-finals. It’s just an idea. Everyone gets to experience that from round one at the Masters, whereas here there’s only four [semi-finalists].”

At the end of the day, this is a call that will be made by governing bodies. World Snooker Tour president Barry Hearn has said it’s possible the tournament could move from Sheffield, but he doesn’t want it to – he has called for improvements to the existing theatre and discussed talks with Sheffield council to build a new Crucible. 

He is committed to the city, and a deal to remain there will last for another five years, so there’s time to adapt the venue and the local hospitality to satisfy fans, players, sponsors while uplifting the community.

There have always been criticisms about the Crucible, and history for history’s sake is not reason enough to remain at a venue. It’s unlikely that the World Championship will move because of these issues, but it’s also clear that snooker authorities are listening to these concerns and attempting to resolve them, and that hopefully promises improvements to the snooker experience in future.