World Snooker Championship loophole could see move to Saudi Arabia

The World Snooker Championship could be moved to Saudi Arabia because of a loophole in the Crucible’s renewal agreement. A deal was inked between the Crucible and the World Snooker Tour (WST) to keep the famous Sheffield venue as the home of the World Championship until the 2040s at least.

It came amid suggestions that the championship could be moved to Saudi Arabia following the Middle Eastern nation’s increased involvement in the sport. While the new agreement put a lot of snooker fans’ minds at rest, there is a chance the World Championship could still move to Saudi Arabia as soon as 2029.

That’s because hidden in the agreement was a section explaining how the tournament would spend a period of time away from the Crucible after the 2028 edition, so that renovations can take place. The statement didn’t provide any further details on where that might be, or for how long the planned project will take place.

It simply read: “Separately, plans are being developed to transform the Crucible Theatre, with the sport’s most famous venue set to benefit from a major refurbishment, including the potential to add up to 500 additional seats in an ‘in the round’ configuration, alongside other significant improvements such as enhanced spectator facilities.

“The Championship will continue to be staged at the Crucible in its current design through to 2028. During the planned redevelopment period, the event is expected to be hosted temporarily at an alternative venue before returning to a transformed Crucible.”

The temporary move away could give the WST license to pick and choose where the championship is held during the refurbishment, with Saudi snooker chiefs likely to push to have it in their country. If that does prove the case, it’s likely to be welcomed by Ronnie O’Sullivan, given the Rocket has been a long-standing critic of the Crucible, and has pushed for a move to Saudi Arabia in the past.

He told The Sun in 2024: “I don’t like the Crucible. I don’t think you can get in and out of it. I think definitely it’s a wise decision to take it away from Sheffield. Still have a tournament there. Why not? But just not the world championship over 17 days. It’s a massive circus and you need a massive space to accommodate it.

“I think Saudi Arabia would be great. They’ve got the resources and would do it great. If you’re going to take it to China, you’d have to take it to Shanghai. Or another major city like Shenzhen or Guangzhou. It’d be done properly. Courtesy cars will be laid on. Food will be there. Hotels will be great. Everything would be paid for. Prize money would be astronomical.”