Sheffield’s Crucible theatre welcomed the World Snooker Championships last Saturday, following a decision in March to keep the tournament at the venue until 2045.
The tournament runs until the 5th May and hosts snooker stars such as Zhao Xintong, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump. The winner will walk away with a £500,000 grand prize.
Sheffield has become synonymous with snooker, and this event puts the city on the global stage.
The city centre has been taken over by snooker fans, with an official spectator zone outside the Crucible showing the games on a big screen and a fan tournament taking place in the Winter Gardens.
The Crucible has plans to expand their capacity by 50% with a £45 million upgrade that will introduce a dual stage format, ideal for the building’s use as a theatre and sports venue.
The snooker event brings fans from across the UK and even the world to Sheffield, with competitors coming from as far as Poland and China.
ShefNews spoke to snooker fans around the Crucible and Winter Gardens today:
‘We’ve travelled up from London to come to the snooker. It’s the home of snooker, it’s been on the bucket list to come. So we booked our tickets last year, when they were saying they might move from the crucible. We thought, well, if they’re going to move we need to go before they move,’ said Phil from London.
‘I think it needs to stay in Sheffield. It’s like Liverpool and Anfield, it can’t be anywhere else, it’s got to be in Sheffield. It’s like a beacon for the snooker,’ said a fan from Liverpool.