The world snooker championships are back again at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre for another year since 1977 and fans are excited for Ronnie O’Sullivan as he is through to the semi-finals for a 14th time, as he defeated China’s Si Jiahui 13-9.
He’s set to face another Chinese player Zhao Xintong, who is competing under amateur status, for a place in the final.
O’Sullivan, on how he felt about his own performance, said: “I’ve probably played the worst snooker out of everybody at this tournament, I feel like I’ve been so poor I’ve put my opponents off a bit, but when you get to this stage you’ve got to play well, and I’m going to have to find something to get past Zhao Xintong.”
Fans have come from all over the world to see the championships, with questions surrounding whether the snooker will still be held in Sheffield in years to come.
Rory Cosgrove, who’s flown in all the way from Dublin and expressed concerns about the venue being moved to somewhere else, said: “I like the fact that [The Crucible] is niche and small, and has a lovely atmosphere. It would be hard to recreate.”
Another snooker enthusiast, David Bracken, from County Durham, says “The Crucible has got such a legacy behind it, there’s so much history behind it, I can imagine for a lot of people it would be hard to take that away.
“But on the other hand, the sport has outgrown the venue. With the way that the sport is growing, the size of the Crucible theatre is quite small.”
Sheffield City Council has expressed how significant the Snooker’s economic impact is for the city, explaining that it brings people to Sheffield from across the UK and beyond.
The council say it has a direct impact on the local economy which then puts money in the pockets of local people.
The World snooker championships currently brings in an impressive £4.5 Million economic impact, around 12,000 visitors in three weeks, has global viewing figures of more than 500 million people from more than 100 different countries, 100hrs + of BBC and Eurosport coverage and a media value of £3 Million +.
