Former world champion Ken Doherty has rejected Barry Hearn ’s claim that money could rip the Snooker World Championship away from the Crucible.
The famous Sheffield theatre has hosted the tournament since 1977 but its future remains in doubt. Ronnie O’Sullivan has been a vocal critic of the current facilities, while Hossein Vafaei also claimed that the arena “smells”.
That has led to suggestions that the World Championship could potentially be moved to Saudi Arabia - something that snooker supremo Hearn did not exactly deny. However, 1997 champion Doherty is not a fan of that idea and has urged organisers to keep the tournament at the Crucible.
“I’ve been coming here [to the Crucible] for a long time, I grew up watching it, and I’d hate to see it move,” Doherty told the PA news agency. “There’s something special about this place, something about all the great matches we’ve witnessed over the years, and I don’t think it’s something money should be able to buy.
“Barry has so many great memories himself of being here, when Steve (Davis) won his first title and you saw what it meant. An extra five or 10 million isn’t going to make any difference to Barry Hearn, but I think it would make a big difference to this Championship.”
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While Hearn has suggested that the world championship might be forced to go where the money is, he did reiterate that he was keen for the tournament to stay in Sheffield - but only if a new arena is built.
Speaking earlier this week, he said: "Nothing much has changed. I am doing absolutely everything to stay in Sheffield. But it takes two to tango - I'll stay here while we are wanted. I know we are wanted by the BBC, I think we're wanted by Sheffield.
"But they've got to be realistic and we have said for the last few years we need a new venue that seats 2,500-3,000 people because I am fed up of getting letters from people all over the world asking how they can get a ticket.
Ken Doherty remains a huge fan of the Crucible (Getty Images)Should the World Championships stay at the Crucible? Share your thoughts in the comments below
“I'm looking to Sheffield to come to the party and if they do, we're staying. And if they don't, they're really saying to me 'We don't want you'. So it's not really my call.
"Trust me, money has the edge every time. We live in the real world, if there are deals out there that are going to change people's lives and increase profitability, there's not really a choice to make."
The current iteration of the world championship is currently at the second round stage. David Gilbert and Jak Jones have already progressed to the quarter-finals.
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