Barry Hearn confirms ‘very straightforward’ plans for World Snooker Championships that lets him ‘treble prize money’

SNOOKER supremo Barry Hearn admits the World Championships could soon person a caller home.

The hallowed Crucible successful Sheffield has been the location of the prestigious tourney for the past 47 years.

But the venue's woody to big the completion expires successful 2027 and imaginable news hosts, including Saudi Arabia, could soon explicit an involvement successful staging the event.

And Matchroom laminitis Hearn admits the Kingdom could soon host

When asked if Saudi could onshore the tournament, the 76-year-old told talkSPORT. "Yes. Of course.

"I mean, look, it's precise straightforward. Saudi, we bash events successful Saudi now, and they're getting bigger.

"But they're inactive not the assemblage and not the atmosphere. I recognize each that.

Hearn admits it'd marque fiscal consciousness for snooker's biggest competition, conscionable similar the biggest fights successful boxing, to beryllium held successful Saudi.

He continued: "Instead of maine selling the Crucible retired and making £3.5million, £3.7m connected gate, I get a £20m tract interest from Saudi.

"If I get £20m from [the] tract fee, I tin double, treble the prize money.

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"All the players say, 'Oh, we emotion the Crucible, we don't privation to leave.'

"I'd say, 'I'll archer you what I'm going to do, I'll treble the prize money.'

"We're gone, consecutive away. We're led by money, let's not kid ourselves."

A imaginable power to Saudi has been hailed by snooker icon Ronnie O'Sullivan.

In an exclusive interrogation with SunSport, 'The Rocket' said: "I don’t similar the Crucible.

“I don’t deliberation you tin get successful and retired of it. I deliberation decidedly it’s a omniscient determination to instrumentality it distant from Sheffield.

“Still person a tourney there. Why not? But conscionable not the satellite championship implicit 17 days.

"It’s a monolithic circus and you request a monolithic abstraction to accommodate it.

“I deliberation Saudi Arabia would beryllium great. They’ve got the resources and would bash it great."