Snooker World Cup: “Don’t like the Crucible” – Ronnie O’Sullivan wants tournament in China or Saudi Arabia

Sport Before the start of the World Cup

Ronnie O’Sullivan wants to take away the most sacred thing from snooker

As of: 2:18 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes

“I don’t like the Crucible,” says Ronnie O’Sullivan. The snooker star no longer wants to play the World Cup in Sheffield

Quelle: picture alliance/Action Plus/Mark Stephenson

A few days before the Snooker World Cup, world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan is once again causing controversy. He believes the traditional Crucible Theater in Sheffield is no longer suitable for the World Cup. The Englishman suggests other venues.

Ronnie O’Sullivan knows how to stir up controversy. This time he is questioning the most sacred thing in his sport. The most successful snooker player in history would rather see the world championship in his sport in Saudi Arabia or China instead of in the Crucible Theater in Sheffield. “I don’t like the Crucible. “I think it would be a wise decision to take the tournament away from Sheffield,” the 48-year-old Englishman told The Sun tabloid.

Every world championship has been held in the venerable Crucible since 1977. The Rocket, as O’Sullivan is known, has won all seven of his world titles in the city, which is part of the English county of South Yorkshire. At the World Cup starting this week (April 20th to May 6th) he is reaching for his eighth trophy.

Rustic venue: The Crucible Theater in Sheffield has hosted the Snooker World Championships since 1977

Quelle: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire/George Wood

O’Sullivan’s main criticism is the limited space. There are only 980 seats for spectators in the venerable Crucible Theater. “It’s a huge circus and you need a huge amount of space to accommodate it,” said O’Sullivan, explaining the space problem. In his opinion, the organizers need to provide a larger stage for the World Cup.

O’Sullivan doesn’t want a World Cup in Sheffield

The world number one from England has two alternatives ready. “I think Saudi Arabia would be great. They have the resources and would do great,” O’Sullivan said. “If you want to give it to China, you would have to take it to Shanghai. Or another big city like Shenzhen or Guangzhou.”

Here you will find content from third parties

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.

It would be “done properly,” emphasized the Englishman, who is known for his often controversial appearances, and referred to “great hotels” that one could expect as well as “astronomical” prize money. China has been an integral part of the snooker tour for years. Saudi Arabia hosted the World Masters of Snooker in March, which O’Sullivan won.