Shadow of Saudi Arabia looms as World Snooker Championship faces toughest decision
The forthcoming World Snooker Championship should be centred around Ronnie O’Sullivan trying to win a modern-era record eighth title or Belgian Luca Brecel attempting to follow last year’s stunning triumph with a repeat performance, but instead large shadows loom over the sport.
The first comes from Saudi Arabia and is cast directly on the Crucible Theatre. Almost every year for at least the past decade, the question of whether the World Championship should move away from the Crucible, or even Sheffield completely, has reared its head – with varying degrees of heft behind it.
The debate generally falls into two distinct, easily delineated camps. History vs future. Romanticism vs pragmatism. Nostalgia vs ambition.
On one hand, the history of snooker is inextricably woven into the
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