CNN
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With nearly 1,000 people seated respectfully inside the dimly lit Crucible Theater, no one speaks louder than a whisper.
There's a tense excitement in the air as those lucky enough to snag tickets fill this historic venue in the heart of the northern English city of Sheffield.
But they didn't come to see the play. They came to witness the nerve-wracking, quietly electric atmosphere of the World Snooker Championship.
For those unfamiliar with snooker, it is a sport that requires equal parts extraordinary patience and exceptional precision. Think of chess being played on green baize instead of a checkered board. Players earn points by potting a series of balls while ruthlessly trying to take advantage of their opponent's mistakes.
Matches can be long – The 1985 world finals lasted over 14 hours – The audience watches in near-complete silence, and when a player makes a great shot, they erupt into polite applause.
The World Snooker Tour (WST), the organizer of the World Snooker Championship, says the sport is watched by 500 million people worldwide.
For the past 47 years, the historic Crucible Theater has been home to the annual tournament and is a sports mecca that draws people from all over the world to its doors.
“There's a parallel between Augusta and golf. Augusta is one of the spiritual outposts of golf around the world and the Crucible is that for us,” says former snooker world champion Shaun Murphy of this year's tournament. He spoke to CNN Sports about the story behind the scenes.
“Snooker and Sheffield go together like peas and carrots, and that’s something very special.”
But the venue's long association with the tournament appears to be under threat, both literally and figuratively, from sources thousands of miles away.
Walking around the theater's surprisingly unassuming bowl, everyone is talking about Saudi Arabia's growing influence over snooker.
Saudi Arabia recently signed a lucrative contract with WST, which some predict is a precursor to the event moving to Saudi Arabia when the current contract with the Crucible Theater ends in 2027.
While this may be a sensible business decision, given the historical links between snooker and the Crucible, it would distance the sport from one of its spiritual homes.
Stepping off the train in Sheffield, a city famous for its historic steel production, you might expect to see neon promotional material advertising this year's championships.
But while in other sports such events may spark a festival-like atmosphere in the host city, the reality in Sheffield is somewhat different.
Instead of cheerful fans and buzzing excitement, we slowly climb the hill towards a nondescript building that blends into the sea of gray surrounding us.
While Sheffield locals go about their day as usual, a small group of fans take shelter from the cold wind in a greenhouse opposite the venue and queue up to test their skills in a number of snooker challenges.
Many fans have told CNN how excited they are to be here and have been waiting all year for this trip, but the noise level never gets louder than a quiet murmur.
George Wood/Getty Images
The Crucible Theater has 980 seats. Demand for tickets exceeds capacity every year.
The Crucible Theater presents many world-class productions most of the year and is considered one of the best places to see live theater in the UK, if not the world.
Designed specifically with audiences in mind, seats cascade down to the thrust stage, home to Shakespeare's tragedies and modern classics.
Snooker was brought to this part of northern England in 1977 by promoter Mike Watterson. His wife saw a play at the theater and she suggested that holding a championship might be a good option.
Even at the time there were concerns that the venue would be too small to accommodate the two snooker tables required to host the tournament, but the decision was made to give it a try.
Currently, the 980-seat arena can be sold out multiple times, and this historic venue is in dire need of evolution. In a world where money is king, the Crucible Theater appears to be holding back tournament business.
This year, Iranian player Hossein Fafai went so far as to say the venue “smelled really bad”, a damning verdict on a much-loved venue.
But while the bleak hallways could use a coat of paint, the arena floor immediately catches the eye.
Two 12×6-foot tables stand solidly under bright light and are covered with spotless green cloth. Every twist and every flick of chalk is enough to drive a player crazy, so the pristine playing field is carefully monitored by a small team of experts and manicured like the green grass of his stadium at Wembley. Masu.
Snooker experienced a boom here in the 1980s and these walls have crowned dozens of world champions over the decades. Feeling history may be more important than things that money can buy.
The seats in the arena are tightly packed and tower over the athletes taking to the stage, living up to its crucible name. The fans are so close to the players that it feels like they are part of the match. It's so close that you can see every wrinkle between the players' eyebrows.
“Every seat is great. It feels like the crowd is right on top of you, because that's how it's designed,” Murphy added. “This place is designed for performance, so when you come here, the atmosphere is really great.”
“We're very, very lucky. It's the theater of our dreams. Young players like me, when we started playing, dreamed of playing here. Tennis players at Wimbledon It's like I dream of doing it.”
Like many fans attending this year, 2005 World Champion Murphy doesn't want the Championship to leave the Crucible Theater, but knows that romance and nostalgia alone won't be enough to keep the tournament in place. I am.
Sheffield holds the memories, but Saudi Arabia offers bigger prize money and keys to bigger venues. The country has disrupted the world of top-flight soccer and sparked a bitter rift in professional golf.
It looks like snooker could be the next candidate.
“Unfortunately, there's no real battle between nostalgia and business. There really isn't a fight. Money wins every day, that's the nature of the world,” admits Murphy, adding that the city has a larger He called for an arena to be built.
“As snooker enthusiasts we would never want to see the World Championship leave here, but commercially we cannot continue to host the biggest events in the smallest venues.”
George Wood/Getty Images
Ronnie O'Sullivan is open to leaving Sheffield to play in the tournament.
George Wood/Getty Images
Sean Murphy would like the event to be held at the Crucible Theatre.
It's a sentiment shared, perhaps more brutally, by the game's biggest star, Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The British player is perhaps the greatest player to ever take the cue from snooker, winning seven world titles to date. His personality and pure talent have seen him grow beyond the game, and he frequently threatens to leave the sport if the game doesn't start to catch up.
He had criticized the Crucible Theater in the past and wanted the venue to be a little more luxurious.
Perhaps ominously, O'Sullivan recently signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabia, which will see him serve as an ambassador for the sport in the country.
Speaking to reporters after his first-round victory at this year's tournament, the 48-year-old reiterated his position that respect for history should not get in the way of progress.
“Whether you like it or not, every sport is a business. So you have to do what's right for you. We live in a competitive world, so it's great to have options.” ” he told reporters candidly, showing off his Saudi-owned sponsorship on his sleeve.
“Saudi is a strong team and a serious player, just like China. Things get done very quickly. It's hard to say no.
“For me, I just want to play snooker, I just want to be taken care of, I just want to be pampered. Anyone who wants to pamper me, I'm your man.”
Saudi Arabia has previously denied allegations of “sportswashing,” in which countries use high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of the country around the world and divert attention from allegations of wrongdoing.
O'Sullivan was quick to dismiss the idea that Saudi Arabia's human rights record could prevent it from participating in the venture, instead pointing to wrongdoing by Western countries.
George Wood/Getty Images
The Crucible Theater has been home to the World Snooker Championship since 1977.
A move for one of the sport's biggest stars remains a possibility, but organizers told CNN they are exploring all opportunities, although they are in talks with Sheffield City Council about new plans for the venue. said.
“First and foremost, we love the Crucible and completely share the connection that our players and fans feel,” WST chairman Steve Dawson said in a statement.
“It's one of the great arenas in any sport around the world, and as soon as you walk through the door you feel the history and remember all the great moments that unfolded on that stage. There's a very strong emotional attachment. .
“We have every option available to players, fans and the sport itself regarding the future of the Championship beyond 2027, whether that means staying in Sheffield or moving events elsewhere. It is your responsibility to consider the following.
“We are a rapidly growing sport and this is already a huge global event, the culmination of the season and a global showcase for the sport. Masu.”
Organizers, players and fans alike wax lyrical about the meaning of snooker at the Crucible Theatre, but there is a sense of inevitability hanging over the venue this year that an era is slowly coming to an end.
It is no surprise that Saudi Arabia is pursuing snooker, but rescheduling the World Snooker Championship will be an emotional decision for many fans.
But in search of a more profitable future, snooker could become the latest sport to turn to Saudi Arabia for help. Either way, it looks like the Crucible Theater will be left in the rearview mirror if it can't keep up with the new demands of sports.
