The 2024 World Snooker Championship will be unforgettable… but for the wrong reasons.
No seed higher than 12 reached the semi-finals, there were no 147 breaks, and not even a bit of orange flour.
The events were instead overshadowed by rumors of a breakout tour and possibly moving the event abroad after 2027, when the World Snooker Tour’s deal with Sheffield expires.
But as we look towards an uncertain future, here are the low points and some high points of this year’s 17-day snooker extravaganza.
Kyren Wilson has won a tournament that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons
Highlights
Sheffield
The Crucible may only seat 980 spectators, but it has been the cathedral of snooker since 1977. So many memories: 18.5 million people watched as Dennis Taylor wagged his finger, Hendry won his seventh, and so did Ronnie; ‘Good luck, mate’ and Mark Williams on his birthday suit.
Pilgrims travel from all over the world for their annual snooker fix. Yes, the desert has unlimited money and space, but will 300 people travel there, let alone 3,000?
Snooker generates an estimated £3 million annually for a snooker-mad city. Take that away and what does it look like?
John’s joy
Four-time Crucible champion John Higgins cried with joy in his dressing room after coming back from 62-0 down to win the deciding frame against Mark Allen.
The second round draw was the match of the tournament and the 48-year-old produced a stunning 72 clearance, fueled by a superb double on red.
‘It is the best. It will stay with me forever,” Higgins said.
John Higgins won the match of the tournament with a brilliant final frame clearance of 72
Neil Robertson
The 2010 world champion was a welcome addition to the commentary field. Calm and full of genuine insight, the Australian spoke with authority about shot selection, choice of chalk and pocket sizes.
Sure, Robertson would rather be lurking, but his debut as a pundit was encouraging.
Passion in fashion
In their last-16 clash, Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy showed an admirable level of passion.
It’s true the pair had history because of Chalkgate – a junior-level feud in 2004 in which Maguire created a frame – but after Murphy celebrated winning a frame with a fist pump at the end of the first session, Maguire went ballistic – he smashed the table in celebration of his 13-9 victory.
“I did a good job of getting out of there before I broke anything,” Maguire said afterwards.
Lows
Desert storm
Rumblings of a breakout tour continue to swirl, with snooker’s biggest star leading calls for more prize money.
“Every player has the right to do what he wants to do, you see that in other sports such as golf,” said Ronnie O’Sullivan. “The bottom line is you have to be willing to walk away. If I don’t get what I want, am I willing to walk away from the sport? And the answer is yes.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, the sport’s biggest star, is leading the call for more prize money
‘I want to be cared for, want to be pampered, anyone who wants to pamper and care for me, I am your man.’
With Barry Hearn adding that it really is ‘all about the money’, there could be trouble ahead. Big problems.
Business banter
See those empty seats in the front rows? That’s what happens when you sell them to business customers. Here’s an idea: why not sell them to snooker fans instead of the Century Club?
Judd’s joy
Fans were salivating at the possibility of a semi-final between Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan when the draw was announced.
But after his quarterfinal defeat to Jak Jones, Trump seemed relieved. “In a way, he did me a favor because I would have lost 17-0 if Ronnie played like that,” Trump said. But he needn’t have worried: O’Sullivan also fell in the quarter-finals.
Judd Trump seemed somewhat relieved after being eliminated by Jak Jones in the quarterfinals
Fly low
In one of the more bizarre moments of this or any other year, Stephen Maguire snacked on a fly that had landed on the table during his quarter-final defeat to David Gilbert.
“Oh well, it was just a fly,” the 43-year-old from Glasgow explained. “I spit it out when no one was looking.”
No… NO… he didn’t! Did he?!
There’s table service and then there’s this!
That fly will regret landing on Stephen Maguire’s table at the World Snooker Championship. #BBCSnooker pic.twitter.com/SBDGvTUPpx
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 2, 2024
Ronnie the crook
In his last conversation with a referee, Ronnie O’Sullivan repeatedly told referee Desislava Bozhilova to spot the black again in the quarter-final defeat to Bingham.
He refused a pot on principle – an act that BBC pundit Robertson called ‘probably the greatest piece of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen in any sport’.
O’Sullivan told Eurosport afterwards: ‘Some of the referees, I think they have an eye on me. So I just want to prove her wrong.”
Then, in the 21st frame, the 48-year-old was distracted as a stream of spectators returned to their seats on the other side of the arena.
O’Sullivan, urged by Bozhilova to resume playing, told her to “relax” and “just relax.”
