THE 2024 World Snooker Championship begins in Sheffield this weekend in its familiar setting at the Crucible Theatre, but there are murmurs once again about the tournament being moved from its historic, prestigious spiritual home.

The World Snooker Championship turns 100 years old in 2027. That edition will also mark the Crucible’s 50th anniversary as host. Until 1976, it was played at various venues throughout the UK, and occasionally in Australia and South Africa.

That milestone edition three years from now also happens to be the last of the venue’s current contract with the World Championship and is one of the reasons the perennial discussion around moving the tournament is being discussed more seriously this year.