'Odds-on' - Hearn tips 2029 Worlds to stay in UK

Before the new contract, the 2026 event would have been the penultimate one at the Crucible, with the previous deal expiring in 2027.

"The team at World Snooker and Sheffield City Council have done the sensible thing and pulled off a deal that works for everybody. I would've hated to not be here, I'm so glad we're staying," added 77-year-old Hearn, who was chairman of World Snooker from 2010 to 2021.

"It was in doubt, but if people are sensible, the key word is 'respect' in negotiating a contract and you have to respect both sides. You never get everything you want, but a great deal leaves everyone with a bit of bread in their mouths.

"Credit to the government, they came up with the money to make the deal into a working possibility. Without that government money, this deal could not be done."

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'We did a deal that worked for everybody' - Hearn on securing the World Championship's future at the Crucible

Hearn was Steve Davis' manager throughout his career, with Davis winning six world titles.

The first of those Crucible successes came in 1981 when Davis was nearly knocked off his feet by Hearn, who ran out to congratulate him, with Hearn founding Matchroom Sport a year later.

"My life changed in 1981 and I will never forget that," added Hearn. "It's difficult to negotiate when everyone knows you are in love with the Crucible.

"I pretty much knew it would be at the Crucible if they treated the game and World Snooker with respect. It was not the best deal in the world and wasn't everything I wanted.

"I would've loved 3,000 seats, but I can't have that and I'm a realist and live in the real world. We will make sure we can do a perfect job with 1,500 seats and expand commercially. But the beauty of this deal is we were all in this together.

"So 2045, we don't have to think about it for 19 years. That makes me 97, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be here."

Rewards to rise, but no £1m top prize yet

Image caption,

Zhao Xintong became the first men's world snooker champion from China when he beat Mark Williams in the 2025 final - and also earned £500,000 for the achievement

Hearn mentioned Alexandra Palace in north London, which already holds the Masters, along with Newcastle and Manchester, where the Tour Championship is staged, as potential hosts for 2029.

He also named London venues Olympia and Excel as possible options.

But Hearn has not ruled out other European destinations, including the Tempodrom in Berlin, which has held some Premier League Darts events - with Hearn also president of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) - and snooker's German Masters.

Hearn said the new Crucible deal meant he could reward the players better.

"We're going to increase the prize money, having got the Crucible done," said Hearn.

"We're not going to go silly, we're going to go sustainable. Next year we will have a review, everything will go up, but not as dramatically as some want."

Hearn mentioned a targeted World Championship prize fund of £3m, up from its existing £2.4m, and if approved and implemented for 2027 that could mean the winner's prize moves from £500,000 to £625,000.

He added that the eventual aim was to take the winner's prize money from the Crucible up to the £1m mark. Darts currently pays its world champion £1m.

"By the time we come back here, we're at a level that snooker has never been close to," said Hearn. "We're going to look at all the events and concentrate on the blue-ribbon ones.

"But we will get the balance right, so there's a bit of bread for everybody. We will get it right, for the sport and for the individual.

"This is the biggest opportunity in snooker for 20 years."