8 months ago
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SNOOKER star Gary Wilson believes Ronnie O’Sullivan’s proposal for the World Snooker Championship would “ruin the whole history” of the event.
The Tyneside Terror slammed the idea of moving the tournament away from Sheffield before O’Sullivan’s controversial comments.
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GettyO’Sullivan has called for the event to no longer be held at the Crucible.
He claimed the venue is a “massive circus” and put forward Saudi Arabia and China as alternative hosts.
The Crucible’s current hosting deal runs until 2027, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the first World Championship at the venue.
Before the Rocket’s comments, Wilson argued against moving the tournament, instead calling for the Crucible to be rebuilt.
He told Sporting Life: “It would ruin the reputation, it would ruin the whole history, it would ruin a lot of the things that you associate with the World Championship.
“It’s like taking Wimbledon away and putting it somewhere else for the tennis.
“My dream scenario, if this is even feasible or possible, would be to knock the thing down, build it back again and just make the arena hold 2,000, 2,500.
“I don’t know the footprint of the building and all the logistics behind it, but if possible I would want to see it rebuilt, call it the Crucible, make it look pretty much the same, be the same venue essentially but just on a bigger scale in the arena.
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“I love the heritage of it, I love where it is, I love the square, all of it is great. The only problem is the size. So if there’s any way to just rebuild it and make it bigger, that would be the way I would want to go.
“I don’t think you can change the insides of that building enough to make the arena bigger, you’d have to start again.
“Failing that, another option would be to build a different Crucible somewhere else in Sheffield, which wouldn’t be great I don’t think. It would be hard to find a spot as iconic as where it is at the moment.
“I would love to see a replica Crucible, just on a bigger scale. A Crucible on steroids so to speak.”
This year’s event gets underway on Saturday, with O’Sullivan entering on April 24.
Inside Ronnie's colourful career
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O'Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
The seven-time world champion makes almost as big an impact away from the table as on it.
O’Sullivan has three children – two daughters and a son.
And the Rocket’s on-off relationship with British actress Laila Rouass has also hit the headlines.
He has opened up on battles with his weight and addiction.
While the controversial cueist reckons he wasted NINE YEARS of his career by partying too hard.
Despite being worth £14million, O’Sullivan is renowned for his love of canal boats and snubbing flashy cars.
His rivalry with fellow star Judd Trump has been branded ‘snooker’s greatest feud’.
And Ali Carter had his nose knocked out of joint by the Rocket in their infamous ‘Snotgate’ row.
Check out all our Ronnie O’Sullivan articles here.
He could meet Wilson in the quarter-finals if they both reach that stage.
Second seed O’Sullivan is looking to win his eighth world title to move ahead of Stephen Hendry with the most triumphs of the modern era.
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