Mark Allen on World Snooker Championship's 'inevitable' need for change: 'It's a sad state of affairs'

Northern Irish snooker star Mark Allen believes it is “inevitable” the World Championship will leave the Crucible. The iconic Sheffield venue is the sport’s spiritual home and has hosted the game’s blue-riband event since 1977.

World Snooker Tour’s (WST) current deal with Sheffield City Council ends in three years time, which coincides with the 50-year anniversary. Tickets for the 980-seater theatre sell out a year in advance and there is a growing argument that the event has outgrown the Crucible.

Talks have become louder in recent years to move the tournament to a bigger venue with more prize money for the betterment of the sport. Barry Hearn has even challenged the local council to build a venue double the size.

Read more: Mark Allen's incredible weight-loss helping him in quest for elusive prize

Read more: Snooker legend Stephen Hendry opens up on 'sacrifices' he made to reach the top

And world No.3 Allen admitted: “Unless the Crucible can find some way of holding more people, I think it’s inevitable that it moves.

“I’m a traditionalist in the sense that I love the game, and I know the history of the sport. But times change and the sport needs to grow and evolve.

“Now I’m not one that’s going to be pushing for it to move – I love the Crucible, and I love the atmosphere…And there’s a lot of history attached.

“But I think the bigger picture of growing the sport, it might need to move away from the Crucible and that’s a sad state of affairs.”

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia announced this week that they are “ready” to host the sport’s marquee event.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the mastermind of big-money boxing fights in the country, has signed Ronnie O’Sullivan to a three-year ambassadorial deal. And WST have a 10-year deal in place to host events in the Kingdom.

But when asked if he wants the tournament to stay in the UK, Allen said: “I hope so. I’m not sure it will… I don’t know what’s round the corner.

“But I really hope so because UK snooker in general has been a massive part of the sport so I don’t want it to move too far.”

The ‘Pistol’ was a special guest for the BBC’s live draw yesterday as he was drawn against the lowest-ranked qualifier Robbie Williams, the world No.45.

And the Antrim ace believes he is mentally ready for the challenges ahead as he plots to conquer the Crucible at the 18th attempt. He is one of the favourites having won six titles in the past two seasons.

“I believe I can win it,” roared Allen, who does not start his first round game until Tuesday afternoon. “I know I’ve got the game to win it. But it’s hard. You only get one shot every year.

“I’ve won everything else like you’ve said so there’s no reason I can’t win this. My career would be a disappointment if I didn’t win it.

“I’ve tried so many different things over the years. It’s probably best to just try and keep it simple, and just treat it like any other tournament really.

“You have to go through a lot on mental anguish for seventeen days, and I’m pretty strong that way.

“But it’s about getting the most out of your bad sessions – that’s what I’ve always found to be my problem over the years.

“You can’t afford to lose heavy sessions like I’ve done in the past so that’s something I need to improve on.”

Full world championship round one draw:

Luca Brecel (Bel) v David Gilbert (Eng)

Robert Milkins (Eng) v Pang Junxu (Chi)

Ali Carter (Eng) v Stephen Maguire (Sco)

Shaun Murphy (Eng) v Lyu Haotian (Chi)

Mark Selby (Eng) v Joe O’Connor (Eng)

Kyren Wilson (Eng) v Dominic Dale (Wal)

John Higgins (Sco) v Jamie Jones (Wal)

Mark Allen (NI) v Robbie Williams (Eng)

Judd Trump (Eng) v Hossein Vafaei (Irn)

Tom Ford (Eng) v Ricky Walden (Eng)

Zhang Anda (Chi) v Jak Jones (Wal)

Mark Williams (Wal) v Si Jiahui (Chi)

Ding Junhui (Chi) v Jack Lisowski (Eng)

Gary Wilson (Eng) v Stuart Bingham (Eng)

Barry Hawkins (Eng) v Ryan Day (Wal)

Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) v Jackson Page (Wal)

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox