Mark Selby has delivered his verdict on The Crucible Theatre following the conclusion of the 2024 World Snooker Championship.
The four-time winner wasn’t involved for long at this year’s tournament – losing 10-6 in the first round to Joe O’Connor.
It was a shock result for a player who has struggled a little bit this year but the legendary figure will be back.
This tournament saw three qualifiers reach the semi-final stage and the media was dominated with a potential move away from the Crucible.
A contract is in place with the ‘Home of Snooker’ until 2027 but its future beyond that is in serious doubt.
Now, Selby has delivered his verdict on the World Snooker Championship venue and whether he thinks it should remain in Sheffield beyond the current arrangement.
Mark Selby shares whether he wants World Snooker Championship to leave The Crucible
It will have hurt Selby to lose in the first round of the biggest tournament of the season – but he will bounce back.
The four-time winner couldn’t get his game going against practice partner O’Connor and was forced into an early exit.
Selby has reached the one-table setup on a number of occasions and he knows what it takes to win the marathon of an event.
After all of the talk surrounding the tournament remaining in Sheffield, Selby has now shared what he’d like to happen.
He told BBC Sport: “For me, the Crucible, there is no better venue when it gets to the one table set up.
“I’ve been fortunate to get there quite a few times. It’s very special and I’d rather it stayed here.”
Selby is a great ambassador for snooker
It’s not been an easy campaign for Selby but in fairness, he’s had some personal issues to contend with.
Proper snooker lovers will be hoping that Selby gets back to his best next year and if he does, he could still be dangerous.
The Jester from Leicester is still sitting at number five in the world rankings and all is now lost for the serial winner.
Before the World Championship got underway he hinted that he might walk away from the game if his form didn’t improve.
We don’t think that will be the case though and we expect him to enjoy his summer and then get practising ahead of next season.
Selby has won 22 ranking titles during his career and has also lifted The Masters – a non-ranking event – on three occasions.
When you’ve won everything there is to win in snooker several times over, it will prove hard to simply walk away.
Selby is a top ambassador for the game of snooker with the way he conducts himself on and off the table.
As a result, we hope he’s back to compete for titles when the next season commences.