Image source: Getty ImagesByJohn SklbeckBBC Senior Journalist14 minutes agoDown come the lights in Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. A galaxy above is replaced by darkness. Heavyweight auditorium doors close with a thud. The handshake between the protagonists hides a fervent desire to degrade one another as far as noncontact sport allows. The world beyond this claustrophobic, tense and turbulent den becomes irrelevant. New energy fills the atmosphere: anxious and anticipative. Phones are turned off, senses go on high alert. The crowd commotion reaches a heavy metal peak and then drops steeply into silence. All that matters at this moment is a triviality of life: snooker. The gunshot clack is resin on resin and the cue ball ripping off the pack reds, signaling the start of a show without a written script. Rinse and repeat over 17 days. The mind marathon has begun. Never take the Crucible result for granted; high stakes are enough to make even the best players frightened. Steve Davis, six-time world champion, says that the Crucible has its own unique stamp as a snooker arena. “I’ve experienced moments when it was the most wonderful place. Other times, I wanted to be swallowed up by the entire place because it was the most horrible place ever. “Davis, in his first year of defending the title, was humbled by Tony Knowles 10-1 on the first day. He was turned white by Dennis Taylor in 1985’s black-ball final and then beaten by a Yorkshireman in Bradford’s Joe Johnson’s victory a year later. Most don’t. Twenty-four men have won the trophy in Sheffield, hundreds have left empty handed. The Crucible, with all it entails, chews players up, scars them. All the greats are familiar with the Crucible. What makes the 980-seat venue special? How did a venue that was once considered “a dropout’s hangout”, become snooker’s ultimate stage? Image source, Getty ImagesIt’s history, quirkiness, layout of the stadium, and how close the fans are. Crucible MC Rob Walker says it’s all about the atmosphere. “In 2018, Mark Williams and someone in the front rows shared a Minstrels packet. He didn’t even have to stretch his arm. That’s how close they were. “The players say there’s no place harder to win. It may not look like a large arena, but when there are bums on every seat, and the place is silent and you’re about to speak or play, it’s enormous. It can be intimidating, says Walker. “You feel it more strongly there than anywhere else.” “It’s unthinkable” that it would move anywhere else. “It’s unthinkable” that it would move anywhere else. Barry Hearn was the then chairman of World Snooker and he had emotional ties with the Crucible dating back decades. He ran across the stage in 1981 to hug the new champion Davis who he managed. Hearn, inspired by his success, launched the promotion company that would later become Matchroom. Its latest accounts showed a turnover of PS225m. Hearn has a forensic understanding of the monetary value in sport. It was obvious that snooker would have made a lot of money if it had taken its premier event overseas, perhaps to China, or Saudi Arabia. Hearn, Sheffield, and the government all knew that such a move could be costly. All parties knew they would lose if such a move was made. A deal with Sheffield took many years to implement. Hearn stated that “The Crucible is going to become more famous, and we haven’t lost our history which is important.” “My life was changed in 1981, when Steve Davis won World Championship. It is impossible to imagine playing the World Championship at any other venue than this one. “Sheffield’s economic value is increased by PS4.5m every year by the event. The media value, exposure through free publicity, is worth over PS3m. Sheffield City Council is paying the World Snooker Tour for staging the event, not the other way around. Many of the top Chinese players reside in Sheffield and a number of top-tier academies are now open. This is not just a 17-days snooker town.Snooker has an accidental home.Mike Watterson is widely credited for bringing snooker into the Crucible.He later became the chairman of Derby County Football Club.But it was Watterson’s wife Carole who came up with the idea in 1976 after watching a performance there. Watterson, who passed away in March 2019, said: “She said the Crucible was perfect for snooker.” “Back then, it was a dropout hangout and an embarrassment for the city. You’d find beatniks – dropouts – lounging there. It was always criticized by the city, and the people. The size and shape of stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides, made it credible for a snooker arena. Mike enquired about it and was told that it was 34ft. It was not wide enough. On closer inspection, the stage was 36ft. The World Championship was a constant roadshow for decades before it settled in Sheffield. It had been played in cities as far away as Bolton, Birmingham and Sydney. Watterson said in the past that “you never know if something is going to work.” “I never imagined that the tournament would stay in Sheffield for such a long time. “Australia’s Neil Robertson is the 2010 world champion and he points out that there are only two practice tables, which he calls “not ideal”. Robertson also welcomed the long-term plan as “amazing”, assuming the players won’t be an afterthought. Robertson said, “The walk down the steps into the arena is something that I hope will never change.” “It’s amazing to think of all the players who have walked into the arena over the years. “It’s our only venue where we have played for decades. You can’t ignore its history. “Image source: Getty ImagesImage Source: Getty ImagesAnd here’s the crux of it all: history.Alex Higgins with his baby daughter Lauren, 1982. Dennis Taylor waving his finger in 1985. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five-minute maximum. White, the exasperated near man. Rob Maul is the Sun’s snooker reporter, and Shane McDermott is a mainstay in the Mirror’s media room. It’s been a pilgrimage that I’ve made since 2018, and I feel honored to do it. But there are people who have done this for decades, decades, and decades. “That’s what’s unique about snooker. They’ve kept the Hendrys working in the sport. John Parrott is commentating. You don’t want to throw away that legacy. “When you’re walking around the city, Steve Davis and Jimmy White will pass by if they’re working. Snooker is still the same game these legends played. McDermott said: “You see the faces year after year, people who come every year since 1977. Unfortunately, some of them are not coming as often because of their age. “I remember bumping into John Virgo after matches, perhaps nipping from the press room to take a moment and leaving the commentary box. You would give a little hello and a nod. This is something everyone will miss. “Faces at the table, faces in the crowd and faces in the commentary box. In recent years, snooker lost Virgo as well as Ray Reardon and Terry Griffiths. Clive Everton is a journalist and broadcaster. Former BBC snooker executive Nick Hunter has also left us.
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