Brilliant news today as David Hendon over at Snooker Scene Blog has announced that the World Championship qualifiers will now be staged at the Badminton Hall at the English Institute for Sport in Sheffield, which means that snooker fans will be able to watch one of the most important events of the season…
Having recently made this post bemoaning the fact that the World Championship qualifiers looked set to be held at the spectatorless Academy, also within the EISS, it was evident from the comments that this did not sit well with the fans and from my point of view having attended the qualifiers for the past couple of years, I was very much in agreement.
On Friday however I heard whispers that the decision may have been reversed and indeed it has now been confirmed that they will again be held in the Badminton Hall, not the Academy.
As Dave says in his article, from a purely financial point of view I could quite understand the initial decision as the revenue generated from ticket sales does not come close to paying for the cost of hiring the venue.
Given though the popularity of the event, indeed many times last season it was standing room only, this was the right decision for the fans and for the game. Many enjoy attending these crucial matches that not only decide who will qualify for the Crucible, but who will stay on the tour at the end of the season and particularly without live streaming it is important that there is some sort of opportunity to be able to watch.
For anyone who has not been before I would certainly recommend that you go along for the day to see up to six matches staged at any one time. Not to worry if you cannot make it however, I will be there for most of the days, bringing you up to date news both on the blog and on Twitter. Now in possession of a half-decent mobile phone, updates should be far more frequent than last year.
Nice to see that fan power can make a difference, well done to everyone who sent in an email!