With the World Snooker Championship set to get underway at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre this weekend, defending champion John Higgins has predicted a gloomy forecast if Barry Hearn fails to succeed in reinvigorating the sport.

Speaking to The Independent, Higgins said: “He wants a lot more tournaments for less prize money. We’ve all got to get away from this idea that the big money’s still around.”
“It was fantastic when I came into snooker, when tobacco was throwing lots of money at it, and even when they fell away we thought others would come in because of all the TV exposure….”

The draw for the first round of the World Snooker Championships was made earlier today, with Ronnie O’Sullivan’s clash with Chinese ace Liang Wenbo the pick of the Crucible openers.

Elsewhere, defending champion John Higgins begins his campaign against Barry Hawkins, while qualifier Ken Doherty faces a battle against Mark Selby to reach the second round.

Steve Davis will be making a record breaking 30th appearance at this year’s World Championships and opens up against Mark King…