Ken Doherty earned rightful praise on Wednesday after he questioned Barry Hearn on a potential venue switch for the World Snooker Championship.
1997 world champion Doherty is part of the BBC's punditry team for the ongoing World Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
The Crucible has been the home of the world championships since 1977, and has become a storied part of the sport's history and image thanks to its intimate and old-fashioned atmosphere.
Recent months have brought concerning rumours that the sport's flagship event could soon depart the Sheffield venue.
The existing contract for the Crucible to host the event expires in 2027. After Ronnie O'Sullivan suggested earlier this week that the event should be moved to Saudi Arabia or China, Matchroom president Barry Hearn said that he would not hesitate in making such a switch if it was more lucrative for the organisers.
It's all about the money. I am doing absolutely everything I can to stay in Sheffield and it takes two to tango - I'll stay here while we're wanted, and I think we're wanted...I'm looking for Sheffield to come to the party. If they do, we're staying.
If they don't, they're really saying that we don't want to, so it's not really my call.
Irishman Ken Doherty called Hearn out on his comments during BBC's broadcast from the event on Wednesday, as he asked Hearn, "Does the history and nostalgia of the Crucible not mean something? Aren't there things in life that money cannot buy?"
Hearn responded by saying, "Lets be perfectly honest. If you leave out the romantic stuff about that (the Crucible). In a business sense and snooker is a professional sport, played by professional sportsmen, their first demand across any sport is prize money. They want to see it as big as possible, and we as custodians of the sport, have a fiduciary duty to those players."
Evidently, money is the most important thing for Hearn - though an old resurfaced BBC clip shows that his stance has flipped 180 degrees in recent years.
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Old Barry Hearn clip showcases hypocrisy Ken Doherty hinted at
A clip circulating on Twitter in the afterglow of Hearn's comments this week showing him discussing the future of snooker at the Crucible.
Just leaving this here.pic.twitter.com/GWsmx7bsL4
— Live Snooker (@Livesnooker) April 24, 2024
In the clip from a 2017 BBC broadcast, the sports promoter attests that he does not want to see the World Snooker Championship departing Sheffield:
On my tombstone will not be written: 'This is the man who took the World Championships away from the Crucible.'
It's staying. It don't matter how much [money] is involved - and I have never said that once in my entire life.
It appears as though he simply could not comprehend at that point just how much money might ultimately be involved at a future date.
The concept of the world championships taking place anywhere other than the Crucible would be a bombshell for snooker akin to moving the World Darts Championships away from Ally Pally, or removing St. Andrew's from the rota of Open Championship venues.
For the sake of tradition, one can only hope that the links to a Saudi move are nothing but speculation.
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