image source, Getty Images
image description, John Higgins has won four world titles, lost in the final four times and was eliminated in the semi-finals three times
Four-time world snooker champion John Higgins has ruled out retiring this summer, saying he expects to survive the Crucible and play into his 50s.
Higgins, 48, will face world number three Mark Allen in the round of 16 after securing a hard-fought 10-6 win over Welsh qualifier Jamie Jones on Thursday.
The Crucible has hosted the World Snooker Championship every year since 1977, but Sheffield City Council's latest contract expires in 2027 and China and Saudi Arabia have shown interest in hosting the event.
Earlier this week, former World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn warned that the event would leave its long-standing home as a theater unless the building was redeveloped or a larger arena was built near the city.
Item information
- Author, Michael Emons
- Role, ` Sport at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
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46 minutes ago
There had been speculation that Higgins, ranked 13th in the world but at risk of dropping out of the top 16, would quit snooker if he suffered a disappointing World Cup.
“No, I won’t retire. This venue will close before I retire from snooker,” said Higgins, the 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011 world champion.
“It's a shame but with all the noise coming from important people within the game it seems like it will be gone from here in three years. I had tears, joy, all in one, and your life revolved around this venue, and it will be a sad day when he leaves.
video caption, World Snooker Championship: Barry Hearn talks about the future of the tournament
Allen's Crucible album 'not nearly good enough'
Before the tournament began, Higgins had expressed doubts about his future.
When asked if this could be his last season in snooker, Higgins had said: “Who knows? I will come here, give it my all and then give a review after the tournament. I'll just give it my all for this season and we'll see what happens.
But he now has a chance to advance to the 18th Crucible quarter-final, although to do so he will have to beat Northern Irishman Allen, a player who could finish the tournament as world number one.
Allen has won two-thirds of snooker's “triple crown” – winning the 2018 Masters and 2022 UK Championship – but has yet to reach a World Championship final, losing in the semi-finals in both 2009 and 2023.
The 38-year-old from Antrim lost 17-13 to Higgins in the 2009 Crucible semi-final and 13-9 in the round of 16 eight years later.
“Mark is an incredible player but the fact that he has only reached two semi-finals here because of his talent is nowhere near good enough and he would tell you that,” Higgins added. “There might be something about the venue that doesn’t agree with it, so I have to stick with it.”
Allen defeated England's Robbie Williams 10-6 in the first round and said: “I don't care what other people think. I want to be world champion and I want to be number one in the world. But I can't remember when.” I'm out there.
Their round of 16 match is the best of 25 frames, so the first comes to 13. The first session takes place on Saturday afternoon (2:30pm BST), the second on Sunday at the same time, before play on Monday from 7pm BST is ended.
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