The referee spots the pink ball on day fourteen of the 2024 Cazoo World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, May 3, 2024
THE biggest event in the snooker season and one of the biggest in the sporting year is just around the corner.
The 2025 Snooker World Championship kicks off at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield next Saturday, but for many players, the tournament has already started.
A total of 128 players will make their way to the English Institute of Sport — a leisure centre on the way out of Sheffield towards Meadowhall and Rotherham — to take part in the World Championship qualifying rounds, which began on Monday.
With climate change, commercial overload and endless fixtures, footballers are being pushed to breaking point. It’s time their unions became a more powerful, unified force, writes JAMES NALTON
Joao Pedro’s emotional goals against Fluminense captured the magic of an international club competition. But even as fans bring colour and passion, the Club World Cup’s deeper issues loom large, writes JAMES NALTON
