Championships' Crucible future uncertain

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The Crucible Theatre, widely regarded as the home of the sport, has been the venue for the championships since 1977.

"I have a meeting with Sheffield City Council next week and I'm hopeful of resolving those discussions with a positive outcome that will see the event stay at Sheffield - but at this stage I can't say for certain where the future lies," said Sir Rodney Walker, who has championed the cause of keeping them in Sheffield ever since he assumed the role of the head of the sport's governing body in 2004.

One year on from his appointment, Walker decided to award Sheffield a five-year contract to keep the tournament at the Crucible - despite interest from another five UK cities.

He spoke proudly of his decision to keep the tournament at the city of steel at the time but now concedes the championships may move abroad, possibly to China, where snooker is booming in popularity.

"There's no doubt that they [China] have expressed an interest in hosting the tournament on more than one occasion to me, and we have also had a general inquiry from the Middle East as well," he added.

"It's good that China has expressed an interest. But as a proud Yorkshireman, I hope Sheffield will be able to come up with an offer that makes it difficult for us to take it away from Sheffield."

The emergence of players like Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo has led to a rise in popularity snooker in China.

Moving the championship to China could lead to a vast increase in revenue. But any decision to move the event abroad will not be taken lightly, Walker confirms.

"It isn't as straightforward as China coming in and offering £10million and us taking it or leaving it," he said. "You have to take into account other factors - like our broadcast contract with the BBC (which has two years left to run), the level of support we have here within UK and the views of the players. All of these things are important."