Sheffield Snooker: Spot the celebrities in our fan zone picture gallery as snooker gets into full swing

While Tudor Square is transformed into a fan park, the nearby winter garden becomes a television studio for the duration of the tournament.

We went to the fan zone and captured the atmosphere in these 12 pictures, shown in the gallery below, while also snapping a few celebrities while we were out and about.

As well as the big names, our pictures show the people of Sheffield, and fans who have travelled to the city for the tournament, enjoying the facilities which have been rolled out, from the big screen and deck chairs to the ‘cue zone’ snooker tables where people can try playing.

We spoke to some of those gathered in Tudor Square, and all of them told us they had seen at least one famous face while they were there.

Dean Palmer, from Hillsborough, said he had seen players coming in and out of the stage door.

Helen Stiles, who was up from Weston Super Mare to watch the snooker, said: “We’ve just had coffee, and met Ken Doherty, so that was quite nice, saying hello to him and getting to see him.”

Jason Cupitt said: “I saw Ronny (O’Sullivan) arrive half an hour back.”

David Robson, who has come up from Chichester for the tournament, said: “ Well, we’ve seen the back of Steve Davis’s head! I don’t know if that counts?”

He said they had also seen Hazel Irvine, who presents the BBC coverage for the tournament.

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