Snooker World Champ, Zhao Xintong: “I love Sheffield.”

Millions of people tuned in to see Zhao Xintong be crowned snooker’s world champion on Monday.

Zhao made history as the first Asian player to win the World Snooker Championship, with hundreds of millions watching the final.

The victory was made even sweeter for the 27-year-old, as it came in the city he has called home for nearly a decade.

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He has lived in Sheffield for the past nine years and has trained at Victoria’s Snooker Academy throughout that time. He now lives just minutes away from the Crucible Theatre, where he secured his world title.

Speaking after his win, Zhao said: “I love Sheffield!”

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The Chinese champion’s connection to the city runs deep, having built both his career and his life in the Steel City.

Sheffield’s reputation as the home of snooker continues to grow, with stars like Zhao choosing to train and live in the area.

The city has hosted the world championship since 1977 and has a contract to host the event for the next two years.

A decision on whether the Steel City will retain the event after that is yet to be made, amid calls from some quarters to move the tournament elsewhere - for bigger crowds and prize money.

Barry Hearn has given Sheffield City Council a three-month deadline to match his vision for snooker’s future or risk losing the event.

He wants the prize money to rival that of darts and says Saudi Arabia is a serious alternative if the Crucible can't keep up financially.

A meeting was held with council leader Tom Hunt and chief executive Kate Josephs earlier this month.

Hearn is the former World Snooker Tour boss, president of Matchroom Sport and still involved in negotiations.

Speaking to SportsBoom afterwards he said they agreed to meet in another three months “with a view to knowing exactly where we are by the end of this year.”

He added: “The pressure is on, it's one of those things, both sides are really happy here with each other, but we can't turn away from the realities of sports life, which is centred around prize money. And we have to do something big for the players because they deserve it.”

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Despite the lure of big money overseas, Hearn reiterated his desire to stay in Sheffield — but insisted government backing was essential to make the deal work.

“This is something where Sheffield can only go so far, but with government assistance it can go further, and it can be maintained.

“So, the onus is still on Sheffield to come up with something in line with our thinking.

“This is a major event in England and yet the prize money is nowhere near where I want it to be. So, everyone understands each other's problems.

“Fingers crossed the government understand the significance of this event remaining in the UK and remaining in Sheffield.”

He said he wanted 3,000 people watching per session - the Crucible has 980-seat capacity.

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