If the Snooker World Championship had to be played somewhere other than the Crucible this year, Berlin’s Tempodrom would be a fantastic option, believes former world number three Neal Foulds.
This year’s World Championship has been postponed from its scheduled start date in April with WST hoping to put the event on in July or August in its traditional home in Sheffield.
However, the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic is ever-changing, and there remains the possibility that the tournament could be help elsewhere, or even behind closed doors if needs be.
The South Yorkshire venue will do their best to remain the host for the World Championship, but it may be that dates do not marry up with other bookings and WST’s availablity.
The Crucible remains the first choice, but Foulds acknowledges that there are a number of other good options for the sport’s biggest event, and a move would allow big opportunities to grow the game.
The Eurosport pundit mentioned the homes of the Masters (Alexandra Palace) and the UK Championship (Barbican Centre) as alternatives to Sheffield, but the long-serving venue for the German Masters, Berlin’s Tempodrom, could top the lot.
‘Anyone who hasn’t been there [Crucible] needs to go at some point. It’s an amazing venue, so intimate, but there are other great venues,’ Foulds told Sporting Life.
‘The Ally Pally is a fantastic venue and would be an obvious choice, the Barbican at York is a great venue and that would allow the tournament to stay in Yorkshire, but a left-field option would be the Tempodrom in Berlin.
‘Like everything else, it would all come down to the situation with the coronavirus crisis improving but I think it would be wonderful to be able to take the World Championship to Germany and its fans for one year.
‘The venue is fantastic, it really is. It has a huge capacity and when it’s full, it’s got to be seen to be believed.
‘I’ve never known an atmosphere like it and that includes the Crucible. Clearly, there would be obstacles to overcome but I think it would be great for the game.’
The Tempodrom has hosted the German Masters since 2011 and has become one of the highlights of the snooker calendar thanks to the electric atmosphere in the Berlin venue.
The likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Mark Williams and this year Judd Trump have all won the event since then and big names are attracted to the competition every year.
Legendary German MC Rolf Kalb told the BBC in 2014: ‘We do have a unique atmosphere at the Tempodrom. It gives those involved goose bumps.
‘Referee Jan Verhaas told me he was shivering walking in for the first final in 2011. Olivier Marteel was crying last year; these are experienced referees.
‘Ronnie O’Sullivan once told me he should have to pay to play in front of a crowd like that.’
Speaking at this year’s German Masters, the 2018 champion Mark Williams extolled the virtues of the event: ‘As a ranking tournament, it’s up there with [former Masters venue] the Wembley Conference Centre, it’s unbelievable,’ he told WST.
‘If you can get down to the one table set-up the atmosphere is electric. Anyone will tell you that.
‘Even when it’s four or five table it’s one of the best tournaments, especially to watch. If you can get down to that single table, it’s excellent.’
An announcement is expected in the near future on the fate of this year’s World Championship.
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