FULL HOUSE!
Crucible showpiece will host a capacity crowd ...but Hendry won’t be there for the main event
THE World Snooker Championship final next month will be staged in front of a full crowd at the Crucible. Tickets will be available for all 980 seats in Sheffield without social distancing for the showpiece on May 2 to 3.
The tournament is forming part of the UK Government’s Events Research Programme with capacities increasing over the two-week period and attendees undertaking Covid-19 tests before and after they arrive.
For the first round, which begins a week on Saturday, the Crucible will only be a third full with different ticket groups sat distanced and face masks worn at all times.
Capacity will go up to 50 per cent for the second round and different parties will still be sat apart. But masks will not need to be worn when watching the snooker and social distancing will not have to be observed in the building.
The quarter-finals and semifinals will operate at 75-per-cent capacity before the final is played in front of a full house.
All ticket holders must book to have a free Covid-19 test at their local testing site on the day of the session they are attending or the day before. They will receive a text message with their test result and they must show their negative result at the Crucible to be allowed in. All spectators will also have to ‘check in’ at the venue using the NHS Track and Trace app.
Attendees must then take a post-event test five days after they were at the tournament and this will be in the form of a free home testing kit.
Current ticket holders can choose whether they still want to attend, transfer to the 2022 tournament or claim a full refund. Remaining tickets will go on sale next Wednesday.
The World Snooker Championship is just one of the UK Government’s latest round of pilot events. Up to 4,000 fans will be at Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final between Leicester and Southampton a week on Sunday and 8,000 spectators will be at the Carabao Cup final between Tottenham and Manchester City on April 25. Stephen Hendry’s bid to reach this year’s tournament proper came to a shuddering halt last night as he lost 6-1 to China’s Xu Si in the second qualifying round. The 52-year-old (pictured), who has won seven world titles, defeated fellow legend Jimmy White in the first round but couldn’t get a foothold against Si. The Scot returned to the tour after a nine-year absence with a defeat to Matt Selt in the Gibraltar Open last month.