Barry Hearn: Plans to introduce a £1million winner's cheque at World Championship
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has outlined ambitious plans to shake-up the format of the World Championship.
Held at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, the World Championship was thought to be untouchable when Hearn took over the running of the game.However, in his attempts to freshen up snooker's image, Hearn has now admitted that changes could be made, with suggestions including increasing the field of players from 64 to 128 and upping the winner's cheque to £1million.Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Hearn said: "People want to know what the total prize money is, and what the winner gets, not what the first-round loser gets. That is how a sport is perceived."Anyone losing in the last 128 would get nothing."We would do the first two rounds in multi-table situations at another venue, and could even hold a couple of matches over."Realistically this might have to wait a couple of years. A lot of my current TV contracts say I have to guarantee the top 16 at the Crucible, top 16 here, top 16 there."That is something we have to look at, be creative and work on to get people to accept that players have to earn that right constantly."Players will have to win another two rounds, but if they can't beat someone outside the top 64 in round one over best of 19 frames, they don't deserve to be there."Read more https://www1.skysports.com/snooker/news/12243/7522564/