Guild Hall Could Become Permanent Snooker Location

Preston’s Guild Hall could become a permanent fixture on the World Snooker Tour in the future, says World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.

The venue, which has a capacity of just over 2000, is currently hosting the world’s top 32 players at the World Grand Prix. The Guild Hall was formerly the home of the UK Championships, but has not hosted that competition for two decades.

Hearn said “I will be looking at it and evaluating the audience figures on TV as that is important to my sponsors, and I’ll be evaluating the live gate. If we get the support of local people and they show us they want to be there, we’ll stay.”

The World Grand Prix was inaugarated in 2015, and the two players to have taken home the crown are former world number one Judd Trump and former world champion Shaun Murphy.