Barry Hearn is the man who had everyone going snooker loopy in the eighties as television coverage of the sport boomed on the back of his stable of star players such as Steve Davis.

Mark Selby knows he has to not only defeat 31 other players vying to cause an upset at the BetFred World Snooker Championship but he must also conquer the ’Curse of the Crucible’.

Ronnie O’Sullivan lifted the Betfair World Championship trophy for a fifth and perhaps last time tonight as he capped his comeback with Crucible glory.

Judd Trump looked the part as he reached the second round of the Betfair World Championship this morning.

Stephen Maguire admitted he could not cope with the bizarre antics of Dechawat Poomjaeng as the world number 70 and 500-1 title long shot caused a stunning upset on his debut at the Betfair World Championship.

Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his Betfair World Championship title against Scotland’s Marcus Campbell.

John Higgins made a maximum break but still bowed out of the williamhill.com UK Championship to Mark Davis.

Ronnie O’Sullivan claims he has never known a Crucible campaign so gruelling but a fourth world title should be his reward tomorrow for lasting the pace.

Ronnie O’Sullivan hit a streak of devastating form to surge ahead of Ali Carter in the Betfred.com World Championship final.

Matthew Stevens is clinging on as he resumes his Betfred.com World Championship semi-final against Ronnie O’Sullivan this morning after enduring a devastating six-frame burst.

Stephen Maguire's frustrations spilled over and his hopes of reaching a first Betfred.com World Championship final took a major hit today.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has not seemed like a man in need of a helping hand as he pursues a fourth Betfred.com World Championship title but he benefited from the sportsmanship of Matthew Stevens tonight.

Ali Carter has vowed to win his battles on and off the table as he closes in on Crucible glory.

Ali Carter edged ahead of Stephen Maguire after an underwhelming opening session of their Betfred.com World Championship semi-final.

Ronnie O’Sullivan tonight claimed Stephen Hendry could be the first in a line of players to quit snooker as he complained about “relentless” demands on players.

Any lingering doubt that Ronnie O’Sullivan might not have the form or the temperament to land a fourth Betfred.com World Championship title was emphatically dispelled tonight.

Matthew Stevens completed the remarkable turnaround in his all-Welsh Crucible quarter-final against Ryan Day this morning as he clinched a 13-5 victory.

Stephen Hendry believes it was the right time to retire from snooker after bowing out of the Betfred.com World Championship and bringing his record-breaking career to an end.

Judd Trump branded Ali Carter's behaviour "childish" after being dumped out of the Betfred.com World Championship last night.

Matthew Stevens held his nerve to fend off Barry Hawkins and edge through to the Betfred.com World Championship quarter-finals.

Ronnie O’Sullivan should today reap reward for the scintillating session of snooker which carried him to the brink of another Crucible victory over Mark Williams.

Ireland's Mark Allen suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Ricky Walden in the first round of the China Open in Beijing today.

It’s been Ireland’s best kept sporting secret but from tomorrow through to Sunday, snooker’s version of the Champions League final takes place in Galway — and over 40 million people will tune in to watch it.

Ronnie O'Sullivan looked in fine form as he reached the last 16 of the 888 Welsh Open with a 4-1 win over Marco Fu today.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was in devastating form today as he crushed Joe Perry to stride into the PartyPoker.net German Masters quarter-finals.

World champion John Higgins dumped snooker's new sensation Judd Trump out of the Partypoker.com Snooker Shoot-Out in Blackpool last night.

Judd Trump is optimistic his safety-second approach can continue to pay rich dividends as he heads to the BGC Masters at Alexandra Palace.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins both crashed out of the williamhill.com UK Championship on a high-class day of action in York.

Ronnie O’Sullivan bowed out of the williamhill.com UK Championship in York today and claimed he needs to end his career if he is to have a life away from snooker.

Three-time world champion Ronnie O‘Sullivan claims he is being “blackmailed” by the game‘s governing body, saying they are “raping” him by making ranking points available for smaller tournaments.

ANTHONY HAMILTON turned his angry attentions to a cameraman after his giant-killing run at the Shanghai Masters came to an end.

British potter Anthony Hamilton turned his angry attentions to a cameraman after his giant-killing run at the Shanghai Masters came to an end.

Stephen Hendry was poised to lose his place in the world’s top 16 after defeat by Robert Milkins in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.

Former world champion Ken Doherty was delighted to win a low-scoring contest with Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the Australian Goldfields Open today.

Golf star Rory McIlroy is backing his fellow Northern Irishman Mark Allen to build on his thrilling opening win at the Betfred.com World Championship.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins were today handed tough-looking first-round draws for this year’s Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

Shaun Murphy won the inaugural Players Tour Championship title tonight when he whitewashed surprise finalist Martin Gould in Dublin.

Mark Selby gained a measure of revenge for his defeat to Mark Williams in last month's German Masters final as he knocked the Welshman out of the Partycasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin last night.

Mark Williams cruised into the quarter-finals of the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin with a 4-0 win over Anthony Hamilton.

Stephen Maguire has given up the chance to land a £60,000 (€69,063) jackpot this weekend to be present at the birth of his third child.

Former Crucible runner-up Matthew Stevens booked a return to the World Snooker Championship with a nail-biting 10-9 victory over Ireland’s Fergal O’Brien in a match decided on the final black.

Six-time winner Steve Davis tonight failed to qualify for the World Championship after he was thrashed in the final round of qualifying by Stephen Lee.

John Higgins admitted he was "all over the place" after returning to action for the first time since his father's death with a workmanlike 4-3 win over youngster Jack Lisowski today.

World number four Ali Carter came from 4-1 down to beat Matthew Stevens in a thrilling Shanghai Masters quarter-final today.