New sponsor for Crucible showpiece

The World Snooker Championships will be sponsored by online casino 888.com for the next five years after signing a multi-million euro agreement.

The event will bear the firm’s name after Embassy’s sponsorship ended last year due to regulations introduced regarding tobacco advertising.

Rodney Walker, chairman of World Snooker, said: “This is a very exciting and important day for snooker. The World Championship is our premier event, and it is also one of the highlights of the entire sporting year.

“This announcement comes at the end of a very good nine months for snooker.

“We have secured the future of the World Championship at the Crucible, the traditional home of snooker, we have signed a five-year agreement with BBC TV to ensure that the World Championship and the other main snooker tournaments remain on terrestrial television, and now we are able to reveal this new multi-million pound sponsorship.”