Snooker’s Dafabet World Championship is building towards a thrilling conclusion this weekend, and tickets for next year’s tournament will go on sale on Tuesday May 6.
The 17-day tournament at the Crucible Theatre brings 32 of the world’s best players to Sheffield each year, to compete for the famous trophy.
In the semi-finals this time, Ronnie O’Sullivan faces Barry Hawkins while Mark Selby takes on Neil Robertson, with one of them to capture the £300,000 top prize on Monday night.
Then the following day at 10am, the box office opens for the 2015 Championship , which runs from April 18 to May 4. To book call 0844 65 65 147 or visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Fans are urged to be ready and book as quickly as possible as many sessions will sell out within hours.
World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We decided to open the box office the day after the Championship ends, while snooker is fresh in everyone’s minds. But supporters who want to secure their place at the Crucible must book immediately to secure their seats.
“The tournament gets more and more exciting year after year as the standard of play improves and our sport becomes more competitive. We’ve seen some incredible matches this year and those in the arena have been privileged to see the action live and enjoy the unique atmosphere. Now it’s time to make sure you are there next year.”
Dominic Dale won the 888casino Shoot-Out in Blackpool, snooker's quick-fire one-frame knockout event, beating Stuart Bingham in the final.
Colourful character Dale, nicknamed the Spaceman, won six matches to take the £32,000 top prize, the third biggest pay-day of his 22-year career.
Cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, 42-year-old Dale rose to the challenge of the exhilarating tournament, deadly potting and quick thinking his key attributes. The Welshman, sporting a peroxide blonde hair-cut, knocked out Fergal O'Brien, Barry Hawkins, Mark Allen, Andrew Higginson and Ryan Day to reach the final before getting the better of Basilson's Bingham.
A superb break of 61 put Dale in control, though he missed a red to a centre pocket to gift Bingham a chance. But having made just 15, the Essex cueman missed an easy pink, allowing Dale to wrap up victory by a 77-19 scoreline.
"In the last few years at this event I have been a nervous wreck, I found it hard to strike the cue ball," admitted Dale, who has won two world ranking events, the 1997 Grand Prix and 2007 Shanghai Masters. "But this time I felt very calm and I potted a lot of good pressure balls.
"The crowd adored me because I'm an extrovert and I relish this type of occasion. It's wonderful to be popular and I wanted to win it for them. It's a fantastic venue and a one-off tournament so to win a prestigious trophy at the age of 42 is very special.
"I have practised harder in the last three or four years than I had done in my whole career. We have so many tournaments now and that gives me motivation to do well. I've won a big cheque today and that will keep me going for a while."
Dale, who sang a few lines of 'My Way' after collecting the trophy in the arena, plans to keep his hair blonde for the time being. "It must be lucky so I won’t change it until I have a bad run!" he joked.
The tournament, first staged in 2011, featured frames lasting a maximum of ten minutes, with a 15 second shot clock for the first five minutes and 10 seconds for the last five.
