Matchroom Sport president Barry Hearn believes that the same players calling for the World Snooker Championship to remain at the Crucible would 'jump at the chance' to play for more prize money if the sport's showpiece tournament moves to a larger arena.

The Crucible, which holds 980 fans at a time during the World Snooker Championship, has a contract to host the event until 2027. But Hearn has refused to rule out the possibility of moving to a glitzier arena in the UK, China or the Middle East from 2028 onwards. The 76-year-old, who owns a majority shareholding in World Snooker Ltd, feels it is his job to take snooker to the next level by upping the stakes for competitors, as has happened in other sports such as darts.

And while Hearn has received plenty of backlash for threatening to leave the Crucible, he feels that the same players speaking out against the prospective move would have their heads turned by extra cash.

"I have to live in the real world," he told BBC Two. "While every player says there's nothing like walking out at the Crucible, every player would jump at the chance to earn double or treble the prize money. That's the world we're in.

"We have got to try to find some middle ground. We're not going to be difficult, our heart says we want to stay here because we're fans as well. Players need to be paid - that's what it comes down to."

Former world champion Shaun Murphy has been on BBC punditry duty during the current World Snooker Championship. And he fought the Crucible's corner in response to Hearn linking a change of venue directly to player earnings.

He said: "As a nine-year-old boy I came here in 1992 and it bit me, I got the bug and it was in this room. Barry's making the link between finance and payments and size of audiences - that's not the only income stream for World Snooker Ltd or Matchroom Sport, they make a lot of money in a lot of other areas.

"While we sell out the Crucible for three sessions a day for 17 days, could they sell out a 4,000 or 5,000-seater arena for three sessions a day for 17 days? There's a bit of a question mark over that.

"He's making a very strong link between the financial rewards of professional sport and ticket sales. There are other avenues."