Neal Foulds hopeful World Snooker Championship can be rescheduled as coronavirus crisis puts sporting calendar on hold

Foulds, at heart, remains a passionate snooker fan and while conceding that the rescheduling of snooker's showpiece event that had been due to begin later this month would be different, he believes that snooker must be able to crown its world champion at the end of the season, for the sake of supporters and the sport as a whole.

"We all hope that the World Championship can be rescheduled later in the year for many different reasons, but mainly because that would mean we were over the worst of this awful situation and that we would have reason to be hopeful and look forward again," said Foulds.

"It's such a difficult situation but I know Barry [Hearn] is working hard on this and it needs to happen at some point later in the year, when it is absolutely safe to do so.

"You can't not have a World Championship. It needs to be played at some point, even if it's at a different venue this year and even played in a slightly different format if needs be.

"Given the situation in China, it's hard to see us rushing over there for the start of the new season so even if it means waiting until the autumn to play this season's World Championship, it would be worth waiting for."

The gravity of the situation across the globe has meant that fans have been left in the highly unusual situation of having no live sport to watch and while there have been calls in some quarters for the Premier League, amongst others, to be cancelled completely, Foulds believes that snooker and other sports have a responsibility to players and fans to ensure current campaigns are completed.

He said: "I'm not a Liverpool fan but there's nobody in the world who could argue that they don't deserve to win the Premier League. It's so sad for them and their supporters.

"They have been absolutely brilliant and it's just unfortunate for them that this has happened - some bookmakers have been paying out on them already and they deserve to be awarded the title should the season not be able to be finished.

"In terms of snooker, you've got Judd Trump having just broken a long-standing record for ranking title wins in a season and he deserves to defend his World Championship crown at some point.

"He's won six titles already following his victory at the Gibraltar Open but who knows if he might suffer from the 'Crucible curse' like so many have before?

"It would be a great shame if the event had to be scrapped this year."

Nevertheless, with the possibility of the Crucible Theatre not being in a position to host a rescheduled tournament this year, Hearn may be forced to look elsewhere for a one-off quick fix and Foulds doesn't believe that should be a barrier to the event being held.

Foulds went on: "Anyone who hasn't been there [Crucible] needs to go at some point. It's an amazing venue, so intimate, but there are other great venues.

"I put a twitter poll out a few days ago asking fans where they would like to see the World Championship held this year if the Crucible wasn't an option.

"The Ally Pally is a fantastic venue and would be an obvious choice, the Barbican at York is a great venue and that would allow the tournament to stay in Yorkshire, but a left-field option would be the Tempodrom in Berlin.

"Like everything else, it would all come down to the situation with the coronavirus crisis improving but I think it would be wonderful to be able to take the World Championship to Germany and its fans for one year.

"The venue is fantastic, it really is. It has a huge capacity and when it's full, it's got to be seen to be believed.

"I've never known an atmosphere like it and that includes the Crucible. Clearly, there would be obstacles to overcome but I think it would be great for the game."

While the Gibraltar Open is already feeling like a distant memory, the Snooker Shoot Out is the last time Ronnie O'Sullivan has been seen in competitive action having failed to qualify for the subsequent Players Championship.

The last-minute postponement of the Tour Championship - a situation Foulds described as being 'fast moving' and taking some time for people to 'come to terms with' - meant O'Sullivan didn't watch yet another big tournament from afar and should the World Championship eventually take place, Foulds is not writing off the five-times champion.

"There are two ways of looking at that [lack of match practice]. Ronnie is a player who thrives on matches and his practice but it's a level playing field now," said Foulds.

"While Ronnie's inactivity might have cost him at times this season, that wouldn't really come into it now and if anyone can do it, it's Ronnie.

"Let's not forget that when he last won the World Championship in 2013, Ronnie had taken the season off and had only played one match before Sheffield.

"Last year he was the man coming into the World Championship having won the Players Championship and Tour Championship and he maintains to this day that he was ill when losing to James Cahill.

"It would be different this year, certainly different from the norm, with the possibility of a slightly different format as well.

"Put it this way, if you were making a shortlist of possible winners he'd be right up there, there's no doubt about that.

“I’d be amazed if there wasn’t another big one in Ronnie."

With that in mind, snooker fans might finally have something to look forward to. Foulds hopes so, anyway.

He added: "All sport is in the same position, waiting and hoping for things to change. It's been a huge culture shock for everyone.

"Professional sportsmen and women are suddenly inactive having been so used to practising, training or playing every day. But everyone appears to be respecting the situation and it's just a question of waiting and hoping for things to resume.

"We need something to look forward to it and when the time is right, sport needs to come back with a bang."

Ronnie O'Sullivan becoming world champion for the sixth time and claiming his 37th ranking title in the process would certainly be that.