• Snooker

Hearn feels players in favour of change

ESPN staff
May 6, 2010
Barry Hearn feeles he has the support of the players © Getty Images
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Barry Hearn emerged from a crunch meeting with the players on Wednesday evening confident his plans to revamp snooker will be supported.

Hearn's plans had been potentially derailed by the controversy surrounding John Higgins but he moved ahead with outlining his thoughts to put snooker back on a sound footing.

Hearn, who masterminded the renaissance of darts, is promising increased prize money and more tournaments in return for a 51% stake in World Snooker, the commercial arm of the WPBSA.

The players will vote on the plans in June and Hearn is confident he will be given the green light to press ahead.

"There's no such thing as a shoo-in," Hearn said. "It was a frank exchange. There was a spectacular majority of people in favour which pleases me no end and I hope it's going to be a big vote in favour.

"I think they've bought into the dreams and the concepts. It was a very black and white session as you'd expect and the vast majority were supportive which gives me a real buzz."

Some of the players, notably Peter Ebdon, are believed to be concerned by the ownership of World Snooker, but Hearn claims it is a take-it-or-leave-it proposal.

"There were some questions about ownership and I explained it's not a negotiable item.

"He [Ebdon] came up afterwards and said, 'I share your views on the future, I just don't like the thought of you owning it'. But that's okay, vote against it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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