The BBC and Eurosport will screen a variety of special snooker programming during the course of the 17 days in which the 2020 World Snooker Championship was due to be played.
Snooker’s season finale at the Crucible Theatre was postponed in March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn hoping to stage the event in July and August at the earliest.
To fill the void, both broadcasters will show a mixture of classic matches, documentaries and new digital content, starting on Saturday, 18 April, the day which was supposed to mark the start of this year’s tournament in Sheffield.
The BBC will be delving into its archives to bring snooker fans classic World Championship matches daily on BBC Two, with repeats of its ‘Crucible Classics’ series, presented by Hazel Irvine, first shown in 2016.
Reigning world champion Judd Trump, seven-time winner Stephen Hendry and five-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan all feature in the two-hour episodes across the 17-day period.
The legendary 1985 black-ball final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor also features and will be shown on Sunday, 3 May, which was due to be the opening day of the 2020 final.
Taylor fought his way back from 8-0 down to claim the world title on the last black of the last frame in a match watched by an audience of 18.5m.
Alongside the classic matches, the BBC is also repeating its 2010 documentary about two-time world champion and the ‘people’s champion’ Alex Higgins on BBC Two, on Sunday, 19 January, as well as the two-part Talking Snooker series.
There will also be another chance to see the 2017 documentary The Crucible: 40 Golden Snooker Years on Sunday, 3 May, on BBC Two.
The programmes, which form part of the BBC’s classic sporting action to come over the next few months, will all be available to watch live and on-demand via the BBC iPlayer.
Eurosport will also give snooker fans plenty to watch over the 17 days with classic action, brand new content and special formats as part of its “two-week celebration of snooker”, including ‘The Snooker Vodcast’, a brand new series hosted by Andy Goldstein.
Broadcast daily at 2pm on Eurosport 1, it will feature a selection of debates covering some of the hottest snooker topics as well as player specials with some of the biggest names on the World Snooker Tour, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson.
Early episodes see Eurosport’s snooker pundits Jimmy White and Neal Foulds discuss some of the greatest performances in Triple Crown history, as well as Eurosport expert Ronnie O’Sullivan looking back at his idols, rivals and legacy spanning across a career filled with accolades and records.
Shortform highlights will be available on eurosport.co.uk and across Eurosport’s social platforms, with the Snooker Vodcasts also adapted for a brand new audio format, The Break, available on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Android and Spotify.
The broadcaster will also delve into its archives where viewers can relive classic matches. This includes memorable finals as well as stand-out individual performances across the whole snooker calendar, broadcast daily at 10.00am and 2.30pm.
In addition, Eurosport will also introduce ‘You Say, We Play’, where fans will be invited to cast their vote from a selection of classic Crucible matches they want to watch via a daily Twitter poll hosted on Eurosport’s Twitter account – @Eurosport_UK.
The winning choice will be broadcast each evening at 7pm on Eurosport 1, with all the coverage available to watch live and on demand via Eurosport Player.
As well as the BBC and Eurosport’s offering, the World Snooker Tour will also be showing its own iconic moments from the past four decades of the sport’s biggest tournament.
Featuring title triumphs, 147s, upsets and reruns of recent finals, the WST series – Crucible Gold – will run daily from 18 April with each episode, introduced by Rob Walker, being released at 7pm each evening on the WST’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Full details of BBC Sport and Eurosport’s snooker programming from 18 April to 4 May can line-up can be found below (all times subject to change).
For a full overview of all major UK-televised sporting events that have been postponed, cancelled or rescheduled, as well as those which are still due to be staged, visit SOTB’s dedicated coronavirus webpage – sotb.in/coronavirus.
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SATURDAY 18th APRIL
STEVE DAVIS v TONY KNOWLES
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1982
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Talking Snooker: The People’s Champions
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SUNDAY 19th APRIL
RAY REARDON v ALEX HIGGINS
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1982
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Alex Higgins: The People’s Champion
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MONDAY 20th APRIL
STEVE DAVIS v JIMMY WHITE
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1984
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TUESDAY 21st APRIL
NEIL ROBERTSON v MARK SELBY
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2014
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WEDNESDAY 22nd APRIL
STEVE DAVIS v JOE JOHNSON
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1986
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THURSDAY 23rd APRIL
JIMMY WHITE v STEPHEN HENDRY
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1988
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FRIDAY 24th APRIL
STEPHEN HENDRY v JIMMY WHITE
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1992
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SATURDAY 25th APRIL
STEPHEN HENDRY v JIMMY WHITE
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1994
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SUNDAY 26th APRIL
STEPHEN HENDRY v RONNIE O’SULLIVAN
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2002
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MONDAY 27th APRIL
PETER EBDON v MATTHEW STEVENS
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2002
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TUESDAY 28th APRIL
KEN DOHERTY v PAUL HUNTER
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2003
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WEDNESDAY 29th APRIL
SHAUN MURPHY v MATTHEW STEVENS
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2007
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THURSDAY 30th APRIL
JOHN HIGGINS v JUDD TRUMP
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2011
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FRIDAY 1st MAY
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN v BARRY HAWKINS
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2013
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SATURDAY 2nd MAY
NEIL ROBERTSON v JUDD TRUMP
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2014
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Talking Snooker: The Game Changers
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SUNDAY 3rd MAY
STEVE DAVIS v DENNIS TAYLOR
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1985
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The Crucible: 40 Golden Snooker Years
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MONDAY 4th MAY
JUDD TRUMP v STUART BINGHAM
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2015
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18 APRIL – 4 MAY
FANTASTIC FINALS
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Every morning for the next two weeks, Eurosport will be broadcasting some of the most exciting finals from the entire World Snooker Tour. Watch Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and co in some of the greatest finals in recent times.
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THE SNOOKER VODCAST
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Eurosport will be broadcasting daily vodcasts debating some of snooker’s key talking points, plus player specials featuring some of the biggest names on the Tour including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Jimmy White.
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PLAYER POWER
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Eurosport will broadcast some of the most enjoyable individual performances in recent history, featuring some of the finest comebacks, 147s and demolitions from the World Snooker calendar, including the Triple Crown Events.
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YOU SAY, WE PLAY
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Eurosport gives fans the chance to vote for the matches they want to watch. @Eurosport_UK will host daily Twitter polls allowing viewers to cast their vote from a choice of memorable matches to watch every evening.
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