SNOOKER fans celebrated a major change to the World Snooker Championship – and joked “it's about b***** time!”
The showpiece event takes place each spring at the Crucible in Sheffield.
But the 2025 will have a new look.
That is because there is a new title partner for the top tournament in the sport.
The World Snooker Championship have signed a bumper deal with IT services company Halo.
And that will see them replace car retailer Cazoo.
Cazoo sponsored the event in 2023 and 2024 – including when Kyren Wilson got his hands on the famous trophy.
However, the firm fell into administration last year.
So now the WSC have made the change to Halo, one of the UK's fastest-growing businesses.
A World Snooker Tour statement said: “A privately owned, founder-led team, Halo builds ITSM, PSA and CRM software products which go far beyond providing a quick fix, with a people-first approach.
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“Within the industry, Halo has built a reputation as a pioneer of efficiency and performance.”
Halo already have partnerships with McLaren in Formula One and Premier League side Ipswich.
And the new deal is part of snooker's move away from controversial partners which has previously included tobacco company Embassy for many years before a host of bookmakers including 888.com, Betfair, Dafabet and Betfred.
The switch to Halo also went down well with snooker supporters.
One said: “WST talking to a CRM company. About b****y time!”
Another wrote: “Great for snooker.”
A third added: “It’s a good move to be partnering with a different sector I think.”
And a final user commented: “This is a welcomed change from the betting companies. Was hoping Johnstone Paint would sponsor and give everyone funky waistcoats, but this'll do.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
