Pot Black for Sheffield

The 2007 edition of the Pot Black Cup will be held at Sheffield City Hall in October.

Steel City to host former TV favourite

The 2007 edition of the prestigious Pot Black Cup will move away from London and be held at Sheffield City Hall on 6th October.

Creative Sheffield, in conjunction with Sheffield City Council and Yorkshire South Tourism brokered the deal to move the event away from the capital to the Steel City.

Sheffield is already classed as the home of snooker as it holds the 888.com World Snooker Championship, and the city will now host two major events next season.

The famous Pot Black Cup was reintroduced in 2005 and has been staged at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London for the last two years.

Mark Williams won the one-frame shootout last year, which included the likes of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Ken Doherty and Shaun Murphy.

"The Pot Black Cup is an event rich in tradition and much anticipated by snooker fans as it brings together the world's top players in a light-hearted atmosphere" said World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker.

"We are delighted to bring the event to Sheffield and to further enhance our bond with the city as the home of snooker."

Greats

David Fletcher, investment director at Creative Sheffield, who helped bring the tournament to the city, was delighted the move had come off.

"Sports fans will remember Pot Black, which began in 1969, as the TV programme that really launched snooker as a strong television sport, featuring such greats as Ray Reardon and John Spencer," said Fletcher.

"The fact that World Snooker has chosen Sheffield to host this much-loved competition strengthens further our position as the Snooker City. It is also a major vote of confidence in the relationship between the city and World Snooker.

"At a time when the city is working hard to improve its profile in countries such as China, which has an extremely large snooker fan base, this is very good news."