The start of the Betfred World Championship is an exciting time for fans around the globe, including snooker-loving poet John Mole…

Off We Go Again

Everything happens at The Crucible,
Every degree from triumph to despair.
Here is where you either win or lose it all.
This place is special, not just anywhere.

For two weeks Sheffield is the centre
Of our universe. We snooker fans
Watch as cue-clutching players enter –
The likely winners and the also-rans.

The balls line up, the referee awaits,
The cloth is smooth, the pockets flex their jaws,
The air is thick with history, the greats
Prepare to beat already record scores

While even lesser players’ reputations rise
Just by joining in this great event
That’s gone in a flash before their very eyes.
Like us, they’ll wonder where the fortnight went.

But all will start again soon next year.
Thrills in The Crucible are never over.
They echo daily in the fine-tuned ear
Of every dedicated snooker lover.

Source: World Snooker