The Waterfront Hall has hosted the Northern Ireland Open in recent years and could be in line to stage the World Snooker Championship in 2029 when the Crucible is closed for renovations

Kyren Wilson has called for the “phenomenal” Belfast Waterfront Hall to host the World Snooker Championship in 2029.

The World Snooker Championship will temporarily move away from Sheffield in 2029, as the famous Crucible is set to undergo serious renovations.

Speaking exclusively to 247Bet as he prepares for the UK Championship later this month, 2024 World champion Wilson said he would be a “big advocate” of snooker’s greatest tournament moving to Belfast, as he praised the Waterfront Hall as “one of the best venues on the tour having won a second Northern Ireland Open title at the venue just last month.

“So there's obviously some rumours and talks that potentially we could be going there in the stopgap of when the Crucible is being turned around,” Wilson said of the Waterfront Hall hosting the World Championship in 2029.

So I'd definitely be a big advocate of that, obviously, with me winning it there quite recently.

“It would be great there, because I wouldn't want it to go too far overseas, because I think the World Championship, for the UK-based fans in particular, they deserve to have it there.

“The paying public that turns up in their numbers in Belfast, they do want to see top players, and they want to get good value for money. As snooker players, you feel like you have to try and deliver for them as well.

“There are so many big tournaments in different places of the world nowadays. So I love the thought of knowing that if I get to a world final, my family can just hop on a 45-minute flight and they'd be there. Same goes for my friends and my sponsors and stuff.

“So yeah, I think the World Championship would be great in Belfast. I think there'd be lots of Guinness sold in Belfast over those two weeks played of snooker. I definitely would be a big fan if it went there.”

Wilson also hailed the Waterfront Hall as a “phenomenal place to play snooker” and thinks the atmosphere would be ideal for the World Championship.

“The Waterfront Hall is one of the best venues on tour for me,” added Wilson.

“It's so well attended. And when it gets to the one-table set-up, it's a phenomenal place to play snooker.

“With the tiered layout of the venue, it feels like the crowd goes on forever. So yeah, it’s a great place for a snooker player to play snooker, and especially for me to win it twice in three years, I'm building a nice little CV there.”