England has always been the exclusive home of the world snooker championships but that could soon change, according to Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

"Only four years ago we had a limited number of competitions, but now we have over 30 world-class tournaments every year, supported by more than 90 billiard and snooker organizations," Ferguson said at the Gujinggongjiu Haikou World Open last week.

Responding to a question from Gan Lianfang, vice-chairman of the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association and president of Beijing-based Xingpai Group, a pioneer in domestic snooker development, Ferguson said he envisioned the championships one day coming to China.