YORK's loss was Telford's gain after governing body World Snooker named the town the new host of the Maplin UK Championship.
The event, which had been held in York since 2001, was moved after the organisers decided they could not gamble on the Barbican Centre's redevelopment being ready in time for the two-week December tournament.
Now, it has announced that the Telford International Centre will play host to cue greats such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and defending champion Peter Ebdon.
A World Snooker spokesman said: "From past experience we know that the Telford International Centre has proved a popular venue for the players, and that there is enthusiastic support for snooker in the area, so we are delighted to be staging one of our biggest tournaments there."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article