John Virgo, the beloved voice of snooker, is once again behind the mic for the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, and fans couldn’t be happier.

Known for his trademark line, “Where’s the cue ball going?”, Virgo has been part of the BBC’s snooker coverage for more than 30 years. At 79, he had previously hinted that he would be stepping away from commentary duties alongside fellow legend Dennis Taylor at the end of the 2022–23 season. But to the delight of viewers, the BBC decided to keep both on board, Wales Online reported.

“I spoke to one of the producers and I said ‘well you know it’ll be my last year',” Virgo told the Snookered podcast. “And he said ‘no no no, we’re not going to do that now. We’re going to stay as we are for the foreseeable future’, which was fantastic.”

Before his career behind the microphone, the Salford-born star was a formidable player on the professional circuit, winning four major titles including the 1979 UK Championship and the 1980 Bombay International. He spent seven seasons in the Top 16, with notable runner-up finishes at the 1980 Champion of Champions and the 1984 Australian Masters before retiring in 1994.

His commentary career had already begun by then. In fact, Virgo had started branching into television three years earlier as co-presenter of Big Break, a snooker-based game show with comedian Jim Davidson. Virgo played the role of referee as contestants paired with professional players in hopes of winning prizes.