Barry Hearn has insisted the in-fighting would stop after the game's leading players voted to put him in control of the sport's destiny.
Hearn, via his Matchroom Sports operation, will take a 51% stake in World Snooker after the top 64 players voted 35-29 in his favour at a meeting in Sheffield on Wednesday afternoon.
Stars including Stephen Hendry and Peter Ebdon were backing a rival bid fronted by former Olympian John Davison, however Davison elected to miss the meeting and Hearn squeezed enough votes to allow him to push ahead with his vision for snooker's future.
Given the close result, Hearn knows there are plenty of players who did not fully support him, but he is confident everyone involved in snooker will want to work together now that the way forward has been mapped out.
‘We said after the meeting that we've drawn a line in the sand, and all the problems in the past, all the politics, are history,’ Hearn said.
‘We've got strong leadership.
‘Where are we going to go from here? We know we've got a big job.’
Hearn, who has had business success across sports including darts, boxing and golf, had a high profile in snooker during the 1980s and returned to the front line in December when he was a popular choice as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, succeeding Rodney Walker.
He has largely impressed in the role, and there were many who would have been upset to see him leave snooker again, which was his threat had the players voted against him.
‘I think we need a three-year plan, and we need to create a possibility to get them playing all the time,’ Hearn said.
‘I want them playing every weekend of the year.
‘That would be the same as darts and hopefully we'll have the same success that we've had with darts.’
Given the emergence of Davison as a rival last week, Hearn headed to today's WPBSA EGM knowing the players' support for his plans was not guaranteed.
‘I never take anything for granted, I'm always prepared for every eventuality,’ he said.
‘I like well contested fights and to keep people on the edge of their seats.
‘The result was very satisfying, and for me it's personally been one of the most satisfying days of my life.
‘We start tonight. There's lots to be done.
‘We've got everybody pulling in the right direction. We've got issues to deal with and we'll set about doing that.’
World Snooker will separate from the WPBSA, which will remain the regulatory body, with Jason Ferguson set to succeed Hearn as chairman.
Hearn's focus will turn to running World Snooker, and he has pledged that prize money will rise from £3.5million in 2009/10 to £4.5million in 2010/11, promising to return control to the WPBSA if he fails with his venture.
Next season's calendar includes a variety of new tournaments, including a quick-fire Shoot-Out event, a ranking event in Germany, a World Seniors Championship and a Player Tour Championship series.
Davison graciously accepted defeat in his second bid to take over the running of snooker, having also missed out eight years ago when the Altium group which he fronted came close to power.
Davison said in a statement: ‘We congratulate Barry on securing the votes of the playing members of the WPBSA and wish them and all the stakeholders all the best of luck in the future.’
