Game Snooker World Championship
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This article is about the main professional championship. For the amateur event, see. For the women's championship, see. World Snooker Championship Tournament information Venue (since 1977) Location Country Established 1927 Organisation(s) Format event Total prize fund 1,968,000 Recent edition Current champion(s) The World Snooker Championship is the leading tournament both in terms of prestige and prize money. The first championship was held in and was won. Davis won the first 15 championships before retiring from the event, undefeated, after his success.
In the 1950s snooker went into a period of decline and the championship was not held after 1952, although an unofficial championship was held until 1957. In 1964 the championship was revived on a challenge basis and in the championship became a knock-out event again. Since it has been played at the in,. The tournament is currently played over 17 days and ends on the first Monday in May. In the modern era (since 1969), the best record is that of, who won the title seven times.
And both won six times while has won five titles. The current champion is, who has won the tournament three times. Contents. History Professional Snooker Championship (1927–34) Year Champion The first championship was held in and was called the Professional Snooker Championship. It was the first important professional snooker tournament although the has been contested since 1916. Ten professionals entered including most of the leading players.
The draw was made at the start of the season and the players made their own arrangements about the dates and venue for the matches, although it was decided in advance that the semi-finals and final would be in. Matches were over 15 frames with the semi-finals over 23 frames and final over 31 frames.
The first match played was between and at, Leicester Square in London. The snooker was played as an added extra to the main event, a billiards match played over two weeks. The match started on Monday 29 November 1926 and one frame of snooker was played at the end of each session. Inman won 8–5, the match finishing on the Monday afternoon, a week after it started. One other match was played in connection with a billiards contest but the remaining matches were snooker-only matches.
With minimal prize money, players mainly made money from their share of the gate receipts. Because of this it was common for 'dead' frames to be played after the result of the match had been decided. The final between and was played over four days in early May at in. Davis won the first seven frames and led throughout, taking a winning 16–7 lead on the third day, eventually winning 20–11. The highest break of the tournament was 60, made by in his semi-final match against Davis, in a dead frame after Davis had won the match. Davis made a 57 break in the final.
The was played on a challenge basis, with the other 6 entries playing off for the right to challenge in the final. Davis met in the final, winning 16–13. The challenge system was dropped in. Davis met in the final, played in Dennis's home town of.
Davis made a new record break of 61 on the way to a 17–12 victory. The same pair met in the final, played for the first time at in London. The final was extended to 49 frames played over 6 days. Davis won comfortably, 25–12, with a day to spare and made a new record break of 79.
With little prospect of success and little prospect of financial gain, most of the professionals saw little point in entering the championship and, despite an upsurge in interest in snooker, there were only two entries for the. Davis and met for the fourth time, the event being played in Nottingham. Dennis led 19–16 at one stage but Davis won 9 of the next 11 frames to take the Championship 25–21.
There were three entries in including New Zealander. McConachy met in the final, played. Davis took the title 25–18 and set a new record with a break of 99, missing out on his century after he snookered himself. There were five entries in including 47-year-old who entered for the first time and met in the final. Smith had won the twice.
The match was played at Davis's own snooker hall in. The match was close until Davis pulled away in the later stages, as he often did, winning 25–18. There were just two entries in, Davis being opposed by, six times World Billiards Champion.
The match was held partly in before finishing in. Davis won 25–22, although Newman led 14–13 at one stage. Thurston's Hall era (1935–40) Year Winner In the early years of the championship, snooker had been seen, in the professional game, as secondary to but from the mid-1930s snooker dominated. The introduced some significant changes. It was the first to incorporate 'world' in its name, being called the World's Professional Snooker Championship. There was also a change in the organisation of the event with the matches being played consecutively at the same venue, in London. Previously the draw had been made early in the season and the players made their own arrangements about the dates and venue of matches.
The change in format proved a great success and became the primary venue for professional snooker matches. In the period from 1935 to 1940, nearly all World Championship matches were played there and with good attendances the professionals could make some money from their share of the entrance charges. Because of the importance of gate receipts, dead frames were played out, whatever the state of the game. This had often been the case in the early championships but now became universal.
There were 5 entries in. Beat 28–21 in the final, having earlier taken a winning 25–20 lead. Davis recorded the first century break in the history of the championship, 110 in his semi-final match against.
The break was made in a dead frame but was still regarded as a championship record. The success of the 1935 championship resulted in a record 13 entries for. A number of younger professionals entered for the first time, including an Australian, the nephew of, the reigning. And Horace Lindrum won all their matches easily and met in the final. Davis had won one of his matches 29–2 after taking a winning 16–0 lead.
Lindrum won his semi-final by the same score, 29–2, making a break of 101, although, like Davis's record 110 break, it was made in a dead frame. In the final Lindrum led 26–24 at the start of the final day and then won the first frame on the last day. However Davis won the last ten frames in a row to win 34–27, having won the match 31–27. Qualifying was introduced for the first time in and, with 9 entries, two players were chosen to play a qualification match to reduce the field to 8. The two were, Joe's younger brother and, an unknown Welsh professional. Withers won the match 17–14, a defeat that Fred put down to ignoring his worsening eyesight.
Unfortunately for Withers he met Joe in the quarter-finals. Davis won the first two frames before Withers won the third, doubling the final black to win the frame. This was to be Withers last frame as Davis won the next 14 to win the match 16–1. Davis then won the remaining 14 dead frames, to win 28 frames in succession. Davis and were not troubled in reaching the final, which was a repeat of 1936. Lindrum led 17–13 at the half-way stage, but Davis recovered to win the match 32–29. Davis made a break of 103 in the final, the first championship century in live play.
Chose not to enter in and won easily, beating in the final. In his semi-final Davis made breaks of 104 and 96 in successive frames and finished the winning frame in the final with a 98 clearance.
Brothers and met at the semi-final stage in. Joe won but Fred had the satisfaction of making a 113 clearance, a new record break for the championship, Joe met in the final for the second successive year. Joe again won comfortably, taking a winning 37–25 early on the final day.
The was played during the ' stage of. And met in the final. Joe led 15–10 but then Fred won 11 frames in succession to lead 21–15. On the final day Joe made a 101 break to take a winning 37–35 lead. The spectators cheered for nearly a minute when Joe made his century.
In October 1940, during, was destroyed by a parachute mine which demolished the south-western corner of Leicester Square. No tournaments were played during the remainder of World War II. Post-war era (1946–52) Year Winner The championship resumed in and met in the final, a repeat of 1936 and 1937.
The final was organised on a much larger scale than anything previously. The in was converted to a snooker venue, seating 1,250. The match was extended from one week to two, allowing up to 30,000 spectators to be accommodated with prices ranging from 5s to £3.
Davis maintained a small lead throughout and won, early on the final day, leading 73–62. Davis made six centuries in the final, setting new championship records of 133 and 136. The event proved a financial success for the players, Davis receiving £1,800 and Lindrum £550 together with the championship table and all the equipment, their share of the gate receipts.
In October 1946 announced that he would 'retire' from the World Championship. Davis had never lost a match in the championship from its inception in 1927. He did not, in any other sense, retire from snooker, continuing to play in other tournaments and exhibition matches for many years. There were a record 20 entries for the. 13 had to play in a qualifying competition, the winner joining the other 7 in the quarter-finals. The semi-finals were completed by the middle of March but the two finalists, and, agreed to delay the final until the autumn so that it could be played at the rebuilt Thurston's Hall, now renamed. The final was again over 145 frames and was played from 13 to 25 October.
Donaldson got off to a good start, leading 44–28 after the first week and eventually taking a winning 73–49 lead early on the 11th day. The first qualifying match for the started just 5 weeks later. Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson again reached the final. This time it was Davis who got off to a good start, leading 45–27 after the first week. The second week was closer but Davis eventually took a winning 73–49 lead on the 11th day. Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson met again in the final.
Donaldson led 39–33 after the first week but Davis pulled ahead on the second week and eventually took a winning 73–58 lead. After three finals at the final moved to, moving out of London for the first time since 1934.
The final was reduced to 97 frames over 8 days. And met, yet again, in the final. The score was level at 18–18 after three days but Donaldson pulled ahead to lead 45–39 at the start of the last day. Donaldson won 4 of the first 7 frames on the final day to lead 49–42 and win back the championship. The final was a repeat of the 1950 final, same venue and another Fred Davis/Walter Donaldson contest. Davis led 44–28 after six days and, although Donaldson won 8 of the 12 frames on the seventh day, Davis won comfortably early on the final day.
Following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the (BACC), members of the PBPA boycotted the championship. The BACC thought the championship should be primarily a matter of honour, and financial considerations should come second. As a consequence of the boycott there were only two entries, Australian and New Zealander. Both players were well past their best. McConachy had played in the recent but had performed badly, losing all 8 of his matches. Although Lindrum did not play in the News of the World Tournament, he had been receiving more generous starts in recent handicap tournaments and had even withdrawn from a in 1950, complaining about his overly generous handicap which gave the public the wrong impression about his ability. Lindrum won the championship easily, reaching a winning 73–37 position early on the 10th day, becoming the first non-British player to win the World Championship.
World Professional Match-play Championship (1952–57) Year Winner Having boycotted the official championship, the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) established their own championship called the which attracted 9 entries. The entries did not include, who chose not to enter the new tournament. And were given byes to the semi-final stage. They both reached the final again, although Donaldson had a close match against. The final was over 73 frames and was held.
Davis had the best of the first four days and led 29–19. Donaldson won 16 frames on the last two days but Davis held on to win the championship. Davis made a break of 140 in the final, a record for championship play, beating brother Joe's 136 set in 1946. The second unofficial championship was called the and resulted in another final between Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson. The 71-frame final and was the last held at before its closure in 1955. The match was tied at 33–33 at the start of the final session but Davis was again successful. Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson met in the final, held in, the eighth successive final between the pair.
The final was the most one-sided of the eight finals, Davis taking a winning 36–15 lead early on the fifth day. After his heavy defeat in 1954 chose not to enter in. Met in the final. Davis got off to a good start and held on to win his seventh championship. Fred Davis and John Pulman met again in the final, played again in Blackpool. The match was again close but Davis won for the eighth time. The attracted only four entries and was held over two weeks in.
Fred Davis, the reigning champion, could not afford to travel such a distance and did not enter. John Pulman beat in the final to win his first world title. In the Pulman had been handicapped as the fourth strongest player. None of the three higher-handicapped players (, Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson) played in the championship and, with little interest in the event, there was no championship in 1958. Challenge matches (1964–68) Date Champion No world championship, official or unofficial, was held between 1958 and 1963 but in, with the approval of the BACC, the championship was revived on a challenge basis. The first contest was played in, in April 1964 between 40-year-old and 50-year-old. Pulman won the 37-frame match 19–16 to become the official world champion.
Pulman won two further challenge matches played at Burroughes Hall, beating in October 1964 and then Fred Davis again in March 1965. In late 1965 and played a long series of short matches in. Pulman won 25 of the 47 matches to retain the title.
Williams set a new championship record with a break of 142 in the 24th match. After this series of matches Pulman played the South African, winning 39 frames to 12.
Back in England, met for the third time. There were 7 separate matches played in. Pulman won 4 of the first 6 matches to retain the title. After April 1966 there were no more contests until Australian challenged and the pair met in a 73-frame match in, played in March 1968. Pulman led 19–17 at the half-way stage but then pulled ahead and won the match 37–28.
This was to be the last challenge match as the championship then reverted to a knock-out format. Knockout tournaments (1969–76) Year Winner In the took over regulation of the professional game from the BACC and staged a knockout tournament. 8 professionals entered, 4 from the 1950s and 4 new professionals. The first match, played in late 1968 saw the end of 's reign as champion, beaten by one of the new professionals,. Spencer led 24–18 after the final afternoon session and clinched the match by winning the first frame in the evening with a 97 break. Spencer and another of the new professionals, met in the final at the in. Spencer won the 73-frame final 37–24.
Spencer lost to at the semi-final stage of the. Reardon went on to win the final against John Pulman to win his first title. The next world championship was held in Australia in late 1970. For the only time there was a group stage with 9 players, the top 4 moving on to a knock-out stage. And met in one semi-final with Spencer winning easily. The other semi-final was between two Australians, and. Simpson caused a major upset by beating Charlton.
In the final in, Spencer led throughout and won the 6-day final 37–29. Saw the emergence of. Winning his two qualifying matches he beat, and then Spencer in the final to win the title at his first attempt. At 000000000♠22 years, 345 days Higgins was the youngest world champion. Previously only had won the title while under the age of 30, being 000000000♠26 years, 27 days when he won in 1927. The marked a change in format, with the tournament played over two weeks at a single venue rather than over an extended period.
16 played in the first round, the 8 winners playing 8 seeded players in the second round. In the semi-finals, defending champion lost 23–9 to while beat 23–22. In the 5-day final Charlton led 7–0 after the opening session but Reardon led 17–13 after two days.
The match continued to be close but Reardon pulled ahead on the final day to win 38–32, for his second title. The followed a similar format but with somewhat shorter matches and event reduced to 10 days. 60-year-old beat Alex Higgins in the quarter-finals before losing to Ray Reardon.
Reardon met in the 3-day final. Reardon led 17–11 after two days and won comfortably 22–12. The was held in Australia. Twenty-seven players competed including 8 from Australia, 16 from the United Kingdom, two from Canada and one from South Africa. Beat and to reach the final where he met. The final was held near but matches were held in many locations, the semi-finals having been held in and.
In the final Reardon won 10 of the 12 frames on the second day to lead 16–8 but Charlton won the first 9 frames on day 3 to lead. Reardon then led 23–21 before Charlton won 8 frames in a row to lead 29–23, needing just 2 of the last 9 frames to win. However Reardon then won 7 frames in a row to lead again and, although Charlton levelled the match at 30–30, Reardon won the deciding frame. The was held at two venues; half the draw was held in and half in, which also hosted the final.
Won three close matches to reach the final, where he met. Reardon led 24–15 at the start of the last day and, winning 3 of the first 4 frames, took the title 27–16, his fourth successive title. There were a number of problems during the tournament including the standard of the tables.
This was the first year the championship was sponsored under the cigarette brand. Crucible era starts (1977–80) Year Winner In the championship was played at the in where it has remained ever since. 16 players competed, 8 seeds being joined by 8 qualifiers. Beat defending champion 13–6 in the quarter-finals. And met in the final.
The final was close with the score being 9–9 after the first day and 18–18 after two days. Spencer led 22–20 after the first session on the final day and pulled ahead to win 25–21 in the final session. Defending champion John Spencer lost to in the first round of the. Beat Cliff Thorburn 13–12 in the quarter-finals, winning the last 5 frames, but lost to Ray Reardon in the semi-finals. Charlton led 12–9 after three sessions but Reardon won all 7 frames in the fourth session and eventually won 18–14. In the other semi-final Perrie Mans met 64-year-old and won 18–16.
Ray Reardon won the final 25–18 to win the championship for the sixth time. At 000000000♠45 years, 203 days Reardon became the oldest World Champion. The first seven players to win the World Snooker Championship all won a championship in their 40s, the last of which was Reardon.
No player since has won in their 40s. Griffiths had only been a professional for 7 months and played two qualifying matches to reach the Crucible. In the semi-final Griffiths was trailing 16–17 to, before winning 19–17 at 1.40am, and then beat 24–16 in the final, winning the record first prize of £10,000. Made a break of 142 in his quarter-final match against, equalling the championship record set by set in in 1965. The was extended to 24 players.
Players seeded 9 to 16 met a qualifier in the first round, the winner meeting one of the top 8 seeds in the second round. A number of changes were made to accommodate the extra matches, including reducing the final to 35 frames. In the final met.
The match was level at 9–9 after the first day and level again at 13–13 after the final afternoon session. During the evening session the scores was tied at 16–16 before Thorburn made a 119 clearance in frame 33 and a break of 51 in frame 34 to win the championship.
Steve Davis years (1981–89) Year Winner Despite being the number 13 seed, was the favourite for the. Davis won a close match 10–8 against in the first round and beat three past world champions to meet 14th seed in the final. Davis won the first six frames of the final but only led 10–8 at the end of the first day. Davis led 14–12 at the start of the final evening session and won the first four frames to win 18–12. At 23-years-old, Davis was the second youngest champion.
Doug Mountjoy set a new championship record of 145 during his semi-final match against. The was extended to 32 players with 16 seeded players and 16 qualifiers. There was a surprise in the first round when beat defending champion 10–1. In the semi-finals led 15–14 and 59–0 before missing an easy red with the rest. Higgins then made a 69 clearance and then won the deciding frame to reach the final.
Higgins met in the final. The score was 15–15 before Higgins won three frames in a row to win the championship, finishing with a clearance of 135, thereby denying Reardon the chance to win a seventh world title. Made the first maximum break in the world championship in during his second round match against. The importance of this achievement at the time is demonstrated by the fact that play was stopped on the other table. This was the break that gave the World Championship one of its most iconic words of commentary, 'oh, good luck mate' on the final black, courtesy of Jack Karnehm.
Thorburn beat Griffiths in a final frame decider, a match that finished at 03:51, the latest ever finish for a match at the Crucible. Thorburn then also won his quarter-final and semi-final matches in the deciding frame.
Exhausted and deflated by the news that his wife had suffered a miscarriage meant that the final against was one-sided with Davis winning 18–6. The final was between Steve Davis and, in his first final. Davis led 12–4 after the first day but White won 7 of the 8 frames on the final afternoon. Davis led 16–12 at the evening interval and, despite a comeback from White, Davis won 18–16. In the, beat 18–17 on the final ball of the final frame, in one of the most closely contested matches of all time. It finished at 00:19. With an audience of 18.5 million, it remains the most watched programme in the history of, as well as the record post-midnight audience for any channel in the United Kingdom.
In the final met 16th seed. Johnson led 13–11 at the start of the evening session and won 5 of the first 6 frames to win 18–12.
Johnson had trailed 9–12 in his quarter-final against but won the last 4 frames to win 13–12. Joe Johnson and Steve Davis met again in the final although, on this occasion, Davis was the winner by a score of 18–14. And met in the final. The score was 8–8 after the first day but Davis pulled ahead on the final day and won 18–11. Made his 7th successive final in meeting.
Davis led 13–3 after the first day and won the first five frames on the final day to win 18–3. Davis won £105,000 for his victory, a new record. Hendry dominates (1990–99) Year Winner In 1990 failed to reach the final for the first time since 1982, losing in the semi-finals 16–14 to. In the final beat White 18–12 becoming, at 000000000♠21 years, 106 days, the youngest ever world champion.
In 1991 Hendry, the number 1 seed, lost in the quarter-finals to. The final was between and Jimmy White, Parrott winning 18–11. In 1992 became the second player to make a in the world championship, during his 10–4 first round win over. Defending champion beat 10–0, the only whitewash in the Crucible era. Met in the final. White led 14–8 but Hendry won 10 frames in a row frame to win 18–14.
In 1993, from Thailand, became the first Asian player to the reach the semi-finals, where he lost to. The final was one-sided, with beating White 18–5. Total prize money reached £1,000,000 for the first time. In 1994 reached his sixth final, meeting for the fourth time in the final.
Hendry led 5–1 but White won 6 frames in a row to lead 7–5. Thereafter the match was always close and the match went to a final frame. White missed a black off the spot, after which Hendry made a break of 58 to clinch the title. Made a century in his first frame at the Crucible, the only player to do so. In 1995 Hendry and White met in the semi-finals, where Hendry won again, making a during the match.
In the other semi-final beat unseeded. In the final, The final was initially close until Hendry won 9 frames in a row to take the score from 5–5 to 14–5. Hendry eventually won 18–9. Hendry made a record 12 century breaks during the tournament. In 1996 reached the final beating, and on the way. He met in the final. Ebdon led 4–2 in the early stages but Hendry eventually won 18–12 to win his fifth successive title.
There were 48 century breaks during the final stages, a new record. In the first round of 1997 championship made the fastest in snooker history, taking just 5 minutes and 20 seconds. The final was between and Irishman. Doherty led 15–7 before Hendry won 5 frames in a row. Doherty then won the next three frames to win 18–12, ending Hendry's winning run of 29 consecutive matches.
Lost to in the first round of the 1998 championship. Doherty reached the final again meeting 22-year-old. Higgins won 18–12, making 5 centuries in the final. There were 59 centuries during the tournament of which Higgins made 14, both records. The following year, won his seventh and final world title, the most in the modern era. In the final he beat 18–11. In the semi-final between Hendry and each player made 4 century breaks, the 8 centuries being a record for a world championship match.
The class of '92 (2000–13) Year Winner The period from 2000 to 2013 was dominated by three players, all turning professional in 1992. Won five times in this period, three times and twice. Higgins had also won in 1998. In was beaten 10–7 in the first round by Crucible debutant.
In his semi-final trailed 11–15 to but took 6 frames in a row to win 17–15. In the final Williams met fellow Welshman. Stevens led 13–7 but Williams made another comeback to win 18–16, becoming the first left-handed champion. Won his first world championship in, defeating 18–14 in the final. O'Sullivan led 14–7 before Higgins won four frames in a row.
O'Sullivan looked likely to win the title in the 31st frame as he led 17–13 and 69–6. However he missed a red in the middle pocket and Higgins won the frame with a break of 65. Higgins made a break of 45 in frame 32 but O'Sullivan made an 80 break to take the title.
Beat 17–13 in the semi-final of the, Hendry reaching his ninth final. Beat 17–16 in the other semi-final. Stevens led 16–14 but Ebdon won the last 3 frames. The final went to the deciding frame where Ebdon made a break of 59 and clinched the title. There were a record 68 centuries in the tournament including a record 16 by Stephen Hendry who made 5 in the semi-final and a further 4 in the final. Won his second World title in by defeating 18–16 in the final.
Prize money peaked in 2003 with the winner receiving a record £270,000 and the 32 Crucible players getting at least £15,000. Made the fifth in the World Championship, becoming the first player to score two 147s in the event. Won his second world title in by defeating 18–8 in the final, despite Dott having led 5–0.
Won the by defeating 18–16 in the final. Murphy was only the second qualifier to win the World Championship, after in 1979. Murphy won 2 qualifying matches and then 5 matches at the Crucible to take the title. Beat 18–14 in the final. The match finished at 00:52 am, the latest finish in the final.
This was the first Championship sponsored by a betting company after the banning of tobacco sponsorship. Dott won £200,000 for his victory with the 32 Crucible players getting at least £9,600, both significant reductions on the 2003 prize money. In the last round of the qualifying competition had the first 147 break made during qualifying for the championship. Despite his maximum, Milkins lost to. The was won by who beat qualifier 18–13 in the final.
The match finished at 00:55 am, even later than the 2006 final and setting another record for the latest finish in the final. Came back from 7–12 down to win his quarter-final match against, but lost in the deciding frame of his semi-final to Mark Selby. The was won by who beat 18–8 in the final. Both O'Sullivan and Carter had made earlier in the tournament, the first time there had been two 147 breaks in the same World Championship. It was O'Sullivan's third maximum in the Championship. Won his third world title in, beating 18–9 in the final. Refereed the final, becoming the first woman to do so in a World Championship final.
There were a record 83 century breaks in the Championship, well ahead of the previous highest of 68. Stephen Hendry won his 1000th at the, the first play to do so. The championship included the longest ever frame at the Crucible which lasted 74 minutes 58 seconds between and.
The was won by who beat qualifier 18–13 in the final, becoming the fourth non-British winner of the title after, and. Won his fourth world title in, beating 18–15 in the final. 21-year-old Trump became the youngest finalist since in 1990. Trump had beaten in the qualifying competition and then defeated defending champion in the first round. Won his fourth world title in, defeating 18–11 in the final. On the opening day Hendry made his third at the Crucible, equalling 's record. He announced his retirement from professional snooker following his loss to in the quarter-finals.
Aged 000000000♠17 years, 45 days, became the youngest player to compete at the Crucible. Defending champion retained the title in despite having played only one competitive match all season. He defeated 18–12 in the final to win the title for the fifth time. He broke Hendry's record of 127 career Crucible centuries, finishing the tournament with 131. He also became the first player to make six century breaks in a Crucible final. Mark Selby: Three wins in four years (2014–17) Year Winner won the world title in by beating defending champion 18–14 in the final, having trailed 5–10. Selby won a record £300,000 for his victory; the prize exceeding the previous highest of £270,000 in 2003, although prize money for first round losers remained at £12,000.
Selby lost 9–13 in the second round of the to Crucible debutant. Won the title, defeating 13–9 in the quarter-finals, 17–16 in the semi-finals, and 18–15 in the final to win the first world title of his 20-year professional career. At the age of 38, Bingham became the oldest player to win the title since in. The tournament set a new record for the most century breaks made at the Crucible, with 86. Defending champion lost 9–10 against in the first round of the. Defeated 18–14 in the final to claim his second world title. Ding was the first Asian player to reach a World Championship final.
There were 86 century breaks made during the Championship, equalling the record set in 2015. A new record of 10 centuries in a professional match was set in the semi-final between Ding Junhui and, with Ding also setting a new record of 7 centuries by one player in a World Championship match. And set a new record for the longest frame of snooker ever played at the Crucible, 76 minutes 11 seconds. Prize money for the was a record £1,750,000 with the winner receiving £375,000. In a high-quality and tightly contested semi-final, defending champion beat 17–15 in a repeat of the previous year's final. Selby met, in a repeat of the final.
Higgins was the second oldest Crucible finalist at 000000000♠41 years, 348 days; only had been older. Selby trailed 4–10 during the second session but then won 12 of the next 14 frames to lead 16–12.
Higgins won the next three frames but Selby took the title 18–15, becoming champion for the third time in four years, joining Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Ronnie O'Sullivan as the only men to have successfully defended the title since its move to the Crucible. Future venues has stated on a number of occasions that he wishes for the tournament to remain at the Crucible forever, providing it continues to draw large numbers of visitors and revenue to the city of Sheffield. It was announced live on television, in front of the audience of the 2016 final session, that the Crucible would continue to host the event until 2027. Format The format for the World Championship has been largely unchanged since. It has a knock-out format with 32 players, contested over 17 days ending on the first Monday in May, which is a public holiday in the. 16 of the players reach the final stages directly while the other 16 get there through a qualifying competition.
The reigning world champion receives a direct entry and is the number 1 seed. The remaining direct entries are based on the latest, players being seeded based on these world rankings.
Since the defending champion is normally ranked in the top 16, the top 16 ranked players generally receive a direct entry. The first round is played over 19 frames, played in two sessions. The second round and quarter-finals are the best of 25 frames played over 3 sessions while the semi-finals and final are played over 4 sessions, the semi-finals being over 33 frames and the final 35 frames. For the first 12 days of the tournament two matches are played concurrently.
For the last 5 days (the semi-finals and final) only one table is used. Prior to 1997 the semi-finals were played over 31 frames. Occasionally the dates of the Championship are changed. In 1982 the Championship ended on Sunday 16 May while in 1985, 1990 and 1995 it ended on the last Sunday in April.
In each of these years the tournament started on a Friday. A number of changes to the qualifying system came into effect for the 2015 championship. All living world champions would be extended an opportunity to play in the qualifying rounds. The top 16 seeds would still qualify automatically for the first round at the Crucible, but all non-seeded players would have to start in the first of three qualifying rounds. Previously players seeded 17 to 32 only had to win one qualifying match to reach the final stages.
The overall championship would increase from 128 to 144 players, with the additional places made available to former world champions and players from emerging countries. Before 1982 there were a number of different formats used for the Championship. In 1980 and 1981, 24 players played in the final stages at the Crucible. The top 8 seeds had a bye in the first round while seeds 9 to 16 played in the first round against 8 qualifiers. From 1977 to 1979, the first three years at the Crucible, only 16 players reached the final stages, 8 seeds playing 8 qualifiers in the first round. Main article: Top performers of the modern era The 'modern' era is considered to start in, when the championship reverted to a format from a challenge format.
Snooker World Championship Winners
In the modern game, the best record is that of, who won seven times in the 1990s. Won six times in the 1980s, as did in the 1970s.
Bookmaker is the current sponsor Except for two championships played in Australia, all championships from 1969 to 2005 were sponsored by tobacco companies. In 1969 and 1970 the championship was sponsored by John Player under the brand. The sponsored under the brand Park Drive from 1972 to 1974, while from 1976 to 2005 sponsored under the brand.
Legislation in 2003 placed restrictions on tobacco advertising, including sponsorship of sporting events. Embassy received special dispensation to continue snooker sponsorship until 2005. Since 2006 all championships have been sponsored by betting companies.
In 2006 took over the sponsorship of the event, and they signed a five-year deal, but pulled out after just three years. Were the sponsor from 2009 to 2012, followed by in 2013, in 2014 and by Betfred again, from 2015 to 2017. Television coverage Before the world championship moved to the Crucible in 1977, TV coverage was very limited. In the 1950s, the occasionally showed snooker on television, including 30-minute programmes of the 1953 and 1955 finals, with commentary. Despite the launch of in 1969 there was little coverage of the World Championship. There was some coverage of the 1973, 1974 and 1976 championships in Manchester on one or two Saturday afternoon programmes each year. Commentary was.
TV coverage for the first Crucible championship in 1977 was increased but was limited to highlights of the semi-finals and some coverage of the final on Grandstand and a late night highlights programme. The commentator was Ted Lowe with the highlight programmes presented. The 1978 championship was the first to have daily BBC TV coverage with 14 nightly highlights programmes as well as Saturday afternoon coverage on Grandstand.
Ted Lowe commentated while the programmes were presented by and. In 1979, TV coverage was extended to include an early-evening 'Frame of the Day' as well as live coverage of parts of the final.
Was the presenter while the commentary team was extended to include and. In 1980, TV coverage included daily live coverage for the first time.
Coverage of the final was interrupted to bring live coverage of the. Continued to be the main host for TV coverage until 2000. For some years commentary was primarily by, and although, Vera Selby and others were used. In 1986, and were used as summarisers. From 2001–2009 the BBC coverage has been hosted.
Since 2010 has taken over with highlights presented by Rishi Persad. In February 2013, the BBC announced that Rishi Persad had been replaced.
Commentators included, and: however, the presence of the commentary team varies with all four events covered by the BBC. All the listed commentators are involved during the World Championships, but only Willie Thorne and Terry Griffiths commentate during the Welsh Open, as other Welsh players are used instead (such as Terry and Darren Morgan) in replacement of the other usual commentary team. Neal Foulds only ever commentates for the World Championship and is mostly present on Eurosport coverage instead. In January 2013, it was announced that the had renewed their contract to broadcast the tournaments up until the end of the 2016/2017 season.
Also provides coverage of the event, with ex-pro commentators, and. Often Eurosport cover both matches simultaneously on their two channels. Crucible curse. Dundee Courier. 13 November 1926. Retrieved 21 January 2016 – via.
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World Championship Snooker 2018
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