The World Snooker Championship is an annual snooker tournament founded in 1927, and played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England since 1977. The tournament is now played over seventeen days in late April and early May, and is chronologically the third of the three Triple Crown events of the season. The event was not held from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II and between 1958 and 1963 due to declining interest from players.
As of 2021 the governing body that organises this event is the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). Prior to the WPBSA assuming control of the professional game in 1968, the world championship was organised by the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC), except for between 1952 and 1957 when the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) staged their own event, the World Professional Match-play Championship, following a dispute with the BACC.
As of 2024, 28 players have won the World Snooker Championship. The most successful player at the World Snooker Championship is Joe Davis, who won fifteen consecutive titles between 1927 and 1946. The record in the modern era, usually dated from the reintroduction in 1969 of a knock-out tournament format, rather than a challenge format, is shared by Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan, both having won the title seven times.
Champions
Main articles: World Snooker Championship and World Professional Match-play Championship| Format | Organiser |
|---|---|
| Knockout tournament () | BACC |
| Challenge event with defending champion receiving a bye to the final (*) | BACC |
| World Professional Match-play Championship (◊) | PBPA |
| Challenge matches (‡) | BACC |
| Knockout tournament | WPBSA |
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Multiple champions
| ‡ | Challenge match |
| * | World Professional Match-play Championship |
| ¤ | Player competed in 2024 |
| † | Date of death |
| Player | Total | Years | Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Joe Davis (ENG)
|
15 | 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946 |
†10 July 1978 | |
| Fred Davis (ENG)
|
8 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952*, 1953*, 1954*, 1955*, 1956* | †16 April 1998 | |
| John Pulman (ENG)
|
1957*, 1964‡, 1964‡, 1965‡, 1965‡, 1965‡, 1966‡, 1968‡ | †25 December 1998 | ||
 Stephen Hendry (SCO)
|
7 | 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999 | Active | |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
|
2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022 | ¤ | ||
 Ray Reardon (WAL)
|
6 | 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978 | †19 July 2024 | |
| Steve Davis (ENG)
|
1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989 | retired | ||
| John Higgins (SCO)
|
4 | 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011 | ¤ | |
| Mark Selby (ENG)
|
2014, 2016, 2017, 2021 | ¤ | ||
| John Spencer (ENG)
|
3 | 1969, 1971, 1977 | †11 July 2006 | |
| Mark Williams (WAL)
|
2000, 2003, 2018 | ¤ | ||
| Walter Donaldson (SCO)
|
2 | 1947, 1950 | †24 May 1973 | |
 Alex Higgins (NIR)
|
1972, 1982 | †24 July 2010 |
Notes
- Due to World War II
- Due to a disagreement with the Billiards Association and Control Club and the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA), Lindrum and McConachy were the only players to compete, with most professional players playing in the World Professional Match-play Championship instead. As a result, Lindrum's title win is sometimes ignored, with Cliff Thorburn (CAN), Ken Doherty (IRL), Neil Robertson (AUS) and Luca Brecel (BEL) usually regarded as the only non-United Kingdom winners.
- Due to a lack of interest there was no championship organised between 1958 and 1963. In 1964, it was agreed between the Professional Billiard Players Association and the BACC that the championship would be contested by having the reigning champion play in challenge matches. There were seven such challenge matches between 1964 and 1968, until knockout competition resumed with the 1969 Championship. The agreement in 1964 was that there should be a stake by both parties of £50 (equivalent to earnings of £2,000 in 2021), that matches could be of any duration agreed by both participants, and that the challenger would be responsible for finding a suitable venue.
- ^ The title was decided over a series of matches rather than frames.
- Some sources give the score as 37–32. The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History (2004) says "Higgins triumphed 37-31 (not 37-32 as so many publications have wrongly printed)"
References
- ^ Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-85112-448-3.
- "World Snooker Title". The Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1952. p. 2. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Seventh title for Hendry". BBC News. 4 May 1999. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- "O'Sullivan one frame from seventh world title - video & text". BBC Sport. 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- "World Championship – Roll of Honour". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- "Hall of Fame". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "History of the World Snooker Championship". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ "Embassy World Championship". snookerscene.co.uk. Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- Officer, Lawrence H. "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present". MeasuringWorth. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- "Professional Snooker". Billiards and Snooker. the Billiards Association and Control Council. January 1964. p. 13.
- Everton, Clive (1981). Guinness Book of Snooker. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-85112-230-4.
- "Snooker: Higgins makes final flourish". The Times. 28 February 1972. p. 7.
- Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Rose Villa Publications. p. 8. ISBN 978-0954854904.
- "Betfred World Championship (2021)". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- Hale, Janice (1987). Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987–88. Aylesbury: Queen Anne Press. pp. 246–249. ISBN 978-0-356-14690-4.
- Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. London: Hamlyn Publishing Group. pp. 27–30. ISBN 978-0-600-55604-6.
- ^ Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
- "Ronnie O'Sullivan wins seventh World Snooker title and becomes oldest champion in history". skynews.com. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- "Ray Reardon". wst.tv. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- "Snooker legend Ray Reardon dies". Sky News. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- "1989: Davis makes it six". BBC Sport. 12 April 2002. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- Ashenden, Mark (2 May 2011). "Higgins beats Trump to win title". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2 May 2011
- Hincks, Michael (4 May 2021). "World Snooker Championship 2021 – Mark Selby wins fourth Crucible title with win over Shaun Murphy". Eurosport. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- "Then and Now: John Spencer". Eurosport. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- Hafez, Shamoon (7 May 2018). "Williams wins world title for third time". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- Rawling, John (25 July 2010). "Alex Higgins obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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