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.[1]
As of 2023, 27 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.[3][4]
^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.[8]
^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.[1] The agreement in 1964 was that there should be a
stake by both parties of £50 (equivalent to earnings of £2,000 in 2021[11]), that matches could be of any duration agreed by both participants, and that the challenger would be responsible for finding a suitable venue.[12]
^
abThe title was decided over a series of matches rather than frames.[13]
^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)"[15]
References
^
abEverton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 55–56.
ISBN978-0-85112-448-3.
^"World Snooker Title". The Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1952. p. 2.
Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
^"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.
ISBN978-0-85112-230-4.
^"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.
ISBN978-0954854904.
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.[1]
As of 2023, 27 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.[3][4]
^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.[8]
^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.[1] The agreement in 1964 was that there should be a
stake by both parties of £50 (equivalent to earnings of £2,000 in 2021[11]), that matches could be of any duration agreed by both participants, and that the challenger would be responsible for finding a suitable venue.[12]
^
abThe title was decided over a series of matches rather than frames.[13]
^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)"[15]
References
^
abEverton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 55–56.
ISBN978-0-85112-448-3.
^"World Snooker Title". The Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1952. p. 2.
Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
^"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.
ISBN978-0-85112-230-4.
^"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.
ISBN978-0954854904.