'97 Review
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World Snooker C'ship
Embassy World Championship [ About the Championship ] [ 1997 Result ] [ Snooker Index ]
When it comes to snooker the World Championship is something very special. No other tournament approaches the prestige and importance of this traditional event
Mar 20 - 21 Embassy Final Qualifiers Telford International Centre, England
Apr 18 - May 4 Embassy World Championship Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England
Links
The Crucible
Tel. 0114 276 9922
Professional Snooker Tournaments
History of the event
The first Championship was held in 1927. It was won by Joe Davis who won it every subsequent year until 1946 - a total of 15 times! It became the Professional Matchplay Championship in 1952 and the World Professional Championship in 1964. At that time it was a challenge contest. The knock-out system was introduced in 1974.
Joe Davis is still king of the tournament with his 15 wins. Fred Davis won it 8 times and Ray Reardon, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry have each won it 6 times. Cliff Thorburn is the only non British player to capture the title, winning in 1980. Cliff Thorburn, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the only players to make 147 maximum breaks at the Crucible Theatre, the home of the championship since 1977
Previous Winners (since 1977)
| 1977 | John Spencer |
| 1978 | Ray Reardon |
| 1979 | Terry Griffiths |
| 1980 | Cliff Thorburn |
| 1981 | Steve Davis |
| 1982 | Alex Higgins |
| 1983/4 | Steve Davis |
| 1985 | Dennis Taylor |
| 1986 | Joe Johnson |
| 1987/8/9 | Steve Davis |
| 1990 | Stephen Hendry |
| 1991/2/3/4/5/6 | Stephen Hendry |
| 1997 | Ken Doherty |
The Championships have been held at The Crucible, Sheffield since 1977.
Prior to the Championships, there are a number of qualifying rounds spread out over several months. 32 Finalists go forward to the Championships.
The Rounds
There are two rounds followed by quarter finals, semi finals and the final
Round 1: 32 players
Round 2: 16 players
Quarters: 8 players
Semis: 4 players
Final: 2 players
Ken Doherty won his first title beating Stephen Hendry 18-12 in the Final. It was Hendry's first loss since 1991.
[ About the Championship ] [ 1997 Result ] [ Snooker Index ]