World Snooker Championship

annual professional snooker ranking tournament

The World Snooker Championship is the leading snooker event both in terms of prestige and prize money. The first event was held in 1927 and was won by Joe Davis. Davis won the first 15 championships before retiring from the event, after his 1946 win. 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 1969 the championship became a knock-out event again.

World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
VenueCrucible Theatre
(since 1977)
LocationSheffield
CountryEngland
Established1927
Organisation(s)World Snooker Association
FormatRanking event
Total prize fundGB £2,260,000
Recent edition2023
Current champion(s)England Kyren Wilson

Since 1977 it has been played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament is currently played over 17 days and ends on the first Monday in May. Since 1969 (the modern era), Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have won the event most (seven times). Kyren Wilson is the most recent winner. He beat Jak Jones in the 2024 final.

Winners

Top performers of the modern era

The 'modern' era is considered to start in 1969, when the championship returned to a knock-out tournament from a challenge format. In the modern game, the best record is that of Stephen Hendry, who won seven times in the 1990s. Steve Davis won six times in the 1980s, as did Ray Reardon in the 1970s.[1][2][3][4][5]

NameNationalityWinnerRunner-upSemi-final

or better
147sAppearancesWinrate
Stephen Hendry  Scotland721232725.9%
Steve Davis  England621103020.0%
Ray Reardon  Wales611001931.6%
Ronnie O'Sullivan  England511132718.5%
John Higgins  Scotland441002516.0%
Mark Williams  Wales31612114.2%
John Spencer  England31601816.7%
Mark Selby  England31501520.0%
Alex Higgins  Northern Ireland22701910.5%
Cliff Thorburn  Canada1261195.3%
Peter Ebdon  England1240244.2%
Shaun Murphy  England1240175.8%
Ken Doherty  Ireland1230195.3%
Graeme Dott  Scotland1230205.0%
Dennis Taylor  Northern Ireland1150214.8%
Judd Trump  England11401010.0%
Terry Griffiths  Wales1130195.3%
John Parrott  England1130234.3%
Joe Johnson  England1120812.5%
Neil Robertson  Australia1030156.6%
Stuart Bingham  England1010137.6%
Jimmy White  England06101250%
Eddie Charlton  Australia0280210%
Matthew Stevens  Wales0260160%
Ali Carter  England0231170%
Barry Hawkins  England0150140%
Ding Junhui  China0130130%
Nigel Bond  England0120150%
Perrie Mans  South Africa0120130%
Gary Owen  Wales012070%
John Pulman  England0120110%
Graham Miles  England0110120%
Doug Mountjoy  Wales0110170%
Warren Simpson  Australia011040%
  • Active players are shown in bold.
  • Only players who reached the final are included.

References

Other websites