World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points.

Trivia

• The greatest number of wins is fifteen, by Joe Davis. This was in an era when there were few professional players, and is unlikely to be beaten. In the modern game, the best record is that of Stephen Hendry, who has won seven times to date. Steve Davis won six times in the 1980s.
• The first 147 in the championship was achieved by Cliff Thorburn in 1983.
• Stephen Hendry was the youngest ever champion when he won in 1990 aged 21.
• Cliff Thorburn of Canada, who won in 1980 and Ken Doherty of Ireland, who won in 1997 are the only two champions from outside the United Kingdom.
• Surprising wins at The Crucible include Joe Johnson and Shaun Murphy, who won in 1986 and 2005 respectively against odds of 150-1 each, and Terry Griffiths, whose 1979 victory was only his second professional tournament.
• Jimmy White has reached six finals, but never won. The closest he got was 18-17 in 1994 against Stephen Hendry.

Betting

• bestbetting.com - compilation of latest betting companies odds