World Snooker
Professional snooker players can compete on the world snooker tour, amassing ranking points.
Each player who competes on the tour earns points from their performances over the last two seasons, and those points then determine that player’s current world ranking.
A player''s ranking determines if they need to qualify for ranking tournaments.
The Top 16 ranked players, automatically qualify for most of the major tournaments.
The world championships are the pinnacle of modern day snooker.
The first ever Snooker Championship was held in 1927 and it was the legendary Joe Davies who from that year until the mid 1940''s was the man to beat, winning 15 titles on his way.
This could have been more of course without the interruption of the 2nd world war.
That record of 15 titles still stands today, Joe’s brother Fred Davies then took over, winning the competition three times in late 1940's.
The game changed in the forthcoming years and was run by two governing bodies.
Two tournaments were held the forthcoming years, and for a period after that Snooker went into a decline, the decline started in the 1950''s and that period lasted for over 10 years.
During this time, challenge matches were arranged, these challenge matches were completely dominated by John Pulman who won them 7 times in a row during 1964 -1968
Snooker was back in 1969 that was year John Spencer won the event, but it was the legendary Welshman "Ray Reardon" who dominated the seventies winning six times.
1977 was a pivotal year in snooker, and the world championship moved to Sheffield in the UK.
and the world famous "Crucible Theatre" the event was known for years as the Embassy World Championship, and was televised by the BBC.
"The Crucible" is footballs answer to Wembley, and although there has been much talk of the competition being moved to china, and the Far East, the world snooker governing body has agreed to extend the contract at the crucible for a further 5 years until 2014
From then the game grew world wide and thanks to the TV, sponsorship and some fantastic players, none other than Steve Davis or "The Nugget" as his is also known.
Although Steve Davis dominated the eighties winning six titles, Its was the Scotsman Stephen Hendry who then dominated the nineties winning seven titles.
Since those days the game has become very open, being won by six different winners of the event since the turn of the millennium.
History shows that the game has been dominated by the British, but we are now seeing the game develop overseas, mainly in the Far East.
The World Snooker Championship, currently held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, 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.
| 1927 Joe Davis | bt Tom Dennis |
| 1928 Joe Davis | bt Fred Lawrence |
| 1929 Joe Davis | bt Tom Dennis |
| 1930 Joe Davis | bt Tom Dennis |
| 1931 Joe Davis | bt Tom Dennis |
| 1932 Joe Davis | bt Clark McConachy |
| 1933 Joe Davis | bt Willie Smith |
| 1934 Joe Davis | bt Tom Newman |
| 1935 Joe Davis | bt Willie Smith |
| 1936 Joe Davis | bt Horace Lindrum |
| 1937 Joe Davis | bt Horace Lindrum |
| 1938 Joe Davis | bt Sidney Smith |
| 1939 Joe Davis | bt Sidney Smith |
| 1940 Joe Davis | bt Fred Davis |
| 1941-1945 no tournament was held due to the 2nd world war |
|
| 1946 Joe Davis | bt Horace Lindrum |
| 1947 Walter Donaldson | bt Fred Davis |
| 1948 Fred Davis | bt Walter Donaldson |
| 1949 Fred Davis | bt Walter Donaldson |
| 1950 Walter Donaldson | bt Fred Davis |
| 1951 Fred Davis | bt Walter Donaldson |
| 1952 Horace Lindrum | bt Clark McConachy |
| 1953-1969 Snooker was in decline so challenge matches were arranged. |
|
| Challenge matches | |
| 1964 John Pulman | bt Fred Davis |
| 1964 John Pulman | bt Rex Williams |
| 1965 John Pulman | bt Fred Davis |
| 1965 John Pulman | bt Rex Williams |
| 1965 John Pulman | bt Fred Van Rensburg |
| 1966 John Pulman | bt Fred Davis |
| 1968 John Pulman | bt Eddie Charlton |
| World championship | |
| 1969 John Spencer | bt Gary Owen |
| 1970 Ray Reardon | bt John Pulman |
| 1971 John Spencer | bt Warren Simpson |
| 1972 Alex Higgins | bt John Spencer |
| 1973 Ray Reardon | bt Eddie Charlton |
| 1974 Ray Reardon | bt Graham Miles |
| 1975 Ray Reardon | bt Eddie Charlton |
| 1976 Ray Reardon | bt Alex Higgins |
| 1977 John Spencer | bt Cliff Thorburn |
| 1978 Ray Reardon | bt Perrie Mans |
| 1979 Terry Griffiths | bt Dennis Taylor |
| 1980 Cliff Thorburn | bt Alex Higgins |
| 1981 Steve Davis | bt Doug Mountjoy |
| 1982 Alex Higgins | bt Ray Reardon |
| 1983 Steve Davis | bt Cliff Thorburn |
| 1984 Steve Davis | bt Jimmy White |
| 1985 Dennis Taylor | bt Steve Davis |
| 1986 Joe Johnson | bt Steve Davis |
| 1987 Steve Davis | bt Joe Johnson |
| 1988 Steve Davis | bt Terry Griffiths |
| 1989 Steve Davis | bt John Parrott |
| 1990 Stephen Hendry | bt Jimmy White |
| 1991 John Parrott | bt Jimmy White |
| 1992 Stephen Hendry | bt Jimmy White |
| 1993 Stephen Hendry | bt Jimmy White |
| 1994 Stephen Hendry | bt Jimmy White |
| 1995 Stephen Hendry | bt Nigel Bond |
| 1996 Stephen Hendry | bt Peter Ebdon |
| 1997 Ken Doherty | bt Stephen Hendry |
| 1998 John Higgins | bt Ken Doherty |
| 1999 Stephen Hendry | bt Mark Williams |
| 2000 Mark Williams | bt Matthew Stevens |
| 2001 Ronnie O''Sullivan | bt John Higgins |
| 2002 Peter Ebdon | bt Stephen Hendry |
| 2003 Mark Williams | bt Ken Doherty |
| 2004 Ronnie O''Sullivan | bt Graeme Dott |
| 2005 Shaun Murphy | bt Matthew Stevens |
| 2006 Graeme Dott | bt Peter Ebdon |
| 2007 John Higgins | bt Mark Selby |
| 2008 Ronnie O''Sullivan | bt Ali Carter |
| 2009 John Higgins | bt Shaun Murphy |
Note: Mastercraft Cues accept no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
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