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Crucible maximum breaks
The first 147 at the World Championship was achieved by Canada's 'Grinder' Cliff Thorburn in 1983 while Jimmy White (1992), Stephen Hendry (1995, 2009, 2012), Ronnie O'Sullivan (1997, 2003, 2008), Mark Williams (2005), Ali Carter (2008), John Higgins (2020), Kyren Wilson (2023) and Mark Selby (2023 final) are the others to managed Crucible maximums.
O'Sullivan's effort in 1997 against Mick Price, timed at five minutes 20 seconds, is the fastest ever recorded in the professional game.
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World Championship: Most titles overall
- Joe Davis - 15
- Fred Davis - 8
- John Pulman - 8
- Stephen Hendry - 7
- Ronnie O'Sullivan - 7
- Steve Davis - 6
- Ray Reardon - 6
- John Higgins - 4
- Mark Selby - 4
- John Spencer - 3
- Mark Williams - 3
- Alex Higgins - 2
- Walter Donaldson - 2
- Horace Lindrum - 1
- Cliff Thorburn - 1
- Terry Griffiths - 1
- Dennis Taylor - 1
- Joe Johnson - 1
- John Parrott - 1
- Ken Doherty - 1
- Peter Ebdon - 1
- Shaun Murphy - 1
- Graeme Dott - 1
- Neil Robertson - 1
- Stuart Bingham - 1
- Judd Trump - 1
World Championship finals
1927-1952 Early years, knockout format
- 1927 - Joe Davis 20-11 Tom Dennis
- 1928 - Joe Davis 16-13 Fred Lawrence
- 1929 - Joe Davis 19-14 Tom Dennis
- 1930 - Joe Davis 25-12 Tom Dennis
- 1931 - Joe Davis 25-21 Tom Dennis
- 1932 - Joe Davis 30-19 Clark MCConachy
- 1933 - Joe Davis 25-18 Willie Smith
- 1934 - Joe Davis 25-22 Tom Newman
- 1935 - Joe Davis 25-20 Willie Smith
- 1936 - Joe Davis 34-27 Horace Lindrum
- 1937 - Joe Davis 32-29 Horace Lindrum
- 1938 - Joe Davis 37-24 Sidney Smith
- 1939 - Joe Davis 43-30 Sidney Smith
- 1940 - Joe Davis 37-36 Fred Davis
- 1946 - Joe Davis 78-67 Horace Lindrum
- 1947 - Walter Donaldson 82-63 Fred Davis
- 1948 - Fred Davis 84-61 Walter Donaldson
- 1949 - Fred Davis 80-65 Walter Donaldson
- 1950 - Walter Donaldson 51-46 Fred Davis
- 1951 - Fred Davis 58-39 Walter Donaldson
- 1952 - Horace Lindrum 94-49 Clark McConachy
1952-1957 Professional Matchplay Championship
- 1952 - Fred Davis 38-35 Walter Donaldson
- 1953 - Fred Davis 37-34 Walter Donaldson
- 1954 - Fred Davis 45-26 Walter Donaldson
- 1955 - Fred Davis 37-34 John Pulman
- 1956 - Fred Davis 38-35 John Pulman
- 1957 - John Pulman 39-34 Jackie Rea
1964-1968 Challenge Match era
- 1964 - John Pulman 19-16 Fred Davis
- 1964 - John Pulman 40-33 Rex Williams
- 1965 - John Pulman 37-36 Fred Davis
- 1965 - John Pulman 25-22 Rex Williams
- 1965 - John Pulman 39-12 Fred van Rensburg
- 1966 - John Pulman 5-2 Fred Davis
- 1968 - John Pulman 39-34 Eddie Charlton
1969-onwards knockout tournament
- 1969 - John Spencer 37-24 Gary Owen
- 1970 - Ray Reardon 37-33 John Pulman
- 1971 - John Spencer 37-29 Warren Simpson
- 1972 - Alex Higgins 37-32 John Spencer
- 1973 - Ray Reardon 38-32 Eddie Charlton
- 1974 - Ray Reardon 22-12 Graham Miles
- 1975 - Ray Reardon 31-30 Eddie Charlton
- 1976 - Ray Reardon 27-16 Alex Higgins
- 1977 - John Spencer 25-21 Cliff Thorburn
- 1978 - Ray Reardon 25-18 Perrie Mans
- 1979 - Terry Griffiths 24-16 Dennis Taylor
- 1980 - Cliff Thorburn 18-16 Alex Higgins
- 1981 - Steve Davis 18-12 Doug Mountjoy
- 1982 - Alex Higgins 18-15 Ray Reardon
- 1983 - Steve Davis 18-16 Cliff Thorburn
- 1984 - Steve Davis 18-16 Jimmy White
- 1985 - Dennis Taylor 18-17 Steve Davis
- 1986- Joe Johnson 18-12 Steve Davis
- 1987 - Steve Davis 18-14 Joe Johnson
- 1988 - Steve Davis 18-11 Terry Griffiths
- 1989 - Steve Davis 18-3 John Parrott
- 1990 - Stephen Hendry 18-12 Jimmy White
- 1991 - John Parrott 18-11 Jimmy White
- 1992 - Stephen Hendry 18-14 Jimmy White
- 1993 - Stephen Hendry 18-5 Jimmy White
- 1994 - Stephen Hendry 18-17 Jimmy White
- 1995 - Stephen Hendry 18-9 Nigel Bond
- 1996 - Stephen Hendry 18-12 Peter Ebdon
- 1997 - Ken Doherty 18-12 Stephen Hendry
- 1998 - John Higgins 18-12 Ken Doherty
- 1999 - Stephen Hendry 18-11 Mark Williams
- 2000 - Mark Williams 18-16 Matthew Stevens
- 2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-14 John Higgins
- 2002 - Peter Ebdon 18-17 Stephen Hendry
- 2003 - Mark Williams 18-16 Ken Doherty
- 2004 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-8 Graeme Dott
- 2005 - Shaun Murphy 18-16 Matthew Stevens
- 2006 - Graeme Dott 18-14 Peter Ebdon
- 2007 - John Higgins 18-13 Mark Selby
- 2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-8 Ali Carter
- 2009 - John Higgins 18-9 Shaun Murphy
- 2010 - Neil Robertson 18-13 Graeme Dott
- 2011 - John Higgins 18-15 Judd Trump
- 2012 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-11 Ali Carter
- 2013 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-12 Barry Hawkins
- 2014 - Mark Selby 18-15 Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2015 - Stuart Bingham 18-15 Shaun Murphy
- 2016 - Mark Selby 18-14 Ding Junhui
- 2017 - Mark Selby 18-15 John Higgins
- 2018 - Mark Williams 18-16 John Higgins
- 2019 - Judd Trump 18-9 John Higgins
- 2020 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-8 Kyren Wilson
- 2021 - Mark Selby 18-15 Shaun Murphy
- 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-13 Judd Trump
- 2023 - Luca Brecel 18-15 Mark Selby
World Championship history
The World Championship is snooker's most prestigious tournaments in the calendar and also the leading event to bet on among the sport's punters.
Taking place at Sheffield's world famous Crucible Theatre around April and May every year, except in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic forced its delay until August, the World Championship provides the climax to every snooker season and is the title all players dream of winning throughout their careers.
It is also the cornerstone of snooker's Triple Crown, which also includes the UK Championship and the Masters, and any player winning all three tournaments during their careers becomes an undisputed legend of the sport.
The World Championship, which was first held way back in 1927 when the legendary Joe Davis won the first of his record 15 crowns, has seen a number of repeat winners over the years such as Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan who have all helped snooker punters beat the bookies on many occasions.
However, the heavily backed crowd favourite Jimmy White was a beaten finalist on no fewer than six occasions - including five in a row between 1990 and 1994 - much to the bookies' relief!
While 'Rocket' Ronnie O'Sullivan's seven world titles and three much-celebrated 147 Crucible breaks have brought much cheer to snooker fans in more recent times, the highly unexpected triumph of journeyman pro Stuart Bingham in 2014 was a real fairytale story that ranks closely behind the shock underdog victories that Dennis Taylor, in the 'Black Ball final of 1985', and Joe Johnson enjoyed over Steve Davis in the 1980s.
Mark Williams rolling back the years to win his third world title in 2018 also brought the house down, especially when deciding to fulfil his promise to strip naked for the post-match interviews!
A year later and there was less drama, as Judd Trump produced one of the most impressive displays in memory to thrash John Higgins, before O'Sullivan clinched a sixth title in 2020's summer renewal.
Then, in 2021, Mark Selby recovered from a heartbreaking semi-final defeat to O'Sullivan the previous year to win his fourth world title, moving alongside Higgins on the all-time list.
O'Sullivan went on to win his seventh World Championship in 2022, beating Trump 18-13 in the final, while Luca Brecel overcame maximum man Mark Selby 12 months later.
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