World Snooker Championship - General Records and Statistics

General Records and Statistics

• The greatest number of wins of all time is fifteen by Joe Davis. This was in an era when there were few professional players and far fewer matches required to win.
• The first maximum break in the championship was achieved by Cliff Thorburn in 1983. Ronnie O'Sullivan (1997, 2003, 2008) and Stephen Hendry (1995, 2009, 2012) are the only players to achieve the feat more than once. Jimmy White (1992), Mark Williams (2005) and Ali Carter (2008) are the other players to have made a maximum break at the World Championship.
• O'Sullivan's maximum in 1997 was, at 5 minutes 20 seconds, the fastest ever recorded in the professional game.
• The 2008 event was the first ranking tournament to produce two 147 breaks in the latter stages. They were scored by Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter.
• Fergal O'Brien is the only player to score a century in his first frame at the Crucible, which he did in 1994.
• The longest ever frame at the Crucible lasted 1 hour, 15 minutes, and was played between Stephen Maguire and Mark King in 2009.
• Luca Brecel was the youngest ever player to reach the final tournament in 2012 at the age of 17 years and 35 days. He was also the youngest player to score a century break (116).
• Stephen Hendry was the youngest ever champion when he won in 1990 at the age of 21 years and 106 days.
• In the 2009 event, Stephen Hendry won his 1000th frame at the Crucible Theatre, against Ding Junhui.
• There have only ever been four champions from outside the United Kingdom: Horace Lindrum of Australia in 1952; Cliff Thorburn of Canada in 1980; Ken Doherty of Ireland in 1997 and Neil Robertson of Australia in 2010. Lindrum's official title is often discounted, as most of the best players did not compete.
• Surprise winners 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 came in only his second professional tournament.
• Jimmy White has reached six finals, but has never won. The closest he came was 17–18 in 1994 against Stephen Hendry, on his 32nd birthday.
• Ronnie O'Sullivan is the only multiple finalist in the modern era to have never lost in a final.
• Ken Doherty is the only player to have won the world title at junior, amateur and professional level.
• Stephen Hendry holds the record for the longest unbeaten run at the Crucible Theatre. He won the Championship every year between 1992 and 1996, and continued unbeaten until the 1997 final.
• John Parrott is the only player to have recorded a whitewash in the final tournament. He beat Eddie Charlton 10–0 in the first round in 1992.
• Since the tournament has been held at the Crucible only two players have successfully defended the world title: Steve Davis in 1984, 1988 and 1989, and Stephen Hendry from 1993 to 1996. No player has successfully defended his first title at the Crucible, a fact known as the Crucible curse.