2018 World Snooker Championship
Welsh left-hander Mark Williams won his third world championship and 21st ranking title, defeating Scottish professional John Higgins 18–16 in the final.In more modern times, the sport has transferred to being played worldwide, specifically in Asia, such as in China, Thailand and Hong Kong.[4] The world championship sees 32 professional players compete in one-on-one snooker matches in a single elimination format, each played over several frames.[9] As of 2022[update], Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan are the event's most successful participants in the modern era, having both won the championship seven times.The remaining fifteen seeds were allocated based on the latest world rankings (revision 10), which were released following the China Open, the penultimate event of the season.Five other former world championship finalists also competed: Matthew Stevens (twice: 2000 and 2005), Ali Carter (twice: 2008 and 2012), Judd Trump (once: 2011), Barry Hawkins (once: 2013), and Ding Junhui (once: 2016).[14] Marco Fu made his return to competition at the World Championship, having missed much of the 2017/2018 season after undergoing surgery to repair retinal degeneration and myodesopsia in his left eye.[15][16] Three former world champions participated in the qualifying rounds: Ken Doherty (1997), Peter Ebdon (2002) and Graeme Dott (2006).Also, three former world finalists participated in the qualifying rounds: Jimmy White (six times: 1984 and 1990–1994), Nigel Bond (once: 1995) and Matthew Stevens (twice: 2000 and 2005).[22] In the first round of qualifying, Liang Wenbo achieved his third professional maximum break, and his second of the 2017/2018 season, in the 10th frame of his match against Rod Lawler.Four players qualified for the Crucible for the first time: Lyu Haotian, Liam Highfield, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, and Chris Wakelin.[14] Players and spectators criticised the two-hour delay to the tournament's first-round draw, which was caused by "technical issues".[27] World number 22 Joe Perry called the draw "an absolute joke",[27] claiming the delay caused qualifiers to "have no idea when [they] are playing, have to book hotels and make travel plans".The biggest upset of the round happened in the opening match, when Joe Perry defeated the defending champion and world number 1 Mark Selby.Recovering from 4–8 behind against Judd Trump, debutant Chris Wakelin won four frames in a row, to draw level at 8–8.[42] The winners of the remaining matches of the round were Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins, and Ding Junhui.[47] Barry Hawkins defeated Lyu Haotian 13–10 in their second round match, to enter the quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive year.[51] Having defeated O'Sullivan on only one occasion from a total of seventeen attempts in the group stages of the non-ranking 2010 Championship League, Carter eventually triumphed 13–9 to advance to the quarter-finals.During a clearance in the penultimate frame, Wilson played a screw shot which jumped the cueball off the table, damaging the head of his cue tip.[54] Judd Trump defeated Ricky Walden 13–9, taking a late lead after the score drew level at 8–8 following the first two sessions.[57] The closest quarter-final was the last match, between John Higgins and Judd Trump, which was a rematch of the 2011 World Championship final.In the following frame, Higgins started on a maximum break, which had never been achieved in a World Championship final; he potted ten reds with blacks but could not complete the clearance.In the 34th frame, Williams held his nerve to make a match-winning break of 69, concluding the match at 18–16 and securing his third world title.[29][65][66] On winning the championship, Williams said "The turnaround in the past twelve months is something I cannot work out", after not having appeared in the competition in the previous season.[68] Williams' victory came fifteen years after his last world title in 2003; this was the longest span between two successive wins in the history of the tournament.[5] A total of 113 tour players (ranked outside the top 16, including Invitational Tour Card holders Ken Doherty and Jimmy White) were joined by 15 amateur players who had achieved success through the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) qualifying criteria.Among the 131 World Snooker Tour players, only Boonyarit Keattikun and Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn (both from Thailand) did not participate in the qualifying rounds or the main draw.
BetfredWorld Snooker ChampionshipCrucible TheatreSheffieldWorld SnookerRanking eventJohn HigginsMark WilliamssnookerWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association2017–18 snooker seasonBBC SportEurosportRonnie O'Sullivan2020 World Snooker ChampionshipRay ReardonMark SelbyJoe PerryJack LisowskiLiang Wenbomaximum break of 147cue sportBritish ArmyCommonwealthsingle eliminationCamkin's HallJoe DavisStephen HendryRonnie O’Sullivanprevious year's championship2017/2018 seasonWorld Snooker TourEnglish Institute of Sportworld rankingsseededChina Openwomen's world championEuropean junior championamateur championshipformer world championsShaun MurphyGraeme DottNeil RobertsonStuart BinghamSteve DavisMatthew StevensAli CarterJudd TrumpBarry HawkinsDing JunhuiLyu HaotianMarco FuretinalmyodesopsiaKen DohertyPeter EbdonJimmy WhiteNigel BondJackson Pagemaximum breakRod LawlerRyan DayStephen MaguireAdam DuffyLiam HighfieldThepchaiya Un-NoohChris WakelinJamie JonesRobert MilkinsbettingRicky WaldenLuca BrecelJimmy RobertsonAnthony McGillKyren WilsonMark AllenMasters championStuart CarringtonZhou YuelongXiao Guodong2012 World ChampionshipIndependent2010 Championship League2011 World Championshipnext seasonBrendan MooreScotlandBoonyarit KeattikunKritsanut LertsattayathornWSF ChampionshipLuo HonghaoAdam StefanówKristján HelgasonKacper FilipiakIgor Figueiredo2018 WLBS World Women's ChampionshipNg On-yee2018 EBSA European ChampionshipHarvey ChandlerJordan Brown2018 EBSA European Under-21 ChampionshipTyler Rees2018 EBSA European Under-18 ChampionshipJamie Cope2018 World Seniors ChampionshipReanne EvansMitchell MannPeter LinesRobbie WilliamsJak JonesJames WattanaIan PreeceDaniel WellsKurt DunhamTom FordLeo FernandezChen ZheMatthew SeltMark JoyceMei XiwenBasem EltahhanChris TottenBen WoollastonZhang AndaZhang YongMartin Gould