World Snooker Championship successive title. There were 48 century breaks during the final stages, a new record. In the first round of 1997 championship Ronnie O'Sullivan made the fastest maximum break in snooker history, taking just 5 minutes and 20 seconds. The final was between Stephen Hendry and Irishman Ken Doherty. Doherty led 15–7 before Hendry won 5 frames in a row. Doherty then won the next three frames to win 18–12, ending Hendry's winning run of 29 consecutive matches. Stephen Hendry lost to Jimmy White in the first round of the 1998 championship. Doherty reached the final again meeting 22-year-old John Higgins.
1952 World Snooker Championship 1952 World Snooker Championship The 1952 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held between Monday 25 February and Saturday 8 March 1952 at the Houldsworth Hall in Manchester, England. There were only two entrants, Australian Horace Lindrum and New Zealander Clark McConachy, following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC). The BACC thought the championship was primarily about honour, and financial consideration should come second. The PBPA established an alternative 'world championship' called the PBPA Snooker Championship. Lindrum won the 145-frame match comfortably, taking a winning 73–37 lead early