1997 World Snooker Championship 1997 World Snooker Championship The 1997 World Snooker Championship (akso referred to as the 1997 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 April – 5 May 1997 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Ken Doherty won his only World title by defeating defending champion Stephen Hendry 18–12 in the final. Doherty also became the first snooker player to win the World Championship at junior, amateur and professional level. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown
World Snooker Championship about his ability. Lindrum won the championship easily, reaching a winning 73–37 position early on the 10th day, becoming the first non-British player to win the World Championship. Having boycotted the official championship, the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) established their own championship called the PBPA Snooker Championship which attracted 10 entries. The entries did not include Joe Davis, who chose not to enter the new tournament. Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson were given byes to the semi-final stage. They both reached the final again, although Donaldson had a close match against Albert Brown. The final was over 73 frames