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.
1981 World Snooker Championship 1981 World Snooker Championship The 1981 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 6 and 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Steve Davis won in the final 18–12 against Doug Mountjoy. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: Numbers in (parentheses) indicate seedings. Sources: There were 13 century breaks in the championship, equalling the record from 1979. Mountjoy meanwhile made a record at the World Championship