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.
World Snooker Championship a break of 99, missing out on his century after he snookered himself. There were five entries in 1933 including 47-year-old Willie Smith who entered for the first time and met Joe Davis in the final. Smith had won the World Billiards Championship twice. The match was played at Davis's own snooker hall in Chesterfield. The match was close until Davis pulled away in the later stages, as he often did, winning 25–18. There were just two entries in 1934, Davis being opposed by Tom Newman, six times World Billiards Champion. The match was held partly in Nottingham before finishing