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 to win the World Snooker Championship all won a championship in their 40s, the last of which was Reardon. It was forty years until another player in their 40s would win the title, when Mark Williams achieved the feat aged 43 in 2018. The 1979 championship was won by Terry Griffiths. Griffiths had only been a professional for 7 months and played two qualifying matches to reach the Crucible. In the semi-final Griffiths was trailing 16–17 to Eddie Charlton, before winning 19–17 at 1.40 am, and then beat Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the final, winning the record first prize of