World Snooker Championship played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament is currently played over 17 days and ends on the first Monday in May. In the modern era (since 1969), the best record is that of Stephen Hendry, who won the title seven times. Steve Davis and Ray Reardon both won six times while Ronnie O'Sullivan has won five titles. The current champion is Mark Williams, who has won the tournament three times. The first championship was held in 1927 and was called the Professional Snooker Championship. It was the first important professional snooker tournament although the English Amateur Championship
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