1996 World Snooker Championship tournament, one short of his record of 12 set the previous year. 1996 World Snooker Championship The 1996 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1996 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 20 April–6 May 1996 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Stephen Hendry won his sixth World Championship by defeating Peter Ebdon 18-12 equalling the modern day record of Steve Davis and Ray Reardon. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. Legendary BBC commentator Ted Lowe retired after the conclusion of the final.
1972 World Snooker Championship 1972 World Snooker Championship The 1972 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1972 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972. In a preliminary competition the eight qualifiers were reduced to two, and they joined the eight other entrants in the competition proper. Those in the qualifying section included Alex Higgins, who became the first champion who played qualifying matches, and four former amateur champions, Ron Gross, Maurice Parkin, Pat Houlihan and Geoff Thompson. This was the first time the event was sponsored by Park