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.
1979 World Snooker Championship for compiling a higher break than the championship record of 142. 1979 World Snooker Championship The 1979 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1979 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship purposes) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 16 and 28 April 1979 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Terry Griffiths won in the final 24–16 against Dennis Taylor. 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: Source: There were 13 century breaks at the championship, the highest