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.
Women's World Snooker Championship has won the title eleven times. The 2017 championship was held in Toa Payoh, Singapore; the first time since 1995 that it had been held outside of the UK. Women's World Snooker Championship The Women's World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in women's snooker. The first championship was held in 1976. From 1998 to 2003 the championship was sponsored by Embassy, with the final taking place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield during the main world championship, but following the restrictions on tobacco advertising in 2003, WPBSA ceased support for the tournament in 2004 and the event