2000 World Snooker Championship 2000 World Snooker Championship The 2000 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2000 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 15 April and 1 May 2000 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Stephen Hendry was the defending champion, but he lost in the first round 7–10 against Stuart Bingham. Mark Williams won his first World title by defeating fellow Welsh player Matthew Stevens 18–16 in the final. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown
2016 World Snooker Championship unable to defend his title at the venue. During the tournament, six-time world champion Steve Davis played the last professional match of his 38-year career against Fergal O'Brien in the qualifiers; he announced his retirement a week later on live BBC television. Ding Junhui and Alan McManus set a new record in their semifinal for the most century breaks achieved in a professional match (10), with Ding also setting a new record for the most centuries by one player in a world championship match (7). In defeating McManus, Ding became the first Asian player ever to reach a World Championship