2002 World Snooker Championship 2002 World Snooker Championship The 2002 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 20 April and 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he lost in the semi-finals 13 frames to 17 against Stephen Hendry and became another first time champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first World title. Peter Ebdon won his only world title by defeating seven-time World Champion Hendry 18–17
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