The final took place during the eighth year of the BBC's daily coverage of the championship, and climaxed in the early hours of Monday 29 April. It was viewed by 18.5 million people in the United Kingdom, which as of 2021 remains a record viewing figure for BBC2, and as of 2020 is still the record for a post-midnight audience for any British television channel. The total match time of 14 hours and 50 minutes is the longest ever recorded for a best-of-35 frames match.