The highest level of snooker competition - Snooker World Championship

The annual World Snooker Championship, held in 1927 under the organization of legendary snooker players such as Joe Davis, is considered the highest level of snooker competition in terms of influence, prize size, and professional ranking points.
The venue of the Snooker World Championship has changed multiple times, and the current venue is the Krusty Theatre. The final of the 1927 World Snooker Championships was held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham. In the final, Joe Davis defeated Tom Dennis 20-11 to win the championship and received a prize money of £ 6.10 (now around £ 200). And Albert Cope scored the highest single shot score of 60 points in that competition. Afterwards, Joe Davis monopolized the championship. But in the 1940 final, he narrowly defeated his compatriot brother Fred Davis by a margin of 37-36.
Afterwards, due to the Second World War, the World Championships were temporarily interrupted and only resumed in 1946. In that competition, Joe Davis won his 15th World Championship championship. This record remains unmatched to this day. Although Joe Davis later participated in professional competitions, he never participated in the World Championships again. Later, some speculated that he was trying to maintain his unbeaten record at the World Championships. After Joe Davis withdrew from the World Championships, the 1947 championship was won by Walter Donaldson. But afterwards, Fred Davis won the championship eight times over a period of nine years from 1948 to 1956. In 1952, due to disagreements between the Billiards Association and Control Council, the governing body of snooker, and some players, two World Championships were held that year. The World Matchplay organized by the athletes gained wider recognition and was held continuously until 1957. The competition organized by the Billiards Association Management Committee only lasted for one session before coming to an end.
Afterwards, snooker entered a period of low tide. The World Championships were also suspended from 1958 to 1963. It was not until 1964 that it was resumed in a format similar to a challenge and continued until 1968. Due to the special environment at that time, the organization of these competitions was quite chaotic. There is no fixed venue for the competition, and the competition period is also not fixed, sometimes even lasting for more than a year. John Pullman, the 1957 World Championships champion, swept through thousands of opponents during the challenge format and won all seven championships. Since 1969, the World Championships have returned to a knockout system. The champion of that year was John Spencer, but then Ray Reardon began to dominate the World Championships, winning six consecutive championships from 1970 to 1978. Starting from 1976, the cigarette brand Embassy began sponsoring the World Championships. The following year, the competition began to be held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK.
At the same time, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also began to become the main television broadcasting agency for the event. The Crucible Theatre provides a unique atmosphere for both live and television audiences. The theater, which can accommodate nearly a thousand people, allows the audience sitting in the front row to enjoy the exciting performances of the contestants who are just a stone's throw away. It was from then on that snooker began to win a large number of television viewers and fans, and the Krusty Theatre almost became synonymous with snooker. The most successful contestants on the stage of the Crucible Theatre are Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. The former won the championship six times in the 1980s, while the latter was crowned seven times in the 1990s. The competition in the competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the World Championships have entered an era of fierce competition.
The champions of the past three competitions have been won by three different contestants. In 1985, Dennis Taylor narrowly defeated Steve Davis 18-17 to win the championship, which is considered the most classic final in World Championships history and also one of the closest games in history. In 2004, the total prize money provided by the World Championships was as high as £ 1378920. The champion's prize money is 250000 pounds, and the runner up's prize money is 125000 pounds. In addition, players who score a full 147 points in the competition will also receive a bonus of £ 147000. The UK has legislated to restrict tobacco advertising, including sponsorship of sports events. The main sponsor of the World Championships, Embassy, will sponsor until 2005. From 2006 to 2008, the sponsor was the gambling company 888 Group. From 2009 to 2012, the sponsor was the gambling company Betfred. In 2013 and 2014, the sponsors were Betfair and Dafabet, respectively. Since 2015, the sponsor has been Betfred.
The World Snooker Championship is the final battle of the world snooker season, and of course, the pinnacle battle. CCTV broadcasts extensively on the World Snooker Championships every year. Although the competition is held in the UK, there will also be a large number of live broadcasts in the evening or prime time Beijing time, which is an excellent exposure opportunity for the brand. Currently, Chinese companies are sponsoring the World Snooker Championship. For Chinese fans, Ding Junhui and O'Sullivan are the biggest ratings guarantee. Although Ding Junhui's recent form is not very stable, his market appeal is still strong. It is worth mentioning that Trump, currently ranked first in the world, is at the peak of his form and has a very good fan base in China.