1999 World Snooker Championship

(pictured) in Sheffield, England. The inaugural 1927 World Snooker Championship, then known as the Professional Championship of Snooker, took place at various venues in England between November 1926 and May 1927. Joe Davis won the final—held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham from 9 to 12 May 1927—and went on to win the tournament 15 consecutive times before retiring undefeated after the 1946 edition (no tournaments were held from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II). The tournament went into abeyance after only two players contested the 1952 edition. The six editions of the World Professional Championship held between 1952 and 1957 are retroactively regarded as legitimate continuations of the World Snooker Championship, but that tournament was discontinued due to waning public interest in snooker in the post-war era. The world title was uncontested between 1958 and 1963. The 1977 edition was the first staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where it has remained since. The most successful players in the modern era were Ray Reardon, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, each having won the title six times. Hendry was also the tournament's youngest winner, having captured his first title at the 1990 event, aged . Reardon became the oldest winner when he secured his sixth title at the 1978 event, aged . == Overview ==

The 1999 World Snooker Championship was the ninth and last ranking tournament of the 1998–99 snooker season, held after the British Open. It was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. The 1999 edition marked the 23rd consecutive year that the tournament was held at the Crucible and the 30th successive year that the World Championship was contested through the modern knockout format. The defending champion was John Higgins, who had defeated Ken Doherty 1812 in the final of the 1998 World Championship to win his maiden world title. Format The top 16 players in the snooker world rankings were seeded through to the main stage at the Crucible Theatre. They faced 16 players who progressed through the qualifying rounds, which took place from 3 January to 20 March at the Newport Centre in Wales. • Winner: £230,000 • Runner-up: £135,000 • Semi-final: £68,000 • Quarter-final: £34,000 • Last 16: £18,350 • Last 32: £12,500 • Last 48: £9,250 • Last 64: £6,000 • Last 96: £3,700 • Last 134: £300 • Stage one highest break : £2,000 • Stage two highest break : £20,000 • Stage two maximum break: £147,000 • Total: £1,400,000 == Summary ==

First round The first round was played between 17 and 22 April as the best of 19 held over two . The defending champion, John Higgins, had earned more than £400,000 in prize money during the season. He went on to win 102. The record stood until 2021, when it was broken by Jimmy Robertson, who scored 178 points in a frame during the Scottish Open. Bond won the match 106. Facing Fergal O'Brien, Tony Drago had only reached the semi-finals of a ranking tournament, the 1998 Irish Open. Nick Walker faced Alain Robidoux, a semi-finalist in the previous edition of the tournament. Matthew Stevens made a 120 break as he took the first four frames of his encounter with Peter Ebdon, runner-up in 1996. Mark King had lost three first-round matches throughout the season and faced the risk of losing his spot on the top 16. He defeated Darren Morgan 108 to secure it. Mark Williams, a semi-finalist in the previous edition of the World Championship, Joe Perry had a five-frame advantage at 72 over Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan had won the 1998 Scottish Masters during the season, but then did not compete in the 1998 UK Championship and the 1998 German Masters. In the process, Higgins made further breaks of 84, 77, 75, 62 and 51. Doherty trailed Bond 610 at the conclusion of the second session. In frame 19, Hendry attempted a maximum break, but the break ended at 80. He went on to win 137. "Every time I win here [at the Crucible] I think that's enough, but when I return I want to win it again and it's no different this year," Hendry said. O'Sullivan was 53 ahead of Perry, who recovered to tie the scores at 66. O'Sullivan enjoyed a 97 lead at the end of the second session. He also took the first frame of the following day with a 66-point clearance, but Perry then compiled a 109 break. O'Sullivan went on to win 138, with a 74 break in the last frame. At the resumption on the following day, the first six frames were shared and Lee then won the remaining two of the session to reduce the deficit to six at 511. O'Sullivan faced Parrott, who was making his 11th appearance in the quarter-finals of the World Championship. Parrott praised O'Sullivan, stating: "People say it's a travesty that Jimmy White has never won the world title. But it would be an even bigger one if Ronnie [O'Sullivan] never wins it. For pure natural talent and ability he is the best that ever wielded the cue. He just floats around the table pinging balls in from everywhere." In a repeat of one of the previous year's semi-finals, Williams won seven of the eight frames of the first session of his match against Doherty, featuring breaks of 71, 76, 78 and 82. On the following day, Doherty edged closer at 812, but Williams clinched victory with a break of 97. The scores were also level at 66, 77 and 88. Williams then compiled three half-centuries as he opened a four-frame cushion. Higgins only managed to win two more frames and Williams sealed a 1710 victory. "That's the best anyone has ever played against me. I did feel intimidated because I was missing some long pots and I knew if I missed, Mark [Williams] wouldn't. It made me get uptight as well. It's not the worst moment of my career but I won't watch the final. It's too hurtful," Higgins said. In the second semi-final, Hendry faced O'Sullivan. "Ronnie [O'Sullivan] is a match for anyone if his head and attitude are right. He is probably the most talented player in the world, but he does make mistakes and at this stage it is how you punish those mistakes that counts," Hendry said ahead of the match. O'Sullivan won the fourth frame with a break of 78 and also made a half-century in the next, but Hendry took it. Hendry won two more to extend the lead to 61. O'Sullivan then secured five frames on the trot to tie the scores, featuring breaks of 67, 122 and 135. The match was also level at 77 and 1010. Four consecutive century breaks, two by each player, followed. One of them was a maximum attempt by O'Sullivan, who missed the last pink ball to the . O'Sullivan made a 70 break in the 25th frame to take the lead at 1312 for the first time in the semi-final, but Hendry then won five consecutive frames, with four half-centuries, to book a place in the final. Final (pictured in 2011) defeated Mark Williams 1811 to claim his seventh World Championship. He became the most successful player in the modern era, superseding the six titles won by both Ray Reardon and Steve Davis. The final was played as the best of 35 frames, held over four sessions, on 2 and 3 May, between Williams and Hendry. Referee Colin Brinded officiated the match. Hendry became the most successful player in the World Championship during the modern era, superseding the six titles won by both Ray Reardon and Davis. "This is worth more to me than other six championships put together. This is my finest hour in snooker without a doubt. I've been in the doldrums for a couple of years and wondered if I would ever win another title," Hendry said. He explained he did not think he would have been able to win the World Championship again if it had not been for Frank Callan's coaching. It was Hendry's 31st ranking event win. He earned £230,000, while £135,000 went to Williams as a runner-up. "There was nothing left in the tank in the last session. I was done for. But it's still an achievement to get this far. Stephen [Hendry] played too strongly for me all through the match," Williams admitted. == Main draw ==

The draw for the main tournament is shown below. The numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the seedings for the 16 seeded players (116). The match winners are shown in bold. Final == Qualifying ==

There were five pre-qualifying rounds and nine qualifying rounds. All the matches were played as the best of 19 frames. Qualifying matches were held between 3 January and 20 March at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. The final three qualifying rounds were held at Telford International Centre from 29 March to 2 April. ==Century breaks==

A total of 53 century breaks were made during the main stage of the tournament. The highest break was a 142 compiled by John Higgins. • 142, 132, 127, 126, 124, 108, 104, 104, 100 John Higgins • 140, 123, 109, 104, 101, 100 Mark Williams • 137, 108 Tony Drago • 137 Steve James • 136, 130, 110 James Wattana • 135, 134, 122, 120, 110, 105, 100 Ronnie O'Sullivan • 133 John Parrott • 132, 126, 109, 108, 106, 104, 104, 101 Stephen Hendry • 131, 114 Chris Small • 128, 110, 104 Stephen Lee • 124, 120, 100 Matthew Stevens • 122 Dominic Dale • 120, 109 Joe Perry • 108, 103 Anthony Hamilton • 104 Ken Doherty • 103, 103 Mark King == References ==