THE World Snooker Championship is the biggest event on baize – where all the top players battle it out to be crowned king of the table. And the marathon event culminates in the showpiece final, held every year at the Crucible in Sheffield. WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL LIVE – O’SULLIVAN VS TRUMP This year’s final […]
THE World Snooker Championship is the biggest event on baize – where all the top players battle it out to be crowned king of the table.
And the marathon event culminates in the showpiece final, held every year at the Crucible in Sheffield.
WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL LIVE – O’SULLIVAN VS TRUMP
This year’s final sees Ronnie O’Sullivan, 46, take on Judd Trump, 32, in the final that is broadcast over TWO DAYS.
But fans can be excused for wondering why the match goes on for so long, and why there are more frames played than there were in the semis and quarter-finals.
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The World Snooker Championship final takes place over 35 frames.
But players do not have to win 35, they only have to get over the half way mark, as it’s the best of 35.
So for O’Sullivan or Trump, 18 frames will do the job.
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No, it has not.
The first tournament was in 1927 and was called the Professional Snooker Championship.
That is not to be confused with the English Amateur Championship, which started in 1916 – because historically us Brits have a weird relationship with amateurism and professionalism that is thankfully consigned to history.
Then matches were over 15 frames, the semi-finals 23 frames and the final 31 frames.
Before World War Two, matches were played out in their entirety, even if one player had already won the match, because it kept paying punters coming in to watch – and the star players being paid.
In 1975 the championships were held in Australia and Welshman Ray Reardon won a 31-30 thriller over Eddie Charlton on his home soil.
The Crucible era started two years later and it has not left Sheffield in 45 years.
In 1978 the final was played over 49 frames, with Reardon beating Perrie Mans 25-18 and a year later it was reduced to 47 frames, with Terry Griffiths beating Dennis Taylor 24-16.
The pattern for the modern tournament came in soon after with the first round played over 19 frames, the second round and quarters over 25 frames and the semi-finals 33 frames, with 35 in the final.
During the Covid-19 pandemic’s height in 2020, the tournament was played in the summer with rounds one to three played over 11 frames.
