The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest, with total prize money of £2,395,000 in 2023, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it is now one of the three tournaments that make up snooker's Triple Crown Series. The reigning world champion is Kyren Wilson.
Pot Black was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC. Each match was contested over a single frame, where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points, but played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game of snooker. The event was first held in 1969 with a field of eight players and ran annually until 1986. The event resurfaced for three years in both 1991 and 2005. The series was followed by events for other categories of players, with juniors and seniors events, and a celebrity version held in 2006.
Raymond Reardon was a Welsh professional snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and claiming more than a dozen other professional titles. Due to his dark widow's peak and prominent eye teeth, he was nicknamed "Dracula".
Terence Martin Griffiths was a Welsh professional snooker player, coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and back-to-back English Amateur Championships in 1977 and 1978, Griffiths turned professional in June 1978 at the age of 30.
Douglas Mountjoy was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16.
The 1987 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1987 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1986–87 snooker season. The championship was the 1987 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927, and had 32 participants. The highest ranked 16 players were awarded a place in the first round draw, whilst a pre-tournament qualification event for 104 professionals was held between 26 March and 4 April at the Preston Guild Hall for the remaining places. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy and had a prize fund of £400,000 with the winner receiving £80,000.
The 1986 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1986 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1985–86 snooker season and the 1986 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. The total prize fund was £350,000 with £70,000 awarded to the winner and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1981 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place from 7 April to 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1981 edition of the World Snooker Championship, and was the fifth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was sanctioned by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £75,000, of which £20,000 went to the winner.
The 1977 World Snooker Championship is a professional snooker tournament that took place from 18 to 30 April 1977 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. John Spencer won his third World Snooker Championship title by defeating Cliff Thorburn by 25 frames to 21 in the final. It was the first time the championship was held at the Crucible, which has remained as the venue for the Championship. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1984 Pot Black was the sixteenth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place between 28 and 30 December 1983 but was broadcast in the summer of 1984. The tournament was held at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. For the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1969, the championship was reverted to a knockout format and players risen from 8 to 16. This change was made at the request of the players, who asked for a competition, in which more of them could take part. All matches until the final were one-frame shoot-outs, the final being contested over the best of three frames.
The 1985 Pot Black was the seventeenth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place in December 1984 but was broadcast in 1985. The tournament was held at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and featured sixteen professional players in a knock-out system. All matches until the semi-final were one-frame shoot-outs, the semi-final was aggregate score of two frames and the final being contested over the best of three frames.
The 1973 Pot Black was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which was broadcast in 1973. The tournament was held in the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and featured eight professional players. All matches were one-frame shoot-outs.
The 1979 Pot Black was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which was held in the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. 8 players were competing in 2 four player groups. All matches were one-frame shoot-outs except the final which was played in the best of 3 frames on a one-hour programme.
The 1980 Pot Black event was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which was held at the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. The tournament began with eight players competing in two groups of four using a round-robin format. The matches were one-frame shoot-outs in the group stages, two-frame aggregate scores in the semi-finals, and best-of-three-frames in the final.
The 1983 Pot Black was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which was held in the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. 8 players were competing in 2 four player groups. The matches are one-frame shoot-outs in the group stages, 2 frame aggregate scores in the semi-finals and the best of 3 frames in the final.
The 1983 Junior Pot Black was the third staging of the junior snooker tournament and last of the original run which was held in the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. 8 young players were competing in a knockout format. The matches are one-frame shoot-outs and a 2 frame aggregate score in the final.
The 1991 Junior Pot Black was the fourth staging of the junior snooker tournament and the first since 1983 which was held in the Trentham Gardens at Stoke-on-Trent and was played alongside the senior competition which also got revived this year. 8 young players were competing in a knockout format. The matches are one-frame shoot-outs, a two frame aggregate score in the semi-final and best of three frames in the final.
The 1992 Pot Black was the second of the revived professional invitational snooker tournament and the 20th series altogether. It took place between 2 and 5 September 1992, and was broadcast in the autumn of the same year. The tournament was held in Blackpool, and featured sixteen professional players in a knock-out system.
The 1993 Pot Black was the third of the revived professional invitational snooker tournament, the 21st series altogether and the last series of Pot Black in its traditional form. Recording took place on 28 August 1993 and broadcast in the autumn of the same year. The tournament was held at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and had reverted to the traditional format after the 1992 "Timeframe" was unpopular with viewers and players. It featured sixteen professional players in a knock-out system. All matches until the semi-final were one-frame shoot-outs, the semi-final was an aggregate score of two frames and the final being contested over the best of three frames.
The 1997 Seniors Pot Black was a one-off invitational snooker tournament of the popular series Pot Black. Recording took place during early 1997 and broadcast in March. The tournament was held at Goodwood House in Chichester, Sussex. It featured 12 veteran players in a knock-out system both aged over 40. All matches until the final were one-frame shoot-outs and the final being contested over the best of three frames.
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Steve Davis 
Stephen Hendry 
