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 Luca Brecel.
John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (40) and Stephen Hendry (36). Since turning professional in 1992, he has won four World Championships, three UK Championships and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles; this puts him behind only O'Sullivan (23), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15), and level with Mark Selby. A prolific break-builder, Higgins has compiled over 900 century breaks in professional competition, including 13 maximum breaks, second to O'Sullivan's 15. He is the oldest player to make a maximum break in professional competition, having set the record at the 2024 Championship League when he was aged 48 years and 268 days. He has reached the world number 1 ranking position four times.
The 2005 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament started on 16 April, and ended on 2 May 2005. The event was the eighth and final world ranking event of the 2004–05 snooker season, following the 2005 China Open. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Due to laws banning advertising cigarettes in Great Britain, this was the last time the event was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy. The event had a prize fund of £1,121,800, with the winner receiving £250,000.
The 2004 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 17 April to 3 May 2004 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 28th consecutive year the World Snooker Championship was held at the venue. The eighth and final ranking event of the 2003–04 snooker season, the tournament was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and sponsored by cigarette company Embassy. The total prize fund was £1,378,920, of which the winner received £250,000.
The 2003 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 19 April to 5 May 2003 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the final ranking event of the 2002–03 snooker season. This was the 27th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, marking the 26th anniversary of the first staging of the event at this venue. The championships were sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 2002 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the final ranking event of the 2001–02 snooker season. This was the 26th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, marking the 25th anniversary of the first staging of the event at this venue. The championship was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 2002 Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament held at the Wembley Conference Centre, London from 3 to 10 February 2002. It was the 28th edition of The Masters, a Triple Crown event, and the penultimate invitational event in the 2001–02 snooker season. It followed the 2001 Scottish Masters and preceded the 2002 Irish Masters. Sponsored by the cigarette company Benson & Hedges, the event featured the top 16 from the snooker world rankings and two wild cards. The competition had a total prize fund of £650,000, with £175,000 going to the winner.
The 2004 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held in February 2004. It was the 30th staging of the Masters tournament, one of three Triple Crown events on the Snooker Tour, the eighth of fifteen World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) events in the 2003/2004 season, and was held at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, United Kingdom from 1 to 8 February 2004. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC.
The 2005 Masters was the 2005 edition of the non-ranking Masters professional snooker tournament. It was held from 13 to 20 February 2005 at the Wembley Conference Centre, London. The tournament was the 31st staging of the competition and was the sixth of nine World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) main tour events in the 2004/2005 season. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC and by Eurosport in Europe.
The 2002 LG Cup was a professional snooker tournament held from 5 to 13 October 2002, at the Guild Hall, in Preston, Lancashire, England. It was the second year the event was known as the LG Cup and the 21st overall staging of the competition. Sponsored by the Korean multinational conglomerate LG, the tournament was the first of eight World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2002–03 snooker season and was televised in the United Kingdom on the BBC.
The 2004 Snooker Grand Prix was the 2004 edition of the Grand Prix snooker tournament and was held from 2 to 10 October 2004 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan won the tournament defeating Ian McCulloch by nine frames to five (9–5) in the final. In the semi-finals O'Sullivan defeated Paul Hunter 6–3 and McCulloch beat Michael Judge 6–1. Mark Williams, who won the same event under the name LG Cup the year before, lost in the first round. John Higgins made the highest break with a 147. The 64-man tournament was the first of eight World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season and the next event following last season's World Championship, which was won by O'Sullivan. It preceded the second ranking event of the season, the British Open.
The 2001 Irish Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 27 March to 1 April. It was the 24th Irish Masters and the fifth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational event in the 2000–01 snooker season. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Health Promotion Unit and the Office of Tobacco Control of the Department of Health and Children and hotel group Citywest.
The 2002 Scottish Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which took place at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, from 24 to 29 September. It was the final edition of the tournament, as it later lost its sponsorship by the cigarette brand Regal. It was the first of two invitational World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) competitions in the 2002–03 season. The host broadcaster was BBC Scotland.
The 2001 Scottish Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which took place at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, from 18 to 23 September 2001. It was the first time the tournament was played in Glasgow since the 1989 edition. The competition was the second of four invitational World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) events of the 2001–02 season. It was broadcast on BBC Scotland and Eurosport and was sponsored by the cigarette brand Regal.
The 2001 Malta Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta, from 21 to 25 February 2001. It was the seventh and last Malta Grand Prix, and the fourth of the five World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational competitions in the 2000–01 snooker season. It preceded the season's antepenultimate invitational event, the 2001 Masters. The event featured 12 players and was played as a round-robin format until the semi-finals.
The 2001 Champions Cup was a professional invitational snooker tournament held at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, from 11 to 19 August. It was the seventh and final edition of the eight-player Champions Cup, and was the first of four World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational events of the 2001–02 season following the 2001 World Snooker Championship. It preceded the season's second invitational tournament, the 2001 Scottish Masters.
The 2000 Champions Cup was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held from 26 August to 3 September 2000, at the Brighton Centre, in Brighton, East Sussex. The tournament was the first of five World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational events of the 2000–01 snooker season and the first overall. It preceded the season's second invitational tournament, the 2000 Scottish Masters. There were eight players who competed in the event: seven were major tournament winners from the 1999–2000 season and one was a wild card entry. The competition featured a total prize fund of £200,000, with £100,000 going to the winner.
The 1987 Snooker World Cup was a professional snooker tournament played at the Bournemouth International Centre, England, between 18 and 21 March 1987 for teams of three players. The event was the eighth iteration of the World Cup snooker tournament, first played in 1979 as the World Challenge Cup. A total prize fund of £100,000 was awarded for the event, with the winning team receiving a share of £32,000. The event featured eight participating teams, including two from Ireland, the champions of the previous year's event. Danish brewery company Tuborg were the sponsors for the tournament.
The 2019 Beverly World Cup was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 24 to 30 June 2019 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. Hosted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the first event of the 2019–20 snooker season and the 16th edition of the World Cup. The event featured 16 teams of 2 players representing national teams.
The 2001 Nations Cup was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at The Hexagon, in Reading, Berkshire, England, from 13 to 21 January 2001. It was a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association team competition held as part of the 2000–01 snooker season and the third and final edition of the Nations Cup. The competition was contested by eight nations of three players each, with one of them qualifying via a play-off match. It was sponsored by smokeless coal manufacturer Coalite.
Scotland 
England 
Wales 
Ireland 
Northern Ireland