The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, 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.
Stephen Gordon Hendry is a Scottish professional snooker player who is best known for dominating the sport during the 1990s, when he became one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990 aged 21 years and 106 days, surpassing Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. From 1990 to 1999, he won seven world titles, setting a modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. Hendry also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 21. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 39, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan is an English professional snooker player, and current world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has also won a record seven Masters and a record seven UK Championship titles for a total of 21 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 39, and has held the top ranking position multiple times.
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the tournament a record seven times, followed by Steve Davis with six titles and Stephen Hendry with five. Mark Allen is the reigning champion, winning his first title in 2022.
The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.
The Triple Crown in professional snooker refers to winning the sport's three longest-running and most prestigious tournaments: the World Snooker Championship, the invitational Masters, and the UK Championship. In January 2020, the three tournaments were formally named the Triple Crown Series.
The 2005 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 23 January 2005 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.
The 2004 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 15 and 25 January at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff, Wales.
The 2003 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 26 January at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
The 2004 European Open was the 2004 edition of the European Open snooker tournament, held from 1 to 6 March 2004, at the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso, Malta. It was the final year the event was known as European Open, as the event was renamed to Malta Cup in next year. Stephen Maguire defeated Jimmy White by nine frames to three (9–3) in the final to claim his first ranking-event title, transforming him from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner", according to The Times. In the semi-finals Maguire defeated Stephen Lee and White beat Tony Drago. The tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters.
The 2012 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held between 15 and 22 January 2012 at the Alexandra Palace in London, England. This was the first time that Stephen Hendry didn't participate at the Masters since his début in 1989, and the first time that BGC Partners sponsored the event.
The 2013 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held between 13 and 20 January 2013 at the Alexandra Palace in London, England. This was the first time that Betfair sponsored the event. The event was broadcast live on Eurosport and BBC.
The 2014 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 February and 2 March 2014 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2013/2014 season, and the second time that BetVictor sponsored the event.
The 2015 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 11 and 18 January 2015 at the Alexandra Palace in London, England. It was the 41st staging of the Masters tournament. Shaun Murphy won his first Masters title, beating Neil Robertson 10–2 in the final, the biggest winning margin in a Masters final since Steve Davis whitewashed Mike Hallett 9–0 in 1988. In winning the title, Murphy became the tenth player to win all Triple Crown events at least once. This year's final line up was a repeat of the 2012 tournament, albeit with a different result.
The 2017 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 2017 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 19th and final ranking event of the 2016–17 season which followed the China Open. It was the 41st consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible.
The 2018 Players Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 19 to 25 March 2018 at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. It was the eighteenth ranking event of the 2017/2018 season.
The 2018 UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 27 November to 9 December 2018. It was the ninth ranking tournament and the first Triple Crown event of the 2018/2019 season. The event was broadcast on BBC Sport and Eurosport in the United Kingdom.
Ronnie O'Sullivan started his professional snooker career in 1992 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His play and accomplishments are described by some peers and pundits as being the greatest in the modern era of snooker. O'Sullivan is a seven-time world champion, and holds many records, including the fastest maximum break in professional competition; the highest number of century breaks; the highest number of maximum breaks, and the most Triple Crown event titles (21).
The 2020 Players Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 24 February to 1 March 2020 at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre in Southport, England. It was the 14th ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season and the second leg of the Coral Series. The tenth edition of the Players Championship, first held in 2011, the event was sponsored by sports betting company Coral, and broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, and Eurosport across Europe. The event featured 16 participants chosen from players who were the highest earners from the prior 13 ranking tournaments.
The 2021 Players Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 22 to 28 February 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. It was the 11th ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season.
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (142) [2] 
Stephen Hendry (SCO)
