Wikipedia

2007 World Snooker Championship

This article is about the snooker tournament. For the sport simulation video game, see World Snooker Championship 2007 (video game).

The 2007 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2007 888.com World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament. It was held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 31st consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was staged at the venue. It started on 21 April 2007 and was scheduled to finish on 7 May 2007, but continued into the early hours of 8 May. The seventh and final ranking tournament of the 2006–07 snooker season, it was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and sponsored for the second time by online casino 888.com. The total prize fund was £941,000, of which the winner received £220,000.

888.com World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates21 April – 7 May 2007 (2007-04-21 – 2007-05-07)
VenueCrucible Theatre
CitySheffield
CountryEngland
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£941,000
Winner's share£220,000
Highest break Ali Carter (ENG) (144)
Final
Champion John Higgins (SCO)
Runner-up Mark Selby (ENG)
Score18–13
← 2006
2008 →

The qualifying rounds took place from 23 February to 2 March and from 12 to 15 March 2007 at Pontin's, in Prestatyn, Wales. The 16 qualifiers and the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings reached the tournament's main stage at the Crucible. Graeme Dott was the defending champion, having defeated Peter Ebdon 18–14 in the 2006 final. He lost in the first round to Ian McCulloch and became another world champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first world title.

John Higgins won his second World title by defeating qualifier Mark Selby 18–13 in the final. Ending at 12:54 a.m. BST, the final broke the record for the latest finish time in a World Snooker Championship final, narrowly beating the 2006 final by two minutes. A total of 68 century breaks were compiled during the event's main stage, the highest being a 144 made by Ali Carter. It was the joint highest number with the 2002 event. Another 61 century breaks were made during the qualifying rounds.

Overview edit

 
The main draw of the tournament is played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

The first World Snooker Championship final took place in 1927 at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England, and was won by Joe Davis.[1] Since 1977 the tournament has been held annually at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.[2] The 2006 event marked the 31st consecutive year that the tournament was held at the Crucible, and the 38th successive year that the World Championship was contested through the modern knockout format.[3][4][5] Scottish player Stephen Hendry had been the most successful participant at the World Championship in the modern era, having won the title seven times.[6] Scottish player Graeme Dott won his first title at the 2006 championship, defeating English player Peter Ebdon 18‍–‍14 in the final.[7] Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the 2007 tournament was sponsored by online casino 888.com.[8]

Prize fund edit

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[9][10]

Tournament summary edit

First round edit

 
Graeme Dott (pictured in 2014) was the defending champion, but he lost to Ian McCulloch 7‍–‍10 in the first round, succumbing to what has been called the 'Crucible curse'.

The first round was played between 21 and 26 April as the best of 19 frames played over two sessions.[8] The defending champion, Graeme Dott, lost 7‍–‍10 to 2005 semi-finalist Ian McCulloch.[11] This made Dott the 14th first-time champion who failed to defend his title since the tournament moved to the Crucible in 1977, succumbing to what has been called the 'Crucible curse'.[11] Six-time world champion Steve Davis was drawn against John Parrott, winner in 1991.[8] Parrott compiled a century break of 126 and manufactured a 6‍–‍1 lead, but Davis stopped the rot with a break of 100 and produced further breaks of 69 and 70 to restore the balance.[8] Parrott then compiled an 80 and a 64, and, although Davis forced a deciding frame with a break of 96, Parrott prevailed.[8]

Two qualifiers, Fergal O'Brien and Joe Swail, also won their first-round matches in the decider. In a match that featured two century breaks, O'Brien was 6‍–‍4, 8‍–‍5 and 9‍–‍6 ahead of Barry Hawkins, but he saw his advantadge disappear after Hawkins made a century of 129 and further half-centuries of 78 and 66.[8] Swail fell 0‍–‍4 behind 2000 and 2003 world champion Mark Williams, but continued to produce breaks of 66, 63, 53, 62, 71 and 72 to equalise.[8] Swail also made a century break of 114 in the match, and breaks of both 65 and 56 in the decider.[8] Also a qualifier, Mark Selby saw Stephen Lee compile breaks of 126, 64, 67 and 71 as he went 0‍–‍5 behind.[12][8] However, Selby won eight frames on the trot to turn the match around, before the last four frames were shared for a 10‍–‍7 result.[12][8] "At 5‍–‍0 up I should have put my foot on his throat. He didn't play well and won, that's the biggest frustration. I thought he was going to bottle it because he's not a big-time player", claimed Lee in the post-match interview.[12]

There were five debutants in this year's tournament: Mark Allen, Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, David Gilbert and Joe Delaney. Allen, who was faced by the 1997 champion and third seed Ken Doherty, was the only one of the five who won his first-round match.[13] Aided by breaks of 92 and 95 in the first two frames, Allen powered to a 4‍–‍0 early lead.[13] Doherty made a 135 century break to level the scores at 7 each, but Allen clinched a 10‍–‍7 victory with three consecutive half-centuries.[13] Trump won four qualifying matches to set up a first-round encounter with Shaun Murphy, the 2005 champion. Although Murphy won the first three frames with breaks of 81, 96 and 52, Trump compiled breaks of 93, 57 and 85 to go ahead at 6‍–‍5.[8] However, Murphy won five on the spin to advance into the second round.[8] Gilbert, ranked 67th in the world, also took five consecutive frames, featuring one century break, to lead seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry 5‍–‍1,[8] but he eventually lost 7‍–‍10.[12] "I kept missing, missing and missing. I suppose I twitched up completely. I didn't feel nervous but I suppose the Crucible jitters got me at the end", said Gilbert afterwards.[12] Delaney won two deciders against Barry Pinches and two-times world semi-finalist Alan McManus to reach the Crucible, but, having trailed 0‍–‍5, he was beaten 2‍–‍10 by the 2000 and 2005 runner-up Matthew Stevens.[8]

Ding, considered by bookmakers to be among the favourites for the title,[14][15] was drawn against Ronnie O'Sullivan, who alleged that the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association draw had been fixed.[14] O'Sullivan noted that he had been drawn to Marco Fu in the first round of the 2003 edition and to 2004 European Open and 2004 UK Championship winner Stephen Maguire in both 2004 and 2005.[14] "I've had Marco Fu, Stephen Maguire twice and now Ding in the first round. It's definitely fixed. Whoever is doing that is trying to stitch me up", claimed O'Sullivan.[14] He later withdrew the accusation[16] and made no formal complaint to the WPBSA, who maintained that the draw was "100% genuine".[14] O'Sullivan compiled a century break and further breaks of 58, 50, 60, 63, 63, 70, 87 and 72 to claim a 10‍–‍2 victory.[8]

Second round edit

The second round of the event was played as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions, between 26 and 30 April.[8]

  • Former world champion John Parrott made his final appearance at the Crucible, beating Steve Davis 10–9 in the first round before losing 8–13 to Shaun Murphy in the last 16.[17][18]
  • Ian McCulloch qualified for the first time since his semi-final appearance in 2005. Having beaten defending champion Graeme Dott in the first round, he lost 8–13 to Anthony Hamilton in the last 16, and this would also prove to be his last appearance at the Crucible.

Quarter-finals edit

The quarter-finals of the event were played as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions, between 1 and 2 May.[8]

  • Shaun Murphy came back from 7–12 down to win his quarter-final match 13–12 against Matthew Stevens, a feat never before accomplished in a best-of-25-frame match.[19]

Semi-finals edit

The semi-finals were played as the best of 33 frames, held over four sessions, between 3 and 5 May.[8]

  • In frame 29 of his semi-final match, John Higgins compiled the Crucible's 1,000th century break.[20][21]

Final edit

The final was played as a best-of-35-frames, held over four sessions on 6 and 7 May, between Higgins and Selby.[8]

  • Future four-time world champion Mark Selby reached his first final this year. He had a surprising run to the final, as he was a qualifier, he had only made his Crucible debut two years earlier, and he had not previously progressed beyond the last 16.
  • The final had the latest finish in World Championship history, with the conclusion of the 31st and final frame coming at 12:54 a.m. BST, just two minutes later than in 2006.[22]
  • John Higgins' second world title came nine years after his first,[23] the longest gap between wins since his namesake Alex Higgins. This was the longest gap between titles at the Crucible until 2018.

Main draw edit

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers). The first round draw was done by presenters Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams of BBC Breakfast on 19 March and it was announced on Breakfast at 7.30 am BST the next day.[9][24][25][26][27]

First round
Best of 19 frames		Second round
Best of 25 frames		Quarter-finals
Best of 25 frames		Semi-finals
Best of 33 frames		Final
Best of 35 frames
21 April
  Graeme Dott (1)7
26, 27 & 28 April
  Ian McCulloch10
  Ian McCulloch8
21 & 22 April
  Anthony Hamilton (16)13
  Anthony Hamilton (16)10
1 & 2 May
  Marco Fu3
  Anthony Hamilton (16)7
23 & 24 April
  Stephen Maguire (9)13
  Stephen Maguire (9)10
27 & 28 April
  Joe Perry3
  Stephen Maguire (9)13
24 April
  Joe Swail8
  Mark Williams (8)9
3, 4 & 5 May
  Joe Swail10
  Stephen Maguire (9)15
25 & 26 April
  John Higgins (5)17
  John Higgins (5)10
28, 29 & 30 April
  Michael Holt4
  John Higgins (5)13
22 & 23 April
  Fergal O'Brien4
  Barry Hawkins (12)9
1 & 2 May
  Fergal O'Brien10
  John Higgins (5)13
25 April
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)9
  Neil Robertson (13)10
29 & 30 April
  Ryan Day5
  Neil Robertson (13)10
22 & 23 April
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)13
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)10
6 & 7 May
  Ding Junhui2
  John Higgins (5)18
23 & 24 April
  Mark Selby 13
  Ken Doherty (3)7
27 & 28 April
  Mark Allen10
  Mark Allen9
21 & 22 April
  Matthew Stevens (14)13
  Matthew Stevens (14)10
1 & 2 May
  Joe Delaney2
  Matthew Stevens (14)12
21 & 22 April
  Shaun Murphy (6)13
  Steve Davis (11)9
26 & 27 April
  John Parrott10
  John Parrott8
23 April
  Shaun Murphy (6)13
  Shaun Murphy (6)10
3, 4 & 5 May
  Judd Trump6
  Shaun Murphy (6)16
21 & 22 April
  Mark Selby 17
  Peter Ebdon (7)10
29 & 30 April
  Nigel Bond7
  Peter Ebdon (7)8
24 & 25 April
  Mark Selby13
  Stephen Lee (10)7
1 & 2 May
  Mark Selby10
  Mark Selby13
25 & 26 April
  Ali Carter (15)12
  Ali Carter (15)10
28, 29 & 30 April
  Andy Hicks4
  Ali Carter (15)13
24 & 25 April
  Stephen Hendry (2)6
  Stephen Hendry (2)10
  David Gilbert7
Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 6 & 7 May 2007. Referee: Eirian Williams[28]
John Higgins (5)
  Scotland 		18–13 Mark Selby
  England
73–25, 58–32, 19–95, 25–76, 10–132, 97–0, 98–24, 86–5, 75–0, 85–9, 101–24, 70–61, 59–75, 98–0, 78–55, 116–0, 36–73, 0–110, 36–65, 4–74, 0–66, 48–72, 81–40, 63–70, 75–2, 22–82, 54–77, 71–33, 57–43, 129–1, 78–1 Century breaks: 5
(Higgins 3, Selby 2)

Highest break by Higgins: 129
Highest break by Selby: 116

73–25, 58–32, 19–95, 25–76, 10–132, 97–0, 98–24, 86–5, 75–0, 85–9, 101–24, 70–61, 59–75, 98–0, 78–55, 116–0, 36–73, 0–110, 36–65, 4–74, 0–66, 48–72, 81–40, 63–70, 75–2, 22–82, 54–77, 71–33, 57–43, 129–1, 78–1
  John Higgins wins the 2007 888.com World Snooker Championship

Preliminary qualifying edit

The preliminary qualifying rounds for the tournament took place in Pontin's Prestatyn, Wales.[9][29]

Round 1

  Bradley Jones 5–0   Neil Selman
  Del Smith 5–4   Tony Knowles

Round 2

  Bradley Jones 5–0   Stephen Ormerod
  Les Dodd w/o-w/d   David Singh
  Ali Bassiri 0–5   Phil Seaton
  Del Smith 5–0   Barry Stark

Qualifying edit

Qualifying for the 2007 World Snooker Championship, was held between 23 February to 2 March 2007 at Pontin's, Prestatyn, Wales. The final qualifying round took place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield between the 12–15 March 2007.[9][29]

Round 1

  Issara Kachaiwong 8–10   Bradley Jones
  Roy Stolk 10–7   Phil Seaton
  Ben Woollaston 10–3   Del Smith
  James Leadbetter 10–8   Les Dodd

Rounds 2–5

Round 2
Best of 19 frames		Round 3
Best of 19 frames		Round 4
Best of 19 frames		Round 5
Best of 19 frames
  Alfie Burden10  Dave Gilbert10  Gerard Greene6  Mark King6
  Robert Stephen9  Alfie Burden9  Dave Gilbert10  Dave Gilbert10
  Liu Song10  Tony Drago9  Adrian Gunnell10  Michael Holt10
  Dene O'Kane3  Liu Song10  Liu Song8  Adrian Gunnell7
  Judd Trump10  Shokat Ali7  Jamie Cope7  James Wattana5
  Bradley Jones8  Judd Trump10  Judd Trump10  Judd Trump10
  Tian Pengfei10  Joe Jogia10  Drew Henry10  Joe Perry10
  Roy Stolk2  Tian Pengfei4  Joe Jogia7  Drew Henry5
  Mark Joyce10  Robin Hullw/d  Fergal O'Brien10  Stuart Bingham5
  Mohammed Shehab6  Mark Joycew/o  Mark Joyce4  Fergal O'Brien10
  Paul Wykes3  Rory McLeod10  Tom Ford8  Andy Hicks10
  Alex Borg10  Alex Borg6  Rory McLeod10  Rory McLeod4
  Lee Page10  Paul Davies10  Michael Judge10  Marco Fu10
  Dermot McGlinchey1  Lee Page1  Paul Davies5  Michael Judge9
  Matthew Couch10  Jimmy Michie10  Mark Davis10  Ding Junhui10
  Jamie Jones5  Matthew Couch4  Jimmy Michie2  Mark Davis6
  Ian Preece10  Joe Delaney10  Barry Pinches9  Alan McManus9
  Ben Woollaston8  Ian Preece7  Joe Delaney10  Joe Delaney10
  Liang Wenbo10  Mike Dunn10  Dave Harold10  Joe Swail10
  Jeff Cundy5  Liang Wenbo3  Mike Dunn3  Dave Harold9
  Paul Davison10  Jamie Burnett10  Jimmy White4  Nigel Bond10
  Peter Lines8  Paul Davison5  Jamie Burnett10  Jamie Burnett6
  Passakorn Suwannawat10  David Roe8  Marcus Campbell10  Ryan Day10
  Patrick Einsle4  Passakorn Suwannawat10  Passakorn Suwannawat9  Marcus Campbell5
  Chris Melling6  Andrew Norman10  Dominic Dale10  Ian McCulloch10
  David Morris10  David Morris8  Andrew Norman8  Dominic Dale4
  Lee Spick10  Mark Allen10  Rod Lawler5  Robert Milkins4
  Sean Storey4  Lee Spick5  Mark Allen10  Mark Allen10
  Chris Norbury9  Stuart Pettman3  John Parrott10  David Gray7
  James Leadbetter10  James Leadbetter10  James Leadbetter7  John Parrott10
  Andrew Higginson10  Scott MacKenzie6  Ricky Walden10  Mark Selby10
  Mark Boyle4  Andrew Higginson10  Andrew Higginson9  Ricky Walden6

Century breaks edit

Televised stage centuries edit

There were 68 centuries scored in the televised stage of the 2007 championship, which was joint equal highest in the history of the tournament (with the tournament held in 2002) until 2009.[30][31]

Qualifying stage centuries edit

[9]

References edit

  1. ^ Turner, Chris (2008). "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Betfred World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ "History of the World Snooker Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  5. ^ "John Higgins eyes more crucible titles". The Daily Telegraph. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2020. the modern era, which began in 1969 when the World Championship became a knockout event.
  6. ^ "Betfred World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  7. ^ Everton, Clive (3 May 2006). "Late dash of Dott pulls Ebdon's revival up short". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "888.com World Championship (2007)". snooker.org. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e "World Snooker Championship 2007". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  10. ^ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 130.
  11. ^ a b Caulfield, David (21 April 2024). "Sorcery in Sheffield strikes again – what is the Crucible Curse?". SnookerHQ. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e Everton, Clive (26 April 2007). "Hendry's focus steers him through". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Debutant overcomes nerves to stun Doherty". The Guardian. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e "O'Sullivan draw fix claim denied". BBC Sport. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  15. ^ "World Championship – Outright". EasyOdds.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  16. ^ Viner, Brian (20 April 2007). "Interview: Snooker player Ding Junhui". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Parrott edges out colleague Davis". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  18. ^ Everton, Clive (28 April 2007). "Murphy turns the screw and puts an end to Parrott's party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Stevens hit for six as Murphy prevails". WorldSnooker.com. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008.
  20. ^ "Snooker: Selby pockets a place in the final; Snooker: 888.com World Championship from Sheffield". Sunday Sun on HighBeam Research. 6 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  21. ^ Lyon, Sam; Dirs, Ben (5 May 2007). "John Higgins (Sco) 17–15 Stephen Maguire (Sco)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  22. ^ "John Higgins held off a dogged fightback from Mark Selby to claim his second World Snooker Championship title at The Crucible". BBC Sport. 8 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  23. ^ Weaver, Paul (7 May 2007). "Higgins rallies to take title after Selby comeback". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  24. ^ "888.Com World Championship 2007". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  25. ^ "2007 World Championships Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  26. ^ "2007 888.com World Championship". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
  27. ^ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 64–65.
  28. ^ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 143.
  29. ^ a b "2007 888.com World Championship Qualifying". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
  30. ^ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 152.
  31. ^ "Crucible Centuries". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
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