World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship, or simply known as the World Championship,^[1] is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest event to date with a total prize money of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner.^[2] First held in 1927, it is now one of the three tournaments (together with the UK Championship and the invitational Masters) that make up snooker's Triple Crown Series. The reigning world champion is Zhao Xintong.

Joe Davis dominated the tournament over its first two decades, winning the first 15 world championships before he retired undefeated after his final victory in 1946. The distinctive World Championship trophy, topped by a Greek shepherdess figurine retrospectively known as the Silver Lady, was acquired by Davis back in 1926.^[3] No tournaments were held between 1941 and 1945 due to World War II, or between 1952 and 1963 due to a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) where the PBPA held an unofficial alternative Championship; the official championship was revived on a challenge basis in 1964 and reverted to the knockout format in 1969, now known as the beginning of snooker's modern era. It has taken place annually with every edition since 1977 staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Under a format that has remained largely unchanged since 1982, 32 players reach the Crucible each year; the top 16 players in the world rankings qualify automatically, while another 16 players win places through a qualification tournament; only four qualifiers have ever won the tournament (Alex Higgins in 1972, Terry Griffiths in 1979, Shaun Murphy in 2005 and Zhao Xintong in 2025). Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan have each won seven times to jointly hold the record of most world titles in the modern era. Ray Reardon and Steve Davis have won six titles; John Higgins and Mark Selby four; John Spencer and Mark Williams three; and Alex Higgins two. As of 2025, 29 players have won the Championship.

Fifteen maximum breaks have been made in the history of the tournament, by eleven different players—Cliff Thorburn compiled the first in 1983, and Mark Allen made the most recent in 2025. A record 109 century breaks were made at the Crucible in 2022.