1987 World Snooker Championship
The 1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England between 18 April – 4 May 1987.
Joe Johnson made it to the final again, but so did Steve Davis, making it a repeat of the 1986 final. However Johnson did not defend his title, as he lost 14–18 to Davis. It was Davis' fourth world title.
Notable moments
- The Steve Davis/Joe Johnson match was the first time in the Crucible that two players had met at the final two years running. The last time it happened in the entire championship was Fred Davis/Walter Donaldson in 1951. It would happen again when Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White met three times running between 1992 and 1994.
- Hendry meanwhile in 1987 became the youngest player ever to make the quarter-finals of the World Championship at the age of 18 years and 3 months. He got revenge on Willie Thorne from 1986 in the first round when he won 10–7 before beating debutant Steve Longworth from Lancashire (who had beaten Kirk Stevens 10–4) 13–7 in the second round before meeting defending champion Joe Johnson. The match turned out to be thriller and Hendry ended up losing 12–13. Hendry was the first Scot to reach that stage.
- Ray Reardon made his last appearance at the Crucible when he beat Yorkshire debutian Barry West 10–5. He then met Steve Davis in the second round which he lost 4–13. He dropped out of the Top 32 in the rankings at the end of the season from 15 to 38.
- There were 18 century breaks at the Championship. The highest break of the tournament was 127 made by Steve Davis in the opening frame of the final. Dene O'Kane's 132 was the highest break of the qualifying stages.[1] Davis' 127 is the lowest ever highest break recorded in the modern era of the event.[2]
Prize Money
[1] Winner: £80,000
Runner-up: £48,000
Semi-finals: £24,000
Quarter-finals: £12,000
Last 16: £6,000
Last 32: £3,375
Main draw
[1][3]
References