On Saturday 2nd May, Penybont, who had managed to go through the entire Phase Two without winning a single game, defeated a particularly lacklustre Haverfordwest County 2-0 to triumph in the Cymru Premier Europa Play-Off Final and qualify for the preliminary round of the UEFA Conference League, qualifying for European competition for the third time in four seasons, after having experienced previous European adventures against Andorran outfit FC Santa Coloma and Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris, hoping that this time they can go one better and achieve their first continental victory.
Rhys Griffiths' side took an early lead, with veteran forward Chris Venables managing to outmuscle County defender Rhys Abbruzzese to find Ethan Cann's knock on and able to drill his effort home, despite complaints from the Bluebirds that Venables was offside. Penybont almost made it two when a simple ball over the top set up Owen Pritchard, only to see his attempt hit the bar. County, who had also made a slow start the previous week in their semi-final victory over Barry Town United, almost equalised when an attempt from Kyle Kenniford struck the upright after it had taken a strong deflection off Penybont's Ash Baker.
Following a particularly scrappy and unproductive start to the second half from both sides, Penybont increased their advantage when Mael Davies drifted into space on the left side of the box and then floated a cross over Bluebirds goalkeeper Ifan Knott and managed to drop into the top left corner. Penybont's impressive defence then held on firm as they prevented Haverfordwest from really creating any meaningful attacks into their box and held on comfortably for a return passage into European competition.
With TNS, Connah's Quay Nomads, Caernarfon, and Penybont having confirmed their places as Wales' European representatives, thoughts now turn to the 2026/2027 season and an expanded Cymru Premier, with the league increased to sixteen, rather than twelve, clubs. Six clubs - Airbus UK, Cambrian United, Holywell Town, Llandudno, Trefelin BGC and Ammanford - have been promoted to the Cymru Premier, with Airbus, Holywell (appearing in the top flight of Welsh domestic football for the first time since being relegated from the then 'League of Wales' in the 1998-99 season, and Llandudno all having experienced top flight football, while Cambrian, Trefelin and Ammanford will all be making their Cymru Premier bow.
The Football Association of Wales hoped that, in making changes to the league, it would help 'build the profile, brand and awareness of the league', to increase the number of people attending matches, and enhance the league's appeal to potential sponsors. Time will tell if indeed is the case.
In this new format, once the 16 teams have played each other home and away, the new split will then see the league divided into three tiers of six, four, and six clubs to compete for the title, European qualification and relegation.
The top six in the Cymru Premier - the so-called 'Championship Race' - will play each other once again, with the team who are top of the table after the 35th matchday crowned champions. Clubs finishing second to sixth will qualify for at least the end of season European play-offs. Those teams who finish between 7th to 10th - the 'European Challenger' - play each other once more, and the team who are seventh after the 33rd matchday will claim the final spot in the end-of-season European play-offs. Finally, those teams who finish between 11th and 16th - described as the 'Survival Zone' (one can see a lot of thought went into these descriptions of the various tiers of the new format) - also play each other again. At the end of the 35th matchday, the clubs who finish 15th and 16th will be automatically relegated, while the club who finish in 14th will compete in the relegation play off, where they will meet the winner of the match between the runner-up in the Cymru North and the Cymru South for the right to remain in the league.
Ronnie O'Sullivan brought the curtain down on the 2025-2026 snooker season by comprehensively defeating Joe Perry 10-4 to claim the 2026 JenningsBet World Senior Championship, the first time he has participated in the tournament and thus his first world senior title, and the eighth time he has claimed a world title at the Crucible, in addition to his seven world professional championship titles.
O'Sullivan claimed the title thanks to an impressive display in the second session of the final in which, leading 5-3 from Sunday afternoon's opening session, he made five centuries after Perry, who had won the Welsh Open in 2022 and had reached the semi-final of the World Professional Championship in 2008, had claimed the first frame of the evening on the black to go just one behind O'Sullivan.
The tournament saw the largest number of players taking part, including defending champion Alfie Burden, 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham, and two-time world finalist Ali Carter. One player who particularly impressed was 66-year-old Roger Farebrother, who defeated the 'Tornado' Tony Drago 4-2, before narrowly losing 4-2 to Ali Carter. Other results in the first round included victories for 1997 world champion Ken Doherty, who defeated Gerard Greene in a dramatic match which he won on a black-ball shoot out (if a match was level, instead of going to a deciding frame, a black ball shoot out would decide the winner); Reanne Evans, the first woman to participate in the seniors world championship, lost out 4-2 to Aaron Canavan, who had won the title in 2018 and had finished runner-up to Burden last year.
The second round was unfortunately marred by problems with the table cloth on table 1 when Dominic Dale and Matthew Stevens started their match and were then forced to wait until table 2 was available before completing their match, with Stevens eventually coming out on top as a 4-2 victor. While Robert Milkins emerged triumphant in a black-ball shoot out against 'People's Champion', Jimmy White, defending champion Alfie Burden was forced to play behind closed doors against Igor Figueiredo, with the Brazilian whitewashing Burden 4-0. Due to the problems which had affected table 1, at short notice, Burden's match was played in a practice room and not in the main arena, much to Burden's frustration.
The quarter-finals saw Milkins comfortably overcome Figueiredo 4-1, O'Sullivan overcame stubborn resistance from Peter Lines winning 4-2 in an entertaining match which saw both players giving a standing ovation from the Crucible crowd, Perry defeated twice world finalist Stevens 4-1, while Craig Steadman won a black-ball shoot-out to knock out Ali Carter.
In the first semi-final, Milkins had more than enough chances to have caused a surprise against Ronnie O'Sullivan, but, ultimately, the Rocket got stronger as the match wore on and the Milkman seemed to get weaker, and O'Sullivan got through to the final winning 7-5 and, after Steadman had begun the match impressively by taking a 0-3 lead, Perry eventually took a hold of the match, and he too came out on top as a 7-5 winner.
Two days after Wu Yize became the second Chinese player to lift the Halo World Snooker Championship following a highly dramatic final, snooker swiftly returns to the iconic Crucible Theatre for the 2026 JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship, which takes place from today (6th May) until 10th May and which will be shown live on both 5Action and streamed via Pluto TV.
Last year's champion, Alfie Burden, will be looking to defend his title against the biggest line-up for the tournament, including the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White, Stuart Bingham and Reanne Evans.
Although there will be the same two-table set up as in the main championship, this time, there will be no partition between the two tables so all those in the Crucible will be able to view the action on both tables.
For only the fourth time since the World Championship has been staged at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the championship was decided on the 35th and deciding frame of what was one of the highest quality finals ever played, one which former world number three Neal Foulds described as the best he had seen in recent years and one which saw Wu Yize narrowly edge out Shaun Murphy 18-17 to become the second Chinese player, following Zhao Xintong's triumph last May, and becoming the youngest-ever world champion from overseas and, at the age of 22, became the second-youngest winner following Stephen Hendry, who took the title in 1990 at the age of 21 years and 106 days.
Yize, who, like Luca Brecel when he captured the title in 2023, had never previously win a match at the Crucible, began strongly, winning the first three frames and proved that he great powers of concentration when, during the third frame, he failed to be put off by a disturbance from a female protestor who had managed to jump the barrier at the front row and got into the arena, protesting about the television licence before being swiftly removed by a combination of final referee Rob Spencer and security personnel. At 3-0 down, Murphy needed to quickly make a mark in the match and he did, making breaks of 85, 98, 77, and 109 to take a 4-3 lead before Yize won the final frame of the first session to level at 4-4. Wu had attempted to make a maximum, which would have been the second-ever in a final following Mark Selby's historic break in the 2023 final, but he broke down on 65 after missing the ninth black. The second session on Sunday evening saw an impressively strong start from Wu, who won four of the first five frames as he went 8-5 ahead, Murphy pulled a couple back to make it 9-7, but Wu then took the last frame of the session with a break of 91 to take a three-frame overnight lead at 10-7.
Needing to make a strong start in attempt to claim the title he had last won in 2005, Murphy stunned Yize by taking the first five frames, with Yize seemingly struggling with his long potting, with Murphy moving 12-10 ahead before Wu got himself together and won the next three frames as he regained the lead, leading 13-12 as the two players headed into the fourth and concluding session. Wu moved 14-12 ahead as he took the first frame of the session before Murphy then took the next two to level the match at 14-14. Wu then took the 29th frame, but Murphy then recovered from being 70 points down in the 30th frame to level at 15-15. Wu then again one in front, before Murphy made a break of 131 to again level the match at 16-16. Murphy then missed a red when making a break of 45 and Wu cleared with a break of 91. He then had a great chance to clinch the title in the 34th frame but he missed a black off the spot and Murphy responded with a fine break of 75 to ensure that the destination of the world championship would be decided on the 35th and final frame. This marked the fourth time that the final had gone all the way - the first occured in April 1985 when Dennis Taylor famously defeated Steve Davis on the final black; Stephen Hendry cleared up after Jimmy White had missed a black off the spot in 1994, and Peter Ebdon also triumphed thanks to a deciding frame over Hendry in 2002. Wu made a wonderful break of 85 to ensure his place in snooker folklore and become the second Chinese world champion in the game's history.
The 1990's dawned with, to paraphase what President John F. Kennedy memorably said in his inaugural address, the torch being passed, in snooker terms, at least, from Steve Davis, now no longer world number one or world champion, to a talented 21-year-old Scot called Stephen Hendry, who was memorably clapped from the arena by the late Willie Thorne after Thorne had defeated Hendry 10-8 when the Scot made his debut at the Crucible in 1986. Facing Hendry in the final, which took place from 28th and 29th April, was Jimmy White, who was now in his second Crucible final, and was hoping to banish the memories of his defeat to Steve Davis back in 1984.
After White had taken two of the first three frames, Hendry responded by winning the next three frames to lead 4-2 before White took the seventh, by the end of the day's play, Hendry lead 9-7 after having made a break of 108 in the 16th frame. Hendry made an excellent start to the third session on the second day of the final, winning the first four frames, which included making a break of 104 in frame 18. Trailing 13-7, White won the 21st frame with a break of 82 and then won the next to reduce Hendry's lead to 13-9. White then led by 63 points in the 23rd frame before Hendry made a break of 72 to take the frame on the black. White then managed to win the last frame of the third session, with Hendry having a comfortable 14-10 lead. The first three frames of the fourth and concluding session saw Hendry establish a 17-11 before White kept his rapidly fading hopes alive by taking the next frame, before breaks of 81 and 71 ensured a first world championship for Hendry, who, at 21 years and 106 days, overtook Alex Higgins to become the youngest-ever world champion. White, always generous in defeat, commented, 'In a way I'm pleased for Stephen. He's a great kid and he puts in enough work to be world champion. He played tremendous snooker. You could count his misses on one hand.'
Hendry wouldn't get the chance to defend his title in the 1991 final, fallen victim to the 'Crucible Curse' following a quarter-final defeat to Steve James, succumbing 13-11, despite at once stage leading 11-9. Jimmy White, however, would be back in the final, and this time he would be up against John Parrott, who was hoping to banish the memories of his 1989 hammering at the hands of Steve Davis. Any chance White had quickly extinguished when Parrott, playing some of the finest snooker of his career, taking a 7-0 lead. In the second session, White won frames eight and nine, before Parrott took the next three to lead by 10-2, White then took the next three frames before Parrott made a break of 112 to establish an 11-5 overnight lead. White took the first two frames of the third session and then Parrott took frame 19, White captured frame 20, while frames 21 and 22 went the way of Parrott. White then cleared with 67 to take the 23rd frame on the black, before Parrott's capture of frame 24 meant that he held an advantage of 15-9 heading into the concluding session. Parrott made a break of 112 to take the first frame of the final session and White then took two of the next three frames before Parrott claimed the title for the first time with a break of 48 securing victory by 18-11.
The final which was held on 3rd and 4th May 1992 saw a resumption of the rivalry between Stephen Hendry, who was looking for his second world title, and Jimmy White, looking to take his first world title after all three previous attempts had ended in defeat. After the two players had shared the opening four frames, they were soon level again at 3-3 before White took the seventh to take a slender lead at the close of the session. White took the first on the resumption to lead 5-3 and by the end of the first day's play, was holding a 10-6 advantage.
White then took the first two frames of the third session to lead 12-6 before Hendry re-established in the final by taking the next two frames before White himself won two frames in a row to lead 14-8 and at this point it seemed as if the Whirlwind was finally about to achieve his lifetime ambition. Things would change, however. In the 24th frame, Hendry potted a brown off the spot from the last read and managed to get perfect position on the yellow before going to clear the table and win the frame, this proved to be a massive turning point and spelt the beginning of the end for White, who would not win another frame, as Hendry won four consecutive frames to run out as a 18-14 winner and claim his second world championship title, while inflcting further heartbreak upon White and his loyal supporters.
The two men met each other once again, on 2nd and 3rd May 1993, but this time it was a far more one-sided encounter as Hendry absolutely hammered White to win by 18-5, after having led 5-1 and then 12-4 after the first two sessions. Hendry's length of victory marked only the third time that the final had been won with a session to spare, following Steve Davis' wins in both 1983 and 1989.
Quite incredibly, at the final held on 1st and 2nd May, the stars aligned to bring both Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White together for a fourth world championship final in five years, and, for White, his fifth final in succession and sixth of his career. For the first time since that memorable and historic night in April 1985, the final went down to the 35th and final frame, and, at 37-24 and in the balls, it finally looked as if White would at last grab his chance and lift the trophy. But, twitching badly, he missed a black off the spot and, Hendry, who was beginning to think that even he wasn't going to get back to the table, almost leapt up from his chair and, with almost a hint of inevitability about it, cleared the table to the pink to deny White and to claim his fourth world title. David Vine, clutching his microphone, almost looked in pain as he spoke to Jimmy, 'Jimmy, what can I say other than Happy Birthday?', to which Jimmy, with a rather rueful smile on his face, instantly responded, 'He's beginning to annoy me'. This would be Jimmy's best, and last, chance to win the one prize in snooker that had always eluded him.
Hendry added a fifth title the following year, when he defeated Nigel Bond 18-9 in the final played on 29th and 30th April. After having ended their opening session all square at 4-4, Hendry eventually took control in the evening session, opening up a 12-5 lead. In the third session, Hendry took six of the nine frames to lead 17-9 and require just one frame in the concluding session which he duly and swiftly achieved with a break of 103.
On 5th and 6th May 1996, Stephen Hendry yet again reached another World Championship final, this time coming up against Peter Ebdon. Again, as in the previous year, the two players shared the first eight frames to level at 4-4, before Hendry again stepped on the gas and took control, establishing a 11-6 lead at the end of the first day's play. At the third session on the second day of the final, Hendry took five of the eight frames to take a 16-10 advantage into the concluding session and after Hendry had won the opening frame of the concluding session, and Ebdon responded well by taking the next two, Hendry claimed his record-equalling sixth world title by making a break of 73 and defeating Ebdon 18-12. Hendry thus became the third man, alongside Ray Reardon and Steve Davis, to claim six world titles in the modern era.
Hendry's search for a record-breaking seventh world crown came to an end in the 1997 World Final, held on 4th and 5th May, where he faced popular Irishman Ken Doherty, who was looking to end Hendry's remarkable run of 29 matches without defeat at the Crucible and claim his first world championship. The first four frames were shared by the two players, with Hendry making successive century breaks (117, 106) in the 2nd and 3rd frames, before Doherty won three frames in a row after the mid-session interval, before Hendry made another century (122) to level the match at 4-4. Hendry took the first of the evening session before Doherty put his stamp on the match by taking five successive frames for a 10-5 lead, Hendry took won the next frame before Doherty closed out the session, taking the 16th frame with a break of 52 for a 11-5 overnight lead. Hendry required a response and he took the first frame of the third session, making a break of 70, before Doherty responded in the next frame with 70; Hendry then took the third frame of the session, before the Dubliner took the fourth and the last before the mid-session interval for a 13-7 lead. Doherty then took the next two to lead 15-7 before Hendry made another century ( 137) and then a 75 in the next frame to keep him in the match at 15-9, his grip on the title slowly slipping away.
Requiring a fast start to ensure that he took the title, Hendry took the first three frames of the fourth and concluding session, breaks of 51, 110, and 61 reducing the defecit to 15-12, however Hendry would not win another frame as Doherty, with breaks of 61, 50, and, finally, 71, took the title 18-12, denying Hendry a record-breaking seventh title and ensuring Doherty his first world title and making him the pride of his homeland. It was said that throughout the final, the local police where Doherty had been raised reported that no crimes had taken place while the match was being played!
On 3rd May and 4th May 1998, it was a case of Scotland vs Ireland, as two good friends, John Higgins, and defending champion Ken Doherty faced off against each other in which Doherty attempted to become the first first-time champion to defend the title and Higgins looking to claim the title for the first time.
After Doherty had made a break of 59 to take the opening frame, Higgins took full control of the opening session, winning six successive frames, making a century break of 130 in the seventh frame, before Doherty made a break of 89 to put some respectability to the scoreline but still trailed 6-2 heading into the evening's session. Doherty started off well, winning the first three frames of the evening, which included a century break of 112, before Higgins then took the next four frames, included scoring a century (103) in the 13th frame and, just as in the opening session, Doherty took the final frame to trail by 10-6 overnight.
Doherty claimed the opening frame of the third session with a break of 69, before Higgins responded with 89, and, after Doherty had claimed the third frame, Higgins struck a break of 130 to move ahead at 12-8 at the mid-session interval. Doherty then won three of the last four frames to reduce the decefit to 13-11 heading into the evening's concluding session.
Higgins started the fourth and concluding session like a house on fire, making breaks of 60, 128, and 71 to go 16-11 in front before Doherty got himself a frame back by making a 78 for 16-12. Higgins, however, then made a break of 66 and completed victory by making a break of 118 to claim the world championship for the first time.
The last final of the twentieth century and of the second millennium took place on 2nd and 3rd May, and was contested between Stephen Hendry, once again looking for his record-breaking seventh title, and Cwm's Mark J. Williams, contesting the final for the first time, looking for his first world championship. Both men had contested three major finals before, including the Masters in 1998, with Williams coming out on top in all three matches. The late Colin Brinded had been selected to take charge as referee for his first, and, sadly, last, world final.
Hendry started the stronger of the two players, taking the first four frames of the final, before Williams took the first after the mid-session interval, before Hendry took the next with a half-century. Williams managed to half the defecit by taking the final two frames of the session, which ended with Hendry leading 5-3. Again, in the second session, Hendry started off quicker than Williams, taking the first two frames following the resumption, before the two players then shared the next two frames. Williams won the next two, but Hendry himself finished the session strongly, winning the final two frames to lead 10-6 overnight.
Williams started the third session of the final taking the first two frames with breaks of 85 and 72, before the next two frames were shared. Hendry then took control and won the last four frames of the session to lead 15-9 and only requiring three frames for the title. Hendry won the first two frames of the evening's concluding session with breaks of 66 and 62 before Williams took the next two frames to ensure the match at least lasted to a mid-session interval. Williams was leading by 40 points in the next frame but he missed a pot on a red and Hendry then cleared up to claim victory and claim his record-breaking seventh title, surpassing both Ray Reardon and Steve Davis. Hendry said at the time, 'This is worth more to me than six other championships put together. This is my finest hour in snooker without a doubt.' No-one realised it at time, but the 'King of the Crucible' would not lift the trophy again.
The final of 1983 took place between 1st and 2nd May, with 1981 champion Steve Davis pitting his wits against the 1980 champion Cliff Thorburn, while Davis was competing in his second world final, it was a third for Thorburn who, in addition to his aforementioned triumph, had of course lost the first final at the Crucible in 1977 and was desperate to add to his tally of one world title, as indeed was the ginger-haired cueman from Romford.
After the first four frames of the opening afternoon session were shared, Davis took a hold of the match by winning the next four frames and establishing a 6-2 lead. His advantage quickly increased in the first frames of the evening session as he went into a 9-2 lead thanks in part to errors from Thorburn, who, having played in some tremendously long matches during the course of the tournament, was now completely and utterly exhausted and simply was unable to offer much resistance to Davis, who finished the first day with a comprehensive 12-5 lead.
Davis won the opening frame of the second day's afternoon session and in the second frame, Thorburn missed a number of pots allowing Davis to capitalise and lead 14-5 before he took the next two frames to head into the mid-session interval 16-5 and two frames away from the title. In the first frame after the interval, Davis made a break of 131, and, although Thorburn managed to win a frame back, Davis completed a comprehensive victory at 18-6, the first final at the Crucible to be completed with a session to spare.
1984 saw the final take place over the weekend of 6th and 7th May, and once again featured defending champion Davis and, making his debut in the world championship final, talented Londoner Jimmy 'Whirlwind of London Town' White, while Jim Thorpe took charge of the match, having refereed the UK Championship final in 1980 and 1984. In the first session, the defending champion stormed to a 6-1 lead and he further extended his lead by taking the first two frames of the evening session, White won the next two frames but found himself 10-2 down at the mid-session interval. After the interval, White won the first two frames but then found himself going in-off in frame 15, and then Davis subsequently one the next frame to take a 12-4 overnight lead. However, in a glimpse of what would happen the following year, White made a great fight of it by winning seven of the eight frames in the third session, but Davis began the final session by taking the first three frames to lead 16-12 before White again put up further resistance by winning three frames in succession to trail 16-15, Davis won the next on the colours to lead 17-15, before White made a break of 65 to trail 17-16 and the possibilty of the match going to a decider looked extremely likely. Davis, however, had other ideas, and he retained the title - the first player to do so at the Crucible - by taking the frame 77-40 and winning by 18-16. While Davis celebrated and lifted the world championship trophy, Alex Higgins, White's snooker hero and friend, was himself inconsolable as he attempted to comfort White following his defeat.
Of all the finals that have been played at the Crucible Theatre, indeed, of all the finals that have been played during the modern era of the world championship, the final which took place on 27th and 28th April 1985 has gone down as the most memorable in snooker history, and one of the most memorable moments in sporting folklore. Steve Davis went into the final, once again as defending champion, and looking to claim his fourth world championship title, while his opponent, the genial and popular Irishman, Dennis Taylor, was looking to claim the title for the first time, having been denied by Terry Griffiths in 1979. Taylor was also being driven by the inspiration of his beloved mother, who tragically died suddenly while Taylor was competing in the 1984 Jameson International, immediately withdrawing to return home. A few weeks later, driven by a determination to win for his mother, Taylor played some tremendous snooker in claiming the Rothmans Grand Prix, thrashing his great friend, Cliff Thorburn 10-2 in the final.
Davis, naturally, was not favourite to retain his championship and he certainly justified the pre-match predictions of another title when he marched into a seven-frame lead, although Taylor had actually made a break of 50 in the opening frame. Davis then took the eighth frame at the start of the evening's second session and looks odds on course to claim the ninth when, in what, in hindsight, actually turned out to be a particularly significant turn of events, Davis missed a thin cut on the green and Taylor cleared up to clinch his first frame, ironically raising his finger to emphasise the point. Even though Davis then won the next to go 9-1 up, Taylor fought back and claimed six frames in a row to end the day only 9-7 behind.
Twice on the following day, Taylor tied the match at first 11-11 and then again at 15-15, but never found himself ahead of Davis at any point thus far during the final. Davis then won the next two to take a 17-15 lead, and at this point, since it seemed almost certain that Davis would get over the line, Embassy officials, as well as BBC presenter David Vine, were waiting behind the curtain into the arena, believing that the end was nigh. Taylor, however, had other ideas, and took the next two frames to ensure that the destination of the 1985 World Snooker Championship would be decided on the 35th and deciding frame of the final, by which point over 18.5 million viewers, the highest ever UK television audience for a snooker match, were tuned into BBC Two, glued to their sets for a final frame which would last over an hour and eventually conclude at 12.23am. Davis was leading 62-44 with just four balls remaining, Taylor requiring all over for the title. He then potted particularly difficult pots on the brown, blue, and pink, leaving just the black ball for the championship. With black left safe, both players attempted to double the ball, with no success, at one point Taylor thought he had doubled it as the crowd were cheering as the ball headed towards the pocket before going safe. Taylor had the first real good opportunity, taking on a long pot to the baulk corner, but missed the pot and left Davis with a particularly thin cut to the bottom left corner, Davis then missed it and left Taylor with a mid-range shot, while legendary BBC commentator, Ted Lowe, simply said, 'This is really unbelievable', and referee John Williams, who of course had been standing throughout the match, and who was praying that the match would be over, called for order from the packed Crucible audience.
Taylor took his time before pushing his cue through and potting the black, giving him the world championship for the first time. Immediately Taylor raised his cue aloft with both hands and, after catching sight of his good friend Trevor East, who worked for ITV Sport, wiggled his finger towards him, before shaking hands with Davis and referee Williams. After David Vine had put his first question to a pale and crestfallen Davis, Davis deadpanned and responded, 'It was all there in black and white'.
The following year, Davis found himself back in the final again, which was held on 4th and 5th May. His opponent this time was Bradford's Joe Johnson, who, at the start of the championship, had been rated as an 150/1 outsider by the bookmakers and at first it looked like the bookmakers were spot on as Davis lead 3-1 after the first four frames, including breaks of 108 and 107. Johnson, however, struck back in fine style, winning the next three frames to finish the session with a slender 4-3 lead. Again Davis started the second session strongly, winning four frames in a row to lead 7-4, after the mid-session interval, however, Johnson himself won four frames on the bounce before Davis took the last frame of the day to level the match at 8-8.
The next day Johnson was seen sporting a rather fancy pair of red, pink and white leather shoes. He started the third session tremendously well, taking four frames in succession to establish a 12-8 and he headed into the fourth and concluding session 13-11 ahead, supported by huge support from the Crucible crowd, who were roaring the Yorkshireman on to a famous victory. In that fourth session, Johnson took three of the first four frames to establish a 16-12 lead, before securing the next two frames to claim his first world championship - which turned out to be his only ranking title - 18-12. Davis was gracious in defeat, recognising that he had been completely outplayed, while Johnson was also gracious in victory and emphasised that he felt that Davis had not received the credit that he deserved and that he was a great ambassador for snooker.
The 1987 final, played on 3rd and 4th May, again saw Davis and Johnson face each other in snooker's showpiece match, the first time that the same players had met in successive finals at the Crucible, which, unlike previous years, was decked in a turquoise-blue color rather than the usual Embassy pink. It also marked the first time that the final had been contested by the tournament's top two seeds. Davis took the first frame with an excellent break of 127, which in fact was the highest of the entire championship, before Johnson struck back to win the next three frames, with the defending champion ending the session narrowly ahead at 4-3. Davis began the evening session by winning the first three frames to lead 6-4 before Johnson took the next with a break of 101 but then fell behind as Davis secured the next two frames. Johnson then took the next frame before the last two frames of the day were shared, giving Davis a 9-7 overnight lead.
Johnson took the first frame of the third session to reduce Davis's lead to 9-8 before the Romford man took four frames in a row to take a 13-8, he lost the next frame, however, after leaving the final black in a position which Johnson could pot it, which he did, before Davis won the final frame of the session to lead 14-9. Johnson started the fourth and concluding session in excellent fashion, winning four consecutive frames to reduce Davis's advantage to 14-13, before Davis then won three in a row, to take a 17-13 lead. Despite Johnson taking the next frame, Davis got over the line and claimed his fourth championship by making a break of 73 to win 18-14. In his post-match interview, Davis expressed his relief at reclaiming his title, 'Winning this is better than 1981 because I've experienced getting beat in the final and its horrible'.
Steve Davis' domination of snooker carried on well into the late-1980's and he reached his sixth consecutive world championship final, held on 1st and 2nd May 1988, with his opponent being his good friend and a fellow member of Barry Hearn's 'Matchroom Mob', Terry Griffiths, who was competing in his first world championship final since winning the title in 1979. Davis had a particularly good record against the 'Griff', having won fifteen of their nineteen previous meetings.
Griffiths won the first frame before Davis then won five in a row, before the 1979 champion took the last of the afternoon to give Davis a 5-2 lead into the next session. Just as the afternoon, Griffiths won the opening frame of the session before Davis then took the next two frames to lead 7-3. Griffiths then won four successive frames to level at 7-7 before Davis re-established his lead at 8-7 and then Griffiths took the last of the day to level again at 8-8 overnight. Despite missing several pots, Davis took the first three frames of the third session, leading 11-8, after Griffiths had made several errors. The Welshman took the next frame with a break of 46 before Davis restored his three-frame lead with breaks of 33 and 36 in the 21st frame. By the end of the session, Davis had established a 14-10 lead.
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Davis then won the opening frame of the fourth and evening session, before taking two of the next three frames, to lead 17-11 heading into the mid-session interval. He took the title with a break of 66 in the next frame to take the world title for a fifth time and for a second year in a row.
The final of 1989 was held on 30th April and 1st May, and, for a seventh consecutive featured Steve Davis, looking for his sixth title, while his opponent was Merseyside's John Parrott. Davis started off winning the first two frames, before Parrott won the third, before Davis increased his advantage to lead 5-2 heading into the evening session. Davis continued his domination of the final by winning all four frames of the first mini-session and by the end of the day had increased his lead to an almost unassailable 11-3 lead, Parrott would not in fact win another frame.
Parrott had had chances to win the first two frames of the third session, but lost both of them to Davis on the pink before Davis won a further two frames to increase his massive lead to 17-3 and victory was assured with a full session to spare when, after Parrott had broken down on 40, Davis made a break of 42 to ensure the largest winning margin seen so far at the Crucible and his sixth (and ultimately final) world championship, and his third in a row after 1987 and 1988. Since the final had ended with a session to spare, the two finalists came back and played an exhibition match.
Since Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize are currently engaged in battle in the 2026 Halo World Snooker Championship final, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at each and every final which has been held at the Crucible Theatre since the World Championship moved there way back in 1977.
The first final took place from 28th until 30th April and, unlike today, was then played over the best of forty-nine frames, and which was officiated by the late John Smyth, who would go on to referee the world final of 1982. The first final saw John Spencer, looking to claim his third world title, up against Canada's Cliff Thorburn, who had reached his first world final after defeating his good friend Dennis Taylor. After the early exchanges, Spencer led 4-2 and then won the next frame before Thorburn won four of the next five frames to level the scores at 6-6, Thorburn then went into the lead for the first time by claiming the first two frames of the evening session, Spencer then hit back to win the next two frames and after Thorburn had once again gone ahead, Spencer made a break of 105 to level the scores at 9-9 at the end of the first day's play.
In the opening session of the second day, Thorburn won the first three frames to take a 13-11 lead and then won the next two frames before Spencer won three on the bounce to make it 15-14 to the Canadian. Spencer then won the final frame of the session by winning it on the black. Both players shared the opening two frames of the second day's evening session before Spencer went into a 18-16 lead and then Thorburn won the final two frames of the second day meaning the scores were level again at 18-18.
The first three frames of the opening session of the third and final day were claimed by Spencer before Thorburn won the next two. Spencer then won frame forty-two with a break of 67 meaning that he lead 22-20 at the end of the session, after Thorburn had missed a routine black off the spot. In the final evening session, Thorburn won the first frame before Spencer then claimed the next and then won the next three to claim the title for the third, and what would prove to be, final time, winning by 25 frames to 21.
1978 saw five-times world champion Ray Reardon taking on talented South African player Perrie Mans in snooker's showpiece match and, just as the previous year, it was played over three days and again was the best of forty-nine frames. After the first four frames, the two players were level at 2-2, but Reardon won all four frames after the mid-session interval to lead 5-2 but Mans hit back by taking the first three frames of the opening day's evening session. Reardon at one stage led 7-5, but the session ended with both players all square at 8-8. At the end of the second day's afternoon session, Reardon held a slight advantage at 12-11 and he further increased his lead by taking the first three frames of the third session to lead 15-11, both players then won three frames apiece, with Reardon having a lead of 18-14. Mans that narrowed the gap to just one frame before Reardon finished the session once again four frames in front at 22-18. Reardon opened the concluding session by making a break of 81 before adding the next two frames to secure his sixth title 25-18.
1979 saw Terry Griffiths, who had reached the final only having turned professional several months previously, take on Dennis Taylor (playing then without his famous upside-down spectacles), with John Williams, rather unusually, taking charge of the final for the second year in succession. This time, the final would be played over six sessions, and was a best of forty-seven, rather than forty-nine, frames. Griffiths made a strong start and led 5-2 heading into the second session, however, after having been level pegging at 7-7, Taylor started to get a foothold in the final and led 11-9 and then 14-12 before Griffiths came back strongly taking twelve of the next fourteen frames. The pair were level 15-15 as they began play on the third and final day, Griffiths won two of the first three frames to lead 17-16 and then impressively took the title by winning seven consecutive frames to triumph 24-16. Writing in his book The History of Snooker and Billiards, the late commentator and editor of Snooker Scene, the great Clive Everton wrote that Griffiths was 'the first authentic television age champion, a working class hero'.
The final of 1980, which took place over 4th and 5th May, was the first to be played over the now-familiar best of 35 frames and over four separate sessions. The match was a clash of styles and, it is also fair to say, a clash of temperaments, with the fiery 1972 world champion Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, whose rather swashbuckling style of snooker was credited with revitalising the game, taking on the rather more tactically astute Cliff Thorburn, who became the first player to reach a second final at the Crucible, following his defeat to John Spencer in 1977. After Thorburn had won the opening frame, it was Higgins who then took a grip of proceedings, claiming the next five frames before Thorburn claimed to seventh to trail 5-2, Higgins complaining after the frame that the Canadian had been standing in his eyeline, a complaint he would make about fellow players and, in particular, referees in subsequent years. Higgins led 6-3, which extended to 9-5, before Thorburn levelled the match at 9-9. The 19th and 20th frames went the way of Thorburn before Higgins then took the next two. Twice the Canadian went ahead at 12-11 and 13-12, being pegged back each time by his determined opponent. In the concluding session, Higgins took the opening frame, Thorburn then took the next two, before Higgins took the next to level at 15-15. Thorburn and Higgins then shared a frame apiece, before a break of 119 took Thorburn to within one frame of the title and this he achieved by making a break of 51 after having successfully laid a snooker which Higgins failed to get out of, and he thus became the first overseas champion, taking the title 18-16.
During the final, the BBC coverage of the match was interrupted by news coverage of the on-going Iranian Embassy siege, which drew angry complaints from viewers who were desperate to keep abreast of what was happening at the Crucible.
The final held on 19th and 20th April 1981 saw Romford's Steve Davis take on Doug Mountjoy, both of whom having reached snooker's showpiece match for the first time in their careers. Davis started the match like a house on fire, taking the first six frames. In the eighth frame, Davis was 49-48 in front with only the last three balls remaining on the table, the black ball happened to be extremely close to the pocket, the blue ball nearby. Both Davis and Mountjoy had thirty-seven turns taking shots before the frame was abandoned and restarted, which Mountjoy won with a break of 76 before he won the last frame of the session, leaving Davis with a 6-3 advantage going into the evening session. In that session, Davis won the first frame before Mountjoy won the next two, and then Davis took the following one to lead 8-5 at the mid-session interval, before the session eventually concluded with Davis narrowly ahead 10-8 heading into the second day. The first frame of the third session on the second day started with Davis making a break of 83 before he took the next to lead 12-8 before Mountjoy then won the next two to trail 12-10 and then he took of the final four frames of the session to give Davis a 14-12 lead heading into the evening session. Davis began the session by making a break of 55 to lead 15-12 before he then took the next three frames, including a break of 119, to claim his first world championship and led to his manager, Barry Hearn, literally charging into the arena and giving Davis a massive bear-hug before raising his fists in triumph.
The final which took place on 15th and 16th May 1982 pitted the six-times world champion Ray Reardon, taking on Alex Higgins, with the pair of them, unbeknownst to them at the time, participating in what would be their last world championship final and was a rematch of their 1976 final, in which Reardon, who by 1982 was almost the sort-of elder statesman of the sport, had come out on top. And it was Reardon who started off marginally the better of the two players, taking a narrow 5-3 lead after the first session and he was leading 6-4 in the second session when he missed a pink ball, Higgins capitalised and took the next frame as well to level at 6-6 and the first day eventually finished with Higgins, having turned the situation around, having an overnight lead of 10-7.
Reardon won the first frame of the third and the next before Higgins won the following two to take a 12-9 lead, with the session ending 13-12 in Higgins' favour. After capturing the first two frames of the fourth and concluding session, Higgins missed a pot which allowed Reardon to capture the frame and reduce Higgins' lead to 15-13 and this quickly became 15-15. However, Higgins then made breaks of 79 in the 31st frame, 73 and 38 in the 32nd frame, and a memorable break of 135 in the 33rd frame to clinch his second and what proved to be last world championship, leading to those memorable and emotional scenes on the floor of the Crucible with Higgins beckoning for his baby daughter, Lauren, before being presented with the world championship trophy.
Chinese sensation Wu Yize and the 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy will battle it out on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday for the greatest prize in the game of snooker - the 2026 Halo World Snooker Championship - each of them having reached the final following highly dramatic semi-finals, the most dramatic seen at the Crucible possibly since Ronnie O'Sullivan overcame Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson narrowly defeated Anthony McGill in two tremendous matches (albeit played behind closed doors) back in the summer of 2020.
Murphy had started off Saturday afternoon's concluding session trailing 13-11, but he was level two minutes short of a half-hour with breaks of 132 followed by 127, taking his career total of centuries to 777, putting himself equal with the 'King of the Crucible' Stephen Hendry. The next two frames before the final mid-session interval went the way of the Wizard of Wishaw before Murphy levelled again at 15-15 with efforts of 107 and 78. Trailing by 26-8 in the 31st frame, Higgins attempted to pot a tough-looking red to centre, however it caught the near jaw and finished close to a baulk corner, giving Murphy the opportunity to make a break of 38 and put his nose in front. Hoping to take the match to a deciding frame, Higgins was on a break of 50 when an attempt at a short range black remained in the jaws, with Murphy responding with 35, before a brief safety exchange concluded with a mistake from Higgins, who left the red available to a baulk corner and Murphy composed himself to clear to the pink and put himself into the final for the first time since losing to Stuart Bingham in 2015.
Wu Yize, meanwhile, managed to claw himself from the very jaws of defeat to claim his place in his first ever world championship final following one of the most dramatic matches ever played at Sheffield's iconic Crucible Theatre and which had included the longest-ever frame to be played at the Crucible, lasting a remarkable 100 minutes and 19 seconds.
Mark Allen will forever be regretting the simple black off the spot which, at 16-14, would have ensured his presence in his first ever world championship final, the black rattling in the jaws of the pocket and which was then swiftly dispatched by Yize, who even now must still cannot believe that he is still in the tournament following some of the most dramatic scenes in a semi-final, indeed in any match played at the Crucible.
Saturday evening's dramatic concluding session opened with Allen taking advantage of Wu losing position when on a break of 50 and winning the subsequent tactical battle to lead 12-11 before Wu took the next. He was in again in frame 25 when he again lost position on 31 and Allen took advantage again with a break of 82 to lead 13-12. Wu then made a wonderful break of 126 to once again level, but Allen again edged in front with a break of 57, Wu again levelled matters with 74, only for Allen to make 65 in the next to take a 15-14 lead.
In frame 30, it seemed as if Wu was going to level the match until he missed a red to the centre pocket when he was on a break of 58. After Allen made 22, he then again got the better of the tactical exchanges, making a clearance of 45 to go two clear at 16-14. Wu then made a tremendous clearance of 67 to keep his hopes alive at 16-15 before nerves completely took over in the 32nd frame - Allen failing to pot the final red when leading 62-52, before Wu's attempted clearance ended with a missed pink. Allen then clipped in the pink from distance and found himself perfect on the black, but, to the complete and utter shock and dismay from all those watching in the Crucible, couldn't hit the target to get him over the line.
In the deciding frame, Allen again had first opportunity and had made a break of 47 before he ran out of position, before Wu responded with a 22 before being rather unfortunate not to land a red when he split the pack. Waiting for the chance to create another opening, he completed a remarkable victory with a tremendous break of 71.
Wu was born on 14th October 2003, just two years before his final opponent claimed his first world title, he turned professional in 2021 and in 2022 was named as World Snooker Tour's 'Rookie of the Year'. He first appeared at the Crucible in 2023, having been 1-5 and 4-7 down before defeating future Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin 10-8 in the final qualifying round before he succumbed 10-3 in the last 32 at the Crucible to 2010 champion Neil Robertson. He reached the semi-finals of the Snooker Shoot-Out in December 2024 before reaching the final of the Scottish Open the following week, where he lost to fellow Chinese player, Lei Peifan. He again qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship in 2025, beating twice world finalist Matthew Stevens 10-9 in the final qualifying round before he lost in the first round to another Welshman in Mark Williams, going down 10-8. In November last year, he reached the final of the International Championship where, after wins over Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins, and defending world champion Zhao Xintong before claiming the title with a 10-6 victory in the final against John Higgins. In January, at the Masters, he impressed in heavily defeating Shaun Murphy 6-2 and going to the semi-finals where he narrowly lost 6-5 to eventual winner Kyren Wilson.
Shaun Murphy was born in Harlow on 10th August 1982 and turned professional in 1998, being awarded the World Snooker Newcomer of the Year in 2000, the same year he won the English Open Championship. His first professional tournament success came when he defeated Mark Davis 6-1 to claim the Benson and Hedges Professional Championship, making a maximum break at the following year's championship. He first qualifed for the televised stages of the World Championship in 2002, where he was defeated 10-4 by seven-times champion Stephen Hendry in the first round, the following year, he lost on the final black in the first round to 1997 champion Ken Doherty. After failing to qualify for the 2004 World Championship, Murphy memorably played some excellent snooker in claiming the title for the first time in 2005, the last time the tournament was sponsored by Embassy. After defeating Chris Small 10-5 in the first round, he defeated John Higgins 13-8, Steve Davis 13-4, and, in the semi-final, Peter Ebdon 17-12, before he defeated Wales' Matthew Stevens 18-16 in a high quality final to lift the trophy for the first time. Overall in his career so far, Murphy has claimed 30 ranking titles and 25 non-ranking titles, which included twice being winner at the Masters.
