1987 Warld Snooker Championship

The **1987 World Snooker Championship** (an aw referred tae as the **1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship** for the purposes o sponsorship) wis a professional ranking snooker tournament that teuk place atween 18&nbsp;Apryle and 4&nbsp;May 1987 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

Defendin champion Joe Johnson made it tae the final again, as did the previous year's runner-up Steve Davis, makin it a repeat o the 1986 final. Houiver Johnson did nae retain his title, as he fell tae the Crucible curse and lost 14–18 tae Davis. It wis Davis' fowert world title.  The tournament wis sponsored bi cigarette manufacturer Embassy.

## Overview
The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament an the offeecial world championship o the gemme o snooker. Foondit in the late 19t century bi British Army soldiers stationed in Indie, the sport wis popular in the British Isles. Houiver, in the modren era it haes acome increasingly popular warldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations sic as Cheenae, Hong Kong and Thailand.

The championship featurt 32 professional players competin in ane-on-ane snooker matches in a single elimination format, each played ower several . The 32 competitors in the main tournament war selected uisin a combination o the tap players in the world snooker rankings and a pre-tournament qualification stage. Joe Davis won the first World Championship in 1927, the final match bein held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England. Syne 1977, the event haes been held in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

### Prize fund
The event featurt a prize fund o £400,000 wi the winner receiving £80,000. The breakdown o prize money for the event is shawn ablo:

*Winner:  £80,000
*Runner-up: £48,000
*Semi-finals: £24,000
*Quarter-finals: £12,000
*Last 16: £6,000
*Last 32: £3,375
*Highest break: £8,000
*Maximum break: £80,000
*Tot: £400,000

## Tournament summary
The defendin champion Joe Johnson haed experienced a "disappointing" saison, nae managing tae reach a major final. Houiver, Sydney Friskin o *[[The Times]]* reportit that Johnson prepared for the Championship bi reportedly practicing diligently, an that the cyst on his back that previously troubled him haed been removed. Johnson stairtit the event as 66-1 against winnin the tournament outsider wi bookmakers.

Leadin up tae the event, Neal Foulds haed been the maist successfu player o the saison. He haed gained the maist ranking pynts during the saison up ahead o Steve Davis, and wis third placed in terms o prize money won, ahead o Davis and Jimmy White.

### Qualifying
The qualifying roonds war played at the Preston Guild Hall frae 26 Mairch tae 4 Apryle 1987.

An aicht-time champion in Fred Davis lost 5–10 tae Ken Owers. Anither umwhile champion, John Spencer, who haed won the title three times himsel, beat Roger Bales 10–3. Houiver, for the first time syne turning professional, Spencer failed tae qualify, bein beaten 5–10 bi Barry West. Bill Werbeniuk and Eddie Charlton baith an aw failed tae qualify for the main competeetion for the first time, Werbeniuk losin 8–10 tae Mark Bennett and Charlton beaten 10–4 bi Warren King.

Trailing efter the first session o his qualifying match 3-5, Jimmy van Rensberg wis taken tae hospital wi a suspected hert attack. Houiver, he wis later discharged and went on tae win 10–6. Dene O'Kane scored five century breaks across his three matches, a new record in the qualifying roonds, includin the heichest break o 132. He received £2,000 for the heichest break in qualifying.

### First round
Johnson wis taken tae the deciding frame bi Eugene Hughes, winnin 10–9. Davis wis 7–1 ahead o King at the end o thair first session. King then won sax o the next seiven frames tae reduce Davis's lead tae ane frame at 8–7. Davis narrowly won the sixteenth frame wi a break o 63, then won the next efter needing a snooker, which he obtained. He teuk the next frame as well, tae win 10–7.

Aged 18 years and 97 days, Stephen Hendry became the youngest-ever player tae win a match at the Crucible, wi a 10–7 veectory ower aicht seed Willie Thorne. Hendry haed led 5–4 at the end o thair first session and then teuk the first fower frames in the seicont, afore Thorne won three in succession tae mak it 9–7 tae Hendry. Hendry then teuk the 17t frame tae achieve a 10–7 win.

Frae 5–4 ahead at thair interval, Steve Longworth won five successive frames tae beat Kirk Stevens 10–5. Terry Griffiths an aw progressed frae a 5–4 interval lead tae a 10–4 win, against Jim Wych. Alex Higgins, who wis due tae stairt a sax month ban efter the Championship, beat first-year professional Jon Wright 10–6.

Murdo MacLeod, who tae that pynt haed won anly ane ranking even match in the saison, defeatit Rex Williams 10–5. Williams made the heichest break o the roond, 112. Fowert seed Tony Knowles lost 6–10 tae Mike Hallett, haein led 6–5, an 11t seed Tony Meo lost 8–10 tae John Parrott. White led Dean Reynolds 5–4 at the end o thair first session. Reynolds won the first twa frames o the seicont session baith on respotted blacks, afore White went on tae win 10–8. O'Kane won nine frames in a row going frae 1–5 behind seicont-ranked player Cliff Thorburn tae win 10–5. Ray Reardon beat debutant Barry West 10–5.

Foulds led Virgo 7–2 efter thair first session and won 10–4. Silvino Francisco and John Campbell played anly aicht o thair scheduled nine frames in the first session, the last frame bein carried ower tae the acause o how lang thay war takkin, wi Francisco led 5–3. Franciso won five consecutive frames at the stairt o thair seicont session tae complete a 10–3 win. Doug Mountjoy led David Taylor 6–3 efter thair first session, an won 10–6. 1985 Champion Dennis Taylor led Bennett 8–1 and 9–2 afore winnin 10–4.

### Second Round
Johnson led MacLeod 6–2 and 9–4, winnin 13–7. Higgins led Griffiths 6–3 afore Griffiths won fower frames in a row. Thay war level at 8–8, wi Griffiths going on tae win 13–10.

Reardon lost 4–13 tae Davis, haein led 3–1 and dropped oot o the tap 16 in the end-o-saison world rankings, muivin doun frae 15 tae 38.

White made a break o 114 in his match against Parrott, the heichest in that year's championship tae that pynt, an won 13–11.

Longworth and Hendry war level at 4–4 at the end o thair first session, Hendry going on tae win 13–7.

### Quarter-finals
Johnson led Hendry 8–1 and 12–8 afore Hendry levelled at 12–12. Johnson won the deciding frame.

White teuk a 9–0 lead against O'Kane afore winnin 13–6.

### Semi-finals
Johnson beat Foulds 16–9, whilst Davis beat White 16–11.

Johnson wis a frame ahead o Foulds efter thair first session, at 4–3, efter Foulds missed a black that wad hae put him rather than Johnson a frame ahead. Foulds made a break o 48 in winnin the first frame o the seicont session, then won the ninth efter needing snookers. Johnson made breaks o 47 in each o the next twa frames tae lead 6-5. Foulds teuk the next afore Johnson, wi his fowert break o 47 in fower frames, teuk the lead again. Foulds won the last frame o the session wi a break o 45 tae leave them aw square at 7–7. Foulds made a break o 114 in the 15t frame tae gang ane ahead afore Johnson won seiven frames in a row tae lead 14–8.

Davis and White haed been level at 4–4 efter thair first session.

### Final
The final atween Steve Davis and Joe Johnson wis the first time that the same twa players haed met in the final at the Crucible for the seicont year in a row. The last time that twa players haed met in consecutive finals at the World Championship wis when Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson haed baith reached the final frae 1947 tae 1951, five years in a row. The next time it wad happen wis when Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White met in three consecutive finals atween 1992 and 1994. This is an aw the anly time that the final haes been contested bi the tap twa seeds o the tournament. In the first frame, Davis compiled a 127 break, the heichest o the main tournament. Johnson then won three frames in a row, afore Davis did the same, leaving Davis 4–3 ahead at the end o the first session. He extendit his lead tae 6–4 at the stairt o the seicont session, an wis 9–7 ahead bi the end o it.

On the seicont day, Johnson won the first frame o the third session tae reduce Davis' lead tae ane frame. Davis then teuk fower consecutive frames tae lead 13–8, but missed the last reid when on a break o 52. Johnson then cleared up tae the black, which Davis wad hae required tae level the scores in the frame. Houiver, Davis left the black in a poseetion that it coud be potted frae, an Johnson won the frame. Davis won the next frame, tae lead 14-9. Johnson then haed his ain run o fower consecutive frame wins tae muive tae within ane frame at 13–14, makin a break o 62 that included a  red, leaving the score at 14-9 tae Davis at the end o the third session. Johnson made a break o 52 in the first frame o the fowert session, but left an easy reid for Davis who made a break o 35, but left an easy green for Johnson, who cleared tae the pink tae win. Johnson made a break o 62 in the next frame, wi Davis, who coud still hae won the then losin poseetion on the  yellow. Johnson potted the yellae frae distance and cleared tae the blue, wi Davis then conceding the frame. Johnson led 50-0 in the next frame, an wi baith players makin a nummer o errors during the frame, Davis left Johnson an easy broun that allowed Johnson in tae win his fowert consecutive frame. Davis haed breaks o 64 and 40 tae lead 15-13, a break o 73 tae help mak it 16-13, an won on the colours tae mak it 17-13. Johnson won anither frame, wi a break o 67, afore Davis clinched veectory wi a break o 73 tae mak it 18-14, achieving his fowert World Championship title.

## Main draw
Shawn ablo are the results for the tournament. The nummers in brackets denote players seedings, whilst players in bold are match winners.

## Century breaks
Thare war 18 century breaks at the championship. The heichest o which bein a 127 made bi Steve Davis. This break wis the lowest heichest break recorded syne the event moved tae the Crucible Theatre. A 132 made bi Dene O'Kane wis the heichest break o the qualifying stages.

* 127 Steve Davis
* 119, 114 Jimmy White
* 112 Rex Williams
* 109, 106, 105, 102 Neal Foulds
* 108, 102, 101 Joe Johnson
* 105, 103 Mike Hallett
* 103 Stephen Hendry
* 103 Steve Longworth
* 101 John Virgo
* 100 Tony Meo
* 100 Ray Reardon

## Notes

## References