"the title in 1985, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion since 45-year-old Ray Reardon in 1978. John Higgins, the defending champion, lost 4–13 to Stephen Hendry in the second round. On the opening day of the televised stage Hendry made the 88th official maximum break, his third at the Crucible and the 11th of his career. He announced his retirement from professional snooker following his defeat by Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. The tournament was sponsored by online casino Betfred.com. This is to date, the last World Championship to feature a maximum break. The prize fund for the championship was"
"Miles. Reardon maintains an active interest in the game. He also advised Ronnie O'Sullivan on his way to his 2004 World Championship victory, giving him psychological and technical help. Reardon now resides in Brixham, Devon. He is currently the president of the golf club in Churston, Devon. Reardon made a playing appearance at a Snooker Legends evening in Plymouth in July 2010. Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, (born 8 October 1932) is a Welsh retired snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships, and is remembered as one of the best players of the 20th century."
"1970 World Snooker Championship The 1970 World Snooker Championship (also known as the Player's No.6 World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a snooker tournament that took place in 1970. Like the previous year the final was held at the Victoria Hall in London, from 6 to 11 April 1970. For the second and last time the event was sponsored by Player's No.6. Ray Reardon won in the final 37–33 against John Pulman. This year was the first of Reardon's six world titles; he held the title for only seven months until the next championship in Australia during November 1970."
"Reardon also made the highest break of the tournament with 118. Sources: First round Best of 21 frames 1970 World Snooker Championship The 1970 World Snooker Championship (also known as the Player's No.6 World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a snooker tournament that took place in 1970. Like the previous year the final was held at the Victoria Hall in London, from 6 to 11 April 1970. For the second and last time the event was sponsored by Player's No.6. Ray Reardon won in the final 37–33 against John Pulman. This year was the first of Reardon's six world"
"London. After winning the title, Reardon was in big demand for exhibitions and on the holiday camp circuit. Winning the first ever ""Pot Black"" in 1969 made him instantly recognisable; Reardon and John Spencer were the first to capitalise on the snooker boom in the early 1970s. Reardon also became popular because he added a touch of humour and entertainment to his game. A deadly long potter and tactician in his prime, he played seventeen World Championship matches without defeat and won the title four years in succession. He won his second in 1973 in Manchester when he beat Eddie"
"5–2. Having finished the 2000/2001 season ranked 139th, Reardon lost his professional status for a third time, at the age of 32. He attempted to regain his place over the following two seasons, but was unable to progress far enough in any tournament to do so. Stuart Reardon (snooker player) Stuart Reardon (born 1969) is an English former professional snooker player. Born in 1969, Reardon turned professional in 1991. His debut season featured a run to the last 32 of the 1992 Asian Open, where he lost 4–5 to Steve Campbell, and the last 64 at both the 1991 UK"
"1975 World Snooker Championship The 1975 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place at various locations in Australia. The final was held at the Nunawading Basketball Centre on Burwood Highway, in Burwood East, Victoria. In the final Ray Reardon won 10 of the 12 frames on the second day to lead 16–8 but Eddie Charlton won the first 9 frames on day 3 to lead. Reardon then led 23–21 before Charlton won 8 frames in a row to lead 29–23, needing just 2 of the last 9 frames to win. However Reardon then won 7 frames"
"to win the World Snooker Championship all won a championship in their 40s, the last of which was Reardon. It was forty years until another player in their 40s would win the title, when Mark Williams achieved the feat aged 43 in 2018. The 1979 championship was won by Terry Griffiths. Griffiths had only been a professional for 7 months and played two qualifying matches to reach the Crucible. In the semi-final Griffiths was trailing 16–17 to Eddie Charlton, before winning 19–17 at 1.40 am, and then beat Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the final, winning the record first prize of"
"MBE in June 2004. Mark Williams (snooker player) Mark James Williams, (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003, and 2018. As the current World Champion, he is due to defend his title at the 2019 World Snooker Championship in April/May 2019. Aged 43 when he triumphed in May 2018, he became the second oldest winner of the World Championship at the Crucible (Ray Reardon was the oldest winner in 1978, aged 45). Often noted for his single-ball long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname ""The Welsh"
"round-robin format and took the title. He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, defeating future world professional champion John Spencer in the final. In 1968 Owen, Spencer and Ray Reardon become the first players in a generation to turn professional. His best performance as a pro came in 1969 when he reached the final of the reconstituted World Professional Snooker Championship, losing to old rival Spencer by 37 frames to 24. A semi-finalist in 1970, he was defeated in the last eight in 1973 and 1975. Owen emigrated to Australia in 1971, taking a job as"
"13–12 in a high-quality second round match to Tony Knowles. Reardon also had the distinction of whitewashing Steve Davis twice during the latter's prime; firstly, 6–0 in the 1982 Highland Masters semi-final (an event Reardon went on to win) and secondly in 1988 (see below). Reardon reached the semi-finals of the World Championships once more, in 1985 (losing 16-5 to Davis). He last played at the Crucible in 1987, losing to Steve Davis again in the second round. When the snooker world rankings were introduced in 1976, Reardon was the first number one, retaining that position until 1981/1982. His win"
"Ray Edmonds Ray Edmonds (born 25 April 1936 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire) is a former English professional player of English billiards and snooker. He twice won the World Amateur Snooker title, and won the World Professional Billiards Championship in 1985. Edmonds first played snooker as an amateur, winning the World Amateur crown twice in the early 1970s. After turning professional he reached the World Snooker Championship on four occasions in 1980, 1981, 1985 and 1986, on each occasion losing in the first round. In 1985, Ray won the World Professional Billiards Championship. This gives him the unique distinction of being the"
"1976 World Snooker Championship The 1976 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1976 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship purposes) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at two venues. This was the first world championship to be sponsored by Embassy; their sponsorship lasted for the next 30 years. Ray Reardon won in the final 27–16 against Alex Higgins. The leading 14 players in the Order of Merit received automatic entry to the final stages and were joined by two winners from the qualifying competition. The leading 8 in the Order of Merit were seeded. The Middlesbrough"
"Stuart Reardon (snooker player) Stuart Reardon (born 1969) is an English former professional snooker player. Born in 1969, Reardon turned professional in 1991. His debut season featured a run to the last 32 of the 1992 Asian Open, where he lost 4–5 to Steve Campbell, and the last 64 at both the 1991 UK Championship - losing to Gary Wilkinson 5–9 having led 5–3 - and the 1992 British Open, where he was defeated 5–1 by Nigel Bond. The season included victories over Peter Francisco, Andy Hicks, Barry Pinches and most notably, in the 1992 European Open, a 5–0 whitewash"
"only player to have won this title as well as two World Amateur titles at snooker. Edmonds was less successful as a professional, but became World Professional Billiards Champion in 1985. Edmonds set up the Ray Edmonds Snooker Centre in Grimsby in December 1983. He has worked also a snooker commentator with both ITV and the BBC, before retiring in 2004.He now resides in Spain. Ray Edmonds Ray Edmonds (born 25 April 1936 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire) is a former English professional player of English billiards and snooker. He twice won the World Amateur Snooker title, and won the World Professional"
"to be a very important step in re-establishing snooker as a viable sport, with amateur rivals Gary Owen following suit in September 1967 and Ray Reardon on December 3 of that year. This influx of new professionals led to the World Championship being revived on a challenge basis in the 1968/9 season. He first won the World Championship in 1969 after being loaned £100 by his bank to raise the entry fee. On 22 November 1968, Spencer defeated reigning world champion John Pulman 25–18 in his opening match before going on to defeat Rex Williams 37–12 and Gary Owen 37–24"
"Mark Williams (snooker player) Mark James Williams, (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003, and 2018. As the current World Champion, he is due to defend his title at the 2019 World Snooker Championship in April/May 2019. Aged 43 when he triumphed in May 2018, he became the second oldest winner of the World Championship at the Crucible (Ray Reardon was the oldest winner in 1978, aged 45). Often noted for his single-ball long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname ""The Welsh Potting Machine"". Williams has"
"property near Temora, New South Wales. In 2002, Reardon got his shoelace caught in the power take off shaft of a tractor and severed his right leg through the knee. He spent a month in hospital recovering and amazed doctors by relearning to walk in just one week. He continued to water-ski on one leg, representing Australia three times at the Water-Skiing World Championships and winning the world title twice in 2007 and 2009. Growing up in the country NSW town of Temora, sport has long played a prominent role in Reardon's life. The nephew of former Canterbury Bulldogs NRL"
"champions John Pulman, Fred Davis and Alex Higgins, and in the final defeated the then world champion (and defending Masters titleholder) Ray Reardon 7–6 to win the title. At the World Championship a couple of months later, he beat Higgins again in the first round but lost to Dennis Taylor in the quarter-final 11–13. At the end of 1977 he reached the final of the first-ever UK Snooker Championship, losing to Patsy Fagan 9–12. He won the title a year later beating David Taylor 15–9, and in the same season he beat Ray Reardon to win the Irish Masters 6–5."
"Reardon 13–11 in the quarter-final. His only major tournament win was with Steve Davis and John Spencer during the 1981 State Express World Team Classic for the England team. He was a member of the elite Top 16 World Rankings for 10 consecutive years until the 1985/86 season, reaching a high of No 7 in the 1981/82 season. He made a surprise return to enter the 2010 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds, aged 66 but lost to Paul Wykes 1–5 in Match 2 on 26 February 2010. Outside professional tournament play, Taylor once made three consecutive total clearances at an"
"Snooker Association, in order to provide another ranking event. Ray Reardon beat Jimmy White by 10 frames to 5 in the final to win the first prize of £5,000. In 1984 Rothmans started sponsoring the tournament, changing its name to the Grand Prix, and moved its venue to the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. The tournament has had various sponsors and venues since. Previous sponsors include LG Electronics, who took over in 2001 and changed the tournament's name to the LG Cup. After LG withdrew their sponsorship, the Grand Prix name was revived for 2004 and was sponsored by totesport. Between"
"Snooker Championship, the Six-red World Championship and the World Seniors Championship. The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 22 ranking tournaments overall, including two UK Championships (1999 and 2002), making him fifth on the all-time list. He has also won the Masters on two occasions (1998 and 2003). His form began to decline after his second World Championship title in 2003; he then dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007/2008 season, but he regained his place for 2009/2010. Having failed to win a tournament from 2011 until 2017, he proceeded to win three"
"2017 Welsh Open (snooker) The 2017 Coral Welsh Open professional ranking snooker tournament took place at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 13 to 19 February 2017. It was the fourteenth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season. The 2017 Welsh Open was being held as part of a new Home Nations Series, introduced in the 2016/2017 season with the new English Open, Irish Open and Scottish Open tournaments. The tournament's trophy was renamed to the Ray Reardon Trophy in honour of six-time world champion Ray Reardon. The defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan lost 3–4 against Mark Davis in the last 64."
"Reardon from Tredegar, who won six World Snooker Championship titles, and when the first world rankings were introduced in 1976, Reardon became the first world number one snooker player. Some of Reardon's contemporaries included Gary Owen from Tumble and Cliff Wilson also from Tredegar. Wales has continued to produce world class snooker players since Reardon's time, including Terry Griffiths, Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens. Amateur participation in the sport is very high. The Cardiff Devils play in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the highest level of ice hockey competition in the United Kingdom. Australian rules football is a growing sport"
"World Snooker Championship. He defeated John Parrott 5–0 in the first preliminary qualifying round before beating Joe Delaney 5–2 in the second preliminary round; however, he was defeated in the second qualifying round 10–9 by Yu Delu. Since retiring as a professional Wallace has continued as an amateur, and has won the Northern Ireland Championship a record eight times; he had been holding the title between 2012 and 2016. In 2016 Wallace received an invitation as a wildcard to the 2016 Northern Ireland Open, where he lost in the first round 2-4 to Michael Georgiou. Having qualified for the 2018"
"since 1927, with Joe Davis becoming a key figure in the early growth of the sport with 15 championship wins from 1927 to 1946. The modern era began in 1969 after the BBC commissioned the snooker television show ""Pot Black"" and began to air the World Championship in 1978, leading to the sport's new peak in popularity. Ray Reardon dominated the game in the 1970s, Steve Davis in the 1980s, and Stephen Hendry in the 1990s; Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the most world titles since 2000. Top professional players now compete regularly around the world and earn millions of pounds."
"unbeaten run at the World Championship ended at the first Crucible championship in 1977, when he lost to John Spencer in the quarter-finals 6–13, his first defeat since Rex Williams in 1972. Reardon regained the title in 1978 winning it for the sixth and final time by beating Doug Mountjoy 13–9 (after trailing 7–2), Bill Werbeniuk 13–6, Eddie Charlton 18–14 and finally Perrie Mans 25–18 in the final. Reardon remains the oldest winner of the World Championship at the age of 45 years and 6 months. Straight after this Reardon regained the Pontins Professional title, defeating John Spencer 7–2 in"
"challenge basis. However, when the tournament reverted to a knockout formula in 1969, he did not prosper. Ray Reardon became the dominant force in the 1970s, winning six titles, with John Spencer winning three. Steve Davis' first world title in 1981 made him only the 11th world champion since 1927, including the winner of the boycotted 1952 title, Horace Lindrum. Stephen Hendry became the 14th in 1990 and dominated through the 1990s. Reardon won six (1970, 1973–1976 and 1978), Davis also six (1981, 1983, 1984 and 1987–1989) and Hendry seven (1990, 1992–1996 and 1999). Ronnie O'Sullivan is the closest to"
"Ray Reardon 9-7 in the final, 1985 beating Doug Mountjoy 9-6 and in 1986 beating Jimmy White 9-5. Thorburn was the first player to retain the Masters title. During the 1984/85 season Thorburn enjoyed a resurgence in form. He made the final of the Grand Prix losing to Dennis Taylor 10-2 in the Final. The highlight of the tournament was Thorburn's 9-7 victory over Steve Davis in the semi-final. Thorburn played outstanding snooker to overcome his great rival and the victory came unexpectedly because at that time Davis was in outstanding form. In January 1985 Thorburn also made the final"
"then won 7 frames in a row to lead again and, although Charlton levelled the match at 30–30, Reardon won the deciding frame. The 1976 World Snooker Championship was held at two venues; half the draw was held in Middlesbrough and half in Manchester, which also hosted the final. Alex Higgins won three close matches to reach the final, where he met Ray Reardon. Reardon led 24–15 at the start of the last day and, winning 3 of the first 4 frames, took the title 27–16, his fourth successive title. There were a number of problems during the tournament including"
"2018 World Snooker Championship The 2018 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2018 Betfred World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament, held from 21 April to 7 May 2018 at in Sheffield, England. It was the 42nd consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible and was the twentieth and final ranking event of the 2017/2018 season. The tournament was broadcast in Europe by the BBC and Eurosport. Mark Williams won his third world title and 21st ranking title by beating John Higgins 18–16 in the final."
"This was however abandoned and the single frame final returned in 1975. From 1978 to 1986 and in 1991 the final was decided over three frames. In 1991 a ""time-frame"" format was added, which limited the time each player could spend at the table. A junior version, called Junior Pot Black, ran from 1981 to 1983 and that was also revived in 1991, for a single year. It was won by Dean Reynolds, John Parrott (twice) and Ronnie O'Sullivan. The event was revived as a side event to the World Snooker Championship, with the final played on the main match"
"1965 by just 37 frames to 36 and in 1966 by 5–2 in matches. The revival of the World Championship as a tournament in 1969 saw Davis beat future world champion Ray Reardon by 25 frames to 24 (the final frame not ending until 1.33am), before losing 37–24 to Gary Owen in the semi-finals. Davis's epic match with Reardon would earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records (as the longest recorded snooker session) and Reardon would later note that he learned more from that match than he had in the previous 20 years. That same year BBC TV"