1998 World Snooker Championship

The 1998 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1998 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1998 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

Embassy World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates18 April – 4 May 1998
VenueCrucible Theatre
CitySheffield
CountryEngland
Organisation(s)WPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£1,323,000
Winner's share£220,000
Highest break John Higgins (143)
Jimmy White (143)
Final
Champion John Higgins
Runner-up Ken Doherty
Score18–12
← 1997
1999 →

John Higgins won his first World title by defeating defending champion Ken Doherty 18–12 in the final. Doherty became another World Champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first World title. However, Doherty has come closer than any other first-time champion bar Joe Johnson to retaining his championship. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.

Tournament summary

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[10][11][13]

  • Winner: £220,000
  • Runner-up: £132,000
  • Semi-final: £66,000
  • Quarter-final: £33,000
  • Last 16: £17,750
  • Last 32: £12,000
  • Highest break £19,000
  • Maximum break £147,000
  • Total £1,323,000

Main draw

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers).[10][11][14][15]

First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals
Best of 19 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 33 frames
                           
18 April            
  Ken Doherty (1)  10
24 & 25 April
  Lee Walker  8  
  Ken Doherty (1)  13
22 April
    Stephen Lee (16)  8  
  Stephen Lee (16)  10
28 & 29 April
  Andy Hicks  4  
  Ken Doherty (1)  13
22 & 23 April
    Matthew Stevens  10  
  Alain Robidoux (9)  8
26 & 27 April
  Matthew Stevens  10  
  Matthew Stevens  13
20 & 21 April
    Mark King  9  
  Nigel Bond (8)  5
30 April 1 & 2 May
  Mark King  10  
  Ken Doherty (1)  17
21 April
    Mark Williams (4)  14
  Peter Ebdon (5)  10
25, 26 & 27
  Terry Murphy  3  
  Peter Ebdon (5)  13
18 & 19 April
    Fergal O'Brien  5  
  James Wattana (12)  9
28 & 29 April
  Fergal O'Brien  10  
  Peter Ebdon (5)  11
19 & 20 April
    Mark Williams (4)  13  
  Steve Davis (13)  10
23, 24 & 25 April
  Simon Bedford  6  
  Steve Davis (13)  6
19 & 20 April
    Mark Williams (4)  13  
  Mark Williams (4)  10
  Quinten Hann  9  
18 & 19 April            
  John Higgins (3)  10
23 & 24 April
  Jason Ferguson  8  
  John Higgins (3)  13
18 & 19 April
    Anthony Hamilton (14)  9  
  Anthony Hamilton (14)  10
28 & 29 April
  Dave Harold  8  
  John Higgins (3)  13
18 & 19 April
    John Parrott (6)  11  
  Tony Drago (11)  10
24 & 25 April
  Alfie Burden  8  
  Tony Drago (11)  7
20 & 21 April
    John Parrott (6)  13  
  John Parrott (6)  10
30 April 1 & 2 May
  Peter Lines  4  
  John Higgins (3)  17
21 & 22 April
    Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)  9
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)  10
26 & 27 April
  Joe Swail  5  
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)  13
20 April
    Alan McManus (10)  4  
  Alan McManus (10)  10
28 & 29 April
  David Gray  8  
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)  13
21 & 22 April
    Jimmy White  7  
  Darren Morgan (15)  10
25 & 26 April
  Jason Prince  8  
  Darren Morgan (15)  3
22 & 23 April
    Jimmy White  13  
  Stephen Hendry (2)  4
  Jimmy White  10  
Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 3 & 4 May 1998. Referee: Lawrie Annandale[16]
Ken Doherty (1)
 Ireland		 12–18 John Higgins (3)
 Scotland
73–34, 20–80, 7–86, 1–71, 0–113, 52–73, 0–130, 89–0, 112–0, 66–7, 97–18, 2–66, 4–103, 5–86, 0–138, 82–70, 90–39, 0–89, 61–6, 0–130, 90–0, 99–1, 48–58, 82–44, 14–60, 0–128, 58–71, 78–41, 16–66, 8–119 Century breaks: 6
(Doherty 1, Higgins 5)

Highest break by Doherty: 112
Highest break by Higgins: 130

 73–34, 20–80, 7–86, 1–71, 0–113, 52–73, 0–130, 89–0, 112–0, 66–7, 97–18, 2–66, 4–103, 5–86, 0–138, 82–70, 90–39, 0–89, 61–6, 0–130, 90–0, 99–1, 48–58, 82–44, 14–60, 0–128, 58–71, 78–41, 16–66, 8–119
John Higgins wins the 1998 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Century breaks

There were 59 century breaks in the championship, a new record which would last until 2002.[10][17][18] John Higgins' 14 centuries in the tournament was a new record, beating the 12 made by Stephen Hendry in 1995.[19]

Qualifying

The qualifying matches were held between 2 January and March 1998 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.

Round 1–2
Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)		 Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)		 Round 2
(Best of 19 frames)
Leo Fernandez 10–3 Evan Munro
Robert Milkins 10–2 Michael O'Sullivan
Philip Williams 10–2 John Burns
Steve Meakin 10–7 Neal Tomkins
Brian Rowswell 10–7 Sean Lanigan
Joe Jogia 10–8 Hugh Abernethy
Jeff Cundy 10–7 Dylan Leary
Chris Shade 10–3 Nick Manning
Bjorn Haneveer 10–6 James McGouran
Ali Carter 10–8 Scott Cooney
Surinder Gill 10–5 Stuart Parnell
Stuart Reardon10–8 Jason Weston
Barry Pinches 10–3 Mario Geudens
Nic Barrow 10–4 Mario Wehrmann
Nick Terry 10–6 Leigh Robinson
Garry Baldrey 10–8 Graham Horne
Simon Bedford 10–4 Justin Buckingham
Mark Johnston-Allen 10–5 Joe O'Boye
Jason Wallace 10–9 Andrew Cairns
Oliver King 10–7 Robin Hull
Joe Delaney 10–4 Ryan Mitchell
Gary Lees 10–6 Paul McPhillips
Munraj Pal 10–8 Les Dodd
Christopher McGee 10–6 Lee Mallin
Adrian Rosa 10–9 Darryn Walker
Stuart Bingham 10–1 Ian Hurdman
Marco Fu 10–5 Paul Sweeny
Mike Hallett 10–4 Garoid O'Connor
Andrew Higginson 10–6 David McDonnell
Simon Parker 10–4 Stephen Murphy
Ian Sargeant 10–8 Steve Day
Andy Neck 10–5 David Coles
Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)
Leo Fernandez 10–8 Robert Milkins
Philip Williams 10–6 Steve Meakin
Brian Rowswell 10–4 Joe Jogia
Jeff Cundy 10–9 Chris Shade
Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Ali Carter
Surinder Gill 10–4 Stuart Reardon
Barry Pinches 10–3 Nic Barrow
Nick Terry 10–1 Garry Baldrey
Simon Bedford 10–6 Mark Johnston-Allen
Jason Wallace 10–4 Oliver King
Joe Delaney 10–8 Gary Lees
Munraj Pal 10–4 Christopher McGee
Adrian Rosa 10–7 Stuart Bingham
Marco Fu 10–2 Mike Hallett
Andrew Higginson 10–6 Simon Parker
Ian Sargeant 10–0 Andy Neck

Round 2–3

[11]

Round 2
(Best of 19 frames)		 Round 3
(Best of 19 frames)
Leo Fernandez 10–6 Philip Williams Leigh Griffin 10–7 Leo Fernandez
Brian Rowswell 10–9 Jeff Cundy John Lardner 10–5 Brian Rowswell
Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Surinder Gill Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Troy Shaw
Barry Pinches 10–2 Nick Terry Joe Perry 10–7 Barry Pinches
Simon Bedford 10–2 Jason Wallace Simon Bedford 10–9 Mark Gray
Joe Delaney 10–8 Munraj Pal Joe Delaney 10–1 Peter McCullagh
Adrian Rosa 10–8 Marco Fu David Gray 10–5 Adrian Rosa
Andrew Higginson 10–7 Ian Sargeant Andrew Higginson 10–5 Craig MacGillivray

Round 1
Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)
Lee Walker 10–3 Jonathan Birch
Leigh Griffin 10–4 Karl Broughton
David Roe 10–7 Ian Brumby
Graeme Dott 10–3 John Lardner
Matthew Stevens 10–5 Stephen O'Connor
Drew Henry 10–5 Sean Storey
Paul Hunter 10–5 Lee Richardson
Steve Judd 10–8 Michael Judge
Joe Johnson 10–6 Martin Dziewialtowski
Nick Pearce 10–5 Bjorn Haneveer
Nick Walker 10–3 Willie Thorne
Joe Perry 10–3 Shokat Ali
Tony Jones 10–9 Paul Wykes
Simon Bedford 10–4 Mark Gray
Quinten Hann 10–3 Wayne Jones
Anthony Davies 10–6 Jamie Woodman
Jason Ferguson 10–6 Darren Clarke
Marcus Campbell 10–9 Chris Scanlon
Joe Delaney 10–8 Jamie Burnett
Gary Ponting 10–6 Dennis Taylor
Alfie Burden 10–6 Mark Bennett
Wayne Brown 10–8 Dean Reynolds
Peter Lines 10–7 Dave Finbow
Stuart Pettman 10–5 Dene O'Kane
Matthew Couch 10–9 Paul Davies
David Gray 10–4 Mark Davis
Karl Burrows 10–5 Tony Chappel
Jason Prince 10–4 John Read
Andrew Higginson 10–5 Jimmy Michie
Bradley Jones 10–5 Gerard Greene
Ian McCulloch 10–7 Dominic Dale

Round 2–3

[11]

Round 2
(Best of 19 frames)		 Round 3
(Best of 19 frames)
Lee Walker 10–5 Leigh Griffin Lee Walker 10–9 Billy Snaddon
David Roe 10–9 Graeme Dott Andy Hicks 10–1 David Roe
Matthew Stevens 10–5 Drew Henry Matthew Stevens 10–8 Neal Foulds
Paul Hunter 10–5 Steve Judd Mark King 10–9 Paul Hunter
Nick Pearce 10–8 Joe Johnson Terry Murphy 10–2 Nick Pearce
Joe Perry 10–6 Nick Walker Fergal O'Brien 10–7 Joe Perry
Simon Bedford 10–7 Tony Jones Simon Bedford 10–9 Gary Wilkinson
Quinten Hann 10–3 Anthony Davies Quinten Hann 10–6 Brian Morgan
Jason Ferguson 10–6 Marcus Campbell Jason Ferguson 10–7 Mick Price
Joe Delaney 10–8 Gary Ponting Dave Harold 10–7 Joe Delaney
Alfie Burden 10–2 Wayne Brown Alfie Burden 10–3 Rod Lawler
Peter Lines 10–5 Stuart Pettman Peter Lines 10–6 Steve James
Matthew Couch 10–2 Stefan Mazrocis Joe Swail 10–3 Matthew Couch
David Gray 10–9 Karl Burrows David Gray 10–5 Chris Small
Jason Prince 10–6 Andrew Higginson Jason Prince 10–8 Martin Clark
Bradley Jones 10–9 Ian McCulloch Jimmy White 10–5 Bradley Jones

References
  1. "Stephen Hendry profile". Betfred. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  2. "Simon Bedford at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  3. "David Gray at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  4. "Quinten Hann at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. "Matthew Stevens at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  6. "Terry Murphy at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  7. "Alfie Burden at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  8. "Peter Lines at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  9. "Jason Prince at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  10. "Embassy World Championship 1998". Snooker.org. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  11. "World Championship 1998". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  12. "Ranking History". snooker.org. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  13. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 130.
  14. "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 46–47.
  16. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 143.
  17. "Crucible Centuries". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  18. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 149.
  19. Eric, Hayton (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. London: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.

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