World Snooker Championship 2002
Encyclopedia
The 2002 Embassy
World Snooker Championship
professional ranking
snooker
tournament took place between 20 April and 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre
, Sheffield
, England
.
Ronnie O'Sullivan
was the defending champion, but he lost in the semi-finals 13–17 against Stephen Hendry
and became another World Champion, who couldn't defend his first World title
.
Peter Ebdon
won his his first world title, by defeating seven-time World Champion Hendry by 18 frames to 17 in the final.
260,000
Runner-up: £152,000
Semi-final: £76,000
Quarter-final: £38,000
Last 16: £21,000
Last 32: £14,500
Last 48: £11,000
Last 64: £6,825
Last 96: £4,150
Last 128: £1,185
Stage 1 High Break: £2,250
Stage 2 High Break: £20,000
Stage 1 Maximum Break: £5,000
Stage 2 Maximum Break: £147,000
Total: £1,594,170
Embassy (cigarette)
Embassy is a brand of cigarettes from Imperial Tobacco. First sold in 1914 and relaunched as a coupon brand in 1962, in 1976 they were invited to sponsor the World Snooker Championships, which they did from then until 2005 at which time they had to pull out due to the UK government's ban on tobacco...
World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
professional ranking
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
tournament took place between 20 April and 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
was the defending champion, but he lost in the semi-finals 13–17 against Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
and became another World Champion, who couldn't defend his first World title
Crucible Curse
The "Crucible curse" refers to the fact that no first-time snooker world champion has retained his title the following year since the event moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977...
.
Peter Ebdon
Peter Ebdon
Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
won his his first world title, by defeating seven-time World Champion Hendry by 18 frames to 17 in the final.
Prize fund
Winner: £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
260,000
Runner-up: £152,000
Semi-final: £76,000
Quarter-final: £38,000
Last 16: £21,000
Last 32: £14,500
Last 48: £11,000
Last 64: £6,825
Last 96: £4,150
Last 128: £1,185
Stage 1 High Break: £2,250
Stage 2 High Break: £20,000
Stage 1 Maximum Break: £5,000
Stage 2 Maximum Break: £147,000
Total: £1,594,170
Notable moments
- Steve DavisSteve DavisSteve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
failed to qualify for the championship for the second year in a row. He lost to Robin HullRobin HullRobin Hull is a Finnish professional snooker player. For some time he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour, although his accent reflects the fact that he was largely raised in London, and his father is English....
8-10 at Newport. - Stuart BinghamStuart BinghamStuart Bingham is an English professional snooker player. He was the 1996 English Amateur and World Amateur champion, but for many years was something of a journeyman professional. He had a run of strong results in late 2005, to earn him a top 32 world rankings place he has yet to lose...
narrowly missed out on a 147 break in his first (and only) match, making it to the final pink. - Matthew StevensMatthew StevensMatthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
's 145 break was the second in the championship's history. Only Doug MountjoyDoug MountjoyDoug Mountjoy is a retired Welsh snooker player. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments in 1988/1989 – and while in his mid 40s. In more recent years he was the coach to the United Arab Emirates snooker association between 1997 and 1999.- Early life...
achieved that before in 1981 and the break at the time was the joint seventh highest of all time in the championship along with the six 147s. - Stephen HendryStephen HendryStephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
made a record ninth final at the Crucible (ahead of Steve Davis' eight). - John WilliamsJohn Williams (snooker referee)John Williams is a retired Welsh snooker referee. He presided over eleven World Championship finals, including the 1985 final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.-Early life:...
refereed his 10th World Final. He retired from the game soon afterwards. - There were 68 centuries in the 2002 World Championship, a new record which lasted until 2009. The highest break of the tournament was 145, made by Matthew StevensMatthew StevensMatthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
. Stephen Hendry's 16 centuries in the tournament was a new record, beating the 14 made by John Higgins in 1998.