The 1989 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 1989 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the eighth and final ranking event of the 1988âÂÂ89 snooker season and the thirteenth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament at this location having taken place in 1977. There were 142 entrants to the competition.
The defending champion was Steve Davis, who had previously won the World Championship five times. He met John Parrott in the final, which was a best-of-35- match. Davis won the match 18âÂÂ3, which remains the biggest winning margin in the sport's modern era, and meant that the final, scheduled for four , finished with a . This was Davis's sixth and last world title, and his last appearance in a World Championship final. Stephen Hendry scored the championship's highest , a 141, in his quarter-final match. There were 19 century breaks compiled during the championship.
A five-round qualifying event for the championship was held at the Preston Guild Hall from 22 March to 4 April 1989 for 126 players, 16 of whom reached the main stage, where they met the 16 invited seeded players. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and was sponsored by the Embassy cigarette company. Davis received ã105,000 from the total prize fund of ã525,000.
The World Snooker Championship is an annual professional snooker tournament organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India, the cue sport gained popularity in the British Isles in the 1920s and 1930s. In the modern era, which started in 1969 when the World Championship reverted to a knockout format, it has become increasingly popular worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.
Joe Davis won the first World Championship in 1927, hosted by the Billiards Association and Control Council, the final match being held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England. Since 1977, the event has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The 1989 championship featured 32 professional players competing in one-on-one snooker matches in a single-elimination format, each round being played over a pre-determined number of , and each match divided into two or more s containing a set number of frames. These competitors in the main tournament were selected using a combination of the top 16 players in the snooker world rankings and the winners of a pre-tournament qualification stage. It was the eighth and final ranking event of the 1988âÂÂ89 snooker season, and the thirteenth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament there having taken place in 1977. The defending champion in 1989 was Steve Davis, who had defeated Terry Griffiths 18âÂÂ11 in the final of the 1988 World Snooker Championship to win his fifth world title. The 1989 championship was sponsored by cigarette brand Embassy, and was also referred to as the Embassy World Snooker Championship. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC.
The breakdown of prize money for the championship is shown below:
Qualifying matches took place at Preston Guild Hall from 22 March to 4 April 1989, all matches being the best of 19 frames. There were 126 participants in the qualifying competition, 16 of whom reached the main stage, where they met the 16 invited seeded players. Mannie Francisco, playing his first match in the United Kingdom since losing in the final of the 1972 World Amateur Snooker Championship, led Tony Wilson 5âÂÂ4 after their first session, but was eliminated 6âÂÂ10. Darren Morgan compiled breaks of 108 and 103 against Eric Lawlor, the first time that two century breaks had been achieved in consecutive frames in the World Snooker Championship. Bill Werbeniuk had been due to return to competitive play after a six-month ban imposed by the WPBSA for his use of beta blockers, but did not appear for his match. From 4âÂÂ9 in arrears, Paddy Browne won six consecutive frames against Steve Meakin to progress to the next round, 10âÂÂ9 after a . Joe O'Boye built a 9âÂÂ0 lead over Danny Fowler, who then won six successive frames before O'Boye achieved a 10âÂÂ6 victory. Six-time champion Ray Reardon was eliminated 5âÂÂ10 by Gary Wilkinson.
In the final round qualifying, Tony Meo established a new record highest break for world championship qualifying by compiling a 142 during his defeat of Tony Jones. Steve Duggan eliminated two former World Championship title-holders, Fred Davis and John Spencer. Another ex-champion, Alex Higgins, failed to qualify for the championship for the first time in his career, after he lost to Morgan. Higgins, the world number 17, who had beaten four of the top seven players in the rankings on the way to victory at the 1989 Irish Masters on 2 April, was defeated 8âÂÂ10 by Morgan the following day. Morgan broke Meo's record for the highest break in world championship qualifying by compiling a break of 143, his fourth century break of the competition. Seven players qualified for the main event for the first time: Morgan, Wilkinson, Browne, O'Boye, Duggan, Steve Newbury, and David Roe.
The first round took place between 15 and 20 April, each match played over two sessions as the best of 19 frames. Defending champion Davis played Newbury, and took a 7âÂÂ2 lead at the end of the first session after being 0âÂÂ2 behind. Newbury won the first three frames of the second session to narrow the deficit to 5âÂÂ7 before Davis won 10âÂÂ5. For the seventh time, Cliff Wilson failed to win a match at the Crucible, eliminated 1âÂÂ10 by Steve Duggan. Winning seven consecutive frames to move from 2âÂÂ4 behind Tony Knowles to 9âÂÂ4 ahead, David Roe went on to defeat Knowles 10âÂÂ6. Mike Hallett was 0âÂÂ3 behind Doug Mountjoy before winning the fourth frame after he a , ended the first session at 4âÂÂ4, then fell 4âÂÂ6 behind, but won six of the next seven frames to progress to the next round 10âÂÂ7.
Terry Griffiths led Bob Chaperon 4âÂÂ0 and, always at least three frames ahead from that point on, won 10âÂÂ6. Silvino Francisco eliminated Joe O'Boye 10âÂÂ6 after leading 6âÂÂ1. Paddy Browne was 5âÂÂ4 ahead of Willie Thorne after their first session, but then lost six successive frames as Thorne progressed 10âÂÂ5. Stephen Hendry built a 4âÂÂ0 lead over Gary Wilkinson, and led 6âÂÂ3 as the second session commenced, but after missing several short-length during the match, won only in the deciding frame, 10âÂÂ9.
Third seed Neal Foulds lost 9âÂÂ10 to Wayne Jones, at the end of a season that saw Foulds fall from third to twentieth place in the rankings. Peter Francisco held a 7âÂÂ4 lead over Dean Reynolds but lost 7âÂÂ10. Meo led the 1987 champion Joe Johnson 8âÂÂ0 before winning the match 10âÂÂ5. Eddie Charlton defeated Cliff Thorburn 10âÂÂ9 in a match that finished at 2:39 am, which was the second-latest finish time for a match at the Crucible. Charlton, aged 59 years and 169 days, became the second-oldest player to win a match at the World Championship, after Fred Davis in 1979.
After constructing breaks of 110, 103 and 102, John Parrott led James 9âÂÂ7. In each of the next two frames, he missed pots on the that would have won him the match, James taking both frames. The deciding frame was won by Parrott, who compiled a break of 33. Parrott, from Liverpool, wore a black armband during the match in recognition of the Hillsborough disaster that had happened on 15 April at the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. Dennis Taylor led Hughes 6âÂÂ3 after their first session, and in the second session won four consecutive frames including breaks of 106 and 94, to qualify for the next round 10âÂÂ3. John Virgo progressed to the second round for the first time since 1982 by eliminating Darren Morgan 10âÂÂ4. Second seed Jimmy White defeated Dene O'Kane, who recorded a 127 break, 10âÂÂ7.
The second round, which took place between 20 and 24 April, was played as best-of-25-frames matches spread over three sessions. Davis defeated Duggan within two sessions, going from a 7âÂÂ1 lead after the first to a 13âÂÂ3 victory in the second. Hallett won in the deciding frame against Roe. Griffiths and Silvino Francisco were 3âÂÂ3 at the end of their first session, after which Griffiths obtained a 10âÂÂ6 lead during the second session, and eliminated Francisco 13âÂÂ9. Thorne took a 2âÂÂ0 lead against Hendry, but was eventually defeated 4âÂÂ13.
Jones lost 3âÂÂ13 to Reynolds. Meo was warned by the referee for slow play during the 21st frame against Charlton. This turned out to be the last frame, as Meo won the contest 13âÂÂ8. Parrot won four consecutive frames to go from 9âÂÂ10 behind Taylor to win 13âÂÂ10. The match between White and Virgo saw White take a 5âÂÂ3 lead from the first session, and went to a deciding frame during which Virgo, leading by two points in the frame, announced that he had committed a by slightly touching a with his cue stick. White went on to win the frame and match.
The afternoon session on 22 April, featuring the matches between Parrott and Taylor, and Griffiths and Francisco, had its start time delayed from 3:00 pm until 3:06 pm, commencing with a minute's silence in acknowledgement of the Hillsborough disaster a week earlier. There was no television coverage of matches on 24 April due to strike action by the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance and the National Union of Journalists relating to a pay dispute.
The quarter-finals were played as best-of-25-frames matches over three sessions on 25 and 26 April. As in the previous round, Davis won his match before the final session was required. Davis compiled a 128 break in the second frame as he built a 7âÂÂ0 lead, before Hallett took the last frame of the first session. The first four frames of the second session were won by Davis, putting him 11âÂÂ1 ahead. Hallett compiled a 133 break when 2âÂÂ12 behind, but lost the match 3âÂÂ13. Griffiths and Hendry were level at 4âÂÂ4 at the conclusion of their first session. Hendry won nine successive frames to progress 13âÂÂ5, constructing a 141 break in the thirteenth frame of the match.
Reynolds, who had criticised Meo for the slow pace of his play during the 1989 British Open final between the pair in March, was warned by referee John Williams for slow play. Meo won the match 13âÂÂ9, having held leads of 4âÂÂ3 and 9âÂÂ7 after the first two sessions. At the post-match press conference, Reynolds started crying during his opening sentence, and, a few minutes later, expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee's decisions during the match. Making several mistakes, White trailed Parrott 1âÂÂ7 after their first session, but recovered to 6âÂÂ8, and finished the second day 6âÂÂ10 behind. Parrott won three of the first four frames on the third day to complete a 13âÂÂ7 win.
The semi-finals took place between 27 and 29 April as best-of-31-frames matches played over four sessions. After trailing Davis 2âÂÂ5 and 4âÂÂ10 at the end of their first two sessions, Hendry reduced his arrears to 6âÂÂ10, and compiled a 68 break to lead by 51 in the 17th frame. Davis then forced a by compiling a 51 break consisting of the three remaining red balls, each followed by a black ball, and the colours, and went on to win the frame. Hendry won three of the next four frames, making a break of 139 in the 20th frame. Davis took a 13âÂÂ9 lead by prevailing 67âÂÂ59 in the last frame of the third session. In the final session, Hendry scored only eight points across three frames, while Davis made breaks of 63, 71, 54 and 40 to wrap up a 16âÂÂ9 victory.
Meo's highest break in the first session of his match against Parrott was just 28, and he finished that session 2âÂÂ6 behind, narrowing Parrott's lead to 4âÂÂ6 by winning the first two frames of the second session. The session finished with Parrott 10âÂÂ5 ahead. Meo won on the black having needed Parrott to concede penalty points in the 16th frame, then Parrott won the next three frames, the 18th and 19th both being close. The session ended with Meo having made a 112 break but Parrott 15âÂÂ7 ahead. In the fourth session, Parrott's break of 82 won him the frame, and the match 16âÂÂ7.
The final between Steve Davis and John Parrott took place on 30 April and 1 May. It was a best-of-35-frames match scheduled for four sessions, with John Street as referee. In the afternoon session on the first day, Davis established a 2âÂÂ0 lead, before Parrott won the third frame. Davis extended his lead to 5âÂÂ1, Parrott winning the last frame of the first session to leave Davis 5âÂÂ2 ahead.
Davis increased his advantage to 9âÂÂ2 by winning the first four frames of the evening session on 30 April, recording breaks of 42, 37, 55 and 112, whilst Parrott potted only six balls, totalling 15 points. Parrott led by 44 points in the twelfth frame after constructing a 52 break, but lost the frame after Davis compiled a 62 break. Parrott went after potting a red in the thirteenth frame, allowing Davis the opportunity to win the frame with a break of 59. In the next frame, Davis missed potting the whilst using the , and Parrott made it 3âÂÂ11 with a break of 68. During the last two frames of the first day, Parrott potted only one red as Davis extended his lead to 13âÂÂ3, including breaks of 80 and 68.
Although Parrott had chances to win both of the first two frames in the third session, Davis won them both on the pink. With breaks of 59 and 38 to add the next two frames, Davis increased his lead to 17âÂÂ3. Parrott led 40âÂÂ0 in the 21st frame, before a break of 42 by Davis. Davis won the frame, his 18âÂÂ3 victory becoming a new record margin of victory in a World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible, surpassing his 18âÂÂ6 defeat of Thorburn in 1983. It was a third consecutive World Snooker Championship win for Davis, and his sixth title, to equal Reardon's total since the competition was re-launched in 1969. The match ended with a , and the pair played an exhibition match at the venue in place of the last session.
Parrott said afterwards that "Me not playing anything like, and Steve playing exceptionally well, that's a recipe for 18âÂÂ3." Davis remarked that "A month before the championship I wasn't playing well enough to beat players like Hendry and Parrott. To actually pull out all the stops and produce the standard of play that I have must rate as one of my greatest achievements. I've played the best snooker of my career." The two players occupied the top places in the 1989/1990 world rankings, calculated based on results from the previous two seasons; Davis retaining first position with 64 points, followed by Parrott on 48. Parrott later won the 1991 World Snooker Championship title, whilst 1989 was the last world final reached by Davis.
In his 1989 book Snooker: Records, Facts and Champions, Ian Morrison wrote "Don't let the scoreline lead you to believe that Parrott did not do justice to the occasion. But simply, no man could have lived with Davis the way he played at the Crucible in 1989." Snooker historian Clive Everton, who played in the qualifying rounds of the tournament, reflected in 2012 that after the 1989 tournament, despite Davis having lost the 1985 and 1986 championship finals, "such was his dominance that it would have been impossible to predict with confidence that [Davis] would never win the title again." Authors Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby claimed that "It is ironic, then, that in the wake of his most dominant World Championship triumph, Davis's career almost immediately headed into decline," and that Davis's losses to Hendry in the finals of the 1989 UK Championship and the 1990 UK Championship "symbolised a monumental power shift in the game."
Shown below are the results for the tournament. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers). Players in bold are match winners.
Results from the qualification event are shown below. Players shown in bold denote match winners.
There were 19 century breaks in the 1989 World Snooker Championship. The highest of the event was a 141 break made by Stephen Hendry.
There were 28 century breaks in the qualifying stages, the highest of which was a 143 break made by Darren Morgan.