The 2014 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2014 Dafabet World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 19 April to 5 May 2014 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 38th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible. The tournament was also the last ranking event of the 2013âÂÂ14 snooker season. The event was sponsored by Dafabet for the first time. A qualifying tournament was held from 8 to 16 April 2014 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield for 16 players, who met 16 seeded participants at the main championships.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having won the previous year's event by defeating Barry Hawkins in the final. Mark Selby won the 2014 event to capture his first world title by defeating O'Sullivan 18âÂÂ14 in the final. This was Selby's fourth ranking title, also completing the Triple Crown of World Championship, UK Championship, and Masters titles. Neil Robertson compiled the highest of the tournament, a 140, and scored his 100th century break of the season in his quarter-final win over Judd Trump. The event featured a prize fund of ã1,214,000, the winner receiving ã300,000.
The 2014 World Snooker Championship featured 32 professional players competing in one-on-one snooker matches in a single-elimination format, each match played over several . These 32 players for the event were selected through a mix of the snooker world rankings and a pre-tournament qualification round. The first World Snooker Championship took place in 1927, with the final held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England, and the title was won by Joe Davis. Since 1977, the event has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. , Stephen Hendry and Ronnie OâÂÂSullivan are the event's most successful participants in the modern era, having both won the championship seven times. The defending champion was Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had won the 2013 event, defeating Barry Hawkins in the final to take his fifth title. The winner of the 2014 championship received ã300,000, from a total prize fund of ã1,214,000. The event was organised by World Snooker in partnership with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
The 2014 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament played from 19 April to 5 May 2014 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. This was the 38th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible Theatre. Of the 32 participants, 16 players qualified for the event from the snooker world rankings, and 16 from a four-round qualifying event held at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. The event was the last of twelve ranking events in the 2013âÂÂ14 snooker season on the World Snooker Tour. The tournament was sponsored by sports betting company Dafabet for the first time, replacing previous sponsors Betfair.
The total prize money for the 2014 World Snooker Championship was ã1,214,000, a raise from the previous year's ã1,111,000. The winner received ã300,000, an increase of ã50,000 over the previous year. The breakdown of prize money for the 2014 event is shown below:
Four former world champions lost in the qualifying rounds. Six-time champion Steve Davis was defeated by Craig Steadman, a match Davis needed to win to retain his place on the World Snooker Tour. Two-time champion Mark Williams lost to Alan McManus in the final qualifying round 8âÂÂ10 and failed to play at the main championship for the first time since 1996. Graeme Dott lost to Kyren Wilson 7âÂÂ10, whilst Peter Ebdon lost 8âÂÂ10 to Robin Hull. The loss for Ebdon meant that he ended 22 consecutive appearances at the event since his debut in 1992. Two previous runners-up also did not qualify. Six-time finalist Jimmy White lost in the second qualifying round to Ian Burns 10âÂÂ4, whilst two-time runner-up Matthew Stevens lost to Tom Ford.
For the first time, no Welsh player automatically qualified to play at the Crucible. Three Welshmen, Dominic Dale, Michael White, and Ryan Day, won places in the first round through qualification. At the age of 44, 1997 champion Ken Doherty defeated Dechawat Poomjaeng 10âÂÂ5 in qualifying to become the oldest player to reach the main stage. Kyren Wilson, Michael Wasley, Xiao Guodong, and Robbie Williams all made their debuts in the competition by coming through qualifying.
The first round was played as best-of-19 matches held over two between 19 and 24 April 2014. Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan drew world number 122 Robin Hull in the first round, and won 10âÂÂ4. The 2010 World Snooker Championship winner Neil Robertson won his first round match against Robbie Williams, leading 7âÂÂ2 after the first session, and won 10âÂÂ2. In his victory, he compiled breaks of 102, 102, 103, 132, and the tournament's highest of 140 to take his season total of century breaks to 97. The 2005 champion Shaun Murphy trailed 5âÂÂ7 behind against Jamie Cope, before the pair played a deciding frame at 9âÂÂ9. Murphy took the frame 65âÂÂ49 to win the match. Third seed Mark Selby also won a deciding frame, as he defeated Michael White 10âÂÂ9.
Fourth seed Ding Junhui had previously won five ranking events in the season, a record he jointly held with Stephen Hendry. In his first round match he was defeated 9âÂÂ10 by debutant Michael Wasley, and so failed to set a new record for tournament wins in a season. Ken Doherty won the last seven frames of his match against sixth seed Stuart Bingham to win 10âÂÂ5, recording his first victory at the event since 2006. Alan McManus achieved his first Crucible win since 2005 by defeating fellow Scot John Higgins 10âÂÂ7, while Dominic Dale won his first Crucible match since 2000 by defeating 13th seed Mark Davis 10âÂÂ5. The final frame of Ricky Walden's first-round match against Kyren Wilson lasted 73 minutes 13 seconds, just under two minutes short of the Crucible record of 74 minutes 58 seconds that Stephen Maguire and Mark King set in 2009. Walden won the frame to clinch a 10âÂÂ7 victory. Qualifier Ryan Day defeated tenth seed Stephen Maguire 10âÂÂ9.
During the first round, a "Ladies' Day" at the tournament featured events designed to encourage greater female participation in the sport. The day was also used to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Rotherham.
The second round was played as best-of-25 frame matches over three sessions between 25 and 28 April 2014. O'Sullivan trailed Joe Perry throughout the first two sessions of their match, but ultimately won 13âÂÂ11. O'Sullivan described the encounter with Perry as "probably my most exciting match ever at the Crucible." McManus played Doherty and won six frames in a row from 4âÂÂ3 ahead to lead 10âÂÂ3, and later won 13âÂÂ8. This was McManus' first quarter-final appearance since 2005, when he also beat Doherty in the second round. Murphy led Marco Fu 9âÂÂ7 after the first two sessions, before winning four of the next five frames to win 13âÂÂ8.
Dale defeated Wasley 13âÂÂ4 to reach his first World Championship quarter-final since 2000. In defeating Mark Allen 13âÂÂ7, Robertson added two more century breaks to bring his season total to 99. In the last two frames he made breaks of 94 and 92, narrowly missing his 100th century of the season. Barry Hawkins met Walden in a repeat of the previous year's semi-final. Hawkins won again, this time 13âÂÂ11, to reach his second Crucible quarter-final. Selby led Ali Carter 9âÂÂ7 after the first two sessions, and won three frames in a row to lead 12âÂÂ7. Carter won the next two frames before Selby won the 20th frame by 82 points to 19 to win 13âÂÂ9. In the last second round match, seventh seed Judd Trump defeated Day 13âÂÂ7.
The quarter-finals were played as best-of-25 frame matches across three sessions between 29 and 30 April. Selby and McManus only completed seven of the scheduled eight frames in the first session of their match as they ran out of time, with Selby leading 4âÂÂ3. Selby won eight of the nine in the second session to lead 12âÂÂ4, and won the second frame of the final session to win 13âÂÂ5. Having trailed 0âÂÂ2 and needing three snookers in the third frame, O'Sullivan won 13 of the last 14 frames to defeat Shaun Murphy 13âÂÂ3, ending the match with a .
Hawkins opened up a 6âÂÂ2 lead over Dominic Dale in the first session, and extended his lead to 11âÂÂ5 after two sessions. In the final session, Dale fought back to win seven frames in a row and take the lead 12âÂÂ11, but Hawkins captured the last two frames to win the match 13âÂÂ12. Neil Robertson trailed Judd Trump 2âÂÂ6 after the first session, and 6âÂÂ9 after the second, before he won seven of the last nine frames to win the match 13âÂÂ11. In the 22nd frame, Robertson compiled his 100th century break of the 2013âÂÂ14 snooker season.
The semi-finals were played as best-of-33 frame matches over four sessions on 2 and 3 May. O'Sullivan and Hawkins contested the first semi-final, a rematch of the previous year's final. O'Sullivan led at 10âÂÂ2, but Hawkins won three of the next four to trail overnight 11âÂÂ5. O'Sullivan made breaks of 76, 55, 103 and 84 and later won the match 17âÂÂ7 in the final frame of the third session. This was the first time in ten years that a player had won two matches with a session to spare in the same event, having done so himself previously in 2004. That year, O'Sullivan won the championship one frame into the final session.
In the second semi-final, a match that lasted 12 hours and 4 minutes, Selby defeated Robertson 17âÂÂ15 to reach his second World Championship final. Selby had previously reached the final once before in 2007. During the match, Robertson extended his century break record to 103, but his defeat meant that he lost his world number one position.
The final was played on the 4 and 5 May 2014 between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby as best-of-35 frames, held over four sessions and was refereed by Brendan Moore. This was the first time that Moore had presided over a World Championship final. In the first session on Sunday afternoon, O'Sullivan took a 5âÂÂ3 lead, which he extended in the evening session to 8âÂÂ3 and 10âÂÂ5. Selby took the last two frames of the day to leave O'Sullivan with a 10âÂÂ7 overnight lead. O'Sullivan's highest break on the first day was a 131 in the 14th frame, while Selby's highest break of the day was just 62.
The third session concluded after just six of the scheduled eight frames. Selby won five of the six frames to go into the final session with a 12âÂÂ11 lead. He then won three of the first four frames of the evening session, extending his lead to 15âÂÂ12 at the mid-session interval, before winning the final 18âÂÂ14 to capture his first world title. In all, Selby won 13 of the last 17 frames, and scored his two highest breaks of the match in frames 30 and 31 to increase his lead from 15âÂÂ14 to 17âÂÂ14. This was Selby's fourth ranking title, and made him the ninth player to win all three Triple Crown events, reinstating him as the world number one.
O'Sullivan said "I want to congratulate Mark on a fantastic tournament. He's been the best player over 17 days... In the end I was numb as he was too strong and tough." Selby dedicated the title to his late father, who died two months before he turned professional.
The draw for the first round took place on 17 April 2014, one day after the qualifying, and was broadcast live on World Snooker's YouTube channel at 12 pm BST. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks, whilst players in bold denote match winners. Below are the full results from the event.
The qualifying rounds 1âÂÂ3 for the tournament took place between 8 and 13 April 2014 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. The final round of qualifying took place on 15 and 16 April 2014 at the same venue. This was the first snooker event held at the venue.
There were 58 century breaks in the televised stage of the World Championship. For every century break made during the main tournament, Dafabet, donated ã100 to the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. Neil Robertson made the highest break of the event, a 140.
There were 69 century breaks in the qualifying stage of the World Championship. The highest was 139 by both Martin O'Donnell and Andrew Higginson.