1998 World Snooker Championship

Embassy World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates	18 April – 4 May 1998
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£1,323,000
Winner's share	£220,000
Highest break	John Higgins (SCO) (143); Jimmy White (ENG) (143)
Final
Champion	John Higgins (SCO)
Runner-up	Ken Doherty (IRL)
Score	18–12
	← 1997 1999 →

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.

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[]

Stephen Hendry lost in the first round 4–10 to Jimmy White. It was the first time since his debut in 1986 that he lost in the last 32 and it was also the first quarter-final stage not to feature Hendry since 1988.^[1]
Simon Bedford, David Gray, Quinten Hann, Matthew Stevens, Terry Murphy, Alfie Burden, Peter Lines and Jason Prince made their Crucible debuts this year.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] Only Stevens could advance to the second round by defeating Alain Robidoux 10–8.^[10]^[11]
Stephen Hendry's eight-year run as the world number one ended and he was replaced by John Higgins.^[12]

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 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: ^[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]

143, 139, 131, 130, 130, 128, 119, 118, 114, 111, 109, 104, 103, 102 – John Higgins
143, 138, 118, 106 – Jimmy White
141, 134, 118, 104, 100 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
141 – Peter Lines
140, 107 – David Gray
137, 134, 131, 112 – Ken Doherty
137 – Dave Harold
137 – James Wattana
133, 109 – Stephen Lee
127, 100 – Matthew Stevens

124, 117, 109, 108, 108, 104 – Peter Ebdon
120, 108, 104, 102 – John Parrott
115, 108, 102, 100 – Anthony Hamilton
115, 105 – Alfie Burden
112 – Darren Morgan
111 – Alan McManus
105, 100 – Fergal O'Brien
103, 100 – Mark King
102 – Mark Williams

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
		Robert Milkins 10–2 Michael O'Sullivan
		Philip Williams 10–2 John Burns
		Steve Meakin 10–7
		10–7
		Joe Jogia 10–8 Hugh Abernethy
		Jeff Cundy 10–7
		10–3 Nick Manning
		Bjorn Haneveer 10–6
		Ali Carter 10–8
		Surinder Gill 10–5
		Stuart Reardon10–8 Jason Weston
		Barry Pinches 10–3 Mario Geudens
		10–4
		Nick Terry 10–6
		10–8 Graham Horne
		Simon Bedford 10–4
		Mark Johnston-Allen 10–5 Joe O'Boye
		10–9
		10–7 Robin Hull
		Joe Delaney 10–4 Ryan Mitchell
		10–6 Paul McPhillips
		Munraj Pal 10–8 Les Dodd
		10–6
		Adrian Rosa 10–9
		Stuart Bingham 10–1
		Marco Fu 10–5
		Mike Hallett 10–4
		Andrew Higginson 10–6 David McDonnell
		Simon Parker 10–4 Stephen Murphy
		10–8 Steve Day
		10–5 David Coles

Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)

Leo Fernandez 10–8

Robert Milkins

Philip Williams 10–6

Steve Meakin

10–4

Joe Jogia

Jeff Cundy 10–9

Bjorn Haneveer 10–5

Ali Carter

Surinder Gill 10–4

Stuart Reardon

Barry Pinches 10–3

Nick Terry 10–1

Simon Bedford 10–6

Mark Johnston-Allen

10–4

Joe Delaney 10–8

Munraj Pal 10–4

Adrian Rosa 10–7

Stuart Bingham

Marco Fu 10–2

Mike Hallett

Andrew Higginson 10–6

Simon Parker

10–0

Round 2–3[]

^[11]

Round 2 (Best of 19 frames)	Round 3 (Best of 19 frames)
Leo Fernandez 10–6 Philip Williams	10–7 Leo Fernandez
10–9 Jeff Cundy	John Lardner 10–5
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	Simon Bedford 10–9 Mark Gray
Joe Delaney 10–8 Munraj Pal	Joe Delaney 10–1
Adrian Rosa 10–8 Marco Fu	David Gray 10–5 Adrian Rosa
Andrew Higginson 10–7	Andrew Higginson 10–5 Craig MacGillivray

Round 1[]

Round 1
(Best of 19 frames)

Lee Walker 10–3

10–4

David Roe 10–7

Graeme Dott 10–3

Matthew Stevens 10–5

Drew Henry 10–5

Sean Storey

Paul Hunter 10–5

Steve Judd 10–8

Michael Judge

Joe Johnson 10–6

Martin Dziewialtowski

Nick Pearce 10–5

Nick Walker 10–3

Joe Perry 10–3

Tony Jones 10–9

Simon Bedford 10–4

Mark Gray

Quinten Hann 10–3

Wayne Jones

Anthony Davies 10–6

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

David 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	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[]

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

[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.

[Snooker.org-10] "Embassy World Championship 1998". Snooker.org. Retrieved 28 October 2010.

[Global_Snooker-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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v t World Snooker Championship
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Challenges	Apr 1964 Oct 1964 Mar 1965 Nov 1965 Dec 1965 Apr 1966 Mar 1968
Knock-outs	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
Crucible era	1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Related articles	List of winners List of players Triple Crown Crucible Theatre Crucible curse World Professional Match-play Championship Black ball final (1985)

v t 1997–98 snooker season
« 1996–97 1998–99 »
Ranking events	Grand Prix UK Championship German Open Welsh Open Scottish Open Thailand Masters British Open World Championship
Non-ranking events	Superstar International China International Scottish Masters Benson & Hedges Championship Malta Grand Prix The Masters Charity Challenge Irish Masters Pontins Professional Premier League

Tournament information
Dates	18 April – 4 May 1998 (1998-04-18 – 1998-05-04)
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£1,323,000
Winner's share	£220,000
Highest break	John Higgins (SCO) (143) Jimmy White (ENG) (143)
Final
Champion	John Higgins (SCO)
Runner-up	Ken Doherty (IRL)
Score	18–12
← 1997 1999 →