The 1990 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1990 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 29 April 1990 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the ninth and final world ranking tournament of the 1989–90 snooker season following the European Open. Featuring a total prize fund of £620,000, the winner received £120,000; and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The defending champion was Steve Davis, who won the previous year's final 18–3 over John Parrott. Davis reached the semi-finals of the event, where he was defeated 14–16 by Jimmy White. White contested the final against Stephen Hendry who defeated Parrott in the other semi-final 16–11. Hendry led 9–7 after the first day's play and won the first four frames of the second day to lead 13–7, before White reduced the gap to four frames. At 16–12, Hendry compiled breaks of 81 and 71 to win the match 18–12, claiming his first world title. In so doing, he became the youngest-ever world champion at the age of 21 years and 106 days. There was a total of 18 century breaks made during the tournament, the highest of which being a 140 made by Parrott.
Overview
The World Snooker Championship is an annual professional snooker tournament organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).[1] Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[2] the cue sport was popular in the British Isles.[1] However, in the modern era, which started in 1969 when the World Championship reverted to a knockout format,[3] it has become increasingly popular worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.[4][5][6]
The winner of the event received £120,000 from a total prize fund of £620,000.The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[12]
Winner: £120,000
Runner-up: £72,000
Semi-final: £36,000
Quarter-final: £18,000
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £5,000
Stage one highest break: £3,000.
Stage two highest break: £12,000
Stage two maximum break: £100,000
Total: £620,000
Tournament summary
First round
1957 World finalist Jackie Rea Lost in the 2nd Qualifying round and announced his retirement from professional snooker.
There where 4 debutants at the crucible this year, but all lost in the opening round. Tony Chappel (In his only crucible appearance) and Nigel Gilbert who both lost 10–4 to Tony Knowles and Terry Griffiths respectively. They were joined by two Canadians Alain Robidoux (lost 10–7 to Hendry) and Brady Gollan who won 5 matches just to qualify and led veteran Doug Mountjoy 8–7 before losing the last 3 frames.
Fan favorite, attacking player Cliff Wilson made his 8th and final crucible appearance at the age of 55. He never got past the world championship 1st round in his career and that run was not to change as he was edged out 10–6 by "the grinder" Cliff Thorburn.
Stephen Hendry and Alain Robidoux were level at 7–7 in their first round match when the referee announced that Robidoux had committed a foul by making a push shot. Hendry compiled a break of 58 to win that frame, and added the following two frames to progress 10–7.[13]
Two time world champion (1972, 1982) Alex Higgins returned to the Crucible after missing out the previous year.[14] He lost 5–10 to Steve James in the first round.[12] After the match, Higgins punched an official in the stomach at the post-match press conference;[15][16] this, alongside a threat to have Dennis Taylor shot at the 1990 World Cup a month earlier, led to Higgins being banned for the entire 1990/1991 season.[15]
In the first round match between James and Higgins, James was awarded a free ball in a frame before any reds had been potted. In taking a baulk colour as an extra red ball and compiling a total clearance of 135 the break became the only 16-red clearance at the Crucible.[17][18][19]
Semi-finals
For the only time since seeding began, the four semi-finalists were also the top four seeds.
For the first time since 1982, Davis failed to reach the final,[20] losing 14–16 to Jimmy White in the semi-final. It was the first time White had defeated Davis at the Crucible after Davis had eliminated White in four previous encounters.[12] From 6–8 at the close of the second session, White won seven of the eight frames in the third session to lead 13–9. After winning the 27th frame on the black ball after needing a snooker, Davis moved to within one frame of White at 13–14, and led by 40 points in the 28th frame before White won that to go two frames clear with three to play, conceding one further frame before clinching victory.[13]
In beating John Parrott at the semi-final stage, Hendry replacedSteve Davis as snooker's world number 1.[21] Parrott had led 4–0, and was 5–3 ahead at the end of their first session. Hendry won the next six frames to lead 9–5, followed by Parrott winning six consecutive frames leaving Hendry 9–11 behind. Hendry won the last two frames of the third session to equalise at 11–11, and added the first five frames of the fourth session to complete a 16–11 victory/[13]
Final
Hendry led 9–7 after the first day. On the second day, he won the first four frames, making a break of 104 in the second, with White failing to pot a ball in three of them. From 7–13, White took the 21st frame with a break of 82, and added the following frame to reduce his deficit to 9–13. In the 23rd frame, White led by 63 points before Hendry produced a clearance of 72 to win on the black ball. The session finished with Hendry 14–10 ahead after White won the session's last frame with breaks of 51 and 45. The first three frames of the fourth session were completed in 27 minutes, and included a 108 clearance by Hendry. White took the following frame, before breaks of 71 and 81 secured a first world championship title for Hendry.[22][23] He became the youngest-ever world champion at the age of 21 years and 106 days,[24] overtaking Alex Higgins, who had won the 1972 World Snooker Championship a few days before his 23rd birthday.[22]
Hendry commented after his win that "I was determined to win and confident that I could do it. I was glad I was able to keep my concentration and cope with the pressure. All through the match I was nervous. My stomach was churning tonight." White said that he was disappointed with the standard of his own safety play during the match, and added "I'm a little bit sick but I can honestly say I enjoyed the game. In a way I'm pleased for Stephen. He's a great kid and he puts in enough work to be world champion. He played tremendous snooker. You could count his misses on one hand."[25] Hendry went on to win six more world titles, including further victories over White in the 1992, 1993 and 1994 finals.[26]
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).[12][27][28][29]
^"John Higgins eyes more crucible titles". The Telegraph. London. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2020. the modern era, which began in 1969 when the World Championship became a knockout event.
^"The Rise Of China". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
^Everton, Clive (2012). Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 23. ISBN978-1-78057-568-1.
^"History of Snooker – a Timeline". wpbsa. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
^ ab"Crucible Draw And Format". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
