1987 World Snooker Championship facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	18 April – 4 May 1987
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£400,000
Winner's share	£80,000
Highest break	Steve Davis (127)
Final
Champion	Steve Davis
Runner-up	Joe Johnson
Score	18–14
← 1986 1988 →

The 1987 World Snooker Championship was a big snooker tournament. It happened from April 18 to May 4, 1987. The games were played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

This event was exciting because the defending champion, Joe Johnson, reached the final again. He played against Steve Davis, just like in the 1986 final. But this time, Steve Davis won the match 18–14. It was Steve Davis's fourth world title. Joe Johnson was said to have fallen to the "Crucible curse." This is a belief that a first-time winner at the Crucible Theatre often struggles to win the title again the next year. The tournament was supported by a company called Embassy.

How the Tournament Worked

The snooker championship is a knockout tournament. This means players are eliminated after losing a match. The numbers in brackets next to a player's name show their seeding. A seeding means they were ranked as one of the top players before the tournament started. Players whose names are in bold won their matches.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Best of 19 frames

Best of 25 frames

Best of 25 frames

Best of 31 frames

18 April

Joe Johnson (1)

10

23 & 24 April

Eugene Hughes

9

Joe Johnson (1)

13

18 & 19 April

Murdo MacLeod

7

Rex Williams (16)

5

28 & 29 April

Murdo MacLeod

10

Joe Johnson (1)

13

19 & 20 April

Stephen Hendry

12

Kirk Stevens (9)

4

24 & 25 April

Steve Longworth

10

Steve Longworth

7

19 & 20 April

Stephen Hendry

13

Willie Thorne (8)

7

30 April, 1 & 2 May

Stephen Hendry

10

Joe Johnson (1)

16

20 & 21 April

Neal Foulds (13)

9

Tony Knowles (5)

6

25, 26 & 27 April

Mike Hallett

10

Mike Hallett

13

21 & 22 April

Silvino Francisco (12)

9

Silvino Francisco (12)

10

28 & 29 April

John Campbell

3

Mike Hallett

9

21 & 22 April

Neal Foulds (13)

13

Neal Foulds (13)

10

26 & 27 April

John Virgo

4

Neal Foulds (13)

13

22 & 23 April

Dennis Taylor (4)

10

Dennis Taylor (4)

10

Mark Bennett

4

22 & 23 April

Cliff Thorburn (3)

5

26 & 27 April

Dene O'Kane

10

Dene O'Kane

13

22 April

Doug Mountjoy (14)

5

Doug Mountjoy (14)

10

28 & 29 April

David Taylor

5

Dene O'Kane

6

21 April

Jimmy White (6)

13

Tony Meo (11)

8

25, 26 & 27 April

John Parrott

10

John Parrott

11

20 & 21 April

Jimmy White (6)

13

Jimmy White (6)

10

30 April, 1 & 2 May

Dean Reynolds

8

Jimmy White (6)

11

19 & 20 April

Steve Davis (2)

16

Alex Higgins (7)

10

24 & 25 April

Jon Wright

6

Alex Higgins (7)

10

19 & 20 April

Terry Griffiths (10)

13

Terry Griffiths (10)

10

28 & 29 April

Jim Wych

4

Terry Griffiths (10)

5

18 & 19 April

Steve Davis (2)

13

Ray Reardon (15)

10

23, 24 & 25 April

Barry West

5

Ray Reardon (15)

4

18 April

Steve Davis (2)

13

Steve Davis (2)

10

Warren King

7

Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 3 & 4 May 1987. Referee: Len Ganley
Joe Johnson (1)  England	14–18	Steve Davis (2)  England
0–128, 61–53, 74–69, 71–2, 1–77, 12–83, 66–57, 8–69, 35–82, 5–79, 118–15, 25–77, 0–91, 76–44, 7–88, 70–6, 68–34, 0–69, 0–80, 24–81, 24–68, 66–52, 0–77, 75–22, 70–53, 76–44, 73–59, 0–104, 6–113, 33–91, 77–34, 0–78	Century breaks: 2 (Johnson 1, Davis 1) Highest break by Johnson: 101 Highest break by Davis: 127	0–128, 61–53, 74–69, 71–2, 1–77, 12–83, 66–57, 8–69, 35–82, 5–79, 118–15, 25–77, 0–91, 76–44, 7–88, 70–6, 68–34, 0–69, 0–80, 24–81, 24–68, 66–52, 0–77, 75–22, 70–53, 76–44, 73–59, 0–104, 6–113, 33–91, 77–34, 0–78
Steve Davis wins the 1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship

What are Century Breaks?

In snooker, a "century break" is when a player scores 100 points or more in one turn. It's a great achievement! In the 1987 championship, there were 18 century breaks made.

The highest score in one turn was 127 points by Steve Davis. This was the lowest highest break recorded since the tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre. In the qualifying rounds, Dene O'Kane made an even higher break of 132 points.

Images for kids

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  The Preston Guild Hall hosted qualifying for the event.

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  Neal Foulds (pictured in 2015) reached the semi-finals for the only time in his career by defeating Mike Hallett 13–9.