2017 World Snooker Championship

Seeding and qualifying rounds

The top 16 seeds automatically qualified for the last 32. Defending champion Mark Selby was seeded 1, while other seedings were allocated based on the latest world rankings. All the other players (from 17th place in ranking) started in the first round of qualifying and were required to win three best-of-19-frame matches to reach the Crucible. Qualifying rounds were held at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield from 5 to 12 April 2017.^[3]

After losing to Mark Selby in the China Open final, two-time former world champion Mark Williams failed to regain his place in the Top 16 (to the benefit of Ryan Day) and was required to play in the qualifying rounds. He lost 7–10 to Stuart Carrington in his final qualifying match and failed to reach the Crucible for the second time since 1996.^[4]

Gary Wilson made the 131st official maximum break in the fourth frame of his first round qualifying match against Josh Boileau on 6 April 2017. This was the second maximum break of Wilson's career.^[5]

At 123 minutes and 41 seconds, the deciding frame of the third round qualifying match between Fergal O'Brien and David Gilbert on 12 April was the longest frame on record in the modern era of the game, beating the previous record of 100 minutes and 24 seconds set by Alan McManus and Barry Pinches in 2015. The frame and match was won by O'Brien.^[6]

Five debutants (David Grace, Noppon Saengkham, Gary Wilson, Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong) qualified for the main stage at the Crucible.^[4]

First round

The draw for the first round took place on 13 April 2017 at 10:00 BST.^[7] After losing four consecutive first-round matches at the Crucible following his semifinal appearance in 2012, Stephen Maguire defeated fellow Scot Anthony McGill 10–2 in the first round.^[8] Ronnie O'Sullivan made his 25th consecutive appearance at the World Championship and withstood a fight back from qualifier Gary Wilson from 5–9 to 7–9 to go through to the second round 10–7. O'Sullivan has made the last 16 in all but two editions of the event in the last 20 years since 1997, including 14 consecutive last 16 appearances, which equals the record set by Terry Griffiths.^[9]

Elsewhere, two-time semifinalist Marco Fu trailed Luca Brecel 0–5, 1–7, 4–8 and 8–9 before winning 10–9, in his first round match.^[10] Peter Ebdon, 2002 champion, appeared at the Crucible for the 24th time since first qualifying in 1992 but lost 5–10 to 2015 champion Stuart Bingham.^[11] Peter Ebdon rescued the final frame of the first session via a respotted black from a seemingly impossible position when 15 additional points were needed to equal the score in the 9th frame.^[12]

Perhaps the biggest shock of the first round was qualifier Rory McLeod's 10–8 victory over world No. 2, and bookmakers' favourite, Judd Trump, who had led 4–0.^[13] Prior to the tournament, Trump had proclaimed "I honestly believe I can play to a standard which is very rare nowadays," and that he was "the best" in the world.^[14] Trump's poor performance in the match, which ran into a third session, was exacerbated by a shoulder injury, which caused him visible pain when down on shots.^[15] This lead 46 year-old McLeod to become the oldest player to reach the last 16 since Steve Davis' quarterfinal run in 2010 at the age of 52. He was also the lowest ranked player, at 54, to make it to the last 16.

In an all-Chinese match in the first round, 2016 runner-up Ding Junhui defeated debutant Zhou Yuelong 10–5.^[16] 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott beat twice former runner-up Ali Carter 10–7 in a tense encounter to reach the last 16.^[17] 2010 champion Neil Robertson made his 500th career century during his 10–4 first round win over Noppon Saengkham of Thailand.^[18] Stuart Carrington became only the fifth player, after John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson to make century breaks in 3 consecutive frames in a World Championship match during his encounter with Liang Wenbo; however, Liang won the match 10–7.^[19]

In total, 7 former world champions qualified for the last 16: Selby, Bingham, O'Sullivan, Higgins, Robertson, Dott and Murphy. Ebdon was the only former champion in the main draw not to reach the second round.^[20] However, none of the five debutants David Grace, Noppon Saengkham, Gary Wilson, Yan Bingtao or Zhou Yuelong, made it to the second round. Xiao Guodong was the only first-round winner who had previously not won a match at the Crucible.^[21]

Second round

Kyren Wilson advanced to his second quarterfinal by beating 2015 champion Stuart Bingham 13–10. It would be Wilson's second consecutive quarterfinal appearance, having also done so in 2016.^[22] 5-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan made his 18th crucible quarterfinal appearance by beating Shaun Murphy 13–7.^[23] 2016 runner-up Ding Junhui would once again play in an all-Chinese match, beating fellow countryman Liang Wenbo 13–12, having led 6–2 in the process.

Having trailed 3–5, 4-time world champion John Higgins beat Mark Allen 13–9.^[24] Stephen Maguire also beat Rory McLeod 13–3 with a session to spare to reach his first crucible quarterfinal since 2012.^[25]

Quarterfinals

John Higgins advanced to his first semifinal since his 2011 World Championship win by defeating Kyren Wilson 13–6. With the score at 3–3 Wilson miscued and split his tip, leading to a 15-minute tip replacement break.^[26]

The defending champion Mark Selby beat the previous year's semifinalist Marco Fu 13–3 with a session to spare.^[27] Selby's victory included a memorable 143 clearance which BBC commentator Stephen Hendry described as "one of the best [breaks] I've ever seen." ^[28]

2016 runner-up Ding defeated O'Sullivan 13–10 in a high quality quarterfinal. Ding went into a 3–0 lead but O'Sullivan fought back to level the first session at 4–4. Ding dominated the second session and opened up a 10–6 overnight lead. O'Sullivan would take the first two frames to move to 8–10. The pair would split the next four frames and 10–12 in the third session before Ding clinched the match in frame 23.^[29] In frame 20, O'Sullivan attempted a 147 maximum break. He ran out of position after potting the 13th red and had to take the pink instead of the black and made a clearance of 146, which still ended up as the highest break of the championship.^[30]

Barry Hawkins reached his fourth Crucible semifinal in five years, beating Stephen Maguire, the only qualifier to reach the quarterfinals, 13–9.^[31]

Semifinals

The semifinals saw a repeat of the 2016 final, with Mark Selby playing Ding Junhui.^[32] Selby would defeat Ding 17–15. Selby would be ahead for most of the match, pulling away from Ding after the pair were level at 12 frames apiece, moving to 16–13 ahead.^[32] Needing just one frame to win, Selby would lose two frames to a resiliant Ding, before picking up a break of 72 to win the match.^[32]

In the championships' other semifinal John Higgins qualified for his sixth World Championship final over a span of 19 years and his first in six years. He did so with a 17–8 victory over Barry Hawkins, which World Snooker referred to as a "demolition".^[33]

Final

The final, contested by Mark Selby and John Higgins, was a repeat fixture of the 2007 final which Higgins won 18–13.^[34] Higgins was the second oldest Crucible World finalist at 41 years and 11 months. Only Ray Reardon was older – 49 in the 1982 final and 45 when he won his last title in 1978. Only 4 men in their 40s have played in a world final at the Crucible: Ray Reardon, John Higgins, John Spencer and Terry Griffiths.^[35]

The final marked the first time in Crucible history that multiple champions have met in the final of the World Championship. All-time it is the third different combination of players to have participated in such a final. The other combinations were Fred Davis vs. Walter Donaldson (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954) and John Pulman vs. Fred Davis (1965, 1966).^[36]

In the final, Selby trailed 6–2 after the first session, and 10–4 during the second before finishing the first day 10–7 behind.^[37][38] He fought back to win 6 out of the next 7 frames to lead 13–11 after the third session.^[38] The players then shared the next six frames before a contentious decision by the referee in the 31st frame where he judged Mark Selby to have not hit the black as he attempted to roll up behind it and awarded a seven-point penalty – Higgins won the frame to pull back to 16–15.^[37] Selby fought back with a clearance of 131 and then a break of 75 to take the title 18–15.^[38][39]

No player had come back to win from six frames or more behind in a World Championship final since Dennis Taylor trailed Steve Davis by 8–0 and later 9–1 in the 1985 final. Selby became the fourth player (after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Ronnie O'Sullivan) to successfully defend the world title in the Crucible era. He also became the third man (after Hendry and Ding Junhui) to win five full ranking titles in a single season, the first man to win the China Open and the world title back-to-back, and the first man to win over £1m across the two-year rolling money list. Higgins went back to world number two as a result of his run to the final.^[37]

Round 1

Player Score Player Mark Williams 10–7 Zhao Xintong Liam Highfield 10–2 Andres Petrov Stuart Carrington 10–2 Alex Borg Andrew Higginson 10–8 Michael Georgiou Tom Ford 10–2 Jamie Bodle Chris Wakelin 10–5 Elliot Slessor Matthew Selt 10–4 David John Hossein Vafaei 10–1 Hatem Yassen Robin Hull 8–10 Reanne Evans Matthew Stevens 8–10 Lee Walker Noppon Saengkham 10–5 Jak Jones Anthony Hamilton 10–5 Craig Steadman Li Hang 10–9 Fraser Patrick Mike Dunn 10–6 Andy Hicks Nigel Bond 10–1 Ng On Yee Stephen Maguire 10–7 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn Mark King 10–4 Paul Davison Zhang Anda 7–10 Fang Xiongman Xiao Guodong 10–2 Tyler Rees Sam Baird 10–2 Ross Vallance Ben Woollaston 10–4 Chris Totten Ken Doherty 10–4 Jason Weston Zhou Yuelong 10–5 Christopher Keogan Ian Burns 7–10 Ian Preece Alfie Burden 10–6 Adam Duffy Jamie Jones 10–0 Jamie Curtis-Barrett Dechawat Poomjaeng 10–7 Chen Zhe Graeme Dott 10–3 Allan Taylor Tian Pengfei 10–4 Zhang Yong Fergal O'Brien 10–6 Gerard Greene Rhys Clark 10–1 Wayne Townsend David Gilbert w/o–w/d Patrick Wallace

Player Score Player Joe Perry 10–3 Zack Richardson Mei Xiwen 5–10 Sunny Akani Mark Joyce 10–3 Jordan Brown David Grace 10–6 Thor Chuan Leong Luca Brecel 10–4 Sean O'Sullivan Joe Swail 10–8 Sanderson Lam Dominic Dale 10–2 Boonyarit Keattikun Daniel Wells 10–7 Adam Stefanów Gary Wilson 10–9 Josh Boileau Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 9–10 Peter Lines Ross Muir 10–7 Gareth Allen Michael White 10–3 Aditya Mehta Rory McLeod 10–7 Darryl Hill Kurt Maflin 6–10 Sydney Wilson Martin O'Donnell 10–9 Jackson Page Ricky Walden 7–10 Hammad Miah Michael Holt 10–2 Hamza Akbar Jamie Cope 5–10 Eden Sharav Peter Ebdon 10–3 Michael Wild Jack Lisowski 10–7 Jimmy White Alan McManus 10–1 Kurt Dunham Rod Lawler 10–5 Xu Si Jimmy Robertson 10–8 Cao Yupeng Oliver Lines 10–6 Duane Jones Yan Bingtao 10–8 Sam Craigie Mark Davis 10–3 Mitchell Mann Scott Donaldson 10–2 Wang Yuchen Robert Milkins 6–10 Alexander Ursenbacher Robbie Williams 10–1 James Cahill Yu Delu 10–0 Itaro Santos John Astley 10–7 Igor Figueiredo Martin Gould 10–2 James Wattana

Round 2

Player Score Player Mark Williams 10–9 Liam Highfield Stuart Carrington 10–6 Andrew Higginson Tom Ford 10–6 Chris Wakelin Matthew Selt 6–10 Hossein Vafaei Reanne Evans 6–10 Lee Walker Noppon Saengkham 10–9 Anthony Hamilton Li Hang 10–4 Mike Dunn Nigel Bond 3–10 Stephen Maguire Mark King 10–4 Fang Xiongman Xiao Guodong 10–4 Sam Baird Ben Woollaston 10–4 Ken Doherty Zhou Yuelong 10–8 Ian Preece Alfie Burden 8–10 Jamie Jones Dechawat Poomjaeng 4–10 Graeme Dott Tian Pengfei 9–10 Fergal O'Brien Rhys Clark 6–10 David Gilbert

Player Score Player Joe Perry 9–10 Sunny Akani Mark Joyce 6–10 David Grace Luca Brecel 10–8 Joe Swail Dominic Dale 10–6 Daniel Wells Gary Wilson 10–7 Peter Lines Ross Muir 4–10 Michael White Rory McLeod 10–7 Sydney Wilson Martin O'Donnell 7–10 Hammad Miah Michael Holt 10–4 Eden Sharav Peter Ebdon 10–9 Jack Lisowski Alan McManus 5–10 Rod Lawler Jimmy Robertson 10–4 Oliver Lines Yan Bingtao 10–7 Mark Davis Scott Donaldson 9–10 Alexander Ursenbacher Robbie Williams 7–10 Yu Delu John Astley 6–10 Martin Gould

Round 3

Winners advanced to the main draw.

Player Score Player Mark Williams 7–10 Stuart Carrington Tom Ford 10–8 Hossein Vafaei Lee Walker 8–10 Noppon Saengkham Li Hang 5–10 Stephen Maguire Mark King 4–10 Xiao Guodong Ben Woollaston 9–10 Zhou Yuelong Jamie Jones 8–10 Graeme Dott Fergal O'Brien 10–9 David Gilbert

Player Score Player Sunny Akani 3–10 David Grace Luca Brecel 10–5 Dominic Dale Gary Wilson 10–3 Michael White Rory McLeod 10–7 Hammad Miah Michael Holt 9–10 Peter Ebdon Rod Lawler 6–10 Jimmy Robertson Yan Bingtao 10–4 Alexander Ursenbacher Yu Delu 7–10 Martin Gould

Main stage centuries

74 century breaks were made by 23 players in the main stage of the World Championship.^[46]

Qualifying stage centuries

84 century breaks – including a maximum break – were made by 51 players in the qualifying stage of the World Championship.^[41]