2015 World Snooker Championship
The 2015 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2015 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 18 April to 4 May 2015 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 39th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, and was the final ranking event of the 2014–15 snooker season. Sports betting company Betfred sponsored the event for the first time in three years, having previously done so from 2009 to 2012. The top sixteen players in the snooker world rankings were placed into the draw, and another sixteen players qualified for the event at a tournament taking place from 8 to 15 April 2015 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield. Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2014 final. Selby lost 9–13 in the second round to event debutant Anthony McGill, and became the 16th first-time champion unable to defend his title at the venue. Shaun Murphy, the 2005 winner, met Stuart Bingham in the final. Bingham, who was given odds of 50–1 to win the tournament by bookmakers before the start of the tournament, defeated Murphy 18–15 in the final to win the first world title of his 20-year professional career. Aged 38, Bingham became the oldest player to win the title since Ray Reardon in 1978. The tournament featured 86 century breaks, a record for the championship, beating the 83 scored in 2009. The highest break was 145, achieved by both Bingham and Neil Robertson. The event had a prize fund of £1,364,000, the winner receiving £300,000. Overview The World Snooker Championship is an annual cue sport tournament and the official professional world championship of the game of snooker. Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India, the sport was originally played in the United Kingdom. In modern times, it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asia nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand. The world championship sees professional players compete in one-on-one snooker matches in a single-elimination format, each played over several . The player participating in the championship are selected through a mix of the snooker world rankings, and a pre-tournament qualification round. The first world championship in 1927 was won by Joe Davis, the final being held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England. Since 1977, the event has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the event's most successful participants in the modern era, having both won the championship seven times. Englishman Mark Selby had won the previous year's championship by defeating fellow countryman Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final 18–14. The winner of the 2015 event earned prize money of £300,000, from a total pool of £1,364,000. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred, who had also done so for the event from 2009 to 2012. Format The 2015 World Snooker Championship was held from 18 April