The 1987 Embassy

Imperial Tobacco

Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...

 World Snooker Championship

World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...

took place at the Crucible Theatre

Crucible Theatre

The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....

, Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 between 18 April – 4 May 1987.

Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson (snooker player)

Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.- Career :...

 made it to the final again, but so did Steve Davis

Steve Davis

Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...

, making it a repeat of the 1986 final. However Johnson did not defend his title, as he lost 14–18 to Davis. It was Davis' fourth world title.

Notable moments

• The Steve Davis/Joe Johnson match was the first time in the Crucible that two players had met at the final two years running. The last time it happened in the entire championship was Fred Davis/Walter Donaldson
  Walter Donaldson (snooker player)
  Walter Donaldson was a Scottish professional snooker player.He turned professional at age 16, in 1923. He contested many world championships, finally achieving victory in 1947 after Joe Davis had retired from the tournament, and again in 1950...
  
   in 1951. It would happen again when Stephen Hendry
  Stephen Hendry
  Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
  
   and Jimmy White
  Jimmy White
  James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
  
   met three times running between 1992 and 1994.

• Hendry meanwhile in 1987 became the youngest player ever to make the quarter-finals of the World Championship at the age of 18 years and 3 months. He got revenge on Willie Thorne
  Willie Thorne
  William Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970...
  
   from 1986 in the first round when he won 10–7 before beating debutant Steve Longworth from Lancashire (who had beaten Kirk Stevens
  Kirk Stevens
  Kirk Stevens is a Canadian professional snooker player.Stevens started playing young, achieving his first aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship aged 21...
  
   10–4) 13–7 in the second round before meeting defending champion Joe Johnson
  Joe Johnson (snooker player)
  Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.- Career :...
  
  . The match turned out to be thriller and Hendry ended up losing 12–13. Hendry was the first Scot to reach that stage.

• Ray Reardon
  Ray Reardon
  Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...
  
   made his last appearance at the Crucible when he beat Yorkshire debutian Barry West 10–5. He then met Steve Davis in the second round which he lost 4–13. He dropped out of the Top 32 in the rankings at the end of the season from 15 to 38.

• Steve Davis
  Steve Davis
  Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
  
   made the highest break of the championship with a 127 during the first frame of the final. It is the lowest ever highest break recorded in the championship.

• There were 18 century breaks in the 1987 World Snooker Championship. The highest break of the tournament was 127 made by Steve Davis
  Steve Davis
  Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
  
   and 132 made by Dene O'Kane
  Dene O'Kane
  Dene O'Kane is a professional snooker player from New Zealand. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 1987 and 1992. He made his World Championship debut in 1985, losing to David Taylor in the first round. He appeared in the world championships six times, but never in...
  
   on the televise and qualifying stage respectively.

Prize Money

Winner: £80,000

Runner-up: £48,000

Semi-finals: £24,000

Quarter-finals: £12,000

Last 16: £6,000

Last 32: £3,375

Main draw