The "Crucible curse" refers to the fact that no first-time snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

 world champion has retained his title the following year since the event

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...

 moved to 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....

 in 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...

 in 1977. The last player to successfully defend his first world title was John Pulman

John Pulman

John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....

 in 1964, when the championship was still decided by challenge matches.

The curse

The following first-time champions ended up short of defending their titles the following year. Of the fifteen players to have won their first championship at the Crucible Theatre, five lost in their first match as defending champion (Terry Griffiths

Terry Griffiths

Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...

 in 1980, 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...

 in 1982, Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...

 in 1986 Graeme Dott

Graeme Dott

Graeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the 2006 World Championship, which was his first ranking title after four previous runner-up spots...

 in 2007, and Neil Robertson

Neil Robertson (snooker player)

Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...

 in 2011) and only two went on to reach the final: 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 :...

 in 1987 and Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...

 in 1998.

Year	Defending Champion	|Opponent	Ref
1980	Terry Griffiths Terry Griffiths Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...	Second RoundGriffiths, along with the other top 8 seeds, received a bye for the opening round. The Second Round was thus his first match.	10–13	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...
1981	Cliff Thorburn Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...	Semi-finals	10–16	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...
1982	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...	First Round	1–10	Tony Knowles Tony Knowles (snooker player) Anthony Knowles is an English professional snooker player. He was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s.-Career:...
1986	Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...	First Round	6–10	Mike Hallett Mike Hallett Mike Hallett is an English professional snooker player and television sports commentator.-Career:Hallett was a consistently solid snooker player, but never achieved the very top ranks...
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 :...	Final	14–18	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...
1991	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...	Quarter-finals	11–13	Steve James Steve James (snooker player) Stephen James is an English professional snooker player.-Career:A former postman, the high point of his career was his sole ranking title – the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1990, beating Australian Warren King 10–6 in the final...
1992	John Parrott John Parrott John Parrott MBE is an English professional snooker player and TV personality.He won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times...	Quarter-finals	12–13	Alan McManus Alan McManus Alan McManus is a Scottish professional snooker player, known for his tactical play and safety shots, giving rise to his nickname "Angles" McManus.-Career:...
1998	Ken Doherty Ken Doherty Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...	Final	12–18	John Higgins
1999	John Higgins	Semi-finals	10–17	Mark Williams Mark Williams (snooker player) Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine...
2001	Mark Williams Mark Williams (snooker player) Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine...	Second Round	12–13	Joe Swail Joe Swail -External links:*...
2002	Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...	Semi-finals	13–17	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...
2003	Peter Ebdon Peter Ebdon Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...	Quarter-finals	12–13	Paul Hunter Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter was an English professional snooker player. His media profile developed swiftly and he became known as the "Beckham of the Baize" because of his good looks and flamboyant style....
2006	Shaun Murphy Shaun Murphy (snooker player) Shaun Murphy is an English professional snooker player, who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. He is known for his dedication and for being a devout Christian.Born in Harlow, England, Murphy turned...	Quarter-finals	7–13	Peter Ebdon Peter Ebdon Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
2007	Graeme Dott Graeme Dott Graeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the 2006 World Championship, which was his first ranking title after four previous runner-up spots...	First Round	7–10	Ian McCulloch Ian McCulloch (snooker player) -External links:**...
2011 2011 World Snooker Championship The 2011 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 16 April and 2 May 2011 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 74th edition of the event and was the last ranking event of the 2010/2011 snooker season...	Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (snooker player) Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...	First Round	8–10	Judd Trump Judd Trump Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open...

In the meantimes, the titles were won by players who had already been world champions (so the "curse" did not apply). Three players have even won consecutive titles: 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...

 (1973–76), 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...

 (1983–84 and 87–89) and 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...

 (1992–96), but only after they experienced the "curse".

Pre-Crucible

Even before the World Championship was staged at the Crucible, no player in the modern game successfully defended his first world title. Of all first-time world champions, only Joe Davis

Joe Davis

Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....

, his brother Fred and John Pulman

John Pulman

John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....

 retained their title at the next world championship, Joe in 1928, Fred in 1949 and Pulman during his challenge match in 1964. Additionally, Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins and John Spencer won the world championship before it was moved to the Crucible, but they all failed to retain the title after winning it at the Crucible for the first time.

Year	Defending Champion	|Opponent	Ref
1970	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Professional title at his first attempt, was the first winner at the Crucible Theatre, was the inaugural winner of the Masters and Irish Masters and was the first player to make a 147 break in competition...	Semi-finals	33–37	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...
1971	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...	Semi-finals	15–34	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Professional title at his first attempt, was the first winner at the Crucible Theatre, was the inaugural winner of the Masters and Irish Masters and was the first player to make a 147 break in competition...
1973	Alex Higgins Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...	Semi-finals	9–23	Eddie Charlton Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton AM was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title...