Notable Moments

• This was the first time that the Embassy World Championship was held 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....
  
  . It was staged there by promoter Mike Watterson
  Mike Watterson
  Mike Watterson is a former English professional snooker player, businessman, entrepreneur and commentator...
  
  , who chose the venue after his wife saw a play there. It has remained there ever since.

• This was also the first world championship to be played since the world rankings
  Snooker world rankings
  The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
  
   were introduced.

• 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...
  
   won his third World title, beating Cliff Thorburn
  Cliff Thorburn
  Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...
  
   25–21 in the final. He was the first player to win the title with a two-piece cue, because the cue that he won his last two titles with had been smashed in a car accident.

• First timers included Patsy Fagan
  Patsy Fagan
  Patsy Fagan is a retired Irish professional snooker player.A talented snooker player who won the first UK championship in 1977 , Fagan seemed destined for a long and successful professional career in the game, but he became affected by a reluctance, possibly psychological, to play shots with the...
  
  , John Virgo
  John Virgo
  John Virgo is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality.- Career :...
  
  , Doug Mountjoy
  Doug Mountjoy
  Doug Mountjoy is a retired Welsh snooker player. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments in 1988/1989 – and while in his mid 40s. In more recent years he was the coach to the United Arab Emirates snooker association between 1997 and 1999.- Early life...
  
   (who beat 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...
  
   13–12 in the first round), and 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...
  
   who had failed to qualify for the final stages in 1976
  World Snooker Championship 1976
  The 1976 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at two venues – the Middlesbrough Town Hall staged the top half of the draw and the Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester staged the bottom half and the final.-Notable Moments:...
  
  .

• There were 6 centuries at the 1977 World Snooker Championship. The highest break of the tournament was 135 made by 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...
  
  .

• The BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
   televised the semi-finals and the final with the latter on the 30 April.

Main draw

Qualification

Round 1 (Best of 21 frames)
John Virgo John Virgo John Virgo is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality.- Career :...	11–1	Roy Andrewartha
Round 2 (Best of 21 frames)
Patsy Fagan Patsy Fagan Patsy Fagan is a retired Irish professional snooker player.A talented snooker player who won the first UK championship in 1977 , Fagan seemed destined for a long and successful professional career in the game, but he became affected by a reluctance, possibly psychological, to play shots with the...	11–9	Jim Meadowcroft Jim Meadowcroft Jim Meadowcroft is a retired English professional snooker player who has latterly been a coach and a commentator on the game....
John Virgo John Virgo John Virgo is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality.- Career :...	11–6	John Dunning
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...	11–4	Bernard Bennett Bernard Bennett Bernard Bennett was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards, who competed in the late 1960s and 1970s, and was a professional player for nearly 30 years, although he spent most of his latter playing years in relative obscurity well down the rankings.He entered the 1969...
John Pulman John Pulman John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....	11–0	David Taylor David Taylor (snooker player) David Taylor is a semi-retired English professional snooker player. He won the World and English Amateur Championships in 1968, before the success of those wins encouraged him to turn professional. Although an excellent player, Taylor never quite reached the very top of the game...
Cliff Thorburn Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...	11–0	Chris Ross
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...	11–0	Jack Karnehm Jack Karnehm Jack Karnehm was a British snooker commentator, who was regularly heard on BBC television from 1978 until 1993, and a former amateur world champion and professional national champion at the game of English billiards.karnehmwas also a profesional snooker and billiards player.Besides his...
Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy is a retired Welsh snooker player. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments in 1988/1989 – and while in his mid 40s. In more recent years he was the coach to the United Arab Emirates snooker association between 1997 and 1999.- Early life...	11–9	Jack Rea