Notable moments

• This was the first championship to have daily 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...
  
   coverage, as late night highlights, starting on April 17.

• Defending champion 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...
  
   became the first player to suffer the so-called Crucible Curse
  Crucible Curse
  The "Crucible curse" refers to the fact that no first-time snooker world champion has retained his title the following year since the event moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977...
  
  , when he lost 8-13 to Perrie Mans
  Perrie Mans
  Pierre "Perrie" Mans is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African professional championship in 1965, and went on to win it 19 times in total.-Career:...
  
   in the first round.

• 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...
  
   became the oldest World Champion at the age of 45 years and 6 months, while Fred Davis became the oldest semi-finalist in the championship at the age of 64 years and 8 months, losing 16-18 to Perrie Mans
  Perrie Mans
  Pierre "Perrie" Mans is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African professional championship in 1965, and went on to win it 19 times in total.-Career:...
  
  .

• Fred's brother, Joe Davis
  Joe Davis
  Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
  
  , attended his semi-final match with Mans, during which he collapsed and fell ill. He died two months later.

• John Williams
  John Williams (snooker referee)
  John Williams is a retired Welsh snooker referee. He presided over eleven World Championship finals, including the 1985 final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.-Early life:...
  
   refereed the final.

• There were 7 century breaks at the 1978 World Snooker Championship and the highest break was 138 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...
  
  .

Main draw

Qualification

Round 1 (Best of 17 frames)
Maurice Parkin	9-4	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...
Roy Andrewartha	9-0	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...
John Barrie	9-3	David Greaves
Pat Houlihan Pat Houlihan Patrick "Pat" Houlihan was an English snooker player. He was born in Deptford, London.He turned professional in 1971 at the age of 42 after many years as an amateur including beating future world champion John Spencer 11-3 at Blackpool Tower during the 1965 World Amateur Championship...	9-1	Chris Ross
Round 2 (Best of 17 frames)
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...	9-3	Roy Andrewartha
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...	9-5	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...	9-3	Rex Williams Rex Williams Rex Williams , son of Minnie Roberts and William Williams, is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player.Williams was an excellent junior player in both snooker and billiards. His professional career began in 1951, during a period of decline in snooker...
Bill Werbeniuk Bill Werbeniuk William Alexander "Bill" Werbeniuk was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill"...	9-2	Maurice Parkin
Perrie Mans Perrie Mans Pierre "Perrie" Mans is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African professional championship in 1965, and went on to win it 19 times in total.-Career:...	9-6	John Barrie
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...	9-7	Paddy Morgan
Pat Houlihan Pat Houlihan Patrick "Pat" Houlihan was an English snooker player. He was born in Deptford, London.He turned professional in 1971 at the age of 42 after many years as an amateur including beating future world champion John Spencer 11-3 at Blackpool Tower during the 1965 World Amateur Championship...	9-6	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....
Fred Davis	9-8	John Virgo John Virgo John Virgo is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality.- Career :...