Embassy World Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	18 April – 4 May 1998 (1998-04-18 – 1998-05-04)
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£1,323,000
Winner's share	£220,000
Highest break	John Higgins (SCO) (143)  Jimmy White (ENG) (143)
Final
Champion	John Higgins (SCO)
Runner-up	Ken Doherty (IRL)
Score	18–12
← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1998 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1998 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

John Higgins won his first World title by defeating defending champion Ken Doherty 18–12 in the final. Doherty became another World Champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first World title. However, Doherty has come closer than any other first-time champion bar Joe Johnson to retaining his championship. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.

Tournament summary

• Stephen Hendry lost in the first round 4–10 to Jimmy White. It was the first time since his debut in 1986 that he lost in the last 32 and it was also the first quarter-final stage not to feature Hendry since 1988.^[1]
• Simon Bedford, David Gray, Quinten Hann, Matthew Stevens, Terry Murphy, Alfie Burden, Peter Lines and Jason Prince made their Crucible debuts this year.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} Only Stevens could advance to the second round by defeating Alain Robidoux 10–8.^[10][11]
• Stephen Hendry's eight-year run as the world number one ended and he was replaced by John Higgins.^[12]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:^[10][11][13]

• Winner: £220,000
• Runner-up: £132,000
• Semi-final: £66,000
• Quarter-final: £33,000
• Last 16: £17,750
• Last 32: £12,000
• Highest break £19,000
• Maximum break £147,000
• Total £1,323,000

Main draw

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers).^{[10][11][14][15]}

First round Best of 19 frames

Second round Best of 25 frames

Quarter-finals Best of 25 frames

Semi-finals Best of 33 frames

Final Best of 35 frames

18 April

Ken Doherty (1)

10

24 & 25 April

Lee Walker

8

Ken Doherty (1)

13

22 April

Stephen Lee (16)

8

Stephen Lee (16)

10

28 & 29 April

Andy Hicks

4

Ken Doherty (1)

13

22 & 23 April

Matthew Stevens

10

Alain Robidoux (9)

8

26 & 27 April

Matthew Stevens

10

Matthew Stevens

13

20 & 21 April

Mark King

9

Nigel Bond (8)

5

30 April 1 & 2 May

Mark King

10

Ken Doherty (1)

17

21 April

Mark Williams (4)

14

Peter Ebdon (5)

10

25, 26 & 27

Terry Murphy

3

Peter Ebdon (5)

13

18 & 19 April

Fergal O'Brien

5

James Wattana (12)

9

28 & 29 April

Fergal O'Brien

10

Peter Ebdon (5)

11

19 & 20 April

Mark Williams (4)

13

Steve Davis (13)

10

23, 24 & 25 April

Simon Bedford

6

Steve Davis (13)

6

19 & 20 April

Mark Williams (4)

13

Mark Williams (4)

10

3 & 4 May

Quinten Hann

9

Ken Doherty (1)

12

18 & 19 April

John Higgins (3)

18

John Higgins (3)

10

23 & 24 April

Jason Ferguson

8

John Higgins (3)

13

18 & 19 April

Anthony Hamilton (14)

9

Anthony Hamilton (14)

10

28 & 29 April

Dave Harold

8

John Higgins (3)

13

18 & 19 April

John Parrott (6)

11

Tony Drago (11)

10

24 & 25 April

Alfie Burden

8

Tony Drago (11)

7

20 & 21 April

John Parrott (6)

13

John Parrott (6)

10

30 April 1 & 2 May

Peter Lines

4

John Higgins (3)

17

21 & 22 April

Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)

9

Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)

10

26 & 27 April

Joe Swail

5

Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)

13

20 April

Alan McManus (10)

4

Alan McManus (10)

10

28 & 29 April

David Gray

8

Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)

13

21 & 22 April

Jimmy White

7

Darren Morgan (15)

10

25 & 26 April

Jason Prince

8

Darren Morgan (15)

3

22 & 23 April

Jimmy White

13

Stephen Hendry (2)

4

Jimmy White

10

Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 3 & 4 May 1998. Referee: Lawrie Annandale[16]
Ken Doherty (1)  Ireland	12–18	John Higgins (3)  Scotland
73–34, 20–80, 7–86, 1–71, 0–113, 52–73, 0–130, 89–0, 112–0, 66–7, 97–18, 2–66, 4–103, 5–86, 0–138, 82–70, 90–39, 0–89, 61–6, 0–130, 90–0, 99–1, 48–58, 82–44, 14–60, 0–128, 58–71, 78–41, 16–66, 8–119	Century breaks: 6 (Doherty 1, Higgins 5) Highest break by Doherty: 112 Highest break by Higgins: 130	73–34, 20–80, 7–86, 1–71, 0–113, 52–73, 0–130, 89–0, 112–0, 66–7, 97–18, 2–66, 4–103, 5–86, 0–138, 82–70, 90–39, 0–89, 61–6, 0–130, 90–0, 99–1, 48–58, 82–44, 14–60, 0–128, 58–71, 78–41, 16–66, 8–119
John Higgins wins the 1998 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Century breaks

There were 59 century breaks in the championship, a new record which would last until 2002.^[10][17][18] John Higgins' 14 centuries in the tournament was a new record, beating the 12 made by Stephen Hendry in 1995.^[19]

Qualifying

The qualifying matches were held between 2 January and March 1998 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.

Round 1–2

Round 1 (Best of 19 frames)	Round 1 (Best of 19 frames)	Round 2 (Best of 19 frames)
		Leo Fernandez 10–3 Evan Munro
		Robert Milkins 10–2 Michael O'Sullivan
		Philip Williams 10–2 John Burns
		Steve Meakin 10–7 Neal Tomkins
		Brian Rowswell 10–7 Sean Lanigan
		Joe Jogia 10–8 Hugh Abernethy
		Jeff Cundy 10–7 Dylan Leary
		Chris Shade 10–3 Nick Manning
		Bjorn Haneveer 10–6 James McGouran
		Ali Carter 10–8 Scott Cooney
		Surinder Gill 10–5 Stuart Parnell
		Stuart Reardon10–8 Jason Weston
		Barry Pinches 10–3 Mario Geudens
		Nic Barrow 10–4 Mario Wehrmann
		Nick Terry 10–6 Leigh Robinson
		Garry Baldrey 10–8 Graham Horne
		Simon Bedford 10–4 Justin Buckingham
		Mark Johnston-Allen 10–5 Joe O'Boye
		Jason Wallace 10–9 Andrew Cairns
		Oliver King 10–7 Robin Hull
		Joe Delaney 10–4 Ryan Mitchell
		Gary Lees 10–6 Paul McPhillips
		Munraj Pal 10–8 Les Dodd
		Christopher McGee 10–6 Lee Mallin
		Adrian Rosa 10–9 Darryn Walker
		Stuart Bingham 10–1 Ian Hurdman
		Marco Fu 10–5 Paul Sweeny
		Mike Hallett 10–4 Garoid O'Connor
		Andrew Higginson 10–6 David McDonnell
		Simon Parker 10–4 Stephen Murphy
		Ian Sargeant 10–8 Steve Day
		Andy Neck 10–5 David Coles

Round 1 (Best of 19 frames)

Leo Fernandez 10–8 Robert Milkins

Philip Williams 10–6 Steve Meakin

Brian Rowswell 10–4 Joe Jogia

Jeff Cundy 10–9 Chris Shade

Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Ali Carter

Surinder Gill 10–4 Stuart Reardon

Barry Pinches 10–3 Nic Barrow

Nick Terry 10–1 Garry Baldrey

Simon Bedford 10–6 Mark Johnston-Allen

Jason Wallace 10–4 Oliver King

Joe Delaney 10–8 Gary Lees

Munraj Pal 10–4 Christopher McGee

Adrian Rosa 10–7 Stuart Bingham

Marco Fu 10–2 Mike Hallett

Andrew Higginson 10–6 Simon Parker

Ian Sargeant 10–0 Andy Neck

Round 2–3

^[11]

Round 2 (Best of 19 frames)	Round 3 (Best of 19 frames)
Leo Fernandez 10–6 Philip Williams	Leigh Griffin 10–7 Leo Fernandez
Brian Rowswell 10–9 Jeff Cundy	John Lardner 10–5 Brian Rowswell
Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Surinder Gill	Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Troy Shaw
Barry Pinches 10–2 Nick Terry	Joe Perry 10–7 Barry Pinches
Simon Bedford 10–2 Jason Wallace	Simon Bedford 10–9 Mark Gray
Joe Delaney 10–8 Munraj Pal	Joe Delaney 10–1 Peter McCullagh
Adrian Rosa 10–8 Marco Fu	David Gray 10–5 Adrian Rosa
Andrew Higginson 10–7 Ian Sargeant	Andrew Higginson 10–5 Craig MacGillivray

Round 1

Round 1 (Best of 19 frames)

Lee Walker 10–3 Jonathan Birch

Leigh Griffin 10–4 Karl Broughton

David Roe 10–7 Ian Brumby

Graeme Dott 10–3 John Lardner

Matthew Stevens 10–5 Stephen O'Connor

Drew Henry 10–5 Sean Storey

Paul Hunter 10–5 Lee Richardson

Steve Judd 10–8 Michael Judge

Joe Johnson 10–6 Martin Dziewialtowski

Nick Pearce 10–5 Bjorn Haneveer

Nick Walker 10–3 Willie Thorne

Joe Perry 10–3 Shokat Ali

Tony Jones 10–9 Paul Wykes

Simon Bedford 10–3 Euan Henderson

Quinten Hann 10–3 Wayne Jones

Anthony Davies 10–6 Jamie Woodman

Jason Ferguson 10–6 Darren Clarke

Marcus Campbell 10–9 Chris Scanlon

Joe Delaney 10–8 Jamie Burnett

Gary Ponting 10–6 Dennis Taylor

Alfie Burden 10–6 Mark Bennett

Wayne Brown 10–8 Dean Reynolds

Peter Lines 10–7 David Finbow

Stuart Pettman 10–5 Dene O'Kane

Matthew Couch 10–9 Paul Davies

Stefan Mazrocis 10–6 Karl Payne

David Gray 10–4 Mark Davis

Karl Burrows 10–5 Tony Chappel

Jason Prince 10–4 John Read

Andrew Higginson 10–5 Jimmy Michie

Bradley Jones 10–5 Gerard Greene

Ian McCulloch 10–7 Dominic Dale

Round 2–3

^[11]

Round 2 (Best of 19 frames)	Round 3 (Best of 19 frames)
Lee Walker 10–5 Leigh Griffin	Lee Walker 10–9 Billy Snaddon
David Roe 10–9 Graeme Dott	Andy Hicks 10–1 David Roe
Matthew Stevens 10–5 Drew Henry	Matthew Stevens 10–8 Neal Foulds
Paul Hunter 10–5 Steve Judd	Mark King 10–9 Paul Hunter
Nick Pearce 10–8 Joe Johnson	Terry Murphy 10–2 Nick Pearce
Joe Perry 10–6 Nick Walker	Fergal O'Brien 10–7 Joe Perry
Simon Bedford 10–7 Tony Jones	Simon Bedford 10–9 Gary Wilkinson
Quinten Hann 10–3 Anthony Davies	Quinten Hann 10–6 Brian Morgan
Jason Ferguson 10–6 Marcus Campbell	Jason Ferguson 10–7 Mick Price
Joe Delaney 10–8 Gary Ponting	Dave Harold 10–7 Joe Delaney
Alfie Burden 10–2 Wayne Brown	Alfie Burden 10–3 Rod Lawler
Peter Lines 10–5 Stuart Pettman	Peter Lines 10–6 Steve James
Matthew Couch 10–2 Stefan Mazrocis	Joe Swail 10–3 Matthew Couch
David Gray 10–9 Karl Burrows	David Gray 10–5 Chris Small
Jason Prince 10–6 Andrew Higginson	Jason Prince 10–8 Martin Clark
Bradley Jones 10–9 Ian McCulloch	Jimmy White 10–5 Bradley Jones