The 2012 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2012 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship) was a professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

tournament that took place from 21 April to 7 May 2012 at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, England. It was the 36th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible and the last

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

of the

2011–12 snooker season The 2011–12 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 1 June 2011 and 7 May 2012. The Brazil Masters became the first professional event held in South America, and the Australian Goldfields Open the first ran ...

. The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and in Europe by

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

won his fourth world title by defeating

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

18–11 in the final. Aged 36, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion since 45-year-old

Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

, the defending champion, lost 4–13 to

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

in the second round. Hendry made the highest break during the tournament, a maximum break of 147. Hendry, seven-time winner of the event, announced his retirement from professional snooker following his defeat by

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

in the quarter-finals.

Overview

The

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...

is an annual cue sport tournament and the official

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

of the game of

. Invented in the late 19th century by

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

soldiers stationed in India, the sport was popular in Great Britain. In modern times it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand. In the 2012 tournament, 32 professional players competed in one-on-one snooker matches played over several , using a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

format. The 32 players were selected for the event using the

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. The ranking lists are maintained by the sport's governing body, ...

and a pre-tournament qualification competition. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

, the first world championship was won by

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...

. The event's final took place in

Camkin's Hall William Alexander Camkin (1894 – 26 April 1956) was a billiard hall owner who came to prominence in the early years of the World Snooker Championship, when many of the tournament's matches were held at his clubs. He was involved in various asp ...

, Birmingham, England. Since 1977, the event has been held at the

in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...

. Scotsman

was the defending champion, having defeated

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

18–15 in the previous year's final. The event was sponsored by sports betting company

Betfred Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done.Pronounced to rhyme with "bone". It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was reported to be more than £3.5 bi ...

Format

The 2012 World Snooker Championship took place from 21 April to 7 May 2008 in

, England. The tournament was the last of nine ranking events in the

on the

World Snooker Tour The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial ar ...

. It featured a 32-player main draw that was held at the Crucible Theatre, as well as a qualifying draw that was played at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from 5 to 15 April. This was the 36th consecutive year that the tournament had been staged at the Crucible. The main stages of the event were broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The top 16 players in the latest world rankings automatically qualified for the main draw as seeded players. Higgins was seeded first overall as the defending champion, and the remaining 15 seeds were allocated based on the latest world rankings. The number of frames required to win a match increased throughout the tournament. The first round consisted of best-of-19-frames matches, with the final match being played over a maximum of 35 frames. All 16 non-seeded spots in the main draw were filled with players from the qualifying rounds.

Prize fund

The prize fund for the championship was divided as follows: *Winner: £250,000 *Runner-up: £125,000 *Semi-final: £52,000 *Quarter-final: £24,050 *Last 16: £16,000 *Last 32: £12,000 *Last 48: £8,200 *Last 64: £4,600 *Stage one highest break: £1,000 *Stage two highest break: £10,000 *Stage one maximum break: £1,500 *Stage two maximum break: £40,000 *Total: £1,152,500

Tournament summary

First round

The first round was played from 21 to 26 April as the best of 19 frames held over two . Three players were making their debut at the event: Jamie Jones,

Cao Yupeng Cao Yupeng (; born 27 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the 2011 Asian Under-21 Championship, thus qualifying for the professional main tour for the 2011–12 season. In his first season on the circuit, he reached ...

, and Luca Brecel. It was also the first time that both Cao and Brecel had qualified for the televised stage of a ranking event. Cao and Jones advanced to the second round by defeating

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

10–6 and

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) 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. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

10–8 respectively, whilst Brecel lost 5–10 against

. Brecel was the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible, aged 17 years and 45 days old. He was also the first Belgian to play at the Crucible. Mark Allen, following his first-round defeat by Cao, accused his opponent of cheating. Allen claimed that Cao had not admitted to a at 5–4. However, he also conceded that the Chinese player had outplayed him during the match. World Snooker decided to start disciplinary action against Allen, who later admitted having gone too far. He was later fined a total of £11,000, and warned he would be suspended from the tour for three months if he breached the rules again in the next six months. Allen was also ordered to undergo media training. In his match against

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

, Stephen Hendry made the 10th

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

to be made at the event. This was the 88th official maximum, and Hendry equalled two records held by

: the most official maximum breaks in professional snooker (11) and the most at the venue (3). Hendry won the match 10–4 in a rematch of one of his greatest upset defeats, in the first round of the 2000 World Snooker Championship when Hendry was defending champion and Bingham was making his television debut. Zhu Ying became the first Chinese person to referee a match at the Crucible by officiating the match between Hendry and Bingham. Mark Williams stated on Twitter before the championship that he hated the Crucible and wished that the tournament was played in China. Williams was subsequently booed as he was announced to the crowd before his opening match, and was later fined a total of £4,000.

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...

and Ryan Day went to a , which was won by Day. Ding said that the table conditions were not right and complained about spectators being disruptive during the match. He was later fined £250, and warned by the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee for swearing during the live press conference. In his match against

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

made three consecutive

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

s, as he completed a 10–4 victory.

Andrew Higginson Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open. Career Early years After some success in amateur tourn ...

and David Gilbert reached the second round of the event for the first time in their respective careers. Higginson defeated Stephen Lee 10–6, and Gilbert defeated

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began his pr ...

10–8. Half of the seeded players were beaten in the first round. Bingham,

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...

, Murphy, Lee, Gould, Ding Junhui, Allen and Selby all lost their places in the tournament. This marked the most top 16 players to suffer defeat in the first round since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

. There was the most Asian players in the history of the event, five.

Second round

The second round was played from 26 to 30 April, as the best of 25 frames held over three sessions. Multiple time winners Higgins and Hendry had made 45 appearances at the Crucible between them, having both had played in every tournament since 1995; but this was the only time they ever met at the Crucible. Higgins made the 500th century break of his career in his match against Hendry. Two frames later Hendry made his 775th. Hendry defeated Higgins 13–4 to reach his 19th quarter-final at the event. At that time only eight players had played at the Crucible at least that many times: Hendry,

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champions ...

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...

and O'Sullivan.

trailed

9–12, but won the next four frames to win 13–12. In the deciding frame Trump needed four and got three, before Carter finally potted the last remaining red ball. Crucible debutant Jones reached his first ranking event quarter-final by defeating Andrew Higginson 13–10. After the second session Jones led 10–6; before Higginson won the four opening frames of the last session to tie the score 10–10. Jones took the next three frames to win the match. He became the third Welshman into this year's quarter-finals, following Day and

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

. Robertson led Gilbert 5–3 and 10–6 before winning 13–9. Day defeated Cao 13–7 to reach the quarter-finals for the third time. Eighth seed Maguire defeated Perry 13–7, whilst O'Sullivan defeated Williams 13–6, having won six frames in a row in the second session.

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played on 1 and 2 May as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions. Hendry was defeated by Maguire with a , 13–2. Hendry won only one of the eight frames in the opening session, with Maguire winning the first four frames of the second session. Hendry won frame 13, but Maguire won the next two frames to complete the victory. After the match Hendry announced his immediate retirement from professional snooker, citing dissatisfaction with his standard of play in recent years and difficulty balancing competitive, commercial and personal commitments. Hendry would be in retirement until 2020, when he announced he would play again on the Tour, playing his next professional event at the

2021 Gibraltar Open The 2021 Gibraltar Open (officially the 2021 BetVictor Gibraltar Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 1 to 7 March 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It was the twelfth ranking event of the 2020–21 ...

. Stevens played Day, but trailed 2–5 in the first session. He won the final frame of that session, all eight frames of the second session, and won the match 13–5 after taking the first two frames of the third session. This was the first time he had reached the semi-finals since he played in the 2005 final. Carter led 2–1 before Jones tied the scores with a break of 127. However, Carter won three of the next four to lead 5–3 after the first session. Jones completed back-to-back centuries in the second session, but still trailed by two frames after the second session, with Carter winning the match 13–11. Robertson took a 5–3 lead over O'Sullivan after the first session of their match, but O'Sullivan won six straight frames to take a 9–7 lead after the second. O'Sullivan won the match 13–10, making a further two century breaks in the final session.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played as the best of 33 frames held over four sessions on 4 and 5 May. Carter met Maguire, and led 5–3 after the first session. Maguire made a 142 break in frame 15, but still trailed after the second session by four frames. The pair shared the eight frames of the third session, with Carter leading 14–10. Carter then won three of the next five to win the match 17–12. Earlier in the season, Carter had considered retiring from the game, due to struggles with

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distensi ...

. Hendry, acting as a pundit for BBC Sport, commented how Carter had "frustrated" Maguire during the match. O'Sullivan met Stevens in the other semi-final. This was O'Sullivan's ninth world championship semi-final, and Steven's fifth. O'Sullivan led the match 5–3 after the opening session, but won six of the eight in the second to lead 11–5. The pair shared the eight frames of the third session, leaving O'Sullivan 15–9 ahead. Stevens took the first frame in the fourth session, before O'Sullivan made a break of 130 in frame 26, and won the next frame to complete a 17–10 victory. Snooker pundit John Parrott likened playing O'Sullivan to be as difficult as "hold nga tiger by the tail".

Final

The final was played on 6 and 7 May as the best of 35 frames held over four sessions between Carter and O'Sullivan. This was the second time that the pair had met in the final of the event, with O'Sullivan defeating Carter 18–8 in the 2008 final. This was O'Sullivan's fourth world championship final, having won the prior three, whilst Carter was featuring in his second. Carter had never beaten O'Sullivan in 11 previous attempts in ranking events before this match. O'Sullivan made two century breaks in the opening session, including a 141 break in the eighth frame, the highest in a world championship final to date. The previous record was 139 made by O'Sullivan in the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

final. The pair were tied at 3–3, but O'Sullivan won the final two frames of the session to lead 5–3. O'Sullivan won four of the next six to lead 9–5, and led 10–7 overnight. A break of 101 by O'Sullivan saw him lead 11–7 and he then won the next three frames to lead 14–7. Carter won the next three frames, including a century break, before O'Sullivan won the final frame of the session to lead 15–10. Only four frames were played in the final session, as O'Sullivan won three of them to complete a 18–11 victory. This was O'Sullivan's fourth championship, and was the oldest person to win the event since

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. O'Sullivan praised the work of Steve Peters, his sports psychologist, for the victory, saying: "I wouldn't have been playing if it wasn't for Steve... I've stuck in there. I've had to face things that I didn't want to face." Carter would comment that his opponent was "the better man", but that he was disappointed to lose. This was the twelfth meeting between the pair in ranking competitions, with O'Sullivan winning all of them. Carter would eventually defeat O'Sullivan at the event in the second round of the 2018 World Snooker Championship. After the event, O'Sullivan announced he would take a six months sabbatical from the sport; however, he only played one competitive match before the following year's event, which he also won.

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). The draw for the first round took place on 16 April 2012, one day after the qualifying, and was broadcast live by Talksport.

Qualification draw

Preliminary qualifying

The preliminary qualifying rounds for the tournament were for WPBSA members not on the Main Tour and took place on 5 April 2012 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield. Round 1 Round 2

Qualifying

The qualifying rounds 1–4 for the tournament that took place between 6 and 12 April 2012 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The final round of qualifying took place between 14 and 15 April 2012 at the same venue.

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...

made the 87th official maximum break during his round four qualifying match against

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

on 11 April 2012. This was the second maximum break of Milkins' career. Round 1 Rounds 2–5

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

A total of 71 century breaks were made during the main stage of the World Championship. For every century break that was made during the 17-day championship in Sheffield, the title sponsor,

, donated £200 to World Snooker's official charity for the 2011/2012 season, Haven House Children's Hospice, with the promise of topping it up to £25,000 if 75 centuries were made. However, Betfred boss Fred Done donated the full £25,000, despite being four centuries short of the target. *

147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...

, 123, 100

* 142, 125, 117, 101, 101, 101

* 141, 130, 128, 117, 113, 110, 107, 104, 103, 101, 100, 100

* 138, 136, 135, 134, 132, 127, 101 Jamie Jones * 136, 109

* 134, 132, 118, 112, 105, 101

* 133, 124

* 131, 108, 106, 106, 100, 100

* 125, 113, 108

* 123, 122, 116, 101

* 121 David Gilbert * 120, 114

* 119, 113, 112, 110, 100 Ryan Day * 116 Luca Brecel * 115, 103 Joe Perry * 111

* 111 Mark Williams * 110, 102 Stephen Lee * 104

* 102, 101

* 101

* 100

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 60 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the World Championship, the highest a maximum break made by Robert Milkins. *

* 145, 128

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the ...

* 142, 125

Jamie Burnett Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reac ...

* 140, 134 Jamie Jones * 140, 103

Aditya Mehta Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Meht ...

* 140

* 139, 138, 103 Liu Chuang * 136, 107

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

* 135, 124, 100 David Gilbert * 134, 112, 110

* 134

Sam Baird Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is an English former professional snooker player. He first entered the professional tour for the 2009/10 season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-offs. Career 2011/2012 season Baird reached the main draw o ...

* 129, 107

* 128, 102 Anthony Hamilton * 127, 125

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...

* 123

Adam Duffy Adam Duffy (born 30 March 1989) is an English professional snooker player. Duffy qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the third and final Q School event. Career Debut season As a new player on ...

* 122

Passakorn Suwannawat Passakorn Suwannawat (born 1 May 1986, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand) is a former Thai professional snooker player. Career Early career Suwannawat first turned professional in the 2006–07 season by winning the 2006 ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Cha ...

* 120 Daniel Wells * 117

Nigel Bond Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...

* 116

Andy Hicks Andrew Hicks (born 10 August 1973) is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ranking ...

* 113, 102 Jimmy Robertson * 112, 101 Ryan Day * 110, 100

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...

* 110

Peter Lines Peter Lines (born 11 December 1969) is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father ...

* 108 Luca Brecel * 108

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000 ...

* 107, 103

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

* 107, 102

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...

* 106

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...

* 105

David Grace David Grace (born 1949 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England) is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART ...

* 105 Michael Holt * 105 David Morris * 103

Justin Astley Justin Astley (born 20 May 1983) is an English former professional snooker player. He played on Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with ...

* 103

Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...

* 102

Andrew Pagett Andrew Pagett (born 25 April 1982) is a Welsh professional snooker player. Career Early career He played on Challenge Tour from 2003 to 2005, and first qualified for the Main Tour in 2008–09, but lost his place after just one season. He ...

* 101

* 101 Adrian Gunnell * 101

Liam Highfield Liam Highfield (born 1 December 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He plays left-handed. Career Amateur years In the 2007/2008 season, Highfie ...

* 100 David Gray

Notes

References

External links

*
Crucible 2012 pictures by MoniqueLimbos
at Photobucket {{DEFAULTSORT:World Snooker Championship, 2012

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

2012 in English sport Sports competitions in Sheffield April 2012 sports events in the United Kingdom May 2012 sports events in the United Kingdom