1977 World Snooker Championship

The 1977 World Snooker Championship (officially known as the 1977 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 18 to 30 April 1977 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the first time that the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible, which has hosted it annually ever since, becoming known as the "spiritual home of snooker". The tournament featured 16 competitors, the top eight players from the 1976–77 snooker world rankings and another eight players who came through a qualifying competition held from 28 March to 7 April 1977 at Hounslow Civic Centre and Fisher's Snooker Centre, Acton. Sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy, the tournament was the only ranking event of the 1976–77 snooker season.

The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who had won the championship every year from 1973 to 1976, but he lost by 6 frames to 13 against John Spencer in the quarter-finals. Spencer, who had previously won the tournament in 1969 and 1971, claimed the third and last world title of his career by defeating Cliff Thorburn 25–21 in the final. Spencer became the first player to win the championship using a two-piece cue. As champion, he received £6,000 (equivalent to £35,252 in 2025) from the prize fund of £17,000. The championship produced six century breaks, the highest of which was a 135 by Spencer in the sixth frame of his semi-final match against John Pulman.

The tournament was considered a success by contemporaries, selling more than 20,000 tickets across its thirteen days at the 980-seat Crucible and producing a financial surplus. Commentators credited the venue and Mike Watterson's promotion with putting the championship on a stable footing for the future. Later economic-impact assessments estimated the tournament's annual benefit to Sheffield's local economy at £2.6–4.5 million.