1997 World Snooker Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 April – 5 May 1997 |
| Venue | Crucible Theatre |
| City | Sheffield |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £1,260,000 |
| Winner's share | £210,000 |
| Highest break |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (147) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Ken Doherty (IRL) |
| Runner-up | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
| Score | 18–12 |
← 1996 1998 → | |
The 1997 World Snooker Championship (officially the 1997 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 19 April to 5 May 1997 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 21st consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was staged at the venue. Sponsored by cigarette brand Embassy, the tournament was the tenth and final ranking event of the 1996–97 season. The winner received £210,000 from a total prize fund of £1,260,000.
The top 16 players from the snooker world rankings were seeded through to the main stage at the Crucible, where they were joined by the 16 successful players from the nine qualifying rounds. The tournament featured seven Crucible debutants. Mark Williams was a seed upon his debut, only the second time this had happened since the 16-seed format was introduced in 1982. The other debutants were qualifiers Dominic Dale, Graeme Dott, Graham Horne, Bradley Jones, David McLellan, and Lee Walker.
Stephen Hendry was the defending champion, having defeated Peter Ebdon 18–12 in the 1996 final to win his sixth world title, his fifth consecutively. Ken Doherty claimed the only world title of his professional career with an 18–12 victory over Hendry in the final. This ended a record 29-match Crucible winning streak by Hendry, who had last lost in the quarter-finals of the 1991 edition. Doherty became the first World Champion from the Republic of Ireland and the second in snooker's modern era from outside the United Kingdom, following Cliff Thorburn at the 1980 edition. The main stage of the tournament produced 39 century breaks, of which the highest was a maximum break by Ronnie O'Sullivan, the first of his professional career, during his first-round match against Mick Price. Compiled in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, it remains the fastest 147 in snooker history.