History

The World Championship, now sponsored by 888.com, is the richest, oldest and most important tournament in snooker.
The trophy is the one that all players dream of lifting and it is the title that marks the snooker greats out from the very good.
Staged at the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the event has a long-frame format and lasts a marathon 17 days, making it one of the longest events in all of sport.
Here's a list of previous finals:

1927 Joe Davis bt Tom Dennis 20 - 11
1928 Joe Davis bt Fred Lawrence 16 - 13
1929 Joe Davis bt Tom Dennis 19 - 14
1930 Joe Davis bt Tom Dennis 25 - 12
1931 Joe Davis bt Tom Dennis 25 - 21
1932 Joe Davis bt Clark McConachy 30 - 19
1933 Joe Davis bt Willie Smith 25 - 18
1934 Joe Davis bt Tom Newman 25 - 23
1935 Joe Davis bt Willie Smith 25 - 20
1936 Joe Davis bt Horace Lindrum 34 - 27
1937 Joe Davis bt Horace Lindrum 32 - 29
1938 Joe Davis bt Sidney Smith 37 - 24
1939 Joe Davis bt Sidney Smith 43 - 30
1940 Joe Davis bt Fred Davis 37 - 36
1941 - 1945 no tournament held
1946 Joe Davis bt Horace Lindrum 78 - 67
1947 Walter Donaldson bt Fred Davis 82 - 63
1948 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 84 - 61
1949 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 80 - 65
1950 Walter Donaldson bt Fred Davis 51 - 46
1951 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 58 - 39
1952 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 38 - 35
1953 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 37 - 34
1954 Fred Davis bt Walter Donaldson 39 - 21
1955 Fred Davis bt John Pulman 37 - 34
1956 Fred Davis bt John Pulman 38 - 35
1957 John Pulman bt Jackie Rea 39 - 34
1958-1963 no tournament held
1964-68 Challenge matches:
1964 John Pulman bt Fred Davis 19 - 16
1964 John Pulman bt Rex Williams 40 - 33
1965 John Pulman bt Fred Davis 37 - 36
1965 John Pulman bt Rex Williams 25 - 22
1965 John Pulman bt Fred Van Rensburg 39 - 12
1966 John Pulman bt Fred Davis 5 - 2 (matches)
1968 John Pulman bt Eddie Charlton 39 - 34
Knockout tournaments:
1969 John Spencer bt Gary Owen 37 - 24
1970 Ray Reardon bt John Pulman 37 - 33
1971 John Spencer bt Warren Simpson 37 - 29
1972 Alex Higgins bt John Spencer 37 - 32
1973 Ray Reardon bt Eddie Charlton 38 - 32
1974 Ray Reardon bt Graham Miles 22 - 12
1975 Ray Reardon bt Eddie Charlton 31 - 30
1976 Ray Reardon bt Alex Higgins 27 - 16
The Crucible
1977 John Spencer bt Cliff Thorburn 25 - 12
1978 Ray Reardon bt Perrie Mans 25 - 18
1979 Terry Griffiths bt Dennis Taylor 24 - 16
1980 Cliff Thorburn bt Alex Higgins 18 - 16
1981 Steve Davis bt Doug Mountjoy 18 - 12
1982 Alex Higgins bt Ray Reardon 18 - 15
1983 Steve Davis bt Cliff Thorburn 18 - 6
1984 Steve Davis bt Jimmy White 18 - 16
1985 Dennis Taylor bt Steve Davis 18 - 17
1986 Joe Johnson bt Steve Davis 18 - 12
1987 Steve Davis bt Joe Johnson 18 - 14
1988 Steve Davis bt Terry Griffiths 18 - 11
1989 Steve Davis bt John Parrott 18 - 3
1990 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18 - 12
1991 John Parrott bt Jimmy White 18 - 11
1992 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18 - 14
1993 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18 - 5
1994 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18 - 17
1995 Stephen Hendry bt Nigel Bond 18 - 9
1996 Stephen Hendry bt Peter Ebdon 18 - 12
1997 Ken Doherty bt Stephen Hendry 18 - 12
1998 John Higgins bt Ken Doherty 18 - 12
1999 Stephen Hendry bt Mark Williams 18 - 11
2000 Mark Williams bt Matthew Stevens 18 - 16
2001 Ronnie O'Sullivan bt John Higgins 18 - 14
2002 Peter Ebdon bt Stephen Hendry 18 - 17
2003 Mark Williams bt Ken Doherty 18 - 16
2004 Ronnie O'Sullivan bt Graeme Dott 18 - 8
2005 Shaun Murphy bt Matthew Stevens 18 - 16
2006 Graeme Dott bt Peter Ebdon 18-14
2007 John Higgins bt Mark Selby 18-13