1978 World Snooker Championship

1978 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	17–29 April 1978 (1978-04-17 – 1978-04-29)
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Single elimination
Total prize fund	£24,000
Winner's share	£7,500
Highest break	John Spencer (ENG) (138)
Final
Champion	Ray Reardon (WAL)
Runner-up	Perrie Mans (RSA)
Score	25–18
← 1977 1979 →

The 1978 World Snooker Championship (officially known as the 1978 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 29 April 1978 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the second consecutive year the tournament had been held at the venue. A qualifying competition was held at Romiley Forum, Stockport, from 27 March to 7 April. The tournament was promoted by Mike Watterson on behalf of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. It had a total prize fund of £24,000, of which £7,500 went to the champion.

John Spencer was the defending champion, having won the 1977 event by defeating Cliff Thorburn 25–21 in the final. Spencer lost 8–13 in the first round to Perrie Mans. The final was contested by Mans and Ray Reardon. Reardon led 5–2 after the first session, before Mans levelled the match at 8–8 after the first day's play. After the third interval Reardon led 12–11 and won the 24th frame with a 64 break to lead 13–11. After the second day, Reardon led 18–14, and eventually won the match 25–18 to secure his sixth and last world title. Aged 45 years and 203 days, Reardon became the oldest world champion in the sport's history, a record that stood for 44 years until Ronnie O'Sullivan won his seventh world title at the 2022 event, aged 46 years and 148 days. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette company Embassy. It was the first snooker world championship tournament to be broadcast in depth by the BBC.^[1]