2006 World Snooker Championship

2006 888.com World Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	15 April – 1 May 2006 (2006-04-15 – 2006-05-01)
Venue	Crucible Theatre
City	Sheffield
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£896,240
Winner's share	£200,000
Highest break	Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (140)
Final
Champion	Graeme Dott (SCO)
Runner-up	Peter Ebdon (ENG)
Score	18–14
← 2005 2007 →

The 2006 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2006 888.com World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament. It was held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 30th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was staged at the venue. It started on 15 April 2006 and was scheduled to finish on 1 May 2006, but continued into the early hours of 2 May. The sixth and final ranking tournament of the 2005–06 snooker season, it was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and sponsored for the first time by online casino 888.com. The total prize fund was £896,240, of which the winner received £200,000.

The qualifying rounds took place from 8 to 13 January and from 14 to 15 March 2006 at Pontin's, in Prestatyn, Wales. The 16 qualifiers and the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings reached the tournament's main stage at the Crucible. Shaun Murphy was the defending champion, having defeated Matthew Stevens 18–16 in the 2005 final. He lost in the quarter-finals against eventual runner-up Peter Ebdon and became another world champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first world title.

There was just one debutant at the event for the first time - Barry Hawkins. Graeme Dott defeated Ebdon 18–14 in the final. Ending at 12:52 a.m. BST, it surpassed the 1985 final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis as the latest finish for a final. A total of 46 century breaks were compiled during the event's main stage, the highest being a 140 made by Ronnie O'Sullivan. Another 52 century breaks were made during the qualifying rounds.