Top 5 Surprise World Snooker Champions

Before we get into the main list, honourable mentions for Alex Higgins in 1972 who was the first ever qualifier to win the world title and Luca Brecel in 2023 who had never previously won a match in the main draw at the Crucible.

5) Stuart Bingham - 2015

Having first turned professional in 1995, it wasn’t until the 2010s that Stuart Bingham began to truly thrive on the sport’s top tier. With a huge influx of activities under the new snooker administration, the Englishman won his opening ranking event titles and broke into the world’s top 16 for the first time.

Despite famously defeating defending champion Stephen Hendry on Crucible debut in 2000, he’d been unable to sustain a deep run there, making one quarter-final in eight appearances.

There was positivity surrounding his 2015 world championship challenge having won the Shanghai Masters earlier in the season, although the world number 10 was still largely unfancied at odds of 50/1 at the start of the event.

However, ‘Ball-run’ beat Robbie Williams 10-7, Graeme Dott 13-5 and then won the final four frames from 9-8 down to eliminate Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-9 in the quarter-finals, the man that defeated him at that same stage two years before. Bingham then lived up to the pressure of the one-table set-up by ousting Judd Trump 17-16 in a pulsating semi-final.

In the final against Shaun Murphy - the third former world champion he’d faced in the tournament - Bingham trailed 8-4 during the opening day but battled back and went just one behind at 9-8 down overnight. Returning for the concluding day, he got in front and established a cushion, but Murphy strung together three frames in-a-row to level at 15-15 and set up a grandstand finish.

Bingham didn’t wilt, though, winning a 60-minute-plus frame to edge back ahead before completing an 18-15 victory to become the oldest first-time Crucible world champion at the age of 38.

4) Graeme Dott - 2006

Graeme Dott is the only player featured on this list who had already appeared in a world final; in 2004 when he lost 18-8 to Ronnie O’Sullivan, having initially led 5-0. 

The plucky Scot is certainly not the most surprising winner of the title, but the world number 13 – who had turned professional over a decade earlier – was still searching for his maiden professional title despite having reached four ranking finals. He would lift his first pro trophy at the most important snooker event of all. 

Rated as 50/1 before a ball was potted, Dott began his campaign with victories against former champion John Parrott (10-3) and runner-up Nigel Bond (13-9). In the quarter-finals, the 28-year-old survived a comeback from Neil Robertson, squeezing through 13-12 via a deciding frame that went down to the colours. 

In the semi-finals, Dott had the opportunity to get his own back on O’Sullivan in the one-table environment. Encouraged by his coach Del Hill, Dott began to recover from losing the opening session, but controversy occurred when O’Sullivan appeared to remove a troublesome tip off his cue, which allowed him a break in play when momentum was shifting the other way. Dott was annoyed by this, but he channelled the frustration, finishing that second session 8-8 and then recording a third session whitewash to go 16-8 up; a lead he later converted to a memorable 17-11 win. 

Dott faced another former champion in the shape of Peter Ebdon the final. The match was a demanding affair; Dott finished the opening day 11-5 up as the second session carried on past midnight.

Now returning later the same day, Dott maintained his advantage but had to survive a comeback from the resilient Ebdon who won a Crucible record-breaking 74-minute frame at one point. Dott stood up to the extreme pressure, though, finally realising his dream with an 18-14 victory in what was at the time the latest finish to a Crucible final (12.52am). 

3) Joe Johnson - 1986

Bradford-based Joe Johnson made the short trip to the Crucible Theatre in 1986 looking for his first match win at the venue.

At that point in his career, the 33-year-old’s best result in a near seven-year spell on the professional circuit was a run to the final of the 1983 Professional Players Tournament. He failed to qualify for the Crucible in his opening four attempts, and when he did make it there for the 1984 and 1985 installments, he lost in the first round on both occasions.

Despite a mediocre 1985/86 season, preparations for the blue-riband event were different this time as world number 16 Johnson was making his debut as a seed in the event, although he was still unfancied as a 150/1 longshot. However, he broke his Crucible duck by defeating qualifier Dave Martin 10-3 before dispatching Mike Hallett – the conqueror of defending champion Dennis Taylor in round one – 13-6. 

Against former champion Terry Griffiths in the last eight, Johnson produced a brilliant rally as he came back from 12-9 down to win 13-12 with a four-frame burst that included two centuries. He then eliminated Tony Knowles 16-8 in the one-table set-up. 

The boss level was still to come, though, as he faced world number one Steve Davis who was eager to reclaim the world crown after his famous black ball heartache twelve months earlier. However, the underdog continued his attacking approach and outplayed the three-time champion to record an unlikely 18-12 triumph and etch his name onto the trophy. 

2) Shaun Murphy - 2005

Just like Johnson, Shaun Murphy was without a win in his two previous visits to the Crucible and priced up at 150/1 to take home the silverware.

Murphy was marked as an exciting prospect when he joined the professional circuit at a very young age. Several years into his top-flight career, he was making progress, but still finding his feet with a British Open semi-final earlier in the 2004/05 season representing his best ranking event result.

Ranked 48th in the world, the 22-year-old navigated two qualifying rounds to secure his third Crucible appearance. Murphy defeated Chris Small 10-5 in the opening round to record his first win on the hallowed carpet and followed that up by dispatching three former world champions in the next three rounds – John Higgins (13-8), Steve Davis (13-4) and Peter Ebdon (17-12). Against Ebdon in the last four, he scored four century breaks. 

A new winner of the title was guaranteed, as Murphy faced 2000 runner-up Matthew Stevens in the final, although it looked like the Welshman’s one-table experience was serving him well as he took control at 10-6 up overnight on day one.

However, Murphy continued to play positively on the concluding day, caught his opponent, passed him, and eventually won in style, 18-16, to become only the second qualifier to claim Crucible glory.

1) Terry Griffiths - 1979

In his rookie season, Terry Griffiths stunned the sporting world when he became the first qualifier to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre. 

Having lost his only professional match to date at the UK Championship earlier in the season, Griffiths headed into his maiden world championship campaign needing to win two matches to qualify for the main draw. He did just that with victories against Bernard Bennett (9-2) and Jim Meadowcroft (9-6). 

At the Crucible, the 31-year-old Welshman defeated the previous year’s runner-up Perrie Mans 13-8 in the opening round before battling back on his way to ousting 1972 champion Alex Higgins 13-12 in the last eight; making a 107 break in the deciding frame.

In a gruelling semi-final clash with the vastly experienced two-time runner-up Eddie Charlton – who was the tournament favourite at that point - Griffiths emerged a 19-17 victor at 1.40am. 

The debutant’s opponent for the six-session title match was number eight seed Dennis Taylor, who was also appearing in his first world final. Griffiths built a 5-1 advantage, but Taylor gained impetus and went on to lead 14-12. 

However, Griffiths - who had been selling insurance just several months prior - got on a roll and won 12 of the next 14 frames to complete the fairy tale with a historic 24-16 victory.