Two out of every five viewers watching terrestrial television last night (Monday) were tuned in to the snooker on BBC Two to see Mark Williams regain the Embassy World Championship.

The final, in which Welshman Williams withstood a tremendous comeback by Irishman Ken Doherty before winning 18-16, peaked at 7.1 million at around 11pm and produced a massive audience share of 40.2 per cent.

It the second successive year the world final has topped seven million. A spokesman for tournament organisers World Snooker said: ‘Snooker continues to attract huge viewing figures and they were up across the board for this year’s World Championship.

‘There were some superb matches during the 17 days at Sheffield this year, some nail-biting finishes – most of them involving Ken Doherty – and, of course, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s maximum 147 got the tournament off to a great start.

‘Both World Snooker and BBC Sport are delighted with the figures and we look forward to building on this success next season.’

For more information contact:
www.worldsnooker.com
BBC Sport Publicity on 0208-576-7789