New world champion Neil Robertson has paid tribute to the support he has received from his friends in Cambridge and practice partner Joe Perry.

Snooker chief Barry Hearn says any "sickness" in snooker will be removed "in a brutal manner" if the allegations against John Higgins are proved.

Neil Robertson beat Scot Graeme Dott 18-13 to become the first Australian to win the world snooker title

WPBSA Betfred.com World Snooker Championship Results, The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England

Neil Robertson won six out of eight frames of the second session to lead Graeme Dott 9-7 in the final of the World Snooker Championship.

World number one John Higgins has been suspended from all future tournaments after reportedly agreeing to take a £261,000 bribe to lose frames.

Neil Robertson resisted an Ali Carter fightback to win 17-12 and become the first overseas player to reach the World Championship final for 27 years.

The Crucible Theatre will remain the home of the World Snooker Championship until 2015 after a one-year extension to the current deal was announced.

Graeme Dott and Ali Carter came through last-frame thrillers to make it through to the World Championship semi-finals.

Steve Davis's stunning run in the World Championship ended with a crushing 13-5 defeat by Neil Robertson.

Mark Selby produced a superb fightback to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-11 to reach the Crucible semi-finals.

Stephen Hendry has vowed to be back at the Crucible next year despite being left depressed by the quality of his own play in losing to Mark Selby.

Ronnie O'Sullivan surged into the World Championship quarter-finals with a majestic 13-10 win over Mark Williams.

Former champion Graeme Dott marched into the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship with an impressive 13-6 victory over Stephen Maguire.

Former world champion Peter Ebdon has dropped out of the top 16 for the first time since 1994 after losing 10-5 to Graeme Dott at the Crucible.

Stephen Hendry survived a huge scare by beating China's debutant Zhang Anda in a last-frame thriller to reach the World Championship second round.

Defending champion John Higgins took some time to find his rhythm before he beat Barry Hawkins 10-6 in the first round of the World Championships.

Michael Holt says he needs to be mentally strong if he is to have a chance of success at the World Championship in Sheffield.

Mark Selby says three-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan will be the man to beat at the World Championship, which starts in Sheffield on Saturday.

The draw completed at 10:30am this morning is below, big thanks to Sian Woodburne-Winrow for relaying the information from a betting shop!

It is going to be a very exciting season finale this year with some even more exciting matches in prospect in the first round. Our pick of the first round is probably shock qualifier Zhang Anda who plays Stephen Hendry. Plus Ronnie O’Sullivan v Liang Wenbo has the makings of a classic.

Chinese teenager Zhang Anda caused probably the biggest upset of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship qualifiers yesterday, when he beat former Shanghai Masters Champion Ricky Walden 10-8.

The win for Anda will mean not only his Crucible debut but also the first televised finals of a major ranking event that he has reached. It is also remarkable as the 18-year-old from Guangzhou is also playing his debut season on the main tour. In qualifying for the TV stages he has had to go through 4 matches to reach the Crucible.

1997 World Snooker Champion, Ken Doherty, has been the latest former champion to make a return to the Crucible for this years Championships.

He absolutely demolished Joe Swail in the final round of qualifying with a 10-1 scoreline. The Irishman, who made two breaks of 74 one of 67 and a break of 81 when on a 147 chance, strolled into the TV stages.

The legend that is Steve Davis booked his 30th appearance in the televised stages of the World Championships yesterday.

The 52-year-old Romford potter displayed some fantastic snooker to best world number 42, Adrian Gunnell, 10-4. Davis made his first appearance at the Crucible back in 1979 and has extended his own record of number of appearances by another year.

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship qualifiers are already into the 6th round of qualifying. The most interesting match of this round could quite possibly be former World Champion, Ken Doherty, against Jimmy White.

At the time of writing the best-of-19 frame match is currently 6-3 in Doherty’s favour with the second session later on today. White confirmed his place on the main tour for next season yesterday with a massively important win over Mark Boyle

Dartford’s Barry Hawkins has won the latest Pro Challenge Series event in Liverpool with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Michael Holt in the final.

The event held at the George Scott Snooker Club featured 39 players from the pro circuit battling it out over four days for the £5,000 first prize.

The latest Pro Challenge event from World Snooker is taking place this week in Liverpool. Sadly there were only 39 entries to this particular event and the games top stars have stayed away.

The biggest names in attendance are Ken Doherty, beaten in the first round by Chris Norbury, Graeme Dott, Liang Wenbo, Jamie Cope and Ricky Walden.

Tony Drago has gone the distance through the World Snooker qualifying tournament twice in a row. The Maltese cueman has now won a maximum 8 qualifying matches in a row that puts him on the plane to Beijing.

Drago beat Stephen Lee 5-2 in the final qualifying round to book the trip, his current form in the qualifiers makes him a very dangerous prospect when the main event starts at the end of March.

Results card for this years 2009 world snooker championships

John Higgins had few problems wrapping up a crushing 18-9 victory over Shaun Murphy to win his third World Championship in dominant style.

John Higgins was in cruise-control after a blistering evening session to lead Shaun Murphy 11-5 in the World Championship final at The Crucible.

John Higgins reached his fourth World Championship final after eventually seeing off a battling Mark Allen 17-13.

Shaun Murphy overcame a stunning Neil Robertson fightback to win 17-14 and set up a World Championship final with two-time champion John Higgins.

Rejoice! A new breed of snooker player has been born. This young, fearless, aggressive creature pumps his fist, sinks balls at lightning speed - and he wins.

Surprise package Mark Allen booked his place in the World Championship semi-final with a 13-11 win over Ryan Day.

Shaun Murphy booked his place in the World Championship semi-finals with a 13-11 victory over seven-time winner Stephen Hendry at the Crucible.

John Higgins set up a semi-final with Mark Allen after overcoming Mark Selby 13-12 in a superb World Championship quarter-final.

Mark Allen will take a 9-7 lead into Wednesday's closing session of his World Championship quarter-final against Welshman Ryan Day

Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry trails Shaun Murphy 9-7 after the quarter-final second session, despite hitting a 147 seventh-frame break.

John Higgins clawed his way back to 4-4 after losing the first three frames in an enthralling first session of his quarter-final against Mark Selby.

John Higgins recovered from 12-10 down to beat Jamie Cope in the final frame and earn a meeting with Mark Selby in the World Championship quarter-finals.

Stephen Maguire set up a clash with Neil Robertson in the last eight at the Crucible by beating Mark King 13-6

Ronnie O'Sullivan's negative comments are bad for snooker according to Mark Allen, who won their World Championship second round clash 13-11 on Saturday.

Stephen Maguire and Mark King set a new Crucible record on Sunday after taking 74 minutes and 58 seconds to complete a frame in their second-round match.

Mark Allen produced a superb display in the final session to seal a 13-11 win that ends Ronnie O'Sullivan's hopes of defending his world title.

Former champion Shaun Murphy shrugged off his off-table issues to seal a crushing 13-3 second-round win over Marco Fu at The Crucible.

Stephen Hendry turned on the style as he defeated Ding Junhui 13-10 in a scintillating clash to make the World Championship quarter-finals.

Michael Holt is embarrassed by his failure to make the step up from talented pretender to top-class player.

Former champion John Higgins and world number two Stephen Maguire claimed relatively easy wins to make the World Snooker Championship second round.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen were tied at 4-4 after a scrappy but enthralling first session in their World Championship second round clash.

Veteran Tony Knowles won the inaugural snooker 'Super 6s' tournament being trialled at the World Championship.

Former champion John Higgins and world number two Stephen Maguire claimed relatively easy wins to make the World Snooker Championship second round.

Stephen Lee admits he deserved to be knocked out of the World Snooker Championship by Ryan Day, because he was "rubbish".

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen were tied at 4-4 after a scrappy but enthralling first session in their World Championship second round clash.

Veteran Tony Knowles won the inaugural snooker 'Super 6s' tournament being trialled at the World Championship.

It is hoped the shorter format, which has the same number of colours as the regular game but just six reds, will boost the popularity of the sport.

Six-time champion Steve Davis was sent crashing out of the World Snooker Championship following a 10-2 defeat by Neil Robertson.

Shaun Murphy was relieved his personal life was not played out in public during his World Championship first-round win over Andrew Higginson.

Nigel Bond says he has no reason to fear anyone after beating ex-champion Peter Ebdon to make it through to the second round of the World Championship.

Former world champion Peter Ebdon suffered a first-round defeat to 1995 finalist Nigel Bond at the Crucible.

Nottingham's Michael Holt says he could hardly have got a tougher draw in the first round of the World Championship.

Mark Selby cruised into the second round of the World Championship with a 10-6 victory over Ricky Walden.

Englishman Selby, a runner-up in 2007, recorded three century breaks, including one in the final frame, on the way to victory at the Crucible.

Bond hopes for big Crucible break

Nigel Bond is relishing his return to Sheffield's Crucible Theatre for this year's World Snooker Championship.

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen believes he has the game to upset top seed Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry produced an impressive comeback to beat Mark Williams in the World Championship first round at the Crucible.

While playing a safety shot, Mark Williams realises the white ball is about to hit the cue extension that he's left on the table - but is powerless to do anything about it.

World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan says he will have to take a break during the 17-day tournament in Sheffield if he is to keep in the right frame of mind.

World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan cruised through to the second round with a 10-5 victory over practice partner Stuart Bingham.

O'Sullivan began the evening session 6-3 ahead after making breaks of 61, 140, 104 and 73 in the morning.

Michaela Tabb will become the first woman to referee snooker's World Championship final next month when she takes charge of the Crucible decider.

Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his third World Championship crown after completing a comprehensive 18-8 win over Ali Carter in the final.

Results card for the 2008 World Snooker Championships

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the final three frames of a scrappy evening session to extend his lead over Ali Carter in the World Championship final in Sheffield.

Ali Carter reached his first World Championship final by sealing an epic 17-15 win over Joe Perry at The Crucible on Saturday night.

The World Championship final between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter has been billed as one of the biggest mismatches in recent Crucible history.

BBC Sport commentator and 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor looks ahead to Sunday's Crucible final between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter.

Ronnie O'Sullivan completed a stunning 17-6 demolition job on Stephen Hendry to cruise into his third World Championship final at The Crucible.

Former Crucible winner Cliff Thorburn believes Ronnie O'Sullivan can beat Stephen Hendry's record of seven World Championship wins.

Ronnie O'Sullivan booked a World Championship semi-final with Stephen Hendry by completing a 13-7 victory over China's Liang Wenbo.

Joe Perry booked his place in the semi-finals of the World Championship after overcoming Stephen Maguire 13-12 in a titanic last-eight clash.

Scotland's Stephen Hendry wasted little time in wrapping up a place in the World Championship semi-finals as he completed a 13-7 win over Ryan Day

Ali Carter fired a superb 147 to become the second player in this year's World Championship to claim a maximum break.

World number 18 Joe Perry moved into the last eight after sealing a 13-9 win over fellow qualifier Stuart Bingham. Bingham took two of the opening three frames - with a 137 in the 19th the highlight - to close to 10-9 behind.

Liang Wenbo became the first Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals at The Crucible as he won 13-12 in an enthralling match over Joe Swail.

Ronnie O'Sullivan hit a breathtaking 147 to seal a 13-7 victory over Mark Williams and cruise into the last eight of the World Championship in Sheffield.

Stephen Maguire booked his place in the World Championship quarter-finals after nipping Neil Robertson's fightback in the bud to seal a 13-7 win.

Stephen Hendry rolled back the years with a dominant 13-7 win over Ding Junhui in the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield

Wales' Ryan Day ended John Higgins's reign as world champion as he held his nerve to secure a 13-9 win in their second-round clash at the Crucible.

Ali Carter booked a quarter-final tie against Peter Ebdon following a surprise 13-4 win over 2005 champion Shaun Murphy at The Crucible.

Peter Ebdon booked his place in the last eight of the World Championship with a 13-9 victory over Mark King.

The final session was a strange mix of good break building and poor potting, with both players often seeing the funny side of their errors.

Stephen Maguire went close to a 147 break on his way to wrapping up victory over Anthony Hamilton at The Crucible.

Qualifier Joe Perry set up a second-round tie against Stuart Bingham with a 10-7 victory over 2006 world champion Graeme Dott.

Shaun Murphy booked a Crucible last-16 tie against Ali Carter following a comfortable 10-3 win over Dave Harold.

Ken Doherty became the third former Crucible winner to exit the World Championship at the first hurdle after losing 10-5 to China's Liang Wenbo

Mark King battled into the second round of the World Championship with a 10-8 win over Mark Selby

China's Ding Junhui stumbled over the winning line in a tense final frame to edge out Marco Fu 10-9 in their World Championship first-round meeting.

Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry bounced back from a 6-3 deficit to beat qualifier Mark Allen 10-9 in a first-round thriller at The Crucible.

Stuart Bingham held his nerve to keep a stirring Steve Davis fightback at bay and seal a 10-8 win in the first round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

Ryan Day secured a Crucible last 16 match against John Higgins following a 10-6 win over Michael Judge.

Stephen Lee revealed he is considering quitting snooker after crashing out of the World Championship in the first round for the second year running.

Barry Hawkins was left "devastated" after losing his first-round match in controversial circumstances in the World Snooker Championship.

Defending world champion John Higgins responded well to a mini-crisis in his first-round match against Matthew Stevens to win 10-5 at the Crucible.

Qualifier Fergal O'Brien clinched a place in the second round of the World Championship with a tense 10-9 win over world number 12 Barry Hawkins.

Ronnie O'Sullivan needed just under an hour to wrap up his win against Chinese snooker prodigy Ding Junhui.

Shaun Murphy booked his place in the last 16 of the World Championship but was made to work hard for his 10-6 win by teenage sensation Judd Trump.

Matthew Stevens took little time to win the three frames he needed for victory against Joe Delaney and book himself a place in the last 16 at the Crucible.

John Parrott booked his place in the last 16 of the World Championship with a final-frame win over friend and fellow TV pundit Steve Davis.

Peter Ebdon booked a place in the second round at the Crucible after recording a 10-7 win over Nigel Bond.

Anthony Hamilton secured a spot in the second round of the World Championship with a battling win over Marco Fu.

Graeme Dott became the first champion since Stephen Hendry in 2000 to suffer an opening-round exit after a 10-7 defeat to Preston's Ian McCulloch.

Results sheet for the 2002/03 World Snooker Championships.

Results sheet for the 2001/02 World Snooker Championships

Results sheet for the 2000/01 World Snooker Championships