Joe Davis won the World Snooker Championship 15 times between 1927 and 1946 and his record for the most ever wins stands unbroken today. In the 1980s Steve Davis (no relation) dominated with six championship titles and in the 1990s Stephen Hendry topped that with seven. The final of the first ever contest was played in Birmingham and the prize money just �260 at today's prices. Perhaps the most unusual win for Joe Davis was in a Nottingham pub in 1931 when the final was played between the only two entrants, Davis and Tom Dennis. Davis's unbroken run of wins ended in 1941. Davis helped organize the first ever World Championship but the tournament did not run smoothly throughout. It was suspended during the Second World War years and a disagreement amongst governing bodies led to a split in the 1950s with two tournaments running until snooker went into a full-scale decline. Revived in the late 1960s the World Championship regained a central role in the 1970s.
