Davis took an early 9–1 lead, but Taylor battled back into the match and drew level at 17–17, forcing a deciding frame.

This was the first professional snooker championship to introduce a ban on performance-enhancing substances, with all players in the main stage having to undertake drug tests.

The final between Davis and Taylor holds the record for the most-viewed broadcast in the United Kingdom of a programme shown after midnight, with a peak of 18.5 million viewers for the match's final frame, breaking the existing records for the most-viewed sporting event and BBC2 programme.

[1] Developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[2] snooker was popular in the United Kingdom before being introduced to Europe and the Commonwealth.

The sport is now played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

The players are selected to take part using a combination of the world snooker rankings and a pre-tournament qualification round.

[4][5] The first World Championship, in 1927, was won by Joe Davis in a final at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England.

[4][21][22] Six former world champions participated in the main tournament at the Crucible: Ray Reardon (1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978), Steve Davis (1981, 1983, and 1984), John Spencer (1969, 1971, and 1977), Alex Higgins (1972 and 1982), Cliff Thorburn (1980) and Terry Griffiths (1979).

[12] The breakdown of prize money for the tournament was:[11][25] The qualifying rounds for the event were played from 29 March to 5 April at the Preston Guildhall.

[27] Danny Fowler made the highest break of the qualifying competition, scoring a 137 in his 10–0 victory over Jim Donnelly in the fourth round, before losing 2–10 to John Parrott in the fifth.

[26][28] Fred Davis, aged 71 and eight-time champion between 1948 and 1956, defeated Robert Chaperon 10–9 in the fourth round of qualifying but lost 6–10 to Rex Williams in the fifth.

[29] A series of articles in the Daily Star about drug abuse in the championship was based on statements reportedly by Silvino Francisco.

[31] At a press conference held afterwards, World Snooker chairman Rex Williams said that there was no evidence of drug use in the sport, and Francisco apologised to Kirk Stevens (the player named in the Daily Star articles), claiming that the statements in the article were a "total lie".

[31][30] Top seed and defending champion, Steve Davis, won his match against Neal Foulds 10–8 to reach the second round.

[34] Spencer was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis shortly after the tournament; his vision was affected and he won only two matches all season.

[38][31] In a low-scoring match between ninth seed Alex Higgins and Dean Reynolds, neither player produced a break of over 30 points in the first three frames.

Reigning champion Steve Davis defeated Ray Reardon, needing only three sessions to secure a 16–5 victory.

[55] Janice Hale of Snooker Scene magazine wrote that the match had "an air of inevitability", with Davis in full control.

[53] Knowles had expected to win, as the higher-seeded player, but he failed to exhibit the form he had shown earlier in the tournament and fell by the same scoreline as Reardon.

[54] Because both semi-finals were one-sided and finished early, tournament organisers arranged exhibition matches to occupy the pre-sold afternoon and evening sessions on April 26.

He potted difficult shots on the brown, blue, and pink, leaving the black ball to determine the winner of the championship.

[67] After potting the final ball, Taylor raised his cue stick; he "waggled" his finger and kissed the winner's trophy.

[68][69] His family and friends had persuaded him to play again in the Grand Prix event, where he won his first professional title by defeating Cliff Thorburn in the final.

[18][21] Round 1 On his return to Northern Ireland, Taylor received a victory parade in a Land Rover across his home town of Coalisland in front of 10,000 people.

[72] Media covering the tournament called Steve Davis a "bad loser" for his silence and one-word responses to questions from David Vine at a press conference after the event.

[73] At the 2010 World Snooker Championship, to celebrate the 25th anniversary, Taylor and Davis replayed the final frame with commentary by John Virgo.

[76] During the 2015 World Snooker Championship, Davis presented Celebrity Black Ball Final on the BBC in which celebrities played the final two shots of the match; guests included Rebecca Adlington, Joey Essex, Russell Watson, Richard Osman and Josh Widdicombe.

[77] A 2017 BBC poll found the final to be the Crucible's "most memorable" moment, with the match receiving more than half the votes.

[79] Taylor never reached the final again, falling to the "Crucible curse" at the 1986 championship with a first-round loss to Mike Hallett.

Bill Werbeniuk's 143 against Joe Johnson in the first round was the joint third-highest break in the championship's history, tied with Willie Thorne's in 1982.