Since his 1986 victory, Joe Johnson had experienced a disappointing season leading up to the 1987 Championship, and bookmakers considered it unlikely that he would retain the title.

Stephen Hendry, aged 18, became the youngest player to win a match in the tournament's history since it moved to the Crucible in 1977, whilst it was the last time that six-times champion Ray Reardon appeared.

[3] However, in the modern era it has become increasingly popular worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

[a][3][5][6] The 1987 championship featured 32 professional players competing in one-on-one snooker matches in a single elimination format, each played over several frames.

The 32 competitors in the main tournament were selected using a combination of the top players in the world snooker rankings and a pre-tournament qualification stage.

[9] Joe Davis won the first World Championship in 1927, the final match being held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England.

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[21][22] The defending champion, Joe Johnson, had failed to reach as far as the quarter-finals of a major tournament in the 1986–87 snooker season after winning the 1986 World Championship.

[23] This record was described by The Sydney Morning Herald's Les Wheeler as "disappointing" and by Clive Everton as a "poor" season.

[24][25] Sydney Friskin of The Times reported that Johnson prepared for the Championship by practising diligently, and that the cyst on his back that previously troubled him had been removed.

The penalties resulted from a number of incidents, the most serious of which was headbutting Paul Hatherall, a WPBSA tournament director, at the 1986 UK Championship.

[19] There were 24 matches scheduled in the first qualifying round, but Frank Jonik, Eddie McLaughlin, Sakchai Sim Ngam and Omprakesh Agrawal all withdrew, meaning that their opponents received walkovers.

[29] The 11-time pool world champion,[30] Jim Rempe, made a break of 104 in defeating Martin Smith 10–9.

[31] Veteran professional Bernard Bennett suffered the only whitewash of the first round, failing to win a frame against Billy Kelly.

The youngest player in the competition, Stephen Hendry, made a break of 108 during his 10–7 defeat of Mike Darrington.

[33][34] Trailing after the first session of his qualifying match 3–5, Jimmy van Rensberg was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack.

[29] For the first time since turning professional, John Spencer failed to qualify for the event, as he was defeated 5–10 by Barry West.

[43] At age 18 years and 97 days, Hendry became the youngest-ever player to win a World Championship match at the Crucible.

[44] Steve Longworth led 5–4 after the first session of his match, and won five successive frames to defeat Kirk Stevens 10–5.

[43] Alex Higgins, due to start a six-month ban after the Championship, eliminated first-year professional Jon Wright 10–6.

[46] O'Kane, 39th in the rankings, won nine frames in a row against second-ranked player Cliff Thorburn to win 10–5.

He also won the 20th frame, after requiring foul shots from Francisco, to lead 12–8, and clinched victory at 13–9 to reach his first World Championship quarter-final.

[21] White made a break of 114 in his match against Parrott, the highest in that year's championship to that point, and won 13–11.

[61][62] It was the fifth time that Davis had defeated Griffiths at the World Championship, and the largest winning margin of those encounters.

[27] The pair were tied at 3–3, but Foulds missed a pot on the black ball in frame seven allowing Johnson to take a one-frame lead after the first session.

Aided by a fluked black, and by a free ball following a foul by White, Davis eventually won the frame by one point.

[68] However, White later compiled a 119 break, the new highest in the competition, overtaking his earlier 114 in the second round, and ended the third session 9–13 behind.

[27] Johnson made a break of 52 in the first frame of the fourth session, but failed on an attempt to pot a red, which gave Davis an opportunity.

[77] Colin Moynihan, a Member of the British Parliament, called for Williams to resign and any players using beta blockers to withdraw from competing.

Moynihan wrote to Williams supporting the ban that had been proposed by the Sports Council's Drug Advisory Group.

[79] Williams resigned as WPBSA chairman in November 1987, having received criticism over the drug testing issue as well as over his personal business connections with promoters Barry Hearn and Frank Warren.