Viewing figures revealed close to 3m UK viewers stayed tuned in until 1am to watch the final on the BBC – with viewing peaking at 4.9m as eventual winner Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon battled it out in the longest frame ever played in the finals between 10.30am and 11pm.
The average UK audience was 3.7m.
It is all a far cry from the sport’s hey-day in the Eighties, however. When Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor clashed in the 1985 final, an incredible 19m viewers stayed glued to their screens past midnight to watch Taylor finally emerge triumphant.
It may not have been a classic encounter, but Monday night’s World Snooker Championship proved it still has pulling power.
