O'Sullivan played Barry Hawkins. Trump set a new record for the most centuries by a player in a single match, achieving seven to better O'Sullivan's six centuries in the 2013 final. The tournament also recorded a record 100 century breaks. The 2020 championship was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing on 16 August instead of the originally planned date of 4 May. Ronnie O'Sullivan made a record 28th consecutive appearance at the Crucible and won the championship for the sixth time, beating Kyren Wilson 18–8 in the final, and collecting prize money of £500,000. It was O'Sullivan's 37th ranking title, passing the record of 36 ranking titles won by Stephen Hendry. John Higgins made the first 147 break at the Crucible since 2012, earning him the £15,000 highest break prize plus an additional £40,000 bonus for achieving a maximum. At the 2021 event, O'Sullivan was knocked out in the second round by Anthony McGill in a final-frame decider. Judd Trump and Neil Robertson both fell in the quarter-finals. Selby met Murphy in the final, and won 18–15. At the 2022 event, O'Sullivan equalled Steve Davis's record of 30 Crucible appearances. The Class of '92 — O'Sullivan, Higgins, and Williams — all reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1999. O'Sullivan defeated Trump 18–13 in the final to win his seventh world title, equalling Hendry's modern-era record. Aged 46 years and 148 days, he became the oldest world champion in the tournament's history, surpassing Reardon, who was aged 45 years and 203 days when he won his last title in 1978. O'Sullivan also surpassed Hendry's record of 70 Crucible wins, setting a new record of 74. The second-round match between Selby and Yan Bingtao featured the longest frame ever played at the Crucible, at 85 minutes. Dott made a maximum break in the qualifying rounds, and Robertson made a maximum in his second-round match against Lisowski, becoming the eighth player to make a 147 at the Crucible. A new record of 109 century breaks was set at the Crucible stage, one more than the 108 made the previous year. Williams made 16 centuries during the event, equalling the record for the most centuries in a single championship set by Hendry in 2002. Format The format of the televised stages of the World Championship has remained unchanged since 1982, with the exception of a change in the semi-final