The 2012 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2012 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 21 April to 7 May 2012 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 36th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible and the last ranking of the 2011–12 snooker season. The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and in Europe by Eurosport. Ronnie O'Sullivan won his fourth world title by defeating Ali Carter 18–11 in the final. Aged 36, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion since 45-year-old Ray Reardon in 1978. John Higgins, the defending champion, lost 4–13 to Stephen Hendry in the second round. Hendry made the highest break during the tournament, a maximum break of 147. Hendry, seven-time winner of the event, announced his retirement from professional snooker following his defeat by Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. Overview The World Snooker Championship is an annual cue sport tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker. Invented in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India, the sport was popular in Great Britain. In modern times it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand. In the 2012 tournament, 32 professional players competed in one-on-one snooker matches played over several , using a single-elimination tournament format. The 32 players were selected for the event using the snooker world rankings and a pre-tournament qualification competition. In 1927, the first world championship was won by Joe Davis. The event's final took place in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England. Since 1977, the event has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Scotsman John Higgins was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 18–15 in the previous year's final. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. Format The 2012 World Snooker Championship took place from 21 April to 7 May 2008 in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the last of nine ranking events in the 2011–12 snooker season on the World Snooker Tour. It featured a 32-player main draw that was held at the Crucible Theatre, as well as a qualifying draw that was played at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from 5 to 15 April.