There have been 19 different UK Championship winners ever since the tournament was launched 42 years ago at the Tower Circus in Blackpool.
From the tournament’s first edition in 1977, entry was only open to British residents and passport holders.
It wasn’t until 1984 that it was fully expanded and granted with ranking event status, allowing all professional players with the opportunity to compete.
Since then, the UK Championship has obviously developed into one of the sport’s biggest and most important events.
It’s among the three events on the calendar that are classified as the “Triple Crown”, alongside the similarly BBC-televised World Championship and the Masters.
The 2019 UK Championship gets under way on Tuesday at the Barbican Centre in York, home of the competition for 14 out of the last 18 years.
While the format has been altered throughout the years, often to the dismay of the traditionalist snooker supporter, its importance on the schedule has rarely wavered.
It probably has fallen behind its sister Triple Crown events in terms of overall following and prestige but the UK Championship remains one of the top three events regardless.
This is underlined by a glittering roll of honour, with a star-studded list of only the sport’s very best managing to etch their names onto the trophy.
Indeed, it’s rare that a totally unexpected champion is crowned – so rare, in fact, that it has arguably never happened.
It will be intriguing as ever to find out who manages to join the illustrious UK Championship winners list in a fortnight at the Barbican Centre.
Not only is there the obvious fight for the title, but there’s the added subplot of the players hovering around the top 16 spot in the world rankings who are desperate for a strong run to safeguard their places at the Alexandra Palace in January.
Before it all begins, take a trip down memory lane and see how many former UK Championship winners you can recall.
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