A new generation of players came to the fore in the 1990s, most notably Stephen Hendry
who went on to dominate for much of the decade. Hendry eclipsed many of
Steve Davis' records including most World Championships, most ranking
titles and most (BBC) major titles. Hendry's type of attacking,
breakbuilding game which often clinched frames in one visit ushered in a
new era of player. In 1993, at the age of 17, Ronnie O'Sullivan became the youngest ever winner of a ranking event by beating Hendry himself at the 1993 UK Snooker Championship Final.
Though the standard of snooker continued to rapidly increase, the immense popularity that Snooker enjoyed started to wane. ITV stopped screening ranking events after the 1993 British Open and during this period, much attributed to the economic recession, prize money totals started to stagnate or decrease for events outside the World Championship. Snooker also suffered from the recovery of football's reputation after the 1990 World Cup and especially after the foundation of the Premier League in 1992.
From the mid-1990s onwards, Snooker still enjoyed decent exposure thanks to BBC continuing to televise the major events and the continuation of tobacco sponsorship. Due to the increasing restrictions or eventual ban on tobacco advertising in sport, Benson and Hedges last sponsored the invitational Masters in 2003 and Embassy's long-standing association with the World Championship concluded after the 2005 tournament.
With cutbacks necessary (due to loss of tobacco funding) and less events, the main tour roster was reduced to 96 professionals for the start of the 2005/2006 season.
Afterwards, the number of events on the circuit started to dwindle. However, since the loss of tobacco sponsorship, the online gaming and gambling industry has stepped in to sponsor numerous events on the calendar. The WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker was ousted in a vote of no confidence in December 2009, which cleared the path for the longtime sports promoter Barry Hearn to attempt to revitalise the sport.
Though the standard of snooker continued to rapidly increase, the immense popularity that Snooker enjoyed started to wane. ITV stopped screening ranking events after the 1993 British Open and during this period, much attributed to the economic recession, prize money totals started to stagnate or decrease for events outside the World Championship. Snooker also suffered from the recovery of football's reputation after the 1990 World Cup and especially after the foundation of the Premier League in 1992.
From the mid-1990s onwards, Snooker still enjoyed decent exposure thanks to BBC continuing to televise the major events and the continuation of tobacco sponsorship. Due to the increasing restrictions or eventual ban on tobacco advertising in sport, Benson and Hedges last sponsored the invitational Masters in 2003 and Embassy's long-standing association with the World Championship concluded after the 2005 tournament.
With cutbacks necessary (due to loss of tobacco funding) and less events, the main tour roster was reduced to 96 professionals for the start of the 2005/2006 season.
Afterwards, the number of events on the circuit started to dwindle. However, since the loss of tobacco sponsorship, the online gaming and gambling industry has stepped in to sponsor numerous events on the calendar. The WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker was ousted in a vote of no confidence in December 2009, which cleared the path for the longtime sports promoter Barry Hearn to attempt to revitalise the sport.