| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 February – 7 May 1949 |
| Venue | Leicester Square Hall |
| City | London |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | Billiards Association and Control Council |
| Highest break |  Walter Donaldson (SCO) (115) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Fred Davis (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Walter Donaldson (SCO) |
| Score | 80–65 |
← 1948 1950 → | |
The 1949 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at Leicester Square Hall in London, England from 21 February to 7 May 1949, organised by the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. There were 12 entrants, of which eight participated in the main draw. Seven players were placed directly into the main draw. They were joined by Conrad Stanbury, who won the qualifying competition which was held from 10 to 19 February at the same venue. Stanbury won all three of his qualifying matches on the deciding frame.
For the third successive year, the final was contested by Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson. Davis became the second player to successfully defend his first world title, after his brother Joe Davis in 1928, by defeating Donaldson 80–65 in the final. He had taken a winning lead of 73–58 on the previous day. The match was still in the balance with the score at 63–58 before Davis won 10 frames in a row to secure victory. Donaldson made the highest break of the tournament, 115, on the last day of his semi-final match against John Pulman. It followed his break of 100 in the previous frame, and was the first time that century breaks had been made in consecutive frames in competition.