| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7–20 April 1981 |
| Venue | Crucible Theatre |
| City | Sheffield |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £75,000 |
| Winner's share | £20,000 |
| Highest break |  Doug Mountjoy (WAL) (145) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Steve Davis (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Doug Mountjoy (WAL) |
| Score | 18–12 |
← 1980 1982 → | |
The 1981 World Snooker Championship (officially the 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place from 7 April to 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1981 edition of the World Snooker Championship, and was the fifth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was sanctioned by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £75,000, of which £20,000 went to the winner.
Qualifying rounds for the tournament took place from 23 March to 4 April 1981 at two locations — Redwood Lodge Country Club, near Bristol, and at Romiley Forum, near Stockport. The main stage of the tournament featured 24 players: the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings and another eight players from the qualifying rounds. Jimmy White, Tony Knowles and Dave Martin were debutants at the main stage. The defending champion and top seed in the tournament was Cliff Thorburn, who had defeated Alex Higgins 18–16 in the 1980 final.
Thorburn lost by 10 frames to 16 to Steve Davis in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, Doug Mountjoy defeated second seed Ray Reardon 16–10. Davis went on to achieve the first of his six world titles, taking a 6–0 lead in the final and winning four consecutive frames at the end of the match to win 18–12. There were 13 century breaks made during the tournament, including a new championship record break of 145 by Mountjoy. The cigarette manufacturer Embassy sponsored the tournament, which received daily coverage on BBC television.