At the age of 43 , he became only the third player to win at the Crucible in their 40s , after John Spencer who was 41 in 1977 and Ray Reardon who was 45 in 1978 and is still the oldest world champion in snooker history .
Ray Reardon was 45 years old when he became the oldest World Snooker Championship winner in 1978 .