Born | Bradford, England | 29 July 1952
---|---|
Sport country | England |
Nickname | The Shoe [1] |
Professional | 1979–2004 |
Highest ranking | 5 (1987–88) |
Tournament wins | |
Ranking | 1 |
World Champion | 1986 |
Joe Johnson (born 29 July 1952) is an English former professional snooker player and snooker commentator for Eurosport. He became the British under-19 champion in 1971 as an amateur, defeating Tony Knowles in the final. After reaching the finals of the 1978 English Amateur Championship (losing to Terry Griffiths) and the 1978 World Amateur Championship (losing to Cliff Wilson), Johnson turned professional in 1979. He reached his first ranking final at the 1983 Professional Players Tournament (losing to Knowles), and reached the semi-finals of the 1985 Classic (losing to Cliff Thorburn).
Johnson began the 1986 World Snooker Championship as a 150–1 outsider, with first-round losses in both of his previous Crucible appearances. He defeated Griffiths 13–12 in the quarter-finals, Knowles 16–8 in the semi-finals, and Steve Davis 18–12 in the final to win his only world title and the only ranking title of his career. The following year, in the World Championship, Johnson defeated Stephen Hendry 13–12 in the quarterfinals and Neal Foulds 16–9 in the semi-finals. In the final, however, he lost 14–18 to Davis. Johnson won only one match in the final stages of the World Championship thereafter, defeating Wilson in the first round of the 1988 event.
His best performances in the other Triple Crown events were reaching the semi-finals of the 1987 UK Championship (losing 4–9 to Jimmy White) and the semi-finals of the 1988 Masters (losing 3–6 to Davis). Johnson dropped out of the top 16 after the 1989–90 snooker season and made his last Crucible appearance in 1991, losing in the first round to Dennis Taylor. He continued on the professional tour until 2005, when he retired at age 53 after breaking his ankle. Johnson later competed on the World Seniors Tour, where he won the 2019 Seniors Masters.
Johnson was born on 29 July 1952, in Bradford, England. [2] His mother was named Margaret, and his father was engineer Malik Farooq. [3] [4] The couple separated when Johnson was two years old. [3] Margaret married Ken Johnson, who later taught his stepson snooker, when Johnson was four. [3] [4] He was the national under-19 Champion in 1971, and a three-time Yorkshire champion. [2] Johnson set a record in 1978 for the highest break by an amateur player, recording a 140 break at the Middlesbrough TUC Club. [2]
He was runner-up to Terry Griffiths in the 1978 English amateur championship, and represented England at the 1978 World Amateur Snooker Championship in Malta. [5] Johnson reached the final, where he was defeated 11–5 by Cliff Wilson. They finished their first session session level at five frames each, but Wilson won the next six frames for the victory. [6] Johnson made the highest break of the tournament, 101. [7] Johnson was accepted as a professional by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in 1979 along with Wilson, Tony Meo and Mike Hallett. [8] Before taking up snooker professionally, he worked as an apprentice motor mechanic and as a gas fitter. [3] [9]
Johnson achieved little success in his early years as a professional player, and developed a reputation for not performing well in televised matches. [9] At the 1979 Canadian Open, Johnson defeated Steve Baruda 5–4 after making a 100-break in the first frame. In the next round, Johnson eliminated John Bear 9–7; he then lost 2–9 in the last 16 to Kirk Stevens. [10] He won the billiards title that ran alongside the snooker competition by defeating Ian Williamson 500–284 in the final. [11]
Johnson lost his opening match at the 1979 UK Championship to Bill Werbeniuk by 9 frames to 3. [12] At the 1980 World Snooker Championship Johnson eliminated Roy Andrewartha 9–5 in the first qualifying round, but lost his next match 6–9 to Pat Houlihan. [12] At the 1980 UK Championship he defeated John Dunning 9–6 before losing 9–4 in the next round to Patsy Fagan. [12] The 1981 English Professional Championship saw Johnson eliminate Knowles with a 9–2 win in the first round, then receive a walkover against John Pulman to progress to the quarterfinals, where he lost 5–9 to Ray Edmonds. [12] At the 1981 World Championship Johnson took a 4–3 lead against Meo after the first session, but lost in the deciding frame . [13] [14]
In the 1981–82 snooker season, Johnson progressed through several rounds at the 1981 Jameson international. [15] He defeated Jim Donnelly 5–4 and Murdo MacLeod 5–1 and then received a walkover against Pulman. He next eliminated Jim Wych 5–2, which was the most significant win of his professional career up to that point, but lost in the last-24 round, 3–5 to Graham Miles. [15] [16]
Johnson began the 1981 UK Championship with a 9–1 win over Tommy Murphy. This was followed by a 9–3 defeat of Mike Watterson and a 9–4 win over Wilson. In the next round, Johnson eliminated the former three-time world champion John Spencer 9–5 and this earned Johnson a last-16 tie against another former world champion, Ray Reardon, to whom Johnson lost 7–9. [17] [15] In the qualifying rounds of the 1982 World Championship Johnson defeated Vic Harris 9–4 and reached the last 48, where he lost 8–9 to Hallett. [15]
After receiving a walkover against John Phillips, Johnson faced Wilson in the qualifying competition for the 1982 Jameson International. After taking a 4–2 lead, he lost 4–5. [18] Johnson won his first ranking points at the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. [2] He began with a 5–1 win against Miles, followed by a 5–1 win against sixth-ranked Stevens and a 5–4 final-16 win against Mark Wildman. [19] In the quarterfinal, Johnson won the first frame against John Virgo but was defeated 1–5. [19] As one of six players outside the top eight in the rankings who progressed furthest in the tournament, he was awarded a place at the 1983 Masters. [20] [21] Johnson lost his opening match at the Masters to Cliff Thorburn. [22] In the qualifying event for the 1983 World Championship, recorded a 10–0 whitewash against Paul Watchorn in the first round but lost 8–9 to Wilson and failed to reach the main event. [22]
Johnson's points from the previous season saw him ranked 23rd in the world. [23] In the last 48 of the 1983 International Open, he beat Dennis Hughes 5–1 and lost 2–5 to Eddie Charlton in the last 32. [2] [22] Johnson began the untelevised 1983 Professional Players Tournament with a 5–3 win against Pascal Burke. In the last 32, he defeated Jimmy White 5–3. In his next match, against Charlton, Johnson won 5–0. [22] In the quarter-final, Johnson eliminated Thorburn 5–1; he defeated Meo 9–6 in the semi-finals to reach his first major final, against Knowles. [2] [22] After being 1–6 down to Knowles, Johnson compiled the highest break of the tournament (135) and levelled the match at 8–8 before Knowles secured the deciding frame. [24]
At the 1983 UK Championship, Johnson reached the quarter-finals by eliminating Matt Gibson and Virgo (both by 9–6) and David Taylor 9–3. [22] The quarter-final against Griffiths was his first televised match as a professional. [25] Johnson lost the first seven frames and the match, 2–9. [25] In the qualifying event for the 1984 World Championship, he won his encounter with Matt Gibson 10–3 to earn his debut on the Crucible stage [22] [26] (where he was defeated 1–10 by Dennis Taylor). [22]
Johnson began the 1984–85 snooker season ranked 19th. [27] At the 1984 Costa Del Sol Classic, he started with a quarterfinal win against Mick Fisher and lost 3–2 in the semi-final to Dennis Taylor. [28] Johnson lost to Taylor again at the 1984 International Open. [22] He eliminated Mario Morra 5–0 and Eddie Charlton 5–1 in the last 32 before losing to Taylor 2–5 in the last 16. [22] In the following ranking event, the 1984 Grand Prix, Johnson defeated Paul Medati 5–1 but lost 4–5 to Williamson in the last 32. [22] At the 1984 UK Championship, he defeated John Rea 9–6 and Spencer by the same score in the last 32 before a 2–0 defeat by Stevens in the last 16. [22] Johnson defeated Edmonds and Knowles to reach the last 16 at the 1985 Mercantile Credit Classic. [22] He then whitewashed Wilson and achieved his first win in a televised match, winning each frame by a narrow margin. [29] A 5–3 victory against Warren King took him into the semi-finals. [29] According to Janice Hale of The Daily Telegraph , Johnson "failed to reproduce any of the fighting form which he displayed in the final of last season's Professional Players Tournament" as he lost 2–9 to Thorburn. [30]
He qualified for the main stage of the 1985 World Snooker Championship again by defeating Geoff Foulds 10–6. [9] Johnson played Werbeniuk (who had not won a match all season) in the first round, but Werbeniuk made a 143 break in the tenth frame – the third-highest break ever recorded at the championship at that time – and won 10–8. [31]
Johnson began the season ranked 16th, inside the top 16 for the first time in his career. [32] He was relatively unheralded going into the 1986 World Championship, since he had never won a televised match until the previous year. [33] Johnson had also never won a match at the Crucible Theatre, and was rated a 150–1 outsider. [34] His best results during the season had been quarter-final finishes at the 1985 Matchroom Trophy (where he lost 3–5 to Neal Foulds) and at the 1986 Mercantile Credit Classic, where he lost 4–5 to Thorburn. [35] [22]
He defeated Dave Martin 10–3 in the first round for his first win in three main World Championship appearances. [36] In the second round, Johnson took a 5–3 lead against Hallett after the first session and went on to win 13–6. [37] He met former champion Griffiths in the quarter-finals. Johnson led 9–7 going into the final session, but Griffiths won five straight frames to lead 12–9 before Johnson won four straight frames (including two century breaks) to win 13–12. [33] [38] He eliminated Knowles despite taking painkillers for a cyst on his back before the start of play, winning the last two frames of the final session for a 16–8 victory. [34] [39] [40]
In the final, Johnson met world number-one Steve Davis; they had never previously played a professional match against each other. [40] [41] Davis was considered much more likely to win the final, reflected in the bookmakers' odds of 2/9 for Davis and 5/1 for Johnson. Davis took a 3–1 lead, making breaks of 108 and 107. [42] Johnson then took the next three frames to finish the first session 4–3 ahead. Davis began the second session by winning four frames in succession to put himself ahead 7–4. After the next mid-session interval, Johnson won four consecutive frames [34] before Davis clinched the last frame to leave the match level at 8–8 overnight. [43]
On the second day, Johnson wore an unusual pair of red, pink, and white leather shoes. [42] Resuming the match, he won another run of four frames to take a 12–8 lead. [43] Gordon Burn later wrote, "From the beginning of the third session he played an open game full of flair and daring and the length-of-the-table, long-potting which had been so characteristic of Steve Davis in the days when he was still making his name." [44] The session ended with Johnson ahead 13–11. [34] In the final session the crowd appeared to favour Johnson, who had played with an attacking style throughout the tournament. [43] He won three of the next four frames to lead 16–12 before the mid-session interval. [41] [43] He then added frame 29, and compiled a break of 64 in frame 30 to win the match 18–12. [34] [41] [43] The win helped lift Johnson from 16th place in the 1985–86 professional rankings to eighth for 1986–87. [45]
He wore a T-shirt with the slogan "Bradford's Bouncing Back" (a reference to the Bradford City stadium fire a year earlier) when he was not playing in the tournament. [46] Johnson's win led to an appearance on the television show Wogan and a "personal appearance" accompanying pop star Cliff Richard to watch Wimbledon. [43]
He had a poor season in terms of results as world champion, and lost before the televised stage in every major tournament except one before the 1987 World Snooker Championship. [32] [47] By his own admission, Johnson arrived at the Crucible for the tournament hoping merely to progress past the first round. [48] However, he defied expectations and reached the final again. [47] In the first round, Johnson narrowly defeated Eugene Hughes in a match that went to the last frame. [49] He followed this with a 13–7 win against MacLeod, then defeated the teenaged Stephen Hendry 13–12 in the quarter-finals. [47] [49] In the semi-final, Johnson won 16–9 against Neal Foulds. [50] Once again his opponent in the final was Davis, who defeated him. [49]
Johnson took a 4–3 lead in the first session, but was 7–9 behind after session two. [48] Davis increased his advantage to 14–9, but Johnson took the last frame of the third session and the first three frames of the concluding session to be one frame behind at 13–14. [48] After Johnson had a bad miss attempting a long pot early in frame 28, Davis took that frame and the next two for an 18–14 victory. [48] Davis said, "For Joe to come to the Crucible and play as if he hadn't had the season he has was tremendous, really." [48] Johnson praised Davis, as he had after the 1986 final, and said about his own year as champion: "It only seemed five minutes when I walked out to play Steve again in the final, but with all the personal appearances it just seemed to go on and on." [48]
He reached fifth place in the world 1987–88 rankings based on results from the two preceding seasons, largely as a result of his performances at the Crucible. [51] Johnson was runner-up to Dennis Taylor in the four-player 1987 Carling Challenge, [52] and won the 1987 Scottish Masters by overcoming Griffiths 9–7 in the final for his only other major professional snooker title. [53] [54] He reached the semi-finals of the 1987 UK Championship, where he came close to making a 147 maximum break against White, but missed the pink on 134 [32] and lost the match 4–9. [22] Later that season Johnson reached the semi-finals of the 1988 Masters, where he lost 3–6 to Davis after eliminating Willie Thorne and White. [22] He defeated Wilson 10–7 in the first round of the 1988 World Championship, [55] and recovered from 3–11 to 9–11 against Steve James before losing after James won the next two frames. [56]
Dropping six places to 11th in the 1988–89 snooker season, [57] Johnson's best showing in a ranking tournament was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1988 Fidelity International Open. He lost 5–10 to Meo in the first round of the 1989 World Championship. [22] In 1989–90, Johnson was runner-up to Thorne in the invitational 1989 New Zealand Masters. [22] His best ranking-tournament performance was at the 1989 Rothmans Grand Prix, when he whitewashed White in a run to the quarter-finals. [22] Johnson won the invitational 1989 Norwich Union Grand Prix by defeating Hendry 5–3 in the final, [58] but lost 8–10 to Darren Morgan in the opening round of the 1990 World Championship. [22]
Johnson began the 1990–91 season ranked 18th, outside the top 16 after five years in that group. [27] [59] He failed to progress as far as the quarter-finals in any ranking event that season. [60] Johnson won a four-player round-robin event, the 1991 Nescafe Extra Challenge, winning all three of his matches against Tony Drago, James Wattana and Alain Robidoux. [61] He qualified for his last appearance at the Crucible, the 1991 World Championship, where he lost 6–10 to Dennis Taylor in the first round. [60] Johnson had heart and eye problems during the 1990s, although he continued to play in qualifying events. [62]
He reached the quarter-finals of the 1991 Grand Prix after defeating King in the last 64, Tony Jones in the last 32 and Hallett in the last 16 to set up the quarter-final against Nigel Bond, where he lost 3–5. [22] Johnson was runner-up to Hendry in the invitational 1992 European Challenge, [63] and narrowly missed qualifying for the 1992 World Championship after losing 9–10 to Mick Price on the pink ball in the deciding frame. [64]
Needing to win one match to qualify for the 1993 World Championship, Johnson lost 10–6 to Karl Payne in the last 48. [65] He won only one qualifying match at the World Championship in his next five attempts, a 10–5 victory against Matthew Crouch in the 1995 World Championship. [65] Johnson did not reach the last 48 of the World Championship again after 1993, although he won three matches in 2003. [65] He broke his ankle in a fall at home before the start of the 2003–04 season, and did not compete in any events until the World Championship in February 2004. Johnson conceded, 0–9 behind, to Ian Preece in their best-of-19-frames match. [66] [67] He played his last match as a professional later that month in the qualifying rounds of the 2004 Players Championship, where he lost to 3–5 to Stuart Mann. [66] [68] Johnson retired in 2005, aged 53, as the oldest player on the professional snooker circuit. [33]
He won the Seniors Pot Black Trophy in 1997. [69] Johnson played in the 2000 World Seniors Masters, a one-frame-format event, and lost in the first round to eventual champion Willie Thorne. [70] He promoted the revival of the World Seniors Championship in 2010, [32] [71] and lost 0–2 to Davis in his opening match. [72] Johnson won the April 2019 World Seniors Masters, with all three of his matches determined on a re-spotted black (which was used to determine the winner if each player won one of two frames). [73] [74] In 2023, he continued to play in senior events. [75]
In his 2012 book, Clive Everton wrote that in 1986 Johnson "produced an unstoppable urge of inspiration" but "never sustained such form before and never sustained it again", [76] found the pressures of World Championship fame difficult, and was poorly served by his manager. [76] Snooker journalist Hector Nunns wrote in 2017 that "it will be for his shot-making, his shoes, his extra-curricular singing, and his sheer joie de vivre in the match that defined his career that Johnson will always be remembered". [77] In their book about world champions, Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby wrote: "His attacking style and ability to crash in long pots ... prefigured the tactical approach that would dominate snooker from the 1990s into the new millennium." [59]
Johnson was the subject of This is Your Life and a guest on the celebrity sports quiz A Question of Sport in 1986. [78] [79] BBC1 broadcast an April 1987 30-minute profile of Johnson, An Ordinary Joe, which focused on the year since his world-championship victory. [80] He made several appearances on the snooker-themed game show Big Break between 1991 and 2001. [81] Johnson was interviewed for an episode of the BBC Radio 5 Live show Time of My Life in 1998, and was a guest on the TV quiz show Celebrity Eggheads in 2012. [82] [83]
He sang in the Preston-based band Made in Japan, [84] who released a cover of "Everlasting Love" in October 1986. [85] Johnson coached Shaun Murphy, [32] and was an early influence on Paul Hunter. [86] He is a regular commentator for Eurosport. [53] In December 2013, John Higgins said about Johnson: "I heard before the 2013 UK Championship Joe Johnson was slating me. If that guy isn't the worst commentator in the world, he's in the top three". [87]
Johnson owned Cue Gardens, a Bradford snooker club, and ran a coaching academy with Richard Harrison. [33] He is married to Terryl, and has seven children. [2] [62] By 2017, he had survived seven heart attacks. [62]
Tournament | 1979/ 80 | 1980/ 81 | 1981/ 82 | 1982/ 83 | 1983/ 84 | 1984/ 85 | 1985/ 86 | 1986/ 87 | 1987/ 88 | 1988/ 89 | 1989/ 90 | 1990/ 91 | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 | 1994/ 95 | 1995/ 96 | 1996/ 97 | 1997/ 98 | 1998/ 99 | 1999/ 00 | 2000/ 01 | 2001/ 02 | 2002/ 03 | 2003/ 04 | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking | – [lower-alpha 1] | – [89] | – [90] | – [91] | 23 | 19 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 37 | 56 | 47 | 52 | 55 | 59 | 61 | 73 | 90 | 96 | [92] |
Ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LG Cup [lower-alpha 2] | Not Held | QF | F | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | [22] | ||
British Open [lower-alpha 3] | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | QF | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | [22] | ||||
UK Championship | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | 2R | 2R | SF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 3R | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | [22] | ||||
Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | [22] | |||||||||||
European Open [lower-alpha 4] | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | LQ | LQ | 2R | LQ | NH | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | WD | [22] | |||||||||
Irish Masters | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | WD | [22] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Players Championship [lower-alpha 5] | Not Held | NR | LQ | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | Not Held | 1R | 1R | LQ | 2R | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | [22] | ||
World Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | W | F | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | [22] |
Non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Masters | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | QF | SF | 1R | QF | LQ | A | A | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | [22] |
Matchroom League [lower-alpha 6] | Tournament Not Held | A | RR [lower-alpha 7] | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | [98] | |||||||||||||||||
Former ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters [lower-alpha 8] | NR | Not Held | Non-Ranking | 1R | Tournament Not Held | [15] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hong Kong Open [lower-alpha 9] | Non-Ranking Event | NH | LQ | Tournament Not Held | NR | NR | Tournament Not Held | [15] | ||||||||||||||||||
Classic | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | SF | QF | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||
Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Tournament Not Held | [60] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dubai Classic [lower-alpha 10] | Tournament Not Held | NR | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | [22] | |||||||||||||
German Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | [22] | |||||||||||||||||||
Malta Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | WD | NR | Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||||||||
China Open [lower-alpha 11] | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Masters [lower-alpha 12] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Not Held | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | NR | NH | [22] | |||||||
Former non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Players Championship [lower-alpha 5] | Not Held | 2R | Ranking Event | Not Held | Ranking Event | [104] | ||||||||||||||||||||
British Open [lower-alpha 3] | LQ | LQ | RR | LQ | LQ | Ranking Event | [105] | |||||||||||||||||||
Bass & Golden Leisure Classic | Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | [106] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | Ranking Event | [22] | |||||||||||||||||||
Costa Del Sol Classic | Tournament Not Held | SF | Tournament Not Held | [28] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Masters [lower-alpha 9] | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | SF | QF | NH | R | Tournament Not Held | A | A | Tournament Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||
Scottish Masters | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | QF | W | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | [22] | ||
Carling Challenge [lower-alpha 13] | Tournament Not Held | A | A | SF | F | A | Tournament Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters [lower-alpha 8] | 2R | A | Not Held | A | QF | QF | R | Tournament Not Held | [10] [22] | |||||||||||||||||
Kent Cup | Tournament Not Held | A | QF | A | A | A | NH | A | Tournament Not Held | [108] | ||||||||||||||||
World Matchplay | Tournament Not Held | QF | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | [15] | ||||||||||||||||||
English Professional Championship | NH | QF | Not Held | 2R | QF | SF | SF | QF | Tournament Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||||
New Zealand Masters | Tournament Not Held | A | Not Held | SF | F | Tournament Not Held | [109] | |||||||||||||||||||
Irish Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Ranking | [22] | |
Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held | [110] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nescafe Extra Challenge | Tournament Not Held | W | NH | A | Tournament Not Held | [61] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Norwich Union Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | A | W | SF | Tournament Not Held | [22] [111] | ||||||||||||||||||||
World Masters | Tournament Not Held | 3R | Tournament Not Held | [22] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pontins Professional | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | [22] | |||
European Challenge | Tournament Not Held | F | A | Tournament Not Held | [112] | |||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Challenge 1 | Tournament Not Held | 2R | LQ | Tournament Not Held | [60] | |||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Challenge 2 | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | [60] | |||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Challenge 3 | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | [60] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Malta Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | QF | A | A | A | A | R | A | Not Held | [60] | ||||||||||||||||
Seniors Pot Black | Tournament Not Held | W | Tournament Not Held | [69] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
World Seniors Masters | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held | [70] |
Performance Table Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
SF | lost in the semi–finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. | |||
NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1983 | Professional Players Tournament | Tony Knowles (ENG) | 8–9 | [24] |
Winner | 1. | 1986 | World Snooker Championship | Steve Davis (ENG) | 18–12 | [22] |
Runner-up | 2. | 1987 | World Snooker Championship | Steve Davis (ENG) | 14–18 | [22] |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1987 | Carling Challenge | Dennis Taylor (NIR) | 5–8 | [22] |
Winner | 1. | 1987 | Scottish Masters | Terry Griffiths (WAL) | 9–7 | [22] |
Runner-up | 2. | 1989 | New Zealand Masters | Willie Thorne (ENG) | 4–7 | [22] |
Winner | 2. | 1989 | Norwich Union Grand Prix | Stephen Hendry (SCO) | 5–3 | [22] |
Winner | 3. | 1991 | Nescafe Extra Challenge | James Wattana (THA) | Round–Robin | [61] |
Runner-up | 3. | 1992 | European Challenge | Stephen Hendry (SCO) | 0–4 | [22] |
Winner | 4. | 1997 | Seniors Pot Black | Terry Griffiths (WAL) | 2–0[ citation needed ] | [113] |
Winner | 5. | 2019 | The Seniors Masters | Barry Pinches (ENG) | 2–1 | [73] |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 1981 | William Younger Open | Cliff Wilson (WAL) | 8–7 | [114] |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 1971 | British Under-19 Championship | George Crimes (ENG) | 3–0 | [115] |
Runner-up | 1. | 1978 | English Amateur Championship | Terry Griffiths (WAL) | 6–13 | [116] |
Runner-up | 2. | 1978 | World Amateur Championship | Cliff Wilson (WAL) | 5–11 | [7] |
The 1985 World Snooker Championship final, also known as the black-ball final, was played on the weekend of 27–28 April 1985 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The final of the 1985 World Snooker Championship was between defending world champion Steve Davis and 1979 runner-up Dennis Taylor. It was Davis's fourth appearance in a final and Taylor's second. The best-of-35-frame match was split into four sessions. Davis won every frame in the first session to lead 7–0 but only led 9–7 and 13–11 after the second and third sessions. Until the match was over, Taylor was never ahead in frames but had tied the contest three times at 11–11, 15–15 and 17–17. The deciding frame culminated in a number of shots on the final black ball. After both players had failed to pot it several times, Taylor potted the black to win his only world championship. Media outlets reported this as a major shock: Davis had been widely predicted to win the match, having lifted three of the previous four world championship titles.
Raymond Reardon is a retired Welsh professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 and dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and more than a dozen other tournaments. Reardon was World Champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978, and runner-up in 1982. He won the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters, and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.
Terence Martin Griffiths is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and back-to-back English Amateur Championships in 1977 and 1978, Griffiths turned professional in June 1978 at the age of 30. In his second professional tournament, he qualified for the 1979 World Snooker Championship. He reached the final of the event where he defeated Dennis Taylor by 24 frames to 16. This was only the second time a qualifier had won the World Snooker Championship, after Alex Higgins in 1972; only Shaun Murphy in 2005 has since emulated the achievement. In 1988, Griffiths again reached the final of the competition. He was tied with Steve Davis, 8–8, but lost the match 11–18.
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player. One of the most dominant players of the 1970s, he won the World Snooker Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1977. He worked as a snooker commentator for the BBC from 1978 to 1998, and served for 25 years on the board of the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), including a stint as chairman from 1990 until his retirement from the board in 1996.
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Higgins 18–16 in the final. He is generally recognised as the sport's first world champion from outside the United Kingdom—since Australian Horace Lindrum's 1952 title is usually disregarded—and he remains the only world champion from the Americas. He was runner-up in two other world championships, losing 21–25 to John Spencer in the 1977 final and 6–18 to Steve Davis in the 1983 final. At the 1983 tournament, Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum break in a World Championship match, achieving the feat in his second-round encounter with Terry Griffiths.
Anthony Knowles is an English former professional snooker player. He won the 1982 International Open and the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, and was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s. His highest world ranking was second, in the 1984/85 season.
The 1987 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1987 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1986–87 snooker season. The championship was the 1987 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927, and had 32 participants. The highest ranked 16 players were awarded a place in the first round draw, whilst a pre-tournament qualification event for 104 professionals was held between 26 March and 4 April at the Preston Guild Hall for the remaining places. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy and had a prize fund of £400,000 with the winner receiving £80,000.
The 1986 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1986 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1985–86 snooker season and the 1986 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. The total prize fund was £350,000 with £70,000 awarded to the winner and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1985 World Snooker Championship was a professional ranking tournament in snooker that took place from 12 to 28 April 1985 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the event was the ninth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in 1977. A five-round qualifying event for the championship was held at the Preston Guild Hall from 29 March to 5 April for 87 players, 16 of whom reached the main stage, where they met the 16 invited seeded players. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and was sponsored by the Embassy cigarette company. The total prize fund for the event was £250,000, the highest prize pool for any snooker tournament to that date. The winner received £60,000, which was the highest amount ever received by the winner of a snooker event at that time.
The 1989 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 1989 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the eighth and final ranking event of the 1988–89 snooker season and the thirteenth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament at this location having taken place in 1977. There were 142 entrants to the competition.
The 1988 World Snooker Championship, also known as the 1988 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 April to 2 May 1988 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1987–88 snooker season and the twelfth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament there having taken place in 1977.
The 1984 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place between 21 April and 7 May 1984 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and was the eighth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible since the 1977 event. The event featured 94 participants, of which 78 players competed in a qualifying event held at the Redwood Lodge in Bristol from 1 to 13 April. Of these, 16 players qualified for the main stage in Sheffield, where they met 16 invited seeds. The total prize fund for the event was £200,000, the highest total pool for any snooker tournament at that time; the winner received £44,000.
The 1983 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 16 April and 2 May 1983 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. This was the third and final world ranking event of the 1982–83 snooker season following the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. Sixteen seeded players qualified directly for the event, with an additional sixteen players progressing through a two-round qualification round held at the Romiley Forum in Stockport, and Redwood Lodge in Bristol. The winner of the event received £30,000, and the tournament was sponsored by cigarette company Embassy.
The 1981 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.
The 1979 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1979 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Promoted by Mike Watterson for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the third consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in 1977.
The 1978 World Snooker Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 29 April 1978 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the second consecutive year the tournament had been held at the venue. A qualifying competition was held at Romiley Forum, Stockport, from 27 March to 7 April. The tournament was promoted by Mike Watterson on behalf of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. It had a total prize fund of £24,000, of which £7,500 went to the champion.
The 1977 World Snooker Championship is a professional snooker tournament that took place from 18 to 30 April 1977 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. John Spencer won his third World Snooker Championship title by defeating Cliff Thorburn by 25 frames to 21 in the final. It was the first time the championship was held at the Crucible, which has remained as the venue for the Championship. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1974 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 25 April 1974 at the Belle Vue in Manchester, England. It was the 1974 edition of the World Snooker Championship, established in 1927. The 1974 tournament was promoted by Snooker Promotions, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive. The event attracted 31 entrants and carried a prize fund of £10,000. Seven qualifying matches were held; the seven winners of these joined the other 17 players in the main tournament.
The 1990 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 29 April 1990 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the ninth and final world ranking tournament of the 1989–90 snooker season following the European Open. Featuring a total prize fund of £620,000, the winner received £120,000; and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1982 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 30 April and 16 May 1982 at the Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield, England. It was the only event of the 1981–82 snooker season which carried world ranking points. Embassy, a British cigarette company, sponsored the tournament, and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) governed the organisation of the event. It had a prize fund of £110,000, with the winner receiving £25,000.
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