William Alexander Werbeniuk was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and also a UK Championship semi-finalist, reaching a career high world ranking of #8 for the 1983–84 season.
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Snooker Championship title at his first attempt in 1969. He won the Championship title for the second time in 1971, and was the first player to win the championship at the Crucible Theatre when it moved there in 1977. Spencer was the inaugural winner of both the Masters and the Irish Masters tournaments, and was the first player to make a maximum break of 147 in competition, although this is not recognised as an official maximum because no check was carried out to establish whether the pockets on the table met the required specifications.
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.
Doug Mountjoy was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16.
The 1997 World Snooker Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1997. Staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
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 1977 World Snooker Championship was 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 that the championship was held at the Crucible, which has remained as the venue for the Championship since then. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The 1981 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from Tuesday 27 January to Sunday 1 February 1981 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The number of invited players had been raised to 12, which saw Steve Davis make his Masters debut and a rise in prize money. With the increase in the number of players the tournament was extended from 5 days to 6, with a Sunday finish.
The Triple Crown in professional snooker refers to winning the sport's three longest-running and most prestigious tournaments: the World Snooker Championship, the invitational Masters, and the UK Championship. Players who win all three tournaments over the course of their careers are said to have won the Triple Crown. In January 2020, these tournaments were formally named the Triple Crown Series, with any player who has won all three gaining the right to wear an embroidered crown on their waistcoat reflecting their achievement.
The 1985 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 27 January and 3 February 1985 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The highest break of the tournament was 103 made by Cliff Thorburn, for which Thorburn earned £3,750.
The 1983 Professional Players Tournament was a professional ranking snooker tournament which took place between 3 September and 21 October 1983.
The 1985 Rothmans Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 19 to 27 October 1985 at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. A two table set-up meant that the televised stage at Reading could start at the last-32 stage.
The 1986 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 26 January and 2 February 1986 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The top 16 ranked players took part in the competition.
The 1974–75 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1974 and May 1975. The following table outlines the results for the season's events.
The 1983 Jameson International Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 1 and 9 October 1983 at the Eldon Square Recreation Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Steve Davis won the tournament, beating Cliff Thorburn 9–4 in the final. Television coverage was on ITV.
The 1985 Goya Matchroom Trophy was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 23 September to 6 October 1985 at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent, England.
The 1984 Canadian Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in August 1984 in Toronto, Canada.
The 1980 Canadian Open was the seventh edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, the Canadian Open, which took place in August 1980. This was the last time the tournament was played until 1985, when the tournament was rebranded as the Canadian Masters.
The 1978 Canadian Open was the fifth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, the Canadian Open, which took place between 16 August and 4 September 1978.
The 2000 World Seniors Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place on 27–28 May 2000 at the Royal Automobile Club in London. Fifteen players participated, with David Taylor receiving a bye into the quarter-finals. All matches were one frame in length. Willie Thorne defeated Cliff Thorburn 84–8 in the final, winning £10,000.
Cliff Thorburn (CAN) (88)
Alex Higgins (NIR)
