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 final frame, Taylor was never ahead in frames, but he tied the match three times at 11–11, 15–15 and 17–17. The deciding frame culminated over several shots on the final ball – the black. Taylor potted the ball to win his only world championship. Media outlets reported this as a major shock; Davis had been widely predicted to win the match, having won three of the previous four world championships.
Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player and commentator, best known for winning the 1986 World Championship after starting the tournament as a 150–1 outsider.
Anthony Meo, professionally known as Tony Meo is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Championship titles, partnering Davis, and the 1983 World Team Classic representing England alongside Davis and Tony Knowles.
Terence Martin Griffiths, is a retired Welsh professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion as he won the 1979 World Snooker Championship as a qualifier, defeating Dennis Taylor by 24 frames to 16 in the final. Nine years later, in 1988, Griffiths reached the final of the competition again. He was tied with Steve Davis at 8–8, but lost the match 11–18.
Clifford Charles DevlinThorburn 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 to become the first world champion in the sport's modern era from outside the United Kingdom.
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 1985 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament 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 27 to 31 March 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 winner received £60,000, which was the highest amount ever received by the winner of a snooker event at that time.
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. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the third consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in 1977.
The 1979 UK Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. This was the third edition of the UK Championship that would later become part of snooker's Triple Crown. The event was sponsored by Coral for the second year in a row.
The 1981 UK Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England, between 22 November and 5 December 1981. This was the fifth edition of the UK Championship, the fourth staging of the competition in Preston, and the fourth consecutive UK Championship to be sponsored by Coral. The televised stages were shown on the BBC from 28 November through to the end of the championship.
The 1987 Benson & Hedges Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 25 January and 1 February 1987 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
Dennis Taylor is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a final widely recognised as one of the most famous matches in professional snooker history. Despite losing the first eight frames, Taylor recovered to win 18–17 on the last black ball. The final's dramatic conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK viewership records for any post-midnight broadcast and for any broadcast on BBC Two that still stand to this day.
The 1980 Champion of Champions was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held from 2–12 October 1980 at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, London.
The 1985 Kit Kat Break for World Champions was a professional invitational snooker tournament which took place from 17 to 20 December 1985. Dennis Taylor won the event by defeating Steve Davis 9–5 in the final.
The 1980 Tolly Cobbold Classic was the second edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place in February 1980. The tournament was played at the Corn Exchange in Ipswich, and featured four professional players competing in a round-robin; the two players at the top of the group contested the final, and a play-off was held to determine the third-placed player.
The 1983 Pontins Professional was the tenth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament which took place in May 1983 in Prestatyn, Wales.
The 1987 Snooker World Cup was a professional snooker tournament played at the Bournemouth International Centre, England, between 18–21 March 1987 for teams of three players. The event was the eighth iteration of the World Cup snooker tournament, first played in 1979 as the World Challenge Cup. A total prize fund of £100,000 was awarded for the event, with the winning team receiving a share of £32,000. The event featured eight participating teams, including two from Ireland, the champions of the previous year's event. Danish brewery company Tuborg were the sponsors for the tournament.
The 1984 Thailand Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held in August 1984 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The China Masters was a non-ranking snooker tournament staged on three occasions in 1985, 1986 and 1996.
The Malaysian Masters was a non-ranking snooker tournament staged on three occasions in 1984, 1986 and 1996.
Dennis Taylor 
Terry Griffiths 
