Steve Davis is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, DJ, electronic musician, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles, and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons. He was runner-up to Dennis Taylor in one of snooker's most famous matches, the 1985 World Championship final, whose dramatic black-ball conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, still the largest British television audience for any broadcast after midnight and any broadcast on BBC Two.
Stephen Gordon Hendry is a Scottish professional snooker player who is best known for dominating the sport during the 1990s, when he became one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990 aged 21 years and 106 days, surpassing Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. From 1990 to 1999, he won seven world titles, setting a modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. Hendry also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 21. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 39, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.
Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player and regular snooker commentator for Eurosport. As an amateur player, he became the British Under-19 champion in 1971, defeating Tony Knowles in the final. After reaching the finals of the 1978 English Amateur Championship and the 1978 World Amateur Championship, he 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.
John Virgo is an English snooker commentator and former professional snooker player.
Anthony Christian 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.
Raymond Reardon is a Welsh retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 aged 35 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. It was the only ranking event victory of his career. 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 and a three-time World Snooker Champion. Born in Radcliffe, Lancashire, he began playing snooker on a full-sized table at age 14, and made his first century break aged 15; he started National Service at age 18, and did not play snooker again until he was 29. After winning the English Amateur Championship in 1966, he turned professional in February 1967 and won the world title on his first attempt in 1969. This was the first time since 1957 that the World Snooker Championship had used a knock-out format, following a series of challenge matches from 1964 to 1968, making Spencer the first World Champion in the modern era of snooker.
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.
Desmond Rex Williams is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the World Professional Billiards Championship from Clark McConachy in 1968, the first time that the title had been contested since 1951. Williams retained the title in several challenge matches in the 1970s, and, after losing it to Fred Davis in 1980, regained it from 1982 to 1983.
The 1953 World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament, the second edition of the World Professional Match-play Championship, held from 10 November 1952 to 28 March 1953. The event was held across several venues in the United Kingdom, with the final held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, England. Fred Davis was the defending champion, after winning the 1952 event, with a 38–35 win over Walter Donaldson. The same players contested the 1953 final, with Davis defeating Donaldson 37–34 in the 71-frame final. The highest break of 133 was made by John Pulman in his semi-final loss to Davis.
The 1986–87 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1986 and May 1987. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and invitational events.
Dennis Taylor is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, when he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in one of the most famous matches in snooker history. Despite losing the first eight frames, Taylor recovered to win 18–17 in a dramatic duel on the last black ball. The final's 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.
The 1988 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 21 February to 6 March 1988 with television coverage beginning on 26 February at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England.
The 1992 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 17 to 29 February 1992 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England.
The 1991 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from February to March 1991 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England.
The 1990 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 18 February to 3 March 1990 with television coverage beginning on 24 February at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. It is an open draw for every round
The 1989 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 1 February to 5 March 1989 with television coverage beginning on 25 February at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England.
The 1987 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 15 February to 1 March 1987 with television coverage on ITV and Channel 4 beginning on 20 February at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England.
The 1985 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 17 February to 3 March 1985 with television coverage on ITV beginning on 22 February from the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. It was the first edition of the British Open, having been rebranded from the International Open the previous year. It was the fifth ranking event of the 1984–85 snooker season, preceding the 1985 World Snooker Championship.
Dave Martin (ENG) (145)
