Snooker is a cue sport played on a rectangular billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in India in the second half of the 19th century, the game is played with twenty-two balls, comprising a white cue ball, fifteen red balls, and six other balls—a yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black—collectively called the colours. Using a cue stick, the individual players or teams take turns to strike the cue ball to pot other balls in a predefined sequence, accumulating points for each successful pot and for each time the opposing player or team commits a foul. An individual frame of snooker is won by the player who has scored the most points. A snooker match ends when a player reaches a predetermined number of frames.
Alexander Gordon Higgins was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as a key factor in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s.
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, winning 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, which ended in a dramatic black-ball conclusion that attracted 18.5 million viewers, still the largest British television audience for any broadcast after midnight and any broadcast on BBC Two.
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
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.
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 Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest-running professional snooker tournament after the World Championship. It is one of the three Triple Crown events, along with the UK Championship and the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. The reigning champion is Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won his eighth Masters title in 2024, defeating Ali Carter 10–7.
Dennis Taylor is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. In the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, against defending champion Steve Davis, Taylor lost the first eight frames, but recovered to win 18–17 in a 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 1997 Pontins Professional was the twenty-fourth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place between 12 and 16 May 1997 at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales.
The 1982 Irish Masters was the eighth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 23 to 28 March 1982. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1983 Irish Masters was the ninth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 22 to 27 March 1983. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1985 Irish Masters was the eleventh edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 26 to 31 March 1985. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1986 Irish Masters was the twelfth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 8 to 13 April 1986. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1987 Irish Masters was the thirteenth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 24 to 29 March 1987. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1991 Irish Masters was the seventeenth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 2 to 7 April 1991. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 1995 Irish Masters was the twenty-first edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 21 to 26 March 1995. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 2001 Irish Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 27 March to 1 April. It was the 24th Irish Masters and the fifth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational event in the 2000–01 snooker season. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Health Promotion Unit and the Office of Tobacco Control of the Department of Health and Children and hotel group Citywest.
The 1985 Carlsberg Challenge was a non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 6 and 8 September 1985. The tournament featured four professional players and was filmed in RTÉ Studios, Dublin, for broadcast on RTÉ.
The 1986 Carlsberg Challenge was a non-ranking invitational snooker tournament, which took place between 15 and 17 September 1986. The tournament featured four professional players and was filmed in RTÉ Studios, Dublin, for broadcast on RTÉ.
John Parrott (ENG) (99)
Dennis Taylor 
