| Born | 24 October 1931 Johannesburg, South Africa |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  South Africa |
| Professional | 1978–1991 |
| Highest ranking | 59 (1986/1987) |
| Best ranking finish | Last 32 (x1) |
Jimmy van Rensberg (born 24 October 1931) is a South African former professional snooker player. He won the South African Professional Championship in 1984. [1] He was a record 12-time winner of the South African Amateur Championship.
Born in 1931, van Rensberg turned professional in 1978 at the relatively advanced age of 46. He entered few tournaments in his first several seasons on tour, reaching the final of the 1979 South African Professional Championship after beating Silvino Francisco in the semi-finals; this was van Rensberg's first match in the event, and he lost the final 6–9 to Derek Mienie.
After losing 1–9 to Tony Meo in qualifying for the 1980 World Championship, van Rensberg next played a competitive match in the 1984 edition of the tournament. There, he beat Vic Harris 10–7 and in his last-64 match, came to trail Ray Edmonds 0–7. He won the next three frames, but Edmonds took the eleventh and twelfth to leave van Rensberg 3–9 behind; however, from there the latter won seven consecutive frames to prevail 10–9. In the last 48, he faced Francisco again, but a 0–9 deficit proved too much to recover, and he lost 3–10.
The 1985 World Championship saw van Rensberg himself fall victim to a comeback, as the Canadian Marcel Gauvreau recovered from 0–3 and 6–9 to defeat him 10–9.
Van Rensberg was able to enter six tournaments in the 1985/1986 season, and recorded his first last-32 finish at the 1986 Classic, where he beat Wayne Jones 5–4 and John Parrott 5–3 before Steve Davis ended his run with a 1–5 loss.
Ranked 59th, a career-best, for 1986/1987, van Rensberg registered three last-64 finishes therein; at the International Open, he lost 3–5 to Barry West, while Francisco beat him 5–4 in the 1987 Classic and his World Championship qualifying attempt culminated in a 0–10 whitewash by Tony Jones.
Poor form followed in the next few years, and during the 1988/1989 season, van Rensberg lost all nine of the matches he played. In the 1989 Hong Kong Open, he made a break of 104 - his first and only century break - in a match against Alain Robidoux, but lost 1–5; his best performance that season, and best for several years, was a run to the last 64 at the 1990 Dubai Classic. There, he was beaten 5–4 by John Virgo.
A 1–5 loss to Tony Wilson of the Isle of Man, in the 1990 British Open, would be van Rensberg's final at competitive level; he never played again, and was relegated from the tour in 1991, aged 59.
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Joe Johnson 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 and the 1978 World Amateur Championship, Johnson turned professional in 1979. He reached his first ranking final at the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, and reached the semi-finals of the 1985 Classic.
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.
Pierre "Perrie" Mans was a South African professional snooker player. He first won the South African Professional Championship in 1965 and lifted the title 20 times. Mans won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1979 and reached the final of the World Championship in 1978.
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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 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.
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Robert Marshall is an English former professional snooker player.
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