Silvino Francisco

Last updated

Silvino Francisco
Born (1946-05-03) 3 May 1946 (age 78)
Cape Town, South Africa
Sport countryFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
NicknameThe Silver Fish [1]
Professional1981–1997
Highest ranking 10 (1987/88)
Tournament wins
Ranking 1

Silvino Francisco (born 3 May 1946) is a South African former professional snooker player who won the 1985 British Open.

Contents

Snooker career

Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Manuel and nephew Peter both played at a high level, Manuel having been a runner-up in the World Amateur Billiards Championship on several occasions, and Peter having risen to the world ranking of number 14.

Francisco won the 1985 British Open, beating Kirk Stevens 12–9. Prior to the start of the Final match, Francisco accused Stevens of playing under the influence of drugs. Francisco was subsequently fined for the comments. [2] The world governing body of snooker, the WPBSA, accepted that the accusation was false and it is on record that Kirk Stevens has never failed a drugs test in the history of his career. [3] Stevens later admitted to having an addiction to cocaine. [2]

He was involved in another scandal after the 1989 Masters. After losing 5–1 to Terry Griffiths in the last-16, it was discovered that there had been heavy betting on that exact score. Francisco was arrested, but later released without charge.

Personal life

Francisco suffered with gambling problems towards the end of his professional career, to the extent of being declared bankrupt in 1996 due to income tax arrears, having split up from his second wife who claimed his £350,000 house, and having to pay maintenance for his four children. He later took to working evenings in a friend's fish and chip shop for extra cash.

In 1997, he was arrested for smuggling cannabis, and served three years in prison. [4]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1979/
80
1981/
82
1982/
83
1983/
84
1984/
85
1985/
86
1986/
87
1987/
88
1988/
89
1989/
90
1990/
91
1991/
92
1992/
93
1993/
94
1994/
95
1995/
96
1996/
97
Ranking [5] [nb 1] [nb 2] 17 21 17 13 12 10 12 23 26 24 28 33 57 81 125
Ranking tournaments
Asian Classic [nb 3] Tournament Not HeldNR 1R 3R 2R 2R LQLQLQLQ
Grand Prix [nb 4] Not HeldA 3R 3R QF SF 2R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R LQLQ 1R LQ
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event 1R 3R 2R 3R 2R 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R LQLQLQ
German Open Tournament Not HeldLQA
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R LQ 1R LQLQ
International Open [nb 5] NHNRA QF SF 1R QF 3R 2R 2R Not Held 3R 1R 1R LQLQ
European Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R LQLQLQLQ
Thailand Open [nb 6] Not HeldNon-Ranking EventNot Held QF WD 2R 1R LQLQLQLQ
British Open [nb 7] Non-Ranking Event W 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R LQLQLQLQ
World Championship A QF 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters NHAAAA SF AANHAAAAAAAA
The Masters AAAAA 1R QF 1R 1R ALQLQLQLQWDAA
Pontins Professional AAA QF AAAAAAAAAAAAA
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Tournament Not HeldNon-RankingLQTournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open [nb 8] Non-Ranking EventNH 1R Tournament Not HeldNRNH
Classic Non-Ranking 2R 1R 1R QF 3R 3R SF 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 1R MRNRNot Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Limosin International SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Brean Sands Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Pot Black AAA QF 1R ATournament Not HeldAAANot Held
Australian Masters [nb 9] AAAAA 1R AANHATournament Not HeldAANH
South African Professional Championship SF Tournament Not Held W AATournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw#Rlost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. He was an amateur.
  2. New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996).
  4. The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984).
  5. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  6. The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  7. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  8. The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  9. The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1. 1985 British Open Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Kirk Stevens 12–9

Non-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.1978 South African Professional Championship Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Perrie Mans 5–9
Runner-up2.1983 Pontins Brean Sands Flag of England.svg Tony Meo 7–9
Winner1. 1986 South African Professional Championship Flag of South Africa (1982-1994).svg François Ellis9–1

Team finals: 1

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipTeam/partnerOpponent(s) in the finalScore
Runner-up1. 1989 World Cup Rest of the World Flag of England.svg  England 8–9

Amateur finals: 4 (4 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1968 South African Amateur Championship Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg
Winner2.1969 South African Amateur Championship (2) Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg
Winner3.1974 South African Amateur Championship (3) Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Mike Hines7–0
Winner4.1977 South African Amateur Championship (4) Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Ayoob Majiet

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References

  1. Jackson, Jamie (3 May 2009). "Back to the 80s when we were all snooker loopy". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Snooker Association acquits Stevens over drug addiction". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 1985. p. 41. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. Gordon Burn, Pocket Money.
  4. "Where are they now? : Silvino Francisco". BBC Sport. 31 January 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  5. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.