Tony Knowles was born in Bolton on 13 June 1955.[1] He began playing snooker at the age of 9 on the tables at the Tonge Moor Conservative Club, which was run by his father, Kevin. He went on to win the UK Junior Championship twice, in 1972 (against Matt Gibson) and in 1974. His application to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to become a professional player was accepted in 1980, after a rejection in November 1979.[1][2][3] He did not win a match in his first year,[4] before progressing through two qualifying rounds to reach the first round of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he lost 8–10 to Graham Miles.[5] He reached the quarter-finals of the 1981 UK Championship by eliminating Geoff Foulds, Fred Davis and Doug Mountjoy from the competition before being defeated 5–9 by Terry Griffiths.[5][6] Later that season, Knowles gained attention when he won 10–1 against defending champion Steve Davis in the first round of the 1982 World Snooker Championship, after staying out late at a nightclub following the first day's play when he had built an 8–1 lead. He defeated Miles 13–7 in the second round, before losing 11–13 to Eddie Charlton in the quarter-finals.[1][7]
In the 1982–83 snooker season, he followed up his performance in the World Championship by winning the 1982 International Open with a 9–6 victory against David Taylor. He had eliminated Eddie Sinclair 5–2 in the first round, Ray Reardon by the same score in round two, Cliff Wilson 5–4 in the quarter-finals, and Kirk Stevens 9–3 in the semi-finals. In the final, he led Taylor 5–3 after the first session , after the pair had been level at 2–2. He compiled a break of 114, the highest of the tournament, to win the ninth frame, before Taylor claimed the next two frames to leave Knowles one ahead at 6–5. Breaks of 63 and 43 in the next two frames saw Knowles restore a three-frame advantage. Taylor made a break of 74 to win the 14th frame, but Knowles secured his first major title by claiming the 15th frame with a break of 76.[8] It was the first tournament apart from the World Snooker Championship to count in the snooker world rankings.[9]
The next season, he defeated Meo and Thorburn to reach the final of the 1983 Scottish Masters, which he lost 6–9 to Davis.[5] Having failed to successfully defend the International Open title, losing 4–5 to John Spencer in the second round, Knowles started the 1983 Professional Players Tournament with a 5–1 win against Paul Medati and a 5–4 defeat of Rex Williams, then a 5–0 whitewash of Silvino Francisco.[5] The same day as his match against Francisco, Knowles won 5–3 against John Campbell in the quarter-finals, after losing the opening two frames. In the semi-final, Knowles and Willie Thorne were level at 4–4 after the first session, with Knowles going on to prevail 9–7. In the final, he faced Joe Johnson and established a 6–1 lead, which Johnson reduced slightly to 6–2 by winning the last frame of the first session with the tournament's highest break, 135. Johnson was two frames behind at 4–6 and 5–7, but Knowles went three frames up with four to play at 8–5. Johnson won three successive frames to equalise at 8–8. In the deciding frame, Knowles won on the final pink ball to take the title.[13]
Just before the 1984 World Snooker Championship, Knowles appeared in a series of three articles in tabloid newspaper The Sun, in which he boasted of his sexual adventures, describing himself as "the hottest pot in snooker" and was dismissive of most other competitors in the tournament.[14] He received £25,000 from the newspaper for the articles, and was subsequently fined £5,000 by the WPBSA for bringing the game into disrepute.[7] He lost 7–10 to John Parrott in the first round.[14]
He was ranked 21st for the 1990/1991 season, the first time he had not been in the top sixteen since 1982/1983 after a season where he only reached one quarter-final, at the 1989 Grand Prix.[18] At the 1991 Dubai Classic, he defeated Gary Natale 5–1 in the qualifying competition, then Eugene Hughes 5–2, and Neal Foulds 5–0. A 5–2 win against Dennis Taylor in the quarter-final saw Knowles reach his first ranking semi-final since the 1988 Classic. He then gained his first ranking final place since the 1984 International Open by eliminating Steve James 6–2. in the semi-final. Facing reigning world champion Parrott in the final, Knowles fell 0–3 behind, but won three of the next four frames to trail 3–4 at the end of the first session. Parrott then won five consecutive frames in the next session to claim victory at 9–3.[19][20][21]
For the 1997–98 snooker season, only the top 64 players in the rankings at the end of the previous season retained full professional status. Those who finished from 65th to 192nd, including Knowles who was 72nd, played in a new WPBSA Qualifying School series which allowed qualifiers to regain full professional status. Knowles, however, lost his first match at each of the four Qualifying School events, and so was eligible to enter only the World Championship, the Benson and Hedges Championship, and the new "UK Tour" events during the season.[22][23][24] He finished tenth in the UK Tour standings, which meant he regained his full professional status for 1998–99 snooker season,[25] losing it again at the end of 2000–01.[26] He continued to play on the Challenge Tour and in World Championship qualifying.[5]
In 2009, Knowles won the inaugural Snooker Super 6s tournament, which played as one-frame matches, with six red balls, rather than the usual fifteen reds, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. He defeated Neal Foulds in the semi-final, and 13-year-old Ross Muir in the final.[27]
He has entered competitions including World Championship qualifying, Players Tour Championship and Q School in the 21st century.[28] In 2021, he announced that he would enter Q School in an attempt to regain his professional snooker status.[29] He failed to regain his professional status, but reached the last 32 of event 3 of the 2021 Q School, where he lost 2–4 to Mark Lloyd.[30]
During his professional career, Knowles reached the World Championship semi-finals on three occasions (in 1983, 1985 and 1986), but never the final.[5] His highest ranking was second, in 1984/1985,[31] and his highest tournament break was 139.[4] As one of three members of the England Team alongside Davis and Meo, he was a winner of the 1983 World Team Classic, and was runner-up at the 1982 World Team Classic and 1985 World Cup.[32] He partnered White at the 1983 World Doubles Championship, where they were the losing finalists to Davis and Meo.[33] He was a director of the WPBSA in the early-to-mid-2000s.[34] He manages a wine bar in the Lake District.[29] The club in the comedy programme Phoenix Nights had a room named the "Tony Knowles Suite" after him.[7]
↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
↑ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
↑ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984)
↑ The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
↑ The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
↑ The event was also called the International Open (1981/1982–1996/1997) and Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
↑ The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993 to 1996/1997)
↑ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
↑ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
↑ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
↑ The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997, 2001, 2003/04)
↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
↑ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
↑ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
↑ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
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.
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.
Raymond Reardon was a Welsh professional snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and claiming more than a dozen other professional titles. Due to his dark widow's peak and prominent eye teeth, he was nicknamed "Dracula".
Terence Martin Griffiths was a Welsh professional snooker player, 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.
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player. One of the most dominant players of the 1970s, he won the World Snooker Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1977. He worked as a snooker commentator for the BBC from 1978 to 1998 and served for 25 years on the board of the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), including a stint as chairman from 1990 until his retirement from the board in 1996.
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.
John Stephen Parrott is an English former professional snooker player who was world champion in 1991. He was a professional during the late 1980s and 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 consecutive seasons. Parrott is now a TV snooker commentator and pundit.
Herbert John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges from 1964 to 1968, three of them against Fred Davis and two against Rex Williams. When the tournament reverted to a knockout event in 1969, he lost 18–25 in the first round to the eventual champion John Spencer. After finishing as runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1970, Pulman never again reached the final, although he was a losing semi-finalist in 1977.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the governing body for professional snooker, first introduced a ranking system for professional players in 1976, with the aim of seeding players for the World Snooker Championship. The reigning champion would be automatically seeded first, the losing finalist from the previous year seeded second, and the other seedings based on the ranking list. Initially the rankings were based on performances in the preceding three world championships, with five points for the winner, four for the runner-up, three for losing semi-finalists, two for losing quarter-finalists, and one for losers in the last 16 round.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the governing body for professional snooker, first introduced a ranking system for professional players in 1976, with the aim of seeding players for the World Snooker Championship. The reigning champion would be automatically seeded first, the losing finalist from the previous year seeded second, and the other seedings based on the ranking list. Initially, the rankings were based on performances in the preceding three world championships.
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 1984 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place between 21 April and 7 May 1984 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and was the eighth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible since the 1977 event. The event featured 94 participants, of which 78 players competed in a qualifying event held at the Redwood Lodge in Bristol from 1 to 13 April. Of these, 16 players qualified for the main stage in Sheffield, where they met 16 invited seeds. The total prize fund for the event was £200,000, the highest total pool for any snooker tournament at that time; the winner received £44,000.
The 1983 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 16 April and 2 May 1983 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. This was the third and final world ranking event of the 1982–83 snooker season following the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. Sixteen seeded players qualified directly for the event, with an additional sixteen players progressing through a two-round qualification round held at the Romiley Forum in Stockport, and Redwood Lodge in Bristol. The winner of the event received £30,000, and the tournament was sponsored by cigarette company Embassy.
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.
John Joseph Rea was a Northern Irish snooker player. He was the leading Irish snooker player until the emergence of Alex Higgins and held the Irish Professional Championship almost continuously from 1952 to 1972.
Paddy Morgan is an Australian former professional snooker and English billiards player. He was born in Belfast, and moved to Coventry in 1960. Following an amateur career in which he won junior and national titles in both sports, and reached the semi-finals of the 1968 World Amateur Snooker Championship, he emigrated to Australia in 1969. He became a professional player in 1970 and competed in the World Snooker Championship for the first time in the 1971 tournament.
The 1982 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 30 April and 16 May 1982 at the Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield, England. It was the only event of the 1981–82 snooker season which carried world ranking points. Embassy, a British cigarette company, sponsored the tournament, and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) governed the organisation of the event. It had a prize fund of £110,000, with the winner receiving £25,000.
The 1982 International Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 27 September to 10 October 1982 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. This was the first tournament outside of the World Snooker Championship to be given ranking status. Tony Knowles won the tournament, defeating David Taylor 9–6 in the final.
Matt Gibson is a Scottish former professional snooker player.
↑ "Ebdon beats Knowles to win Dutch Open". Snooker Scene. Halesowen. June 1990. p.24.
↑ "Knowles sees the light". Snooker Scene. Halesowen. May 1972. p.7.
↑ "Junior championships". Snooker Scene. Halesowen. July 1974. p.12.
Bibliography
Everton, Clive (1985). Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN0851124488.
Everton, Clive (2012). Black farce and cue ball wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN9781780575681.
Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN9780954854904.
Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker - revised edition. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN0600556042.
Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. ISBN0600557138.
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