1985 World Snooker Championship
The 1985 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament. It took place from 12 to 28 April 1985 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was run by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It was the ninth World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first taking place in 1977. A five-round qualifying event was held at the Preston Guild Hall. The event was shown on TV in the United Kingdom by the BBC. There was £250,000 to be won. It was the highest amount for any snooker tournament to that date; the winner received £60,000.
| The programme for the event featuring defending champion Steve Davis | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12–28 April 1985 |
| Venue | Crucible Theatre |
| City | Sheffield |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £250,000 |
| Winner's share | £60,000 |
| Highest break |  Bill Werbeniuk (143) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Dennis Taylor |
| Runner-up |  Steve Davis |
| Score | 18–17 |
← 1984 1986 → | |
The defending champion was Steve Davis, who had won the event three times. Davis met Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor in the final which was a best-of-35-frames (first to 18) match. Davis took an early 8–0 lead, but Taylor drew level at 17–17. The final frame was played over the final black ball - the player able to pot the ball winning the event. After both players missed, Taylor potted the black to win.. The match, often called the "black ball final", is the best-known match in the history of the sport..
Canadian Bill Werbeniuk made the event's highest break, a 143, in his first-round match. There were 14 century breaks made, with 10 more in qualifying matches. This was the first professional snooker event to have a ban on drugs. All players in the main stage having to undertake tests. The final between Davis and Taylor holds the record for the most-viewed show in the United Kingdom of a programme shown after midnight. It had a peak of 18.5 million viewers for the match's final frame, breaking the existing records for the most-viewed sporting event and BBC2 programme.
Main draw
changeThe results for each round of the main stage of the championship are shown below. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers).[1][2][3][4]
| First round | Second round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best of 19 frames | Best of 25 frames | Best of 25 frames | Best of 31 frames | |||||||||||
| 12 April | ||||||||||||||
| Steve Davis (ENG) (1)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 17 & 18 April | ||||||||||||||
| Neal Foulds (ENG)
|
8 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis (1)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 12 & 13 April | ||||||||||||||
| David Taylor (16)
|
4 | |||||||||||||
| David Taylor (ENG) (16)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 22 & 23 April | ||||||||||||||
 Dene O'Kane (NZL)
|
4 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis (1)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 13 & 14 April | ||||||||||||||
 Terry Griffiths (8)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| Alex Higgins (NIR) (9)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 18 & 19 April | ||||||||||||||
| Dean Reynolds (ENG)
|
4 | |||||||||||||
| Alex Higgins (9)
|
7 | |||||||||||||
| 13 & 14 April | ||||||||||||||
| Terry Griffiths (8)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| Terry Griffiths (WAL) (8)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 24 & 25 April | ||||||||||||||
| Rex Williams (ENG)
|
3 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis (1)
|
16 | |||||||||||||
| 14 & 15 April | ||||||||||||||
| Ray Reardon (5)
|
5 | |||||||||||||
| Ray Reardon (WAL) (5)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 19 & 20 April | ||||||||||||||
 Eugene Hughes (IRL)
|
9 | |||||||||||||
| Ray Reardon (5)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 15 & 16 April | ||||||||||||||
| Patsy Fagan
|
9 | |||||||||||||
| Willie Thorne (ENG) (12)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| 22 & 23 April | ||||||||||||||
| Patsy Fagan (IRL)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| Ray Reardon (5)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 15 & 16 April | ||||||||||||||
| John Parrott
|
12 | |||||||||||||
| John Spencer (ENG) (13)
|
3 | |||||||||||||
| 20 & 21 April | ||||||||||||||
| John Parrott (ENG)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| John Parrott
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 16 & 17 April | ||||||||||||||
| Kirk Stevens (4)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| Kirk Stevens (CAN) (4)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| Ray Edmonds (ENG)
|
8 | |||||||||||||
| 16 & 17 April | ||||||||||||||
| Cliff Thorburn (CAN) (3)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 20 & 21 April | ||||||||||||||
| Mike Hallett (ENG)
|
8 | |||||||||||||
| Cliff Thorburn (3)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 16 April | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Werbeniuk (14)
|
3 | |||||||||||||
| Bill Werbeniuk (CAN) (14)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 22 & 23 April | ||||||||||||||
| Joe Johnson (ENG)
|
8 | |||||||||||||
| Cliff Thorburn (3)
|
5 | |||||||||||||
| 15 April | ||||||||||||||
| Dennis Taylor (11)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| Dennis Taylor (NIR) (11)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 19 & 20 April | ||||||||||||||
 Silvino Francisco (RSA)
|
2 | |||||||||||||
| Dennis Taylor (11)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 14 & 15 April | ||||||||||||||
 Eddie Charlton (6)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| Eddie Charlton (AUS) (6)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 24, 25 & 26 April | ||||||||||||||
| John Campbell (AUS)
|
3 | |||||||||||||
| Dennis Taylor (11)
|
16 | |||||||||||||
| 13 & 14 April | ||||||||||||||
| Tony Knowles (2)
|
5 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy White (ENG) (7)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 18 & 19 April | ||||||||||||||
| Wayne Jones (WAL)
|
4 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy White (7)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| 13 & 14 April | ||||||||||||||
| Tony Meo (10)
|
11 | |||||||||||||
| Tony Meo (ENG) (10)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 22 & 23 April | ||||||||||||||
| John Virgo (ENG)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy White (7)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 12 & 13 April | ||||||||||||||
| Tony Knowles (2)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| Doug Mountjoy (WAL) (15)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| 17, 18 & 19 April | ||||||||||||||
 Murdo MacLeod (SCO)
|
5 | |||||||||||||
| Doug Mountjoy (15)
|
6 | |||||||||||||
| 12 April | ||||||||||||||
| Tony Knowles (2)
|
13 | |||||||||||||
| Tony Knowles (ENG) (2)
|
10 | |||||||||||||
| Tony Jones (ENG)
|
8 | |||||||||||||
| Final: (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 27 & 28 April. Referee: John Williams[5] | ||||||||||
| Steve Davis (1) England
|
17–18 | Dennis Taylor (11) Northern Ireland
| ||||||||
| Players | Session 1: 8–0 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Davis | 88† | 93† | 49† | 65† | 95† (55) | 85† (66) | 83† (58) | 121† (64, 57) | N/A | N/A |
| Taylor | 50 (50) | 0 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Players | Session 2: 1–8 (9–8) | |||||||||
| Frame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Davis | 49 | 76† (57) | 48 | 27 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 25 | N/A |
| Taylor | 59† | 27 | 63† | 75† (61) | 99† (98) | 71† (70) | 100† (56) | 77† | 68† (53) | N/A |
| Players | Session 3: 5–3 (14–11) | |||||||||
| Frame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Davis | 72† | 66† | 45 | 2 | 1 | 64† | 58† | 86† (86) | N/A | N/A |
| Taylor | 43 | 58 | 80† | 73† (57) | 80† (55) | 56 | 46 | 13 | N/A | N/A |
| Players | Session 4: 3–7 (17–18) | |||||||||
| Frame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Davis | 43 | 78† (66) | 29 | 4 | 29 | 66† | 81† | 47 | 24 | 62 |
| Taylor | 82† (61) | 17 | 84† (70) | 72† (57) | 83† (79) | 6 | 0 | 75† | 71† (57) | 66† |
| 87 | Highest break | 98 | ||||||||
| 0 | Century breaks | 0 | ||||||||
| 12 | 50+ breaks | 10 | ||||||||
| Dennis Taylor wins the 1985 Embassy World Snooker Championship
† = Winner of frame | ||||||||||
Century breaks
changeThere were 14 century breaks in the championship. Bill Werbeniuk's 143 against Joe Johnson in the first round was the joint third-highest break in the championship's history, tied with his break in 1979 and Willie Thorne's in 1982.[6][7] Only Cliff Thorburn's maximum break in 1983 and Doug Mountjoy's 145 in 1981 were higher. Tony Knowles missed the black on a break of 137 that would have scored a 144 in his second-round match with Jimmy White.[8]
- 143 Bill Werbeniuk
- 137, 117 Tony Knowles
- 128, 117 Dennis Taylor
- 123 Tony Meo
- 114, 108 Jimmy White
- 114 John Parrott
- 106, 105, 100 Steve Davis
- 103 Cliff Thorburn
- 101 Neal Foulds
Qualifying stages
changeThere were ten century breaks in the qualifying stages; the highest was made by Danny Fowler in his round-of-64 10–0 whitewash of Jim Donnelly.[9][10]
- 137 Danny Fowler
- 134 Steve Newbury
- 132 Bernie Mikkelsen
- 119 John Virgo
- 110, 101 Bob Chaperon
- 109 Neal Foulds
- 107 Dave Chalmers
- 104 Tony Jones
- 100 Steve Longworth
References
change- ↑ "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ↑ "1985 World Championships Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ↑ "World Championship 1985". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ↑ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 20–21.
- ↑ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 143.
- ↑ "Crucible Centuries". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ↑ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 146.
- ↑ Everton, Clive (23 April 1985). "Parrott fashions overnight lead". The Guardian. p. 26.
- ↑ "Sports in Brief". The Times. 6 April 1985. p. 31. Retrieved 6 September 2019 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- ↑ "Parrott looking for career boost". Aberdeen Evening Express. 5 April 1985. p. 16 – via British Newspaper Archive.