Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins in 2008
Born	(1949-03-18)18 March 1949 Belfast, Northern Ireland[1]
Died	24 July 2010(2010-07-24) (aged 61) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sport country	Northern Ireland[2]
Nickname	Hurricane[3]
Professional	1971–1997[2]
Highest ranking	2 (1976/77 and 1982/83)[1]
Highest break	142 (1985 British Open)[1]
Tournament wins
Ranking	1
Non-ranking	21
World Champion	1972, 1982
www.alexhurricanehiggins.com

Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010),^[4] also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play.^[5] Higgins was also a former World Doubles champion with Jimmy White and won the World Cup three times with the All Ireland team. He also came to be known as the People's Champion because of his popularity.^[6]

Higgins is often credited to have brought the game of snooker to a wider audience and contributing to its peak in popularity in the eighties.^[7]

Higgins had a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character.^[8] He was a heavy smoker,^[9] struggled with drinking and gambling,^[7][10] and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana.^[5] Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998,^[11] Higgins was found dead in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010.^[12]

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

Higgins (right) with David Taylor at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968

Alex Higgins was born in Belfast^[13] and had three sisters.^[11] He started playing snooker at the age of 11,^[14] often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age 14 and weighing seven and a half stones (47.6 kg), he left for England and a career as a jockey.^[15] However, he never made the title because, in his youth days, he drank a lot of Guinness and ate a lot of chocolate which made him too heavy to ride competitively.^[16] He returned to Belfast and by 1965, aged 16, he had compiled his first maximum break.^[14] In 1968 he won the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championships.^[13]

World titles[link]

Higgins turned professional at the age of 22, winning the World Championship at his first attempt in 1972, against John Spencer winning 37–32.^[17] Higgins was then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry's 1990 victory at the age of 21.^[18] In April 1976, Higgins reached the final again and faced Ray Reardon. Higgins led 11–9, but Reardon made four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time with the score of 27–16. Higgins was also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins won the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame); it was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked #1 in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.^[19][20]

Other victories[link]

Throughout his career, Higgins won 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trailed Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15.^[21] He also won the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively.^[22] Another notable victory was his triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeated a young Stephen Hendry.

Post-retirement[link]

After his retirement from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, these comebacks ending in first-round defeats by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney respectively.

On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England.^[23] Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin but was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round at the Spawell Club, Templelogue.^[24]

Higgins continued to play fairly regularly and enjoyed "hustling" all comers for small-time stakes in clubs in Northern Ireland and beyond; in May 2009 he entered the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, "to give it a crack",^[25] but failed to appear for his match.

On 8 April 2010 Higgins was part of the debut Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, at the Crucible, checking himself out of hospital two days before the event after having been admitted with pneumonia and breathing problems.^[26] He appeared alongside other retired or close-to-retiring professionals including John Parrott, Jimmy White, John Virgo and Cliff Thorburn.^[27]

It is estimated that Higgins earned and spent £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player.^[28][29]

Playing style[link]

Higgins's speed around the table, his ability to pot balls at a rapid rate and flamboyant style earned him the nickname "Hurricane Higgins" and made him a very high-profile player. His highly unusual cueing technique sometimes included a body swerve and movement, as well as a stance that was noticeably higher than that of most professionals. This unorthodox play was encapsulated in his break of 69, made under unusual pressure, against Jimmy White in the penultimate frame of their World Professional Snooker Championship semi-final in 1982. Higgins was 0–59 down in that frame, but managed to compile an extremely challenging clearance during which he was scarcely in position until the colours. In particular, former world champion Dennis Taylor considers a three-quarter-ball pot on a blue into the green pocket especially memorable, not only for its extreme degree of difficulty but for enabling Higgins to continue the break and keep White off the table and unable to clinch victory at that moment. In potting the blue, Higgins screwed the cue-ball on to the side cushion to bring it back towards the black/pink area with extreme left-hand sidespin, a shot Taylor believes could be played 100 times without coming close to the position Higgins reached with cue-ball. He went a little too far for ideal position on his next red but the match-saving break was still alive.^{[30][citation needed]}

He also drank and smoked during tournaments, as did many of his contemporaries, helping sponsored tobacco advertising. A volatile personality got him into frequent fights and arguments, both on and off the snooker table. One of the most serious of these clashes was when he head-butted a referee at the UK championship in 1986. This led to his being fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments.^[31] He was convicted of assault and criminal damage, and fined £250 by a court.^[32] Another came at the 1990 World Championship; after losing his first-round match to Steve James, he punched tournament official Colin Randle in the abdomen before the start of a press conference at which he announced his retirement. This, added to his having threatened to have fellow player and compatriot Dennis Taylor shot, led to a ban for the whole of the following season.^[33]

Outside snooker[link]

At the time of his 1972 triumph at the World Championship, Higgins had no permanent home and by his own account had recently lived in a row of abandoned houses in Blackburn which were awaiting demolition. In one week he had moved into five different houses on the same street, moving down one every time his current dwelling was demolished.^[34]

In 1975, Higgins' son Chris Delahunty was born.^[16] Higgins's first marriage was to Australian^[16] Cara Hasler in April 1975 in Sydney. They had a daughter Christel^[10] and divorced. His second marriage was to Lynn Avison in 1980 at a United Reformed Church.^[15] They had a daughter Lauren (born late 1980)^[35] and son Jordan (born March 1983).^{[11][36][37][38]} They split in 1985^[32] and divorced. In the same year, Higgins began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer.^[39]

He had a long and enduring friendship with Oliver Reed and was a good friend of Jimmy White, with whom he often played exhibition matches.^[40]

While not normally noted for his philanthropy, in 1983 Higgins helped a young boy from the Manchester area, a fan of his who had been in a coma for two months. His parents were growing desperate and wrote to Higgins. He recorded his voice on a tape and sent it to the boy with his best wishes. He later visited the boy in hospital, unannounced, and promised that if the boy recovered they would play snooker together. True to his word, once the boy was out, the match was held.^[41]

In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy,^[29] while in 1997 his then girlfriend Holly Haise stabbed him three times during a domestic argument.^[32] He published his autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, in 2007.^[42] Higgins appeared on the Sporting Stars episode of British television quiz The Weakest Link, on 25 July 2009.^[43]

Illness and death[link]

For most of his adult life Higgins often smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day.^[16] He had cancerous growths removed from his mouth in 1994 and 1996.^[12] In June 1998, he was found to have throat cancer;^[11] on 13 October of that year, he had throat surgery.^[44]

In 2009, Higgins lived in a caravan.^[29] In spring 2010, he had pneumonia.^[38] In April 2010 Higgins's friends announced that they had set up a campaign to help raise the £20,000 he needed for teeth implants, to enable him to eat properly again and put on weight. Higgins lost his teeth after intensive radiotherapy used to treat his throat cancer. It was reported that since losing them he had been living on liquid food, and had become increasingly depressed, even contemplating suicide.^[45] He was too ill to have the implants fitted.^[46] Despite his illness he continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life.^[47]

At the end of his life, Higgins' weight fell to 6 stone (38 kilograms).^[29] He lived in sheltered housing on the Donegall Road, Belfast.^[38] He was found dead in bed in his flat on 24 July 2010.^[4][13][37] The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, a bronchial condition and throat cancer.^[48] His children survive him.^[49]

Legacy[link]

Higgins was an inspiration to many subsequent professional snooker players including Ken Doherty, Jimmy White, and Ronnie O'Sullivan who in an interview stated "Alex was an inspiration to players like Jimmy White and thousands of snooker players all over the country, including me. The way he played at his best is the way I believe the game should be played. It was on the edge, keeping the crowd entertained and glued to the action."^[50]

In Clive Everton's TV documentary The Story of Snooker (2002), Steve Davis described Higgins as the "one true genius that snooker has produced",^[51] despite the autobiography of a contemporary leading professional Willie Thorne characterising Higgins as "not a great player".^[52] Higgins arguably fulfilled his potential only intermittently during his career peak in the 1970s and '80s; Everton puts this down to Davis and Ray Reardon generally being too consistent for him.^[53]

Regardless, Higgins' exciting style and explosive persona helped make snooker a growing television sport in the 1970s and 1980s. Higgins also made one of the first 16-red clearances (in a challenge match in 1976); it was a break of 146 (with the brown as the first "red", and sixteen colours: 1 green, 5 pinks and 10 blacks).^[54]

Performance timeline[link]

Tournament wins[link]

Ranking wins[link]

• World Championship – 1982

Non-ranking wins[link]

• World Championship – 1972^{[nb 1]}
• Irish Professional Championship – 1972, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1989
• Men of the Midlands – 1972, 1973
• Watney Open – 1974
• Canadian Open – 1975, 1977^[55]
• Canadian Club Masters – 1976^[55]
• Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament – 1977
• Masters – 1978, 1981
• Tolly Cobbold Classic – 1979, 1980
• British Gold Cup – 1980
• Padmore/Super Crystalate International – 1980
• UK Championship – 1983^{[nb 2]}
• Irish Masters – 1989

Team wins[link]

• World Doubles Championship – 1984 (with Jimmy White)
• World Cup – 1985, 1986, 1987 with All Ireland team

Pro-Am wins[link]

• Pontin's Spring Open

Amateur wins[link]

• All Ireland Amateur Championship – 1968^[56]
• Northern Ireland Amateur Championship – 1968^[55]

Notes[link]

1. ^ The World Championship did not become a ranking event until 1974
2. ^ The UK Championship did not become a ranking event until 1984

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Higgins, Alex; Francis, Tony (1986). Alex Through the Looking Glass. London: Pelham Books. ISBN 0-7207-1672-1. 
• Hennessey, John (2000). Eye of the Hurricane: The Alex Higgins Story. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-385-3. 
• Borrows, Bill (2002). The Hurricane: The Turbulent Life & Times of Alex Higgins. Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-903809-91-6. 

External links[link]

Wikinews has related news: British snooker player Alex Higgins found dead at age 61

• Official website
• "Alex Higgins". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Past Players" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PastPlayersArticle/0,,13165~2234081,00.html.  Official WPBSA player profile.
• "Alex Higgins: The People's Champion". BBC Sport. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tmzfb/Alex_Higgins_The_Peoples_Champion/. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
• Profile on Global Snooker
• "Alex Higgins 69 Break: Crucible, Sheffield 1982". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPeeDeAuOFI. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
• "Higgins and White win the World Doubles Championship 1984". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaDU4olQ46k. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
• "Higgins wins the Canadian Club Masters 1976". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk-gMKqA4U8. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
• "Ronnie O'Sullivan reminisces about Alex Higgins". BBC Sport. 2010-08-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/8944534.stm. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 

v t e European Mosconi Cup team – 1995 Daryl Peach Steve Davis Alex Higgins Lee Kendall Oliver Ortmann Tom Storm Jimmy White

Jimmy White

Jimmy White at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic
Born	(1962-05-02) 2 May 1962 (age 50) Tooting, England
Sport country	England
Nickname	The Whirlwind
Professional	1980–present
Highest ranking	2
Current ranking	44
Career winnings	UK£4,717,290
Highest break	147 (1992 World Championship)
Century breaks	289
Tournament wins
Ranking	10
Non-ranking	18
www.jimmywhirlwindwhite.com

James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.

White's extensive list of achievements, however, also include victory in the World Amateur Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters. He is also a former World Doubles champion with Alex Higgins, won the World Cup twice and Nations Cup once with England and was the 2010 World Seniors Champion. In 1992, he became the first left-handed player, and second overall, to record a maximum break at the World Championship.

Early life[link]

White was born in Tooting, London, England, and studied at Ernest Bevin College. He never achieved academic success, as he was often truant from school from the age of eight or nine, spending more and more time at Ted Zanicelli's snooker hall. It was around this time that he met Tony Meo with whom he would compete in money matches in many venues.^[1] His natural aptitude for snooker led to a successful amateur career. After winning the English Amateur Championship in 1979, a year later he became the youngest-ever winner of the World Amateur Snooker Championship, aged 18.

Career[link]

With a host of major titles and achievements, including ten ranking tournaments, White's overall record ranks him well up the list of snooker's most successful players. The BBC describes him as a "legend".^[2] A left-hander, he reached the World Professional Championship Final on six occasions (1984, 1990–1994) but failed to win the sport's most prestigious title since his first attempt in 1981. Nonetheless, his consistency waned in the 2000s and a first-round defeat in the 2006 World Championship saw White drop out of the world's top 32 player rankings. White's continued slide down the rankings saw him drop to 65th but he recovered slightly to move up to no. 56 for the 2009/10 season. White is one of only six players to have completed a maximum break at the Crucible Theatre in 1992. He has also compiled over 250 competitive centuries during his career.

1980–1991[link]

White established himself as a top professional in 1981. After losing 8–10 to eventual champion Steve Davis in the first-round of World Championship, White went on to win his first professional titles – the Scottish Masters (defeating Cliff Thorburn in the final) and the Northern Ireland Classic (defeating Davis).

The World Championship has provided the theatre for White's greatest disappointments. In 1982, he led Alex Higgins 15–14 in their semi-final, was up 59–0 in the penultimate frame and was a red and colour away from the final. After missing a red with the rest, however, he could only watch as Higgins compiled frame-winning 69 break. Higgins won the deciding frame that followed to reach the final.

In 1984 White won the Masters for the only time to date, beating Terry Griffiths 9–5 in the final. He followed this success by reaching his first World Championship final. Trailing Steve Davis 4–12 after the first two sessions, White responded by reducing the deficit to 15–16. He then made an aggressive clearance of 65 to take the score to 16–17, but was unable to build upon a 40-point lead in the following frame, and lost 16–18. White did, however, become a World Doubles Champion later that year when he and Alex Higgins defeated Willie Thorne and Cliff Thorburn 10–2 in the final of the World Doubles Championship.

In 1986 White reached his second Masters final, but was defeated by Cliff Thorburn. However he won the Classic and also retained the Irish Masters title he won in 1985. White won the Classic when he beat Thorburn in the final frame after needing a snooker. Later in the year he overcame veteran Rex Williams 10–6 to win his first Grand Prix title.

White's third ranking win – the 1987 British Open – helped him to end the 1986/1987 season as World number 2, behind Steve Davis who defeated him 16–11 in the semi-finals of the 1987 World Championship. Later that year White and Davis contested a memorable UK Championship final which Davis won 16–14.

In 1988 he defeated John Campbell, Stephen Hendry and Tony Knowles to reach his fourth World Championship semi-final. He played Terry Griffiths and, trailing 11–13, lost a tied frame on a respotted black. Griffiths went on to reach the final courtesy of a 16–11 win. White did at least manage to consolidate his number-2 world ranking. However the 1988/1989 season was less successful, and White's ranking slipped. He trailed John Virgo 11–12 in the second-round of the 1989 World Championship and looked beaten when his opponent was on a break of 26 in the following frame. Virgo, however, called a foul on himself and White was able to win 13–12. The reprieve was short-lived as White was soundly beaten 7–13 by eventual finalist John Parrott in the quarter-finals. White avenged this defeat later in the year by beating Parrott 18–9 in the final of the invitational World Matchplay.

In 1990 White recorded an 16–14 victory over Steve Davis in the semi-finals of the World Championship. It was Davis's first defeat in the event in 4 years. White subsequently lost his second World Championship final 12–18 to Stephen Hendry. However White beat Hendry 18–9 to retain his World Matchplay title later in the year and this win was followed by a 10–4 victory over Hendry (after leading 9–0) in the final of the 1991 Classic. White continued his run of success with victory in the short-lived World Masters, beating Tony Drago 10–6 in the final.

Steve James ended Hendry's reign as World Champion in the 1991 World Championship and White in turn defeated James to reach the final. He played John Parrott and was whitewashed in the first session 0–7. Although White managed to close the gap to 7–11, Parrott was able to seal a convincing 18–11 victory. Parrott then overcame White 16–13 to win the UK Championship later in 1991.

1992–2002[link]

White started 1992 positively and picked up his second British Open title, beating Steve Davis in the semi-finals and James Wattana in the final. He won another ranking title, the European Open, shortly after.

White was drawn against Tony Drago in the first-round of the 1992 World Championship. After opening up an 8–4 lead, White made history in the 13th frame by becoming only the second player to make a maximum break in the World Championship. He won £100,000 in prize money for this achievement. Close wins over Alain Robidoux and Jim Wych followed before White met Alan McManus in the semi-finals, where he pulled away from 4–4 to win 16–7. He played Stephen Hendry in the final and won each of the first two sessions to open up a 10–6 lead, which he extended to 12–6 and 14–8. From 14–9, White lost three successive frames from commanding positions. At 14–12, White went in-off when compiling a potentially frame-winning break. Hendry drew level at 14–14 without conceding a further point and won the closely contested 29th and 30th frames to lead 16–14. Two century breaks completed Hendry's ten-frame winning streak and a remarkable 18–14 victory.

White responded well from this significant setback in the early part of the 1992/1993 season. He defeated Ken Doherty 10–9 to claim his second 1992 Grand Prix title and followed this with an impressive victory in the 1992 UK Championship. After defeating Alan McManus 9–7 in the semi-finals, White opened up a commanding 6–1 lead in the first session of the final against John Parrott, from where he secured a 16–9 win. White has stated that this was among the best matches he has ever played.^[1]

However White toiled for the remainder of the season, and his struggles continued at the 1993 World Championship. He did, however, manage to overcome Joe Swail, Doug Mountjoy and Dennis Taylor to reach the semi-finals. White lost the first five frames of his semi-final with James Wattana but, from 2–6, he won 12 successive frames en route to a 16–9 victory. However he proved no match for Stephen Hendry in the final, and Hendry's century break in his first visit to the table proved portentious as White was beaten 18–5 with a session to spare. Only John Parrott (in 1989) has suffered a heavier defeat in a World Championship final. White did, however, manage to end the season on a high-note when he beat Alan McManus to win the Matchroom League.

White endured a lacklustre campaign in the 1993/1994 season, but managed to reach the 1994 World Championship final for a fifth successive year, becoming only the second player after Steve Davis (1983–89) to achieve this. For the fourth time in five years, White's opponent in the final was Stephen Hendry and the defending champion opened up a 5–1 lead. White recovered well to lead 13–12 and made a break of 75 to take the match into a deciding frame. In the final frame, White was on a break of 29 and leading the frame by 37 points to 24 when he missed a straightforward black off its spot. Commentator Dennis Taylor memorably observed: "Dear me, that was just a little bit of tension". As it happened, Hendry cleared with a technically straightforward break of 58 to win the title. Gracious in defeat, White joked that Hendry was "beginning to annoy" him in the post-match interview.

White's form continued to decline the following season and he failed to reach a ranking final. However his results on the table were greatly overshadowed, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer during the season. He was able to make a successful recovery after having his left testicle removed. Shortly after, White underwent further surgery to correct his bald spot.^[1]

At the 1995 World Championship, White was involved in a controversial first-round match against South African Peter Francisco. From 2–2 White was able to pull away and win convincingly by 10 frames to 2. Shortly after it emerged that large sums of money had been placed on White to win the match by the eventual scoreline. The ensuing investigation found Francisco guilty of misconduct and banned him for five years. However no evidence was found against White, and he was completely cleared of any wrongdoing.^[1]

White put this controversy behind him and overcame David Roe and John Parrott to reach his tenth World Championship semi-final. In his match with Stephen Hendry, White could only watch as the defending champion made a 147 break to go 8–4 in front. White recovered well to 7–8 and won three successive frames to reduce his arrears from 9–14 to 12–14. However Hendry proved too strong and ran out a 16–12 win.

White's ranking slipped from 7th to 13th at the end of the 1995/1996 season and he was beaten 13–12 in a second-round encounter with Peter Ebdon in the 1996 World Championship. White endured further personal problems later in 1996 with the deaths of his brother Martin and mother Lil. His mother's death caused him to pull out of the 1996 Mosconi Cup pool competition.

In the 1996/1997 season White failed to win a professional match until February and a first-round defeat at the 1997 World Championship against Anthony Hamilton (9–10, after leading 8–4) saw him drop out of the top-16 in the world rankings.

A run to the semi-finals of the 1997 Grand Prix helped to remedy this and White then enjoyed a great form at the 1998 World Championship. After qualifying to play Stephen Hendry in the first-round, White opened with a century break and uncharacteristically shrewd matchplay enabled him to open up a 7–0 lead with only one further break over 50. Despite losing the next three frames from winning positions, White was able to seal a memorable 10–4 success and became the first player to beat Hendry twice at the World Championship. White followed this with a 13–3 win over Darren Morgan which included a break of 144. In his quarter-final against Ronnie O'Sullivan, however, White reverted to his more familiar all-out attacking style and lost the first session 1–7.^[1] Although he fought back to 6–9, White succumbed to 7–13.

After regaining his top-16 ranking in the 1999/2000 season White started 2000 by reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, where he lost 5–6 to Stephen Lee, despite leading 4–1 at one point of the match. He then defeated Marco Fu and John Higgins to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters, and he followed this up with a run to the quarter-finals of the World Championship. On both occasions, however, he was beaten by Matthew Stevens. Largely due to his poor form in the 1998/1999 season, White also lost his top-16 place. He fought back the following season, and reached the final of the British Open (losing 6–9 to Peter Ebdon) and the semi-finals of the 2000 Grand Prix in the early part of the campaign. His only other victory of note, however, was a 6–2 defeat of Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2001 Masters and White subsequently failed to qualify for the 2001 World Championship.

Ranked 11 at the start of the 2001/2002 season, White performed steadily in the ranking events without reaching a semi-final. In the invitational 2002 Masters he beat Matthew Stevens 6–1 and came back from 2–5 behind to defeat O'Sullivan 6–5 in the quarter-finals. He similarly recovered from 2–5 down in his semi-final with Mark Williams but lost 5–6. He lost 3–13 in his second-round match with Matthew Stevens at the 2002 World Championship and issued an immediate apology after hitting the cue ball off the table in frustration when trailing 2–5.

2004–2009[link]

White only won two ranking event matches in the 2002/2003 season but was able to maintain his top-16 ranking. He memorably came back from 1–5 down to defeat World Champion Peter Ebdon 6–5 in their first-round at the 2003 Masters.

In the 2003/2004 season White produced his most consistent season in over a decade. After reaching the semi-finals of the UK Championship in November 2003, White defeated Neil Robertson, Stephen Hendry and Peter Ebdon to reach the semi-finals of the 2004 Masters – where he lost a tight match against Ronnie O'Sullivan. White followed this up with further victories over Hendry and Robertson en route to the final of the European Open in Malta, but was beaten 3–9 by world number 48 Stephen Maguire. His last ranking victory to date came in April 2004, when White defeated Shaun Murphy, John Parrott, Ian McCulloch, Peter Ebdon and Paul Hunter to win the Players Championship in Glasgow – his first ranking title in over 11 years. Victory in the 2004 World Championship could have given White the number-one ranking, but he was beaten 10–8 by qualifier Barry Pinches after leading 4–2.

White's consistency diminished in the 2004/2005 season. Although his ranking rose to number 8 he was unable to reach the quarter-finals of any ranking event. However he made two more memorable comebacks in the 2005 Masters. White trailed Matthew Stevens 2–5 in the first-round and pulled back to 4–5 after needing two snookers in the ninth frame. White went on to win 6–5 and beat Stevens's compatriot Mark Williams by the same score in the quarter-finals after trailing 4–5. But White was soundly beaten 6–1 by Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals.

White fell out of the top-32 at the end of the 2005/2006 season and has not regained this status to date. He failed to qualify for the 2006 World Championship, although he did beat Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui and World Champion Graeme Dott to reach the final of the 2006 Premier League.

In the 2006/2007 season he only qualified for one ranking event, the 2007 China Open. He had a walkover Stephen Lee, before he lost 1–5 against John Higgins. After the season he fell out ot the top-48.

In the 2007/2008 season he won 7 of his 16 qualifying matches. He won 4 straight matches at the 2007 Grand Prix and finished in the third place of his group, thus not qualifying for the main draw. He won one match at the 2008 Welsh Open and two matches at the 2008 World Championship. After the season he fell out ot the top-64 and remained on the tour only via the one year list.

He began the 2008/2009 season by qualifying for the main draw of the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy and the 2008 Shanghai Masters, but lost in the first round against Barry Hawkins 3–5 and Mark King 4–5 respectively. He won 4 of his next 7 qualifying matches (2 at the 2008 Grand Prix and at the 2008 UK Championship. After this he qualified for the main stage of the 2009 Welsh Open, but lost in the first round 1–5 against Ali Carter. He won his next qualifying match at the 2009 World Championship. In the second qualifying round he defeated Vincent Muldoon 10–8, but lost his next match 8–10 against Andy Hicks. At the end of season he has the provisional ranking of #56.

2009/2010[link]

At the beginning of the 2009/10 season White reached the final of the Champion of Champions Challenge in Killarney, eventually losing 1–5 to Shaun Murphy.^[3] Provisionally No. 47 for the season it has seen White have a surprising return of form. His 2nd tournament of the season was the Sangsom 6-red World Grand Prix in Bangkok Thailand. White won the tournament, putting an end to his drought of titles by winning his first since 2004. On his way to the final he beat Shaun Murphy, defending champion Ricky Walden, Mark King and Mark Williams, eventually beating Barry Hawkins in the final 8–6.^[4] Only 1 month later in the Paul Hunter Classic he again reached the final, however this time lost to Shaun Murphy 0–4.^[5] Two months later on 18 October White reached the final of the World Series of Snooker in Prague, his fourth final of the season. This time he was victorious, claiming his 2nd title of the season by defeating Graeme Dott 5–3.^[6]

On 17 December 2009 it was confirmed that White received a wild card for the Wembley Masters.^[7] White played against Mark King in the wild card round, but lost the match 2–6.^[8] Prior to the world championship White won only 2 of his 6 qualifying matches. he defeated Bjorn Haneveer 5–0 at the Shanghai Masters^[9] and Jordan Brown 5–1 at the Welsh Open.^[10] Due to this and skipping the UK Championship for I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! he was in danger to losing his Main Tour spot for the following season. However he secured his place on the Main Tour for another season with a 10–8 victory over Mark Boyle at the World Championship Qualifiers. He then lost 3–10 against Ken Doherty in the next round.^[11]

2010/2011[link]

White started the 2010/2011 season by entering the Players Tour Championship, his best performance coming in the first European event and at the sixth event in Sheffield, where he reached the quarter-finals each time.^[12] After 12 out of 12 events White was ranked 34th in the Order of Merit.^[13]

White also reached the quarter-finals of the Six-red World Championship, topping his qualifying group along the way.^[14][15] He failed to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, losing his first qualifying match 3–5 against Liam Highfield.^[16] He won his two qualification matches for the World Open; but lost 1–3 against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 32.^[17][18]

White won the World Seniors Championship, defeating Steve Davis 4-1 in the final.^[19] At the UK Championship in December White lost 8-9 to Stephen Hendry in the first-round after he had come through three qualifying rounds to get to Telford. It was only the fifth time in 24 years that White and Hendry had taken each other to the final frame and 16 years since Hendry's 18-17 win over White in the 1994 World Championship final.^[20] He participated at qualifying stages of the German Masters, but lost in the second round 1–5 against Jimmy Robertson,^[21] White reached the last qualifying round of the Welsh Open, but was whitewashed by Ryan Day,^[22] and has qualified for the final stages of the China Open, by defeating Liu Chuang, Peter Lines and Dominic Dale.^[23] but had to withdraw from the tournament due to visa problems.^[24] White lost his first qualifying match for the World Championship 9-10 against Jimmy Robertson.^[25]

2011/2012[link]

White began the 2011/2012 season ranked number 55.^[26] At at Legends Tour event in June 2011, White compiled a maximum break, unusual for the fact that he potted the first ball off the break, meaning his opponent never played a shot in the frame.^[27][28] White couldn't qualify for the first two ranking events of the season, as he lost 3–5 against Rory McLeod at the Australian Goldfields Open and 0–5 against Nigel Bond at the Shanghai Masters^[29] White couldn't defend his World Seniors Championship title, as he lost in the semi-finals 0–2 against eventual champion Darren Morgan.^[30] White couldn't qualify for the next two ranking events, as he lost 5–6 against Jamie Jones at the UK Championship,^[31] and 4–5 against Peter Ebdon at the German Masters.^[32] After the FFB Snooker Open White was ranked number 47.^[33]

Personal life[link]

In 1995 after a routine check-up with his doctor, White was diagnosed with testicular cancer after discovering a lump. He was operated on almost immediately and soon after given the all clear.^[34] He married Maureen White, and they have five children, Lauren, Ashleigh, Georgia, Breeze and Tommy.^[35] He currently lives in Oxshott, Surrey.^[36]

Despite being best known for snooker, White is also a pool and poker player. Along with Steve Davis and Alex Higgins, White was a member of Europe's victorious Mosconi Cup team of 1995, and won the deciding match against Lou Butera.^[37] He won the second Poker Million tournament, held in 2003, which also had Steve Davis at the final table.^[38] He is also good friends with professional poker player Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott.

In the late 1990s, White's bull terrier, Splinter, was dognapped and held for ransom. Splinter became the first dog to have a colour poster on the front page of The Times. White paid the ransom and Splinter was returned to him. Splinter went on to live for another three years.^[39]

In 1999, he was awarded an MBE. Coincidentally, the three players to have beaten him in the world finals (Davis, 1984; Hendry, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994; Parrott, 1991) have also received an MBE.^[36] In 2005, as part of a sponsorship deal with HP Sauce, he changed his name to Jimmy Brown for the Masters.^[40]

In November 2007, his father, Tommy White, died aged 88. With his daughter Lauren Albert, White is a director of Jimmy White Ltd, which had a turnover of £180,359 in 2006. White has been a fan of Chelsea Football Club since 1972.^[41]

In other media[link]

White had a cameo role as himself (as the World Billiards Champion) in Stephen Chow's 1990 kung fu and billiards comedy film, Legend of the Dragon.

On the popular BBC game show Big Break, White was the first player to clear the table with 3 reds still remaining in the final part of the challenge (thus winning the top prize for the contestant he was playing for). He was introduced to the studio audience on each appearance with the song "Jimmy Jimmy" by The Undertones.

In the film Jack Said (a prequel to Jack Says) White played the part of Vic Lee, a dodgy snooker club owner, in his first major film role for British cinema.

On 11 November 2009 it was announced by ITV that White would be appearing in the 9th series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! to start on the 15th.^[42] He finished in third place on 4 December 2009,^[43] with Gino D'Acampo winning.^[44]

White has endorsed four computer games: Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker, Jimmy White's 2: Cueball, Jimmy White's Cueball World and Pool Paradise. These games have been released for numerous machines, from 8 bits up to second-generation consoles and mobile phones. In June 2007, he was contracted to the online billiard website Play89.^[37]

Performance timeline[link]

Tournament finals[link]

^[45]

Ranking event finals: 23 (10 titles, 13 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–6) UK Championship (1–2) Other (9–5) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1984 World Snooker Championship Davis, SteveSteve Davis 16–18 Runner-up 2. 1985 International Open !Matchroom Trophy Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 10–12 Winner 1. 1986 Classic Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 13–12 Winner 2. 1986 Grand Prix Williams, RexRex Williams 10–6 Runner-up 3. 1987 Classic Davis, SteveSteve Davis 12–13 Winner 3. 1987 British Open Foulds, NealNeal Foulds 13–9 Runner-up 4. 1987 UK Championship Davis, SteveSteve Davis 14–16 Runner-up 5. 1988 International Open (2) Davis, SteveSteve Davis 6–12 Winner 4. 1989 Canadian Masters Davis, SteveSteve Davis 9–4 Runner-up 6. 1990 World Snooker Championship (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 12–18 Winner 5. 1991 Classic Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–4 Runner-up 7. 1991 World Snooker Championship (3) Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott 11–18 Runner-up 8. 1991 UK Championship (2) Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott 9–16 Winner 6. 1992 European Open Johnston-Allen, MarkMark Johnston-Allen 9–3 Winner 7. 1992 British Open Wattana, JamesJames Wattana 10–7 Runner-up 9. 1992 World Snooker Championship (4) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 14–18 Winner 8. 1992 Grand Prix (2) Doherty, KenKen Doherty 10–9 Winner 9. 1992 UK Championship Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott 16–9 Runner-up 10. 1993 World Snooker Championship (5) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 5–18 Runner-up 11. 1994 World Snooker Championship (6) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 17–18 Runner-up 12. 2000 British Open Ebdon, PeterPeter Ebdon 6–9 Runner-up 13. 2004 European Open Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire 3–9 Winner 10. 2004 Players Championship Hunter, PaulPaul Hunter 9–7 Non-ranking wins[link] Scottish Masters – 1981 Northern Ireland Classic – 1981 Masters – 1984 Carlsberg Challenge – 1984, 1985 Thailand Masters – 1984/85 Irish Masters – 1985, 1986 Pot Black – 1986 Malaysian Masters – 1986/87 Hong Kong Masters – 1988 World Matchplay – 1989, 1990 Mita/Sky World Masters Men's Singles – 1991 European Challenge – 1991 Matchroom League – 1993 Pontin's Professional Tournament – 1999[46] World Seniors Championship - 2010 Team wins[link] World Doubles Championship – 1984 (with Alex Higgins) World Cup – 1988, 1989 (with team England) Nations Cup – 2000 (with team England) Pro-am wins[link] World Series of Snooker – Tournament in Prague – 2009 Amateur[link] English Amateur Championship – 1979 IBSF World Amateur Championship – 1980 Indian Amateur Championship – 1980 References[link] ^ a b c d e White, Jimmy; Kingsland, Rosemary (1998). Behind the White Ball: My Autobiography. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-180126-5.  ^ "Whirlwind Q&A". BBC Sport. 20 April 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/6572815.stm. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ "World Series of Snooker – Champion of Champions Challenge". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. http://www.global-snooker.com/global-snooker-professional-tournaments-word-series-09-10-killarney-main.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-18.  ^ "Six of the Best for White". Global Snooker. http://www.global-snooker.com/Global-Snooker-News-reports-as-White-wins-in-Bangkok-120709.asp. Retrieved 17 April 2010.  ^ "2009 Paul Hunter Classic". Global Snooker. http://www.global-snooker.com/Paul-Hunter-Classic-2009-Results.asp. Retrieved 7 November 2010.  ^ "World Series of Snooker – Prague". Global Snooker. http://www.global-snooker.com/World-Series-of-Snooker-2009-Prague.asp. Retrieved 2009-09-17.  ^ Hendon, Dave. "Jungle Jimmy gets Wembley wildcard". Snooker Scene Blog. http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2009/12/jungle-jimmy-gets-wembley-wildcard.html. Retrieved 22 December 2009.  ^ "Pokerstars.com Masters". WPBSA. http://www.worldsnooker.com/masters10_draw.htm?tid=148. Retrieved 6 January 2010.  ^ "Roewe Shanghai Masters Qualifying". WPBSA. http://www.worldsnooker.com/shanghai_masters09_qualifying_draw.htm?tid=141. Retrieved 17 April 2010.  ^ "Welsh Open Qualifying". WPBSA. http://www.worldsnooker.com/welsh_open10_qualifying_draw.htm?tid=149. Retrieved 18 January 2010.  ^ "Betfred.com World Snooker Championship Qualifying". WPBSA. http://www.worldsnooker.com/world_championship10_qualifying_draw.htm?tid=153. Retrieved 17 April 2010.  ^ "Jimmy White (2010/2011)". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=20. Retrieved 7 November 2010.  ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 17 October 2010. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=10&season=2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.  ^ "Sangsom 6 Reds World Championship 2010 – Round-robin stage results". Global Snooker. http://www.global-snooker.com/professional-tournaments-sangsom-6-reds-2010-group-results.asp. Retrieved 18 July 2010.  ^ "Sangsom 6 Reds World Championship 2010 – Knockout stage results". Global Snooker. http://www.global-snooker.com/professional-tournaments-sangsom-6-reds-world-championship-2010-knock-out-stage-results.asp. Retrieved 24 July 2010.  ^ "Roewe Shanghai Masters Qualifiers Drawsheet". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/shanghai10_qual_draw.htm?tid=168. Retrieved 2 August 2010.  ^ "World Open Qualifiers Drawsheet". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/world_open_qual_draw.htm?tid=167. Retrieved 15 July 2010.  ^ "World Open Drawsheet". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/world_open_draw.htm?tid=165. Retrieved 18 September 2010.  ^ "White Crowned Senior Champion". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/world_seniors_news(White_Crowned_Senior_Champion)-2810.htm?tid=170. Retrieved 7 November 2010.  ^ "Stephen Hendry edges out Jimmy White at UK Championship". BBC Sport. 2010-12-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/9250038.stm. Retrieved 2010-12-07.  ^ "2011 German Masters Qualifiers". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=16. Retrieved 17 December 2010.  ^ "2011 Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open Qualification". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=17. Retrieved 18 April 2011.  ^ "2011 China Open Qualification". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=18. Retrieved 18 April 2011.  ^ Allen, Mike. "Devastated Jimmy White misses China Open after visa mistake". Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sport-front-page/2011/03/29/devastated-jimmy-white-misses-china-open-after-visa-mistake-115875-23022934/. Retrieved 18 April 2011.  ^ "2011 Betfred.com World Championship Qualification". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=26.  ^ "Rankings after 2011 World Championship". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/64/71/0,,13165~160100,00.pdf. Retrieved 4 May 2011.  ^ "Maximum For Whirlwind". World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 30 May 2011. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~2369284,00.html. Retrieved 4 June 2011.  ^ "Jimmy White's 147 break in Dundalk". Snooker Legends. 28 May 2011. http://www.snookerlegends.co.uk/jw147dundalk.html. Retrieved 4 June 2011.  ^ "Jimmy White (2011/2012)". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=20. Retrieved 9 September 2011.  ^ "World Seniors Championship (2011)". WWW Snooker. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=106. Retrieved 5 September 2011.  ^ "UK Championship Qualifiers (2011)". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=91. Retrieved 12 October 2011.  ^ "2012 German Masters Qualifiers". WWW Snooker. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=92. Retrieved 14 October 2011.  ^ "Rankings after PTC12 (2012 FFB Snooker Open)". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/ad/98/0,,13165~170157,00.pdf. Retrieved 9 January 2012.  ^ Bridgestock, Graham. "Jimmy White: How I beat testicular cancer". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-53113/Jimmy-White-How-I-beat-testicular-cancer.html. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ "Profile: Jimmy White MBE". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/3519938.stm. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ a b "Jimmy White". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2246117,00.html. Retrieved 7 February 2011.  Official WPBSA player profile. ^ a b "Snooker Player Jimmy White Plays Online Pool at Play89". PRLeap.com. http://www.prleap.com/pr/80472/. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ "History of the Poker Million". Poker Player. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1307020649833647. Retrieved 4 May 2011.  ^ McRae, Donald (1 December 2003). "The return of a frayed master who still calls himself The Whirlwind". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5lWEJf6Vz. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ Wainwright, Martin (9 February 2005). "Brown is the new White in saucy promotion". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/feb/09/advertising.snooker. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ "Sport.co.uk meets...Jimmy White". Sport.co.uk. http://www.sport.co.uk/features/Snooker/656/Sportcouk_meetsJimmy_White.aspx. Retrieved 23 December 2011.  ^ "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here: reality show line-up is announced". The Daily Telegraph. 12 November 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6547040/Im-A-Celebrity...-Get-Me-Out-Of-Here-reality-show-line-up-is-announced.html. Retrieved 7 November 2011.  ^ Simpson, Oli. "Jimmy White finishes third on 'I'm A Celeb'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s100/im-a-celebrity-uk/news/a190007/jimmy-white-finishes-third-on-im-a-celeb.html. Retrieved 7 November 2011.  ^ "I'm A Celebrity's D'Acampo and Manning face rat charges". BBC News. 6 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8397691.stm. Retrieved 7 November 2011.  ^ Turner, Chris (2009). "Player Profile: Jimmy White MBE". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Players/WhiteJ.html. Retrieved 14 April 2011.  ^ Turner, Chris. "Pontins Open, Pontins Professional, Pontins World Pro-Am Series". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Pontins Open Pontins Professional Pontins World Pro-Am Series. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pontins.html. Retrieved 14 April 2011.  Further reading[link] White, Jimmy; Kingsland, Rosemary (1998). Behind the White Ball: My Autobiography. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-180126-5.  Malone, Aubrey (2009). Whirlwind: The Incredible Story of Jimmy White. Know the Score Books. ISBN 1-84818-742-4.  External links[link] Official website "Jimmy White". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2246117,00.html. Retrieved 7 February 2011.  Official WPBSA player profile. Jimmy White at CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database Profile at Global Snooker Profile at Pro Snooker Blog "Higgins and White win the World Doubles Championship 1984". Youtube. 6 Sep. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaDU4olQ46k. Retrieved 6 Sep. 2009.  v t e European Mosconi Cup team – 1994 Ralf Souquet Steve Davis Lee Tucker Oliver Ortmann Tom Storm Jimmy White Franziska Stark Allison Fisher v t e European Mosconi Cup team – 1995 Daryl Peach Steve Davis Alex Higgins Lee Kendall Oliver Ortmann Tom Storm Jimmy White v t e Poker Million winners 2000 John Duthie 2003 Jimmy White 2004 Donnacha O'Dea 2005 Tony Jones 2006 Rajesh Modha 2007 Joe Beevers 2008 Marty Smyth 2009 James Akenhead 2010 Gus Hansen v t e I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! UK Series 9 Gino D'Acampo Kim Woodburn Jimmy White Justin Ryan Stuart Manning Sabrina Washington George Hamilton Joe Bugner Samantha Fox Colin McAllister Lucy Benjamin Katie Price Camilla Dallerup Persondata Name White, Jimmy Alternative names Short description Snooker player Date of birth 2 May 1962 Place of birth Tooting, England Date of death Place of death

Steve Davis

Davis at the 2010 Paul Hunter Classic
Born	(1957-08-22) 22 August 1957 (age 54) Plumstead, London
Sport country	England
Nickname	The Nugget Interesting Ginger Magician Romford Slim
Professional	1978–present
Highest ranking	1
Current ranking	51
Career winnings	£5,614,630 (up to the end of 2008/2009)[1]
Highest break	147 (1982 Classic)
Century breaks	325 (as of 23 October 2011)
Tournament wins
Ranking	28
Non-ranking	52
World Champion	1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989

Steve Davis, OBE (born 22 August 1957 in Plumstead, London)^[2] is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire.^[3] He has won 28 ranking events in total, second only to Stephen Hendry.^[4]

Davis' achievements also include three Masters and a record six UK Championship titles. In 1988 he became the first player to complete snooker's Triple Crown in a single season. He is also a former four-time World Doubles champion with Tony Meo and won the World Team Classic/World Cup four times with England. In 1982, he became the first player to compile a televised maximum break and is one of four players to have compiled over 300 competitive century breaks. Though he has not won a major tournament since 1997, he continues to play snooker at a high level and reached the quarter-finals at the 2010 World Championship. He was still ranked in the world's top 16 at the age of 50, and is ranked number 51 after the 2012 World Championship.^[5]

Davis has also competed in pool and poker events and has written books on a variety of subjects. He played at the Mosconi Cup between 1994 and 2004 as a member of Team Europe, winning the event in 1995 and 2002, and reached the final table of the 2003 Poker Million. He was made an MBE in 1998 and an OBE in 2001. He now combines his playing career with his role as an established television analyst and occasional commentator for the BBC's snooker coverage.

Career[link]

In the book Masters of the Baize, a detailed comparison and ranking of snooker pros, authors Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby rated Davis as the third greatest snooker player of all time behind Joe Davis and Stephen Hendry.^[6][7] As of 2011^[update], Davis has won a record 80 professional titles from 115 finals, 28 of them in ranking events. His record of six world titles in the modern era has been bettered only by Hendry and no player has yet matched his tally of six UK titles. Davis has also compiled over 300 competitive centuries during his career.^[8] In 2011 he was inducted to World Snooker's newly created Hall of Fame along with seven former World Champions.^[9]

Early career[link]

Davis was introduced to snooker by his father Bill, a keen player, who took him to play at his local working men's club at the age of 12,^[10] and gave him Joe Davis's instructional book How I Play Snooker.^[11] They studied the book and built Steve Davis's own technique on it in the 1970s.^[12] He started playing at the Lucania Snooker Club in Romford, where at the age of 18 the manager of the club brought his talent to the attention of Barry Hearn, chairman of the Lucania chain of snooker halls.^[13][14] Hearn became Davis's friend and manager.^[15] Paid £25 a match by Hearn, Davis toured the country, taking part in challenge matches against established professionals such as Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Alex Higgins. Around this time he was given the nickname "Nugget" because, according to Hearn, "you could put your case of money on him and you knew you were going to get paid."^[13]

Davis won the English Under-19 Billiards Championship in 1976.^[16] One of his last wins as an amateur was against another future professional Tony Meo in the final of the Pontin's Spring Open of 1978.^[17] A year later he successfully defended his title, this time defeating another of his future rivals, Jimmy White, 7–4 in the final.^[18] Davis turned professional on 17 September 1978^[19] and made his professional television debut on Pot Black, where he played against Fred Davis.^[20] He made his World Championship debut in 1979,^[21] losing 11–13 to Dennis Taylor in the first round.^[22]

Dominance of snooker[link]

Davis came to public prominence after his performance at the 1980 World Championship, where he reached the quarter-finals, defeating defending champion Terry Griffiths en route,^[23] before losing to Alex Higgins.^[24] Davis won his first major title in the same year – the UK Championship – during which he beat Griffiths 9–0 in the semi-finals and Higgins 16–6 in the final.^[25][26] This began an 18-month period of dominance. He won the Classic and then the International Masters and English Professional titles in 1981,^[16] and became the bookmakers' favourite to win the 1981 World Championship, despite being seeded only 15.^[27] Davis reached the final by defeating Jimmy White in the first round, Higgins in the second round, Griffiths in the quarter-finals and defending champion Cliff Thorburn in the semi-final.^[28] Davis's 18–12 victory over Doug Mountjoy in the final confirmed bookmakers' early predictions, and in celebration his manager Barry Hearn charged across the arena to lift him up in the air.^[29] He would go on to reach seven out of the next eight world finals.^[30]

He followed up his world title win with a 9–0 final victory over Dennis Taylor in the International Open and then retained the UK Championship with a 9–0 whitewash over White in the semi-finals and a 16–3 win over Griffiths in the final.^[31] This began a period of six months in which Davis and Griffiths contested almost all the major tournament finals. During this run, in January 1982, Davis made television snooker history when he compiled the first televised^[32] maximum break at the Classic at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham, against John Spencer, though he subsequently lost 8–9 in the final against Griffiths.^[33] In 1982 Davis won his first Masters title, defeating Griffiths 9–6 in the final.^[34]

Davis's 18-month period of dominance ended at the 1982 World Championship, when he succumbed to the so-called "Crucible Curse", losing 1–10 against Tony Knowles in the first round.^[22] Later that year, he couldn't win a third consecutive UK title as he lost in the quarter-finals against Griffiths.^[35] Following those two setbacks, he won the World Doubles Championship title with partner Tony Meo.^[16] In 1983 Davis regained the world title with a session to spare in the final, defeating an overwhelmed Thorburn 18–6; Thorburn had seen his previous three matches go to a deciding frame and a late finish.^[36] Davis lost 15–16 to Higgins in the 1983 UK Championship final, despite having led 7–0 at one point of the match.^[37] In 1984, he became the first player to retain his world title at the Crucible Theatre by beating Jimmy White 18–16 in the final.^[38] He also regained the UK title in 1984 defeating Higgins 16–8.^[39]

Black ball final[link]

At the 1985 World Championship, Davis dropped only 23 frames en route to the final, where his opponent was Dennis Taylor. He looked set for a third consecutive world title after an opening session of near-faultless snooker gave him a 7–0 lead, which he extended to 8–0 in the evening session, but Taylor recovered to trail only 7–9. From 11–11 the pair traded frames before Davis forged ahead to lead 17–15. Taylor won the next two frames to level the match at 17–17 and force a deciding frame. With the scores close, Taylor potted the final colours to leave the black as the winner-takes-all ball. After a series of safety shots and attempts at potting it, Davis over-cut the black, leaving Taylor with a reasonably straightforward pot to secure the championship. The "nailbiting" finale drew 18.5 million viewers, a record post-midnight audience on British television and a record audience for BBC Two.^[40] The black-ball finish was voted the ninth greatest sporting moment of all time in a 2002 Channel 4 poll.^[41]

Davis and Taylor met again in the final of the 1985 Grand Prix, but this time Davis won in the deciding frame. At 10 hours 21 minutes, it remains the longest one-day final in snooker history.^[42] In the 1985 UK Championship final Davis trailed 8–13 against Willie Thorne, who missed a blue off the spot which would have given him a 14–8 lead. Davis won the frame and then seven of the next eight to win 16–14.^[43] At the 1986 World Championship, Davis defeated White 13–5 in the quarter-finals and Thorburn 16–12 in the semi-finals,^[44] Davis's opponent in the final was Joe Johnson, who had started the tournament as a 150–1 outsider. Davis lost the match 12–18.^[45] The result did not affect his position at the top of the world rankings, as he had won the UK Championship, the Grand Prix and the British Open in the 1985/1986 season. At the end of 1986 he beat Neal Foulds 16–7 to retain the UK Championship.^[39]

Davis started 1987 by winning the Classic, beating defending champion Jimmy White 13–12.^[46] At the World Championship, he defeated Griffiths 13–5 in the quarter-final, and White 16–11 in the semi-final.^[47] In the final he again met Johnson, and established a 14–10 lead after three sessions. Johnson reduced Davis' lead to 14–13, but Davis won four of the next five frames to win the match 18–14 and regain the title.^[48] In beating Johnson he became the first player to win the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship in the same year.^[49] In December he retained his UK title with a 16–14 final win against White.^[39] In 1988 retained the Classic, claimed his second Masters title with a 9–0 final whitewash of Mike Hallett (the only final whitewash in the event's history),^[34] won the World Cup with England and won his fourth Irish Masters title. In the World Championship Davis defeated Hallett 13–1, Tony Drago 13–4 and Thorburn 16–8 en route to the final, where he met Griffiths. Davis established a 5–2 lead after the first session, but Griffiths levelled at 8–8 after the second. On the second day of the match Davis took ten out of thirteen frames to win 18–11 and claim his fifth world title.^[50]

Davis won the first ranking event of the 1988/1989 season with a 12–6 win over White in the International Open; in the same match, he became the first player to make three consecutive century breaks in a major tournament.^[51] In October, Davis won the Grand Prix, beating Alex Higgins 10–6 in the final to hold the World, UK, Masters, Grand Prix, Classic and Irish Masters titles simultaneously. However, his four year unbeaten run at the UK Championship came to an end in December with a 3–9 semi-final loss to Hendry.^[52] He did not win another major title that season until the 1989 World Championship, where he beat Hendry 16–9 in the semi-finals before going on to complete the heaviest victory in a world final of the modern era with an 18–3 win over John Parrott, his last world championship to date.^[53] In October he retained the Grand Prix, beating Dean Reynolds 10–0 in the final, the first whitewash in a ranking event final.^[54] By the end of the 1980s, Davis was snooker's first millionaire.^[16]

1990–2005[link]

In the 1990 World Championship, Davis was denied an eighth consecutive appearance in the final by Jimmy White, who won their semi-final 16–14.^[55] Davis was replaced as world number one by Stephen Hendry at the end of the 1989/90 season. He was ranked number 2 for the 1990/1991, 1991/1992, 1994/1995 and 1995/1996 seasons.^[56] He reached the semi-finals of the World Championships in 1991 and 1994.^[57][58] He also won the Irish Masters in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994, the Classic and the Asian Open in 1992, the European Open in 1993, and consecutive Welsh Open titles in 1994 and 1995. His successful defence of his Welsh Open title in 1995 is to date his last ranking title.^[59] Davis's last victory in a major tournament came at the 1997 Masters. Trailing his opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–8 in the final, he won the next six frames to secure a 10–8 win.^[60]

After a season which saw Davis reach only one ranking event quarter-final, Davis dropped out of the top 16 for the 2000/2001 season,^[56] and failed to qualify for the World Championship for the next two years.^[61][62] After failing to qualify for the World Snooker Championship for the first time in his professional career in 2001, Davis felt that retiring would be the easy thing to do, but as he still liked the challenge of snooker, he continued playing,^[63] and regained his place in the top 16 for the 2003/2004 season.^[56] He was runner-up in the 2004 Welsh Open to O'Sullivan, losing 8–9 after having led 8–5.^[64] In 2005 he reached the quarter finals of the World Championship, losing to eventual winner Shaun Murphy.^[65]

2005–present[link]

At the 2005 UK Championship, held in York, Davis reached his 100th major career final,^[66] and made his first appearance in the UK final since 1990.^[39] En route he beat defending champion Stephen Maguire 9–8, a win which included a 145 break; and then Stephen Hendry 9–6 in the semi-finals to reach the final, where he lost 6–10 against Ding Junhui.^[67][68] Before the World Championships Davis brushed off suggestions of retirement,^[69] and he reached the second round, where he lost to Murphy.^[70] Davis's performances through the 2006/2007 season, including reaching the UK Championship quarter-finals and the Welsh Open semi-finals, ensured he was still a top 16 player at the age of 50.^[71]

Steve Davis during a match against Ville Pasanen in 2008

He dropped out of the top sixteen a year later, but showed form in the 2008/2009 season by reaching the quarter-finals of both the Shanghai Masters and Grand Prix, the first time he had reached consecutive ranking event quarter-finals since 1996.^[72] At the World Championship Davis lost in the first round 2–10 against Neil Robertson. After the match he again dismissed talk of his retirement.^[73]

In the first two tournaments of the 2009/2010 season Davis failed to qualify for the televised stages as he lost 4–5 against Matthew Selt in the Shanghai Masters and 0–5 against Mark Davis in the Grand Prix.^[74][75] In the next tournament, the UK Championship, he defeated Michael Judge 9–7 to set up a first round match against Hendry,^[76] which he lost 6–9.^[77] Davis started 2010 by failing to qualify for the Welsh Open and the China Open, losing 2–5 against Dominic Dale and 3–5 against Mike Dunn respectively in the final qualifying round.^[78][79] In March he qualified for the World Championship for a record 30th time by defeating Adrian Gunnell 10–4.^[80]

In the first round Davis defeated Mark King 10–9, becoming, at the age of 52, the oldest player to win a match at the Crucible since Eddie Charlton beat Cliff Thorburn in 1989.^[81] In the second round against defending champion John Higgins, a 1–20 favourite, Davis led 6–2 after the first session, 9–7 after the second session, and ultimately won 13–11, a win Clive Everton described as "the greatest upset in the 33 years the Crucible has been hosting the championship."^[82] This made him the oldest world quarter-finalist since Charlton in 1983. In the quarter-final match against Australian Neil Robertson, Davis recovered from a 2–12 deficit to force the match into the third session, eventually losing 5–13.^[83] On 29 April 2010, to mark the 25th anniversary of their black-ball final of 1985, Davis appeared with Dennis Taylor before the beginning of the first semi-final, to stage a humorous re-enactment of their historic final frame. Taylor entered the arena wearing a pair of comically oversized glasses, while Davis arrived sporting a red wig.^[84]

Davis started the 2010/2011 season by qualifying to the televised stages of Shanghai Masters, whitewashing Rod Lawler 5–0,^[85] but lost in the first round 3–5 against Jamie Cope.^[86] He lost his qualifying matches in the next two tournaments, he lost 1–3 against Peter Ebdon in the last 64 of the World Open^[87] and 2–9 against Mark Joyce in the last 48 of the UK Championship.^[88] He also participated at the Players Tour Championship, where his best results came at the Paul Hunter Classic, where he reached the quarter-finals, but lost 1–4 against Shaun Murphy.^[89] He finished 67 on the Order of Merit.^[90] Davis also reached the final of the World Seniors Championship, but lost in the final 1–4 against Jimmy White.^[91] He reached the third qualifying round of the German Masters, but was whitewashed by Ryan Day 0–5.^[92] Davis lost his first qualifying matches of the next two tournaments. He was beaten by Joe Jogia 3–4 in the Welsh Open^[93] and 4–5 by James Wattana in the China Open.^[94] He narrowly reached the last qualifying round of the World Championship, by defeating Jack Lisowski 10–9, but lost against Stephen Lee 2–10.^[95]

Davis started the 2011/2012 season at number 44, his lowest rank since turning professional.^[56][96] He lost his first qualifying match at the Shanghai Masters 1–5 against Passakorn Suwannawat.^[97] Davis also participated at the Players Tour Championship, where his best results came at the Warsaw Classic, where he reached the semi-finals, but lost 3–4 against Ricky Walden.^[98] He finished number 26 on the Order of Merit.^[99] After 2010 he reached the final of the World Seniors Championship, but again lost in the final, this time 1–2 against Darren Morgan.^[100] He qualified for the UK Championship, by defeating both Ian McCulloch and Andrew Higginson 6–2,^[101] but he couldn't qualify to the German Masters as he lost 1–5 against Robert Milkins^[102] and also lost in the first round of the UK Championship 1–6 against Ronnie O'Sullivan. ^[103] Davis than missed the World Open, as he lost his first qualifying match 1–5 against Ian McCulloch,^[104] but reached the last 16 of the Welsh Open with three 4–3 victories, defeating Lucky Vatnani, Ricky Walden and Allister Carter, before losing 0–4 against Shaun Murphy.^[105][106] However he then didn't qualify for either the China Open, nor the World Snooker Championship, losing 1–5 to Rory McLeod and 7–10 to Ben Woollaston respectively.^[107][108]

Other sports[link]

From 1994 to 2007, Davis played in professional nine-ball pool events regularly. He was instrumental in the creation of the Mosconi Cup,^[109] and has represented Europe in the tournament on eleven occasions, and was a member of the team's 1995 and 2002 wins;^[110] his victory against the US's Earl Strickland clinched the 2002 competition for Europe.^[111][112] In 2001, Davis nearly won his first singles title in pool at the World Pool League. However, Efren Reyes defeated him 9–5 the final.^[113] Sid Waddell gave him the nickname "Romford Slim" and said he was Britain's answer to the famous American pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone.^[109] Davis dislikes eight-ball pool as played on English-style tables in British pubs and clubs, considering it a "Mickey Mouse game" because of its under-sized cue ball in relation to the other balls, but made it clear that he is only critical of the game when it is played with an undersized cue ball.^[114] He is also a keen chess player and was, for a while, the President of the British Chess Federation.^[1]

Davis has also become a proficient poker player, with successful appearances at televised tournaments;^[115] one of these included an appearance at the final table of the 2003 Poker Million together with fellow snooker player Jimmy White, who eventually won.^[116] Later, at Event 41 of the 2006 World Series of Poker, Davis finished 579th, winning US$20,617.^[117] At Event 54 of the 2008 World Series of Poker he finished 389th, winning $28,950.^[118] At Event 56 of the 2010 World Series of Poker he finished 131st, winning $5,491.^[119] At Event 22 of the 2011 The Grand Poker Series he finished 8th, winning $2,049.^[120]

In other media[link]

Davis has become known for his coolness and impeccable conduct in high-pressure situations, earning himself the nicknames "Ginger Magician" and "Nugget".^[66] His initial lack of emotional expression and somewhat monotonous interviewing style earned him a reputation as boring. As a result, the satirical television series Spitting Image gave him the ironic nickname "Interesting".^[121][122] Davis himself now plays upon this image and says it helped him gain acceptance from the public.^[123] It led to him co-authoring the comedic book, How to Be Really Interesting (1988), with Geoff Atkinson, the front cover of which shows Davis mocking his perceived dullness, dressed in boxing regalia holding a cue.^[124]

He has published numerous other books, five relating to snooker: Successful Snooker (1982),^[125] Frame and Fortune (1982),^[126] Steve Davis: Snooker Champion (1983),^[127] Matchroom Snooker (1988)^[128] and The Official Matchroom 1990;^[129] two relating to chess in 1995 with David Norwood: Steve Davis Plays Chess^[130] and Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur.^[131] He also authored three cookbooks in 1994: Simply Fix – the Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 1 – Interesting Things to Do With Meat,^[132] Simply Fix – The Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 2 – Interesting Things to Make with Poultry,^[133] and Simply Fix – the Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 3 – Interesting Things to Make Using Vegetables.^[134]

Davis appeared as a commentator for the BBC's snooker coverage and as a guest on television quizzes such as They Think It's All Over and A Question of Sport.^[135] He appeared in a baked beans advertisement in the 1980s (featuring snooker commentator Ted Lowe with the pay-off line "really interesting" and Davis 'assessing' his beans on toast as if it were a snooker situation, and chalking his cutlery).^[136] In 2007, his image was used as the epitome of "reliability" in a series of advertisements for Irish Life.^[137] He featured in a spoof online viral promoting the Nintendo DS game World Snooker Championship Season 2007–08, in which he parodied a Nicole Kidman Brain Training advert.^[138] In 2010 Davis made a cameo appearance in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret as himself.^[135]

In 1986 he joined musical duo Chas & Dave and several other snooker stars of the time (under the name "The Matchroom Mob") on the novelty record "Snooker Loopy", which was a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom.^[139][140] A year the later they released a follow-up single, the "Romford Rap", though this only reached #91 in the UK charts.^[141] Since 1996 he has presented a show dedicated to progressive rock and the Canterbury scene on his local radio station, Phoenix FM.^[142]

Personal life[link]

In 1988, Davis was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and was made an MBE.^[143] He was awarded an OBE in 2001,^[60] and is currently honorary president of the Snooker Writers' Association.^[144] Davis is a big fan of the French progressive rock band Magma, and even organised a concert in London so he could watch them.^[145] Davis is on the board of Leyton Orient football club, which he has revealed to be more of a gimmick; Davis has been a Charlton Athletic fan most of his life,^[146] and Barry Hearn is the Orient chairman.^[147] He lives in Brentwood, Essex,^[148] and divorced from his wife Judith in 2005 after 15 years of marriage. Together, they have two sons called Greg (born 1991) and Jack (born 1993).^[149] In 2012 Greg Davis entered the Q School, with the aim of winning a place on the professional snooker tour.^[150][151]

Performance and rankings timeline[link]