Steven Davis

Davis playing for Rangers
Personal information
Full name	Steven Davis
Date of birth	(1985-01-01) 1 January 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Centre midfielder
Club information
Current club	Rangers
Number	8
Youth career
	St Andrews Boys Club
2002–2004	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2007	Aston Villa	91	(5)
2007–2008	Fulham	22	(0)
2008	→ Rangers (loan)	12	(0)
2008–	Rangers	140	(17)
National team‡
2003–2004	Northern Ireland U21	3	(0)
2005–	Northern Ireland	51	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 October 2011

Steven Davis (born 1 January 1985) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Rangers, where he is captain, and the Northern Ireland national team. Davis made his full international debut in 2005 and has since been capped 51 times at senior level, scoring four goals.

Davis began his career with Premier League side Aston Villa and made his first appearance for the club in 2004 against Norwich City. Davis was named "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" and "Player of the Year" for the 2005-06 season after making 42 appearances during the season. Davis was sold to Fulham for £4 million in the summer of 2007. He fell out of favour after then manager Lawrie Sanchez left the club and was loaned to Scottish side Rangers in January 2008 for an initial six months. He was part of the side that reached the 2008 UEFA Cup final and that won the League Cup and Scottish Cup. The move was made permanent in the summer of 2008 for £3 million. As of the end of the 2010-11 season, Davis has made over 160 appearances for the Glasgow club, winning three consecutive league titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups.

Club career[link]

Aston Villa[link]

Davis as an Aston Villa player.

Davis, who was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, started his career at St Andrews Boys Club before transferring to Aston Villa in 2002.^[1][2] He was a member of the 2002 FA Youth Cup winning team that beat Everton 4–2 in the final.^[3][4] His first professional appearance was on 18 September 2004, he was a 57 minute replacement for Nolberto Solano in a Premier League match against Norwich City.^[5]

By October 2005, he was a regular for the club and missed only one game for Villa in the 2005–06 season.^[3] Davis was named Villa's "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" and "Player of the Year" for the 2005–06 season.^[3][6] His form prompted the Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez, to state that Davis could be "another Frank Lampard".^[7] Davis made 102 appearances for Villa and scored nine times.^[8]

Fulham[link]

In the summer of 2007, Davis followed team-mate Aaron Hughes to Fulham on 5 July 2007 to team up with international manager Lawrie Sanchez, for a fee of around £4 million.^[1] He made his Fulham debut against Arsenal on 12 August 2007 and made 22 appearances for Fulham before his dream move to Rangers.^[9][10]

Rangers[link]

On 31 January 2008, Davis was signed on a six-month loan deal by Rangers, the club he supported as a boy.^[10] Davis made his Rangers debut against Panathinaikos in the UEFA Cup on 13 February.^[11] He scored his first goal, again in European competition, against German side Werder Bremen.^[12] Davis scored for Rangers in the penalty shootout against Dundee United that won Rangers the League Cup.^[13] He also helped the team reach the 2008 UEFA Cup Final,^[14] and won the Scottish Cup in May.^[15]

Davis made his move from Fulham permanent on 21 August 2008, in a deal worth £3 million, signing a four-year contract.^[16] He made his first appearance of the season for Rangers against Aberdeen, during a 1–1 draw the day after he permanently signed.^[17] Davis scored his first goal for Rangers, since his move became permanent, against Motherwell.^[18] He scored the only goal in the final Old Firm derby of the season on 9 May 2009, to take Rangers to the top of the SPL by two points.^[19] Davis won the SPL title and Scottish Cup with Rangers in the 2008–09 season.^[20]

Davis began his goalscoring in the 2009–10 season against St. Mirren on 27 January.^[21] He continued his goalscoring form against Falkirk in the next game, curling a free kick into Robert Olejnik's top right hand corner.^[22] Davis's performances in January 2010, earned him the SPL Player of the Month award.^[23] He was also named SPFA Players' Player of the Year on 2 May 2010. and won the SPL and Scottish League Cup each for the second time.^[24]

Davis scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Motherwell at Ibrox in October 2010, when he collected the ball 30 yards from goal before striking it into the top corner.^[25] The goal drew comparisons to former Rangers favourite Ian Durrant.^[25] Davis followed this up by scoring the winning goal in the match against Inverness at Ibrox in January 2011.^[26] In the 2011 Scottish League Cup Final against Celtic, Davis opened the scoring in a match, which Rangers won 2–1 after extra time.^[27] This was the third time he had won the Scottish League Cup.^[27] Davis scored in back-to-back games in the 2011 title run in against Motherwell,^[28] and then Hearts,^[29] before playing his 54th, and final game of the season in a 5–1 win over Kilmarnock, as Rangers won their 3rd consecutive SPL championship.^[30]

On 19 July 2011, Davis signed a new five-year contract with Rangers.^[31] He was made Rangers temporary captain, with the absence of formal club captain David Weir for the first part of the 2011–12 season.^[32] Davis scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox in August.^[33] In the first Old Firm match of the 2011–12 season, Davis provided two assists in the game, as Rangers beat Celtic 4–2.^[34] After Rangers beat Dunfermline 4–0 at East End Park, Rangers manager Ally McCoist praised Davis's performance by saying "It was a captain's performance from the best player on the park."^[35] For his performances during September 2011, he received the SPL Player of the Month award.^[36]

International career[link]

Davis made his full international debut on 9 February 2005 in a 1–0 loss to Canada, and made the assist in Northern Ireland's famous 1–0 victory over England in a 2006 World Cup qualification match.^[37] Davis' first goal came against Wales in a 3–2 defeat.^[38] He was also part of the side who beat Spain 3–2 at Windsor Park in September 2006.^[39]

On 21 May 2006, he became Northern Ireland's youngest modern day captain against Uruguay in the United States, unfortunately, his tenure as captain got off to a losing start, as the team lost 1–0.^[3][40]

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 October 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast	Wales	2–2	2–3	2006 World Cup qualifying
2	15 October 2008	Windsor Park, Belfast	San Marino	4–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualifying
3	10 August 2011	Windsor Park, Belfast	Faroe Islands	2–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
4	7 October 2011	Windsor Park, Belfast	Estonia	1–0	1–2	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Career statistics[link]

As of 7 April 2012^[41]

Honours[link]

Aston Villa

• FA Youth Cup: 2002

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League (3): 2009, 2010, 2011

• Scottish Cup (2): 2008, 2009

• Scottish League Cup (3): 2008, 2010, 2011

Personal awards

• SPFA Players' Player of the Year (1) : 2010^[42]

• Scottish Premier League Player of the Month (2): January 2010,^[23] September 2011^[36]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Steven Davis career stats at Soccerbase
• Steven Davis profile Irish FA

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]

Career finals[link]

Ranking finals: 41 (28 titles, 13 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (6–2) UK Championship (4–3) Other Ranking (18–8) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref. Winner 1. 1981 World Championship Mountjoy, DougDoug Mountjoy 18–12 [30] Winner 2. 1983 World Championship (2) Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 18–06 !18–6 [30] Winner 3 1983 International Open Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 09–04 !9–4 [152] Winner 4. 1984 Classic Meo, TonyTony Meo 09–08 !9–8 [46] Winner 5. 1984 World Championship (3) White, JimmyJimmy White 18–16 [30] Winner 6. 1984 International Open (2) Knowles, TonyTony Knowles 09–02 !9–2 [152] Winner 7. 1984 UK Championship Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 16–08 !16–8 [39] Runner-up 1. 1985 World Championship Taylor, DennisDennis Taylor 17–18 [30] Winner 8. 1985 Grand Prix Taylor, DennisDennis Taylor 10–09 !10–9 [153] Winner 9. 1985 UK Championship (2) Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne 16–14 [39] Winner 10. 1986 British Open Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne 12–07 !12–7 [154] Runner-up 2. 1986 World Championship (2) Johnson, JoeJoe Johnson 12–18 [30] Winner 11. 1986 UK Championship (3) Foulds, NealNeal Foulds 16–07 !16–7 [39] Winner 12. 1987 Classic (2) White, JimmyJimmy White 13–12 [46] Winner 13. 1987 World Championship (4) Johnson, JoeJoe Johnson 18–14 [30] Winner 14. 1987 International Open (3) Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 12–05 !12–5 [152] Winner 15. 1987 UK Championship (4) White, JimmyJimmy White 16–14 [39] Winner 16. 1988 Classic (3) Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott 13–12 [46] Winner 17. 1988 World Championship (5) Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths 18–11 [30] Winner 18. 1988 International Open (4) White, JimmyJimmy White 12–06 !12–6 [152] Runner-up 3. 1988 Canadian Masters White, JimmyJimmy White 04–09 !4–9 [155] Winner 19. 1988 Grand Prix (2) Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 10–06 !10–6 [153] Winner 20. 1989 World Championship (6) Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott 18–03 !18–3 [30] Winner 21. 1989 International Open (5) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 09–04 !9–4 [152] Winner 22. 1989 Grand Prix (3) Reynolds, DeanDean Reynolds 10–0 [153] Runner-up 4. 1989 UK Championship Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 12–16 [39] Runner-up 5. 1990 Dubai Classic Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 01–09 !1–9 [156] Runner-up 6. 1990 UK Championship (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 15–16 [39] Runner-up 7. 1991 Grand Prix Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 06–10 !6–10 [153] Winner 23. 1992 Classic (4) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 09–08 !9–8 [46] Winner 24. 1992 Asian Open McManus, AlanAlan McManus 09–03 !9–3 [157] Winner 25. 1993 European Open Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–04 !10–4 [158] Winner 26. 1993 British Open (2) Wattana, JamesJames Wattana 10–02 !10–2 [154] Runner-up 8. 1993 Dubai Classic (2): Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 03–09 !3–9 [156] Runner-up 9. 1993 International Open Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 06–10 !6–10 [159] Runner-up 10. 1994 Thailand Open Wattana, JamesJames Wattana 07–09 !7–9 [160] Winner 27. 1994 Welsh Open McManus, AlanAlan McManus 09–06 !9–6 [161] Runner-up 11. 1995 International Open (2) Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 05–09 !5–9 [159] Winner 28. 1995 Welsh Open (2) Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 09–03 !9–3 [161] Runner-up 12. 2004 Welsh Open O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan 08–09 !8–9 [161] Runner-up 13. 2005 UK Championship (3) Ding Junhui 06–10 !6–10 [162]