1985 World Snooker Championship

The 1985 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament. It took place from 12 to 28 April 1985 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was run by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It was the ninth World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first taking place in 1977. A five-round qualifying event was held at the Preston Guild Hall. The event was shown on TV in the United Kingdom by the BBC. There was £250,000 to be won. It was the highest amount for any snooker tournament to that date; the winner received £60,000.

1985 Embassy World Snooker Championship
The programme for the event featuring defending champion Steve Davis
Tournament information
Dates12–28 April 1985
VenueCrucible Theatre
CitySheffield
CountryEngland
Organisation(s)WPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£250,000
Winner's share£60,000
Highest breakCanada Bill Werbeniuk (143)
Final
ChampionNorthern Ireland Dennis Taylor
Runner-upEngland Steve Davis
Score18–17
1984
1986

The defending champion was Steve Davis, who had won the event three times. Davis met Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor in the final which was a best-of-35-frames (first to 18) match. Davis took an early 8–0 lead, but Taylor drew level at 17–17. The final frame was played over the final black ball - the player able to pot the ball winning the event. After both players missed, Taylor potted the black to win.. The match, often called the "black ball final", is the best-known match in the history of the sport..

Canadian Bill Werbeniuk made the event's highest break, a 143, in his first-round match. There were 14 century breaks made, with 10 more in qualifying matches. This was the first professional snooker event to have a ban on drugs. All players in the main stage having to undertake tests. The final between Davis and Taylor holds the record for the most-viewed show in the United Kingdom of a programme shown after midnight. It had a peak of 18.5 million viewers for the match's final frame, breaking the existing records for the most-viewed sporting event and BBC2 programme.

Main draw

The results for each round of the main stage of the championship are shown below. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers).[1][2][3][4]

First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals
Best of 19 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 31 frames
                           
12 April            
   Steve Davis (ENG) (1)  10
17 & 18 April
   Neal Foulds (ENG)  8  
   Steve Davis (1)  13
12 & 13 April
     David Taylor (16)  4  
   David Taylor (ENG) (16)  10
22 & 23 April
   Dene O'Kane (NZL)  4  
   Steve Davis (1)  13
13 & 14 April
     Terry Griffiths (8)  6  
   Alex Higgins (NIR) (9)  10
18 & 19 April
   Dean Reynolds (ENG)  4  
   Alex Higgins (9)  7
13 & 14 April
     Terry Griffiths (8)  13  
   Terry Griffiths (WAL) (8)  10
24 & 25 April
   Rex Williams (ENG)  3  
   Steve Davis (1)  16
14 & 15 April
     Ray Reardon (5)  5
   Ray Reardon (WAL) (5)  10
19 & 20 April
   Eugene Hughes (IRL)  9  
   Ray Reardon (5)  13
15 & 16 April
     Patsy Fagan  9  
   Willie Thorne (ENG) (12)  6
22 & 23 April
   Patsy Fagan (IRL)  10  
   Ray Reardon (5)  13
15 & 16 April
     John Parrott  12  
   John Spencer (ENG) (13)  3
20 & 21 April
   John Parrott (ENG)  10  
   John Parrott  13
16 & 17 April
     Kirk Stevens (4)  6  
   Kirk Stevens (CAN) (4)  10
   Ray Edmonds (ENG)  8  
16 & 17 April            
   Cliff Thorburn (CAN) (3)  10
20 & 21 April
   Mike Hallett (ENG)  8  
   Cliff Thorburn (3)  13
16 April
     Bill Werbeniuk (14)  3  
   Bill Werbeniuk (CAN) (14)  10
22 & 23 April
   Joe Johnson (ENG)  8  
   Cliff Thorburn (3)  5
15 April
     Dennis Taylor (11)  13  
   Dennis Taylor (NIR) (11)  10
19 & 20 April
   Silvino Francisco (RSA)  2  
   Dennis Taylor (11)  13
14 & 15 April
     Eddie Charlton (6)  6  
   Eddie Charlton (AUS) (6)  10
24, 25 & 26 April
   John Campbell (AUS)  3  
   Dennis Taylor (11)  16
13 & 14 April
     Tony Knowles (2)  5
   Jimmy White (ENG) (7)  10
18 & 19 April
   Wayne Jones (WAL)  4  
   Jimmy White (7)  13
13 & 14 April
     Tony Meo (10)  11  
   Tony Meo (ENG) (10)  10
22 & 23 April
   John Virgo (ENG)  6  
   Jimmy White (7)  10
12 & 13 April
     Tony Knowles (2)  13  
   Doug Mountjoy (WAL) (15)  10
17, 18 & 19 April
   Murdo MacLeod (SCO)  5  
   Doug Mountjoy (15)  6
12 April
     Tony Knowles (2)  13  
   Tony Knowles (ENG) (2)  10
   Tony Jones (ENG)  8  
Final: (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 27 & 28 April. Referee: John Williams[5]
Steve Davis (1)
  England
17–18 Dennis Taylor (11)
  Northern Ireland
Players Session 1: 8–0
Frame 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Davis 88Template:Gc 93Template:Gc 49Template:Gc 65Template:Gc 95Template:Gc (55) 85Template:Gc (66) 83Template:Gc (58) 121Template:Gc (64, 57) N/A N/A
Taylor 50 (50) 0 2 38 1 6 20 0 N/A N/A
Players Session 2: 1–8 (9–8)
Frame 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Davis 49 76Template:Gc (57) 48 27 19 1 0 48 25 N/A
Taylor 59Template:Gc 27 63Template:Gc 75Template:Gc (61) 99Template:Gc (98) 71Template:Gc (70) 100Template:Gc (56) 77Template:Gc 68Template:Gc (53) N/A
Players Session 3: 5–3 (14–11)
Frame 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Davis 72Template:Gc 66Template:Gc 45 2 1 64Template:Gc 58Template:Gc 86Template:Gc (86) N/A N/A
Taylor 43 58 80Template:Gc 73Template:Gc (57) 80Template:Gc (55) 56 46 13 N/A N/A
Players Session 4: 3–7 (17–18)
Frame 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Davis 43 78Template:Gc (66) 29 4 29 66Template:Gc 81Template:Gc 47 24 62
Taylor 82Template:Gc (61) 17 84Template:Gc (70) 72Template:Gc (57) 83Template:Gc (79) 6 0 75Template:Gc 71Template:Gc (57) 66Template:Gc
87 Highest break 98
0 Century breaks 0
12 50+ breaks 10
  Dennis Taylor wins the 1985 Embassy World Snooker Championship

  = Winner of frame

Century breaks

There were 14 century breaks in the championship. Bill Werbeniuk's 143 against Joe Johnson in the first round was the joint third-highest break in the championship's history, tied with his break in 1979 and Willie Thorne's in 1982.[6][7] Only Cliff Thorburn's maximum break in 1983 and Doug Mountjoy's 145 in 1981 were higher. Tony Knowles missed the black on a break of 137 that would have scored a 144 in his second-round match with Jimmy White.[8]

Qualifying stages

There were ten century breaks in the qualifying stages; the highest was made by Danny Fowler in his round-of-64 10–0 whitewash of Jim Donnelly.[9][10]

1985 World Snooker Championship Media

References

  1. "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  2. "1985 World Championships Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  3. "World Championship 1985". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  4. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 20–21.
  5. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 143.
  6. "Crucible Centuries". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  7. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 146.
  8. Everton, Clive (23 April 1985). "Parrott fashions overnight lead". The Guardian: 26. 
  9. "Sports in Brief". The Times: 31. 6 April 1985. http://tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/BdsTv8. Retrieved 6 September 2019. 
  10. "Parrott looking for career boost". Aberdeen Evening Express: 16. 5 April 1985.