World Snooker Championship 1985
Encyclopedia
The 1985 Embassy
World Snooker Championship
professional ranking
snooker
tournament took place at the Crucible Theatre
, Sheffield
between 12 and 28 April 1985.
Defending champion Steve Davis
couldn't make it three world titles in a row, as he lost 17–18 against Dennis Taylor
in the final.
and Dennis Taylor
, in which their attracted 18.5 million viewers on BBC2
and the finished at 12:25 a.m. after Taylor to win the title.
Runner up: £35,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £10,000
Last 16: £5,250
Last 32: £2,500
Qualifying Groups Finalist: £1,500
Qualifying Groups 3rd Place: £750
High Break: £4,500
Maximum Break: £60,000
Total: £300,000
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
professional ranking
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
tournament took place at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
between 12 and 28 April 1985.
Defending champion Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE 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...
couldn't make it three world titles in a row, as he lost 17–18 against Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
in the final.
Early rounds
- One quarter-final had the youngest and the oldest of the 1985 Championship players competing against each other, John ParrottJohn ParrottJohn Parrott MBE is an English professional snooker player and TV personality.He won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times...
who was close to his 21st birthday and 52-year-old Ray ReardonRay ReardonRay Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...
. Reardon won 13–12.
- The semi-final matches both finished with a , and to fill them, Ray Reardon who lost to Steve DavisSteve DavisSteve Davis, OBE 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...
5–16 played John Virgo in an exhibition match which was the best of three . Virgo also had some time to do impressionsImpressionist (entertainment)An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
of other snooker players, and even Tony DragoTony DragoTony Drago is a professional snooker and pool player from Malta. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship...
, then an amateur, played a frame of snooker at the Crucible. The other semi-final had Dennis TaylorDennis TaylorDennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
beating Tony KnowlesTony Knowles (snooker player)Anthony Knowles is an English professional snooker player. He was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s.-Career:...
with the same score as the Davis/Reardon match.
- There were 14 in the 1985 Championship. Bill WerbeniukBill WerbeniukWilliam Alexander "Bill" Werbeniuk was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill"...
's 143 against Joe JohnsonJoe Johnson (snooker player)Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.- Career :...
in the first round was at the time the joint third-highest break in the Championship's history, tied with Willie ThorneWillie ThorneWilliam Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970...
's 143 in 1982.
Final
It included one of the most famous finals ever, between Steve DavisSteve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE 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...
and Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
, in which their attracted 18.5 million viewers on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and the finished at 12:25 a.m. after Taylor to win the title.
Prize fund
Winner: £60,000Runner up: £35,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £10,000
Last 16: £5,250
Last 32: £2,500
Qualifying Groups Finalist: £1,500
Qualifying Groups 3rd Place: £750
High Break: £4,500
Maximum Break: £60,000
Total: £300,000