|
1986 UK Championship
The 1986 UK Championship (also known as the 1986 Tennent's UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 22 and 30 November 1986 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. Scottish brewers Tennent's took over as sponsors of the UK Championship when Coral withdrew their sponsorship after eight years. Steve Davis won his fifth UK title by defeating Neal Foulds 16–7 in the final; Foulds had won the International Open two months earlier. Winning the top prize of £60,000, Davis achieved a personal landmark with his victory as it took his career winnings above £1 million. The highest break of the tournament was a 144 made by Jimmy White. The event is more remembered for Alex Higgins headbutting the Tournament Director Paul Hatherell following his last 16 victory against Mike Hallett. The incident threatening him to be removed from the tournament but he stayed and after defeating Wayne Jones in the quarte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tennent's
Tennent Caledonian is a brewery based in Glasgow, Scotland. The Wellpark Brewery is situated in the city's East End, between the Townhead and Dennistoun districts along Duke Street. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn by Hugh and Robert Tennent. It is owned by C&C Group plc, which purchased the Tennent Caledonian Breweries subsidiary in late August 2009 from Belgian brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev (formerly known as InBev). The company produces Tennent's Lager, Scotland's market leading brand of pale lager since it was first produced at the Wellpark Brewery in 1885. History Wellpark Brewery was originally known as the Drygate Brewery. It was founded as H. & R. Tennent in 1740 at Drygate Bridge, near Glasgow Cathedral, by Hugh and Robert Tennent, although brewing had taken place at the same site on the banks of the Molendinar Burn by their ancestor, Robert Tennent, since 1556, making it the oldest continuous commercial concern in Glasgow. Hug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Jones (snooker Player)
Wayne Jones (born 24 December 1959) is a former Welsh professional snooker player. He won the Welsh Amateur snooker championship in 1983 by defeating Terry Parsons in the final, and turned professional in 1984. Despite never breaking into the top 16, he reached the last 16 and quarter-finals of many ranking events. His most notable run was to the final of the 1989 Classic with victories over the likes of Jimmy White, where he lost to Doug Mountjoy 11–13, despite at one stage leading 11–9. He qualified for the World Championship on four occasions, but only ever progressed beyond the first round once, in 1989, with a 10–9 victory over Neal Foulds, but was beaten 13–3 by Dean Reynolds Dean Reynolds (born 11 January 1963 in Grimsby) is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001. Career Before turning professional, Reynolds won the first-ever Junior Pot Black in 1981, b ... in the last 16. References 1959 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Thorne
William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8. He was noted for his break-building, and was among the first players to compile 100 century breaks. He earned the nickname "Mr Maximum". After retiring as a player, Thorne became a snooker commentator, primarily for the BBC. Career Thorne was born on 4 March 1954 at the family home in Anstey, a village located near Leicester, to Bill Thorne, a Desford Colliery miner, and his wife Nancy. He had two brothers. Thorne was educated at the Thomas Rawlins School in Quorn, and played multiple sports but excelled the most in snooker. He began playing snooker while holidaying in Eastbourne at the age of 14. He left school at age 15 and became an estimator for a glass factory while practising snooker in Loughborough and then Leicester's snooker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Miles
Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player. Career Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship. Although he lost 12–22 to Ray Reardon, this turned out to be the highlight of his career. Despite his modest success in major tournaments, Miles became one of the best known players in Britain, in an era when there was little televised snooker other than the ''Pot Black'' series, because he won the event in consecutive years, in 1974 (after entering as a late replacement for Fred Davis, who withdrew because of illness) and again in 1975. Other notable moments in Miles's career included reaching the final of the 1976 Masters, where he again lost to Reardon. The 1978/79 season saw something of a purple patch for Miles. At the 1978 UK Championship he defeated Rex Williams 9–8 and then hammered Willie Thorne 9–1, which included what was then a championship record brea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Virgo
John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality. Snooker career Early professional career (1973–1978) Virgo's first notable appearance in a major tournament was during the 1973 American Pool Tournament for The Indoor League where he lost in the semi-final. He turned professional in 1976, at a time when players such as Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Eddie Charlton were at the forefront of the sport. Although he had just turned 30 upon turning pro, Virgo was still among the youngest players on the circuit at the time. In 1977, he reached the semi-finals of the 1977 UK Championship losing to eventual winner Patsy Fagan by a single frame 8–9. UK Champion and Top 10 player (1979–1990) Virgo's snooker-playing fortunes peaked in 1979 when he reached the semi-final of the World Championship, and went on to win the 1979 UK Championship (though this was not a ranking eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rex Williams
Desmond Rex Williams (born 20 July 1933) is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the World Professional Billiards Championship from Clark McConachy in 1968, the first time that the title had been contested since 1951. Williams retained the title in several challenge matches in the 1970s, and, after losing it to Fred Davis in 1980, regained it from 1982 to 1983. He played a leading role in the re-establishment of the World Snooker Championship on a challenge basis in 1964, and lost twice to John Pulman, once in a single match and once in a series of matches played in South Africa. When the Championship reverted to being a knockout from 1969, he reached the semi-finals three times. In 1968 he initiated the revival of the Professional Billiards Players Association (known as the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Associatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Drago
Tony Drago (born 22 September 1965) is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player. Known for his speed around the table, during his snooker career he won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 Guangzhou Masters. He later switched his focus to pool and won the 2003 World Pool Masters beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and the 2008 Predator International 10-ball Championship beating Francisco Bustamante 13–10. Snooker career Drago's highest snooker world rankings position was number ten (in 1998). He has reached two major finals – the 1991 World Masters (losing to Jimmy White), and the 1997 International Open (beaten by Stephen Hendry—Drago's only ranking event final, and his first run past the quarter-finals of any ranking event). He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship in 1988. He has appeared in the tournament 11 further times, most recently in 2004/2005, with five further last-sixteen runs. He lost to Matthew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernie Mikkelsen
Bernie Mikkelsen (born 11 April 1950) is a Canadian former professional snooker player. Career Mikkelsen recorded a 9–8 victory over John Pulman to reach the semi-finals of the 1976 Canadian Open where he lost 1–9 to Alex Higgins. At the 1976 World Amateur Snooker Championship, representing Canada, Mikkelsen recovered from 0-3 behind against Bert Demarco to win 4–3, but with only three wins in eight matches in the qualifying round-robin group, he did not progress to the later stages. In 1977 he became the first Canadian player to make a maximum break in competition. Mikkelsen turned professional in 1979, and played only at the World Snooker Championship in his first three seasons. He lost in the first qualifying round each time; 7–9 to Roy Amdor in 1980, 4–9 to Jimmy White in 1981, and 6–9 to Colin Roscoe in 1982. After not competing during the 1982–83 snooker season, Mikkelsen reached the third qualifying round of the 1984 World Snooker Championship with wins o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean Reynolds
Dean Reynolds (born 11 January 1963 in Grimsby) is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001. Career Before turning professional, Reynolds won the first-ever Junior Pot Black in 1981, beating Dene O'Kane, another future professional, with a 2- aggregate score of 151–79. He twice reached a ranking tournament final, but lost both times, in the 1989 British Open to Tony Meo and in the 1989 Grand Prix to Steve Davis. Reynolds is one of the select band of players who have compiled a sixteen- clearance (143 ) in competition at the 2006 European Team Championships in Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda .... In April 2009 Reynolds suffered a stroke and had to relearn his snooker technique. Performance a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Owers
Ken Owers (born 30 March 1953) is an English former professional snooker player. Career Born in 1953, Owers turned professional in 1986. He saw immediate success, reaching the last 16 at his first tournament, the 1986 International Open. There, he defeated John Hargreaves 5–3, George Scott 5–1, Jimmy White 5–2 and Dene O'Kane 5–0, before losing 1–5 to Neal Foulds. Later in the same season he reached the last 16 at the 1987 English Professional Championship, exiting 2–6 to Mike Hallett, and twice beat the veteran Fred Davis - 5–3 in the British Open, and 10–5 in the 1987 World Championship, where he eventually lost in the last 64 to Warren King. The following season, Owers beat Mick Fisher 5–0 and Rex Williams 5–3 before losing 0–5 to Peter Francisco in the last 32 at the 1988 Classic, and again progressed to the last 16 of the English Professional Championship, this time losing 4–6 to Tony Knowles. Owers won the 1989 WPBSA Invitational Event Two b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silvino Francisco
Silvino Francisco (born 3 May 1946) is a South African former professional snooker player, most notable for winning the 1985 British Open. Snooker career Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Manuel and nephew Peter both played at a high level, Manuel having been a runner-up in the World Amateur Billiards Championship on several occasions, and Peter having risen to the world ranking of number 14. Francisco won the 1985 British Open, beating Kirk Stevens 12–9. Prior to the start of the Final match, Francisco accused Stevens of playing under the influence of drugs. Francisco was subsequently fined for the comments. The world governing body of snooker, the WPBSA, accepted that the accusation was false and it is on record that Kirk Stevens has never failed a drugs test in the history of his career.Gordon Burn, Pocket Money. Stevens later admitted to have an addiction to cocaine. He was involved in another scandal after the 1989 Masters. After losing 5–1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vic Harris (snooker Player)
Vic Harris (16 August 1945 – 10 March 2015) was an English snooker player who was born in Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex, and turned professional in 1981. He identified Steve Davis as a future world champion at the age of 12, and was the first to spot the talent of Tony Drago when Drago won the Maltese amateur title in 1984. Harris competed in the professional UK Championship in 1981, 1982, and 1987. He won the English Amateur Championship in 1981. The Vic Harris Snooker League in Essex is named after him. Harris was interviewed by the BBC during the 2013 World Snooker Championship. He said he had his right ear removed due to cancer, but continued to play regularly in Essex. Harris talked about his role in helping to develop the games of Steve Davis and Stuart Bingham. Death and tributes Harris died on 10 March 2015, aged 69, following a long battle with cancer. Throughout the day many snooker professionals and those involved in snooker paid tribute to Harris. World Snooker Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
