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]   |
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1979 UK Championship (snooker)
The 1979 UK Championship (also known as the 1979 Coral UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. This was the third edition of the UK Championship that would later become part of snooker's Triple Crown. The event was sponsored by Coral for the second year in a row. John Virgo won the championship, in his only major tournament win, by defeating Terry Griffiths 14–13 in the final, despite being deducted two frames for arriving late. The defending champion, Doug Mountjoy, was defeated 5–9 by Steve Davis in the opening round. Griffiths compiled the tournament's highest break of 119 in his semi-final win over Bill Werbeniuk. The last session of the final was broadcast by the BBC on their '' Grandstand'' programme; however, due to a strike by BBC personnel, the final frames of the match – including Virgo being awarded the ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County Borough Of Salford
Salford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the county of Lancashire in the northwest of England, covering the city of Salford. It was granted city status in 1926. History Free Borough and Police Commissioners In about 1230, the vill of Salford, Lancashire, was created a free borough by charter granted by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester. The borough's government was in the hands of a borough-reeve and portmote court. The reeve was elected by the burgesses at large, while the head of the Molyneux family of Sefton presided over the court as hereditary steward of the Hundred of Salford. In 1791 the first modern local government was established in the area, when the Manchester and Salford Police Act created commissioners to administer the two towns. In 1843 the inhabitant householders petitioned the Privy Council for a royal charter, charter of incorporation under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The charter was granted on 16 April 1844, and the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1986 British Open ...
The 1986 British Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 16 February to 2 March 1986 with television coverage beginning on 21 February at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. __TOC__ Main draw The Last 64 was played at Solihull on 4 and 5 December 1985. The last 32 onwards was played at Derby. Final References {{Snooker season 1985/1986 British Open (snooker) British Open British Open British Open British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liberty Games
Liberty Games is a UK-based retailer, distributor, and designer of games room equipment located in Epsom, England. The company was first founded in 1989 as "Liberty Leisure", renting out equipment to various establishments in England. In 2001, it switched to manufacturing gaming products and changed to its current name after Liberty Leisure was sold. It is now incorporated under the name of ''Majestic Leisure Ltd''. Their products include arcade games, pool tables, snooker tables, table tennis tables, jukeboxes, pinball machines, retro gaming, air hockey, dartboards, casino tables, outdoor products, driving simulators, slot machines, football tables, and various novelty game products, including multi-game tables, football coffee tables, LED pool tables. They also manufacture retro products, including old-fashioned jukeboxes and old-school arcade machines. Liberty Games products are commonly found in liquor stores, supermarkets, and restaurants around the UK. Popular Lib ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nicholas Gleaves
Nicholas Gleaves (born 2 January 1969) is an English actor and playwright. Career Gleaves's first theatre part was as an extra in ''Don Carlos'' at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. He did several plays there including the lead in ''Macbeth''. When interviewed about this play, he said he never had the superstition that surrounded it, "...all that spitting and spinning round — it all seems like quite hard work". He has been in many television shows since 1992; Gleaves was Rick Powell in the television drama series ''Playing the Field''. He had the role of Ray Fairburn in Conviction. Conviction was filmed at Salford Lads' Club which delighted Gleaves because of the building's connection to The Smiths. In '' The Chase'', he was the father Tom Bedford. In 2009, he said the idea for '' Survivors'', in which he played the scientist Whitaker, was "great". He played DS Andy Roper in the first two series of ''Scott & Bailey''. Of this role, he said, "I've done quite a few cop s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2022–23 Snooker Season
The 2022–23 snooker season is a professional snooker season with tournaments played between June 2022 and May 2023. Players The World Snooker Tour in the 2022–23 season initially consisted of a field of 131 professional players, but later dropped to 130 when Igor Figueiredo did not renew his WPBSA membership and fell off tour. The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2022 World Championship, and 30 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualify for the season. The other 36 tour cards are given to the following groups. Four places are allocated to the top four on the One Year Ranking List who have not already qualified for the Main Tour. Nine players from international championships and two players from the Q Tour are offered the tour cards. One player comes from the CBSA China Tour and two players from World Women's Snooker. 12 places are available through the Q School (four Event 1 winners, four Event 2 winners, and four Eve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women's interests, and local news featuring columnists. It was created to provide a progressive alternative to the conservative news websites such as the Drudge Report. The site offers content posted directly on the site as well as user-generated content via video blogging, audio, and photo. In 2012, the website became the first commercially run United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize. Founded by Andrew Breitbart, Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, the site was launched on May 9, 2005 as a counterpart to the Drudge Report. In March 2011, it was acquired by AOL for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jim Davidson (comedian)
James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows ''Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''Boobs in the Wood'' and ''Sinderella'', to critical reception. Biography The son of a Scottish father from Glasgow and Irish mother from Cork, Davidson was born in Kidbrooke, London, and attended Kidbrooke Park Primary School, Blackheath, and St Austin's School in Charlton. Having impressed some acquaintances of his father with impressions of celebrities, he was chosen to appear in Ralph Reader's Gang Show at the Golders Green Hippodrome aged 12 and appeared on television in the ''Billy Cotton Band Show''. He also briefly attended a stage school in Woolwich. Upon leaving school, Davidson worked as a drummer for pub bands, as well as holding a job as a supermarket shelf stacker, a messenger, air ticket clerk for a travel agency, a cash ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Break
''Big Break'' is a British television game show, created by Roger Medcalf, Mike Kemp and Terry Mardell, presented by comedian Jim Davidson and snooker commentator John Virgo, and broadcast on BBC One between 1991 and 2002. Inspired by ITV's ''Bullseye'', the programme focuses on teams consisting of a contestant and a profesional snooker player competing in rounds that involve snooker, with the best team eventually seeing its player seeking to win prizes for their contestant. The series was notable for often featuring a unique round involving trick shots, and the chemistry between Davidson and Virgo. Creation Seeking to create a new game show for the BBC, Roger Medcalf, Mike Kemp and Terry Mardell came together to determine an ideal format to propose to the broadcaster. The group eventually opted for a game show centered around snooker, partly inspired by ITV's ''Bullseye''. A pilot for the programme was filmed in May 1990, given the name ''Big Break'', with the creators assigning ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was World Champion in 1972 and 1982, and runner-up in 1976 and 1980. He became the first qualifier to win the world title in 1972, a feat only two players have achieved since – Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005. He won the UK Championship in 1983 and the Masters in 1978 and 1981, making him one of eleven players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. He was also World Doubles champion with Jimmy White in 1984, and won the World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team. Higgins came to be known as the "People's Champion" because of his popularity, and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s. He had a reputation as an unpredictable a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1981 World Snooker Championship
The 1981 World Snooker Championship, (also referred to as the 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship due to sponsorship) was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place from 7 April to 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1981 edition of the annual World Snooker Championship, a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA)-sanctioned event which was first held in 1927. The 1981 tournament was the fifth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. The total prize fund for the tournament was £75,000, of which £20,000 went to the winner. The defending champion and top seed in the tournament was Cliff Thorburn, who lost 10 to 16 in the semi-finals to Steve Davis. In the other semi-final, Doug Mountjoy defeated second seed Ray Reardon 16–10. Davis went on to achieve the first of his six world titles, taking a 6–0 lead in the final and winning four consecut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trick Shot
A trick shot (also trickshot or trick-shot) is a shot played on a billiards table (most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used), which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve the balls organized in ways that are unlikely or impossible to appear in normal play, such as balls being in a straight line, or use props such as extra cues or a triangle that would not be allowed on the table during a game. As an organized cue sports discipline, trick shot competition is known as artistic pool. Competition formats Billiards trick shots are the subject of increasing international competition, both amateur and professional. There are world championships, such as the WPA Artistic Pool World Championships and the World Snooker Trickshot Championship (which has not been held since 2006), and made-for-TV events, such as '' Trick Shot Magic'' and the '' World Cup of Trick Shots'', often televised in both the US and the UK ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |