- World Snooker Championship 1980
= The event =
The 1980 Embassy
World Snooker Championship took place at theCrucible Theatre ,Sheffield between the22nd April to the5th May 1980 .Notable Moments
* The final was contested by
Alex Higgins (who was heavily favoured to win his second world title) andCliff Thorburn . Whilst leading 9-5, Higgins started to showboat and take on unnecessarily risky shots, a number of which he missed. Thorburn slowly reeled him in and eventually pipped him 18-16. Higgins's wife Lynne had a cake prepared exclaiming 'Alex Higgins 1980 World Champion', and both players posed with the cake after the final!* The final frames of the final were interrupted by coverage of the
Iranian Embassy Siege . TheBBC took the snooker off the air to bring news as the SAS went into the Iranian Embassy inLondon to rescue the hostages. Coverage on BBC2 resumed while BBC1 continued with the news coverage.* Debutants this year included
Tony Meo , who gave Higgins a scare in the first round match when he lost 9-10. Canadian left-handerJim Wych beatJohn Pulman , who had made his last appearance in the Crucible stages of the championship, 10-5.Cliff Wilson andRay Edmonds also made their debuts.*
Kirk Stevens andSteve Davis shared the high break prize when they both made a 136. Stevens made his during his first round match withGraham Miles and Davis made his against Alex Higgins in the quarter-final. It was the first time the highest break would go to two players.* A few frames later on the Davis/Higgins match, Higgins attempted a
147 . He was the first player at the Crucible to pot 15 reds and 15 blacks but he missed the green when he attempted to fluke it when he was on a difficult shot - ending his hopes of winning £10,000.* The longest frame of the championship was between Cliff Thorburn and
Doug Mountjoy in the second round match which the 18th of 23 frames they played in the match took 69 minutes to complete. It took 21 minutes to pot the last brown! That record was surpassed in 2006.* The championship extended the players who played the Crucible from 16 to 24 with the Top 9-16 ranked players going automatically to play 8 qualifiers. The winner of the first round would play a Top 8 player.
* To accommodate these eight extra matches, the frames in each match were also revamped. The first round went to 19 frames in two sessions, the second and quarter-finals to 25 in three sessions, the semi-finals to 31 in four sessions and the final to 35 frames in four sessions. The format still continues today except for the semi-final, which became a 33-frame match in 1997.
Highest Breaks
136
Kirk Stevens andSteve Davis .There were 11 centuries in the championship.
Prize Money
* Winner £15,000
* 147 break £10,000
* Total £60,000
The Results
World Snooker Championship Rounds
|flagicon|Wales "'Terry Griffiths |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|EnglandSteve Davis |10|flagicon|IrelandPatsy Fagan |6
|flagicon|South Africa|1928 "'Perrie Mans |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|Northern IrelandAlex Higgins |10|flagicon|EnglandTony Meo |9
|flagicon|England "'John Spencer|q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|CanadaKirk Stevens |10|flagicon|EnglandGraham Miles |3
|flagicon|AustraliaEddie Charlton |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|EnglandJohn Virgo |10|flagicon|EnglandJim Meadowcroft |2
|flagicon|Canada "'Cliff Thorburn |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|WalesDoug Mountjoy |10|flagicon|WalesCliff Wilson |6
|flagicon|Northern Ireland "'Dennis Taylor |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|CanadaJim Wych |10|flagicon|EnglandJohn Pulman |5
|flagicon|WalesRay Reardon |q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|CanadaBill Werbeniuk |10|flagicon|EnglandWillie Thorne |9
|flagicon|England "'Fred Davis|q|starts in Round 2|q
|flagicon|England David Taylor|10|flagicon|EnglandRay Edmonds |5
|flagicon|EnglandSteve Davis |13|flagicon|WalesTerry Griffiths |10
|flagicon|Northern IrelandAlex Higgins |13|flagicon|South Africa|1928Perrie Mans |6
|flagicon|CanadaKirk Stevens |13|flagicon|England John Spencer|8
|flagicon|AustraliaEddie Charlton |13|flagicon|EnglandJohn Virgo |12
|flagicon|CanadaCliff Thorburn |13|flagicon|WalesDoug Mountjoy |10
|flagicon|CanadaJim Wych |13|flagicon|Northern IrelandDennis Taylor |10
|flagicon|WalesRay Reardon |13|flagicon|CanadaBill Werbeniuk |6
|flagicon|England David Taylor|13|flagicon|England Fred Davis|5
|flagicon|Northern IrelandAlex Higgins |13|flagicon|EnglandSteve Davis |9
|flagicon|CanadaKirk Stevens |13|flagicon|AustraliaEddie Charlton |7
|flagicon|CanadaCliff Thorburn |13|flagicon|CanadaJim Wych |6
|flagicon|England David Taylor|13|flagicon|WalesRay Reardon |11
|flagicon|EnglandAlex Higgins |16|flagicon|CanadaKirk Stevens |13
|flagicon|CanadaCliff Thorburn |16|flagicon|England David Taylor|7
("Best of 35 frames") Crucible Theatre, Sheffield,4 May &5 May 1980 . Referee: John Street
flagicon|CanadaCliff Thorburn
18-16Alex Higgins flagicon|Northern Ireland
Scores to fill|
Scores to fill
flagicon|CanadaCliff Thorburn wins the 1980 EmbassyWorld Snooker Championship
"Best of 19 frames"
"Best of 25 frames"
"Best of 25 frames"
"Best of 31 frames"
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