1985 British Open

Snooker tournament 1985 Dulux British Open 1985 02 17 1985 03 3 y Assembly Rooms Derby England WPBSA Ranking event £250,000 £50,000 Alex Higgins NIR (142) Silvino Francisco RSA 1982 Kirk Stevens CAN 12–9 1984 1986 The 1985 British Open (officially the 1985 Dulux British Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 17 February to 3 March 1985 with television coverage on ITV beginning on 22 February from the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. It was the first edition of the British Open, having been rebranded from the International Masters the previous year. It was the fifth ranking event of the 1984–85 snooker season, preceding the 1985 World Snooker Championship. In the best-of-23-frame frames final, South African player Silvino Francisco defeated Canadian Kirk Stevens 12–9. It was the first major professional snooker tournament without a British player in the final. The event featured a total prize fund of £250,000 with the winner receiving £50,000. The highest break of the event was made by Alex Higgins, who compiled a 142 in his last-16 match against Cliff Thorburn. Overview The 1985 British Open was held between 17 February and 3 March 1985.Hayton Eric Cuesport Book of Professional Snooker 160 The qualifying competition took place across venues in London, Bristol and Stockport. The first round took place at the Connaught Club in London and the Bradbury Hall in Chesterfield between 14 and 17 January 1985, whilst the remaining rounds took place at the Assembly Rooms, Derby.Morrison Ian 1985 The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker Twickenham Hamlyn Publishing 32 0600501922 The qualifying and first rounds were played as best-of-11 frame frames. The following rounds, from last 32 to quarter-finals, were played as shorter best-of-9-frames matches because of television scheduling. Broadcaster ITV were concerned about the prospect of large overtime payments for their staff if matches overran, and also requested that the afternoon matches started at 2:00 pm rather than the originally scheduled 1:00 pm, to avoid higher payments to lighting technicians that would have been due if the lighting was switched on before that time. The decision by snooker governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to cut the length of matches in response to ITV's request was publicly criticised by WPBSA board member Barry Hearn, who was also the manager of prominent player Steve Davis.Allan Gordon 16 February 1985 Hearn attacks decision over cut in frames 25 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. The event was sponsored by ICI Paints Division and was known for sponsorship purposes as the 1985 Dulux British Open. It took the place of the non-ranking 1984 International Masters tournament on the professional snooker calendar.Everton Clive 1985 Guinness Snooker: The Records Enfield Guinness Superlatives Ltd 85–86 0851124488 Prize fund The prize fund for the event was £250,000, with the winner receiving £50,000. Dulux British Open Snooker Scene 5–10 Everton's News Agency April 1985 Winner: £50,000 Runner-up: £30,000 Semi-finals: £17,500 Quarter-finals: £9,000 Last 16: £4,625 Last 32: £2,000 Last 64: £750 Highest break (televised stages): £5,000 Alex Higgins (142) Highest break (pre-televised stages): £5,000 Steve Davis (129) Total: £250,000 Tournament summary In the first round, Bill Werbeniuk, 14th in the world rankings, was beaten 1–6 by Bob Chaperon. Malcolm Bradley, in his first season as a professional player, beat David Taylor 6–3. Werbeniuk beaten Aberdeen Press and Journal 27 17 January 1985 British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 April 2020. Bob Harris, who to that point had made little impact as a player, beat world number six Eddie Charlton 6–3 after being 1–3 behind. Jimmy White was 3–1 ahead of Tony Jones but the match went to the deciding frame before White won, 6–5. Another first-year professional,Hayton Eric Dee John 2004 The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History Rose Villa Publications 433–434 978-0954854904 Danny Fowler, beat Rex Williams, the former world billiards champion, 6–3. Shock defeat for Charlton Aberdeen Press and Journal 16 18 January 1985 British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 April 2020. A third new professional, Tony Chappel, led reigning world champion Steve Davis 5–4, before Davis prevailed 6–5. Davis gets through – only just Aberdeen Evening Express 16 18 January 1985 British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 April 2020. The television stages of the event began in the second round. Steve Newbury, in his first season as a professional player, recorded a 5–3 win over former world champion Terry Griffiths in the last 32.Friskin Sydney 18 February 1985 Griffiths given surprise by newcomer 19 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Other players unexpectedly losing in the second round were Willie Thorne, who lost 0–5 to Murdo MacLeod; Ray Reardon, who was wearing spectacles for the first time in a match and who was beaten 4–5 by Dave Martin after leading 4–1; and Jimmy White, who lost 4–5 to Silvino Francisco.Friskin Sydney 20 February 1985 Thorne and White lose 22 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Only seven of the top sixteen seeded players progressed into the last 16 of the competition.Friskin Sydney 22 February 1985 Celebrities out of focus 25 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. In the last 16, Alex Higgins was level at 2–2 with Cliff Thorburn, then made a total clearance of 142, the highest break of the tournament, and went on to win 5–2. In the match between Eugene Hughes and Murdo MacLeod, neither player made a break of 30 or over as Hughes won 5–2.Friskin Sydney 26 February 1985 Break of 142 emphasizes Higgins's form 29 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Kirk Stevens won his quarter-final against Dennis Taylor by winning five straight frames after trailing 0–2,Friskin Sydney 27 February 1985 Stevens wins after losing opening frames 27 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. and went on to beat Davis 9–7 in the semi-final to reach his first ranking tournament final.Friskin Sydney 1 March 1985 Long day is a strain for Davis 26 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. In the other semi-final, Francisco was never behind Higgins in frames, and won 9–7.Friskin Sydney 2 March 1985 Francisco's open gate 25 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. With the South African Francisco and the Canadian Stevens contesting the final, it was the first snooker ranking tournament where there was no British player in the final. The next time there was a ranking final with no British players was the 2009 Grand Prix.https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/8301780.stm Rampant Robertson sees off Ding Ashenden Mark 11 October 2009 BBC Sport BBC 5 March 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200108121400/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/8301780.stm 8 January 2020 live Francisco beat Stevens 12–9 in the final to win the title. The final was played across three sessions, with an afternoon and evening session on Saturday 2 March followed by a session on Sunday 3 March. Francisco took a 5–0 lead in the final, before Stevens won the last two frames of the first session to make it 5–2. In the second session, Francisco increased his lead to 6–2 with a fluke fluke on the pink ball in the eighth frame. A few frames later, he made his lead 9–4 due to another fluked pink ball. In the frame following this, Stevens compiled the highest break of the final, 108, which left Francisco 9–5 ahead at the end of the first day. The following day, Stevens took the first three frames of the third session of the final to trail by just one frame. However, Francisco won the next two frames to lead 11–8. Stevens won frame 20 from 47 points behind, but Francisco took the next to gain victory. The winner's prize money of £50,000 was a new record amount for snooker tournaments.Friskin Sydney 4 March 1985 Francisco loses his sleep but wins title 20 The Times London The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. The final attracted an average of 11.2million viewers on ITV, peaking at 15.5million.Waumsley Rick Television's Top Ten Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham April 1992 14–15 It was Francisco's only ranking tournament win as well as Stevens' only ranking final.Steve Davis Interesting: My Autobiography https://books.google.com/books?id=VwTIBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT155 9 April 2015 Ebury Publishing 978-1-4735-0248-2 155 Main draw The main draw for the tournament was held with a total of 64 participants. Players listed in bold denote match winners.British Open http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=14 Snooker Scene https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071502/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=14 2 March 2018 2013-01-24 First round (Last 64)Best of 11 frames Second round (Last 32)Best of 9 frames Third round (Last 16)Best of 9 frames Quarter-finalsBest of 9 frames Semi-finalsBest of 17 frames FinalBest of 23 frames Steve Davis ENG 6 Tony Chappel WAL 5 John Virgo ENG 6 Peter Francisco RSA 1982 2 Rex Williams ENG 4 Danny Fowler ENG 6 David Taylor ENG 3 Malcolm Bradley ENG 6 John Campbell AUS 4 Dene O'Kane NZL 6 Doug Mountjoy WAL 5 Vic Harris ENG 6 Ray Reardon WAL 6 Warren King AUS 5 Dave Martin ENG 6 Bernard Bennett ENG 0 Dennis Taylor NIR 6 George Scott ENG 2 John Parrott ENG 6 John Rea SCO 4 Terry Griffiths WAL 6 Dave Chalmers ENG 0 Steve Newbury WAL 6 Eddie Sinclair SCO 3 Kirk Stevens CAN 6 Marcel Gauvreau CAN 3 Mark Wildman ENG 6 Matt Gibson SCO 1 John Spencer ENG 6 Frank Jonik CAN 0 Graham Miles ENG 6 Ray Edmonds ENG 1 Tony Meo ENG 6 Robby Foldvari AUS 0 Mike Hallett ENG w/o Bernie Mikkelsen CAN w/d Tony Knowles ENG 6 Doug French ENG 2 Cliff Wilson WAL 3 Steve Longworth ENG 6 Jimmy White ENG 6 Tony Jones ENG 5 Silvino Francisco RSA 1982 6 Tony Kearney IRL 4 Bill Werbeniuk CAN 1 Bob Chaperon CAN 6 Joe Johnson ENG 5 Wayne Jones WAL 6 Eugene Hughes IRL 6 Paul Watchorn IRL 4 Eddie Charlton AUS 3 Bob Harris ENG 6 Willie Thorne ENG 6 Bill Oliver ENG 3 Murdo MacLeod SCO 6 Tommy Murphy NIR 5 Cliff Thorburn CAN 6 Gino Rigitano CAN 3 Dean Reynolds ENG 6 James Giannaros AUS 3 Neal Foulds ENG 6 John Hargreaves ENG 1 Alex Higgins NIR 6 Roger Bales ENG 3 ENG Steve Davis 5 ENG John Virgo 2 ENG Danny Fowler 4 ENG Malcolm Bradley 5 NZL Dene O'Kane 5 ENG Vic Harris 3 WAL Ray Reardon 4 ENG Dave Martin 5 NIR Dennis Taylor 5 ENG John Parrott 2 WAL Terry Griffiths 3 WAL Steve Newbury 5 CAN Kirk Stevens 5 ENG Mark Wildman 2 ENG John Spencer 3 ENG Graham Miles 5 ENG Tony Meo 5 ENG Mike Hallett 4 ENG Tony Knowles 5 ENG Steve Longworth 2 ENG Jimmy White 4 RSA 1982 Silvino Francisco 5 CAN Bob Chaperon 5 WAL Wayne Jones 2 IRL Eugene Hughes 5 ENG Bob Harris 4 ENG Willie Thorne 0 SCO Murdo MacLeod 5 CAN Cliff Thorburn 5 ENG Dean Reynolds 3 ENG Neal Foulds 1 ENG Alex Higgins 5 ENG Steve Davis 5 ENG Malcolm Bradley 2 NZL Dene O'Kane 5 ENG Dave Martin 4 NIR Dennis Taylor 5 WAL Steve Newbury 3 CAN Kirk Stevens 5 ENG Graham Miles 2 ENG Tony Meo 5 ENG Tony Knowles 2 RSA 1982 Silvino Francisco 5 CAN Bob Chaperon 2 IRL Eugene Hughes 5 SCO Murdo MacLeod 2 CAN Cliff Thorburn 2 NIR Alex Higgins 5 ENG Steve Davis 5 NZL Dene O'Kane 1 NIR Dennis Taylor 2 CAN Kirk Stevens 5 ENG Tony Meo 4 RSA 1982 Silvino Francisco 5 IRL Eugene Hughes 2 NIR Alex Higgins 5 ENG Steve Davis 7 CAN Kirk Stevens 9 RSA 1982 Silvino Francisco 9 NIR Alex Higgins 6 CAN Kirk Stevens 9 RSA 1982 Silvino Francisco 12 Final Final: Best of 23 frames. Referee: Vic Bartlam Assembly Rooms, Derby, England. 2 and 3 March 1985. Silvino Francisco RSA 1982 South Africa 12–9 Kirk Stevens Afternoon: 73–51, 88–6 (65), 58–46, 63–2 (57), 74–29 (52), 52–71 (60), 23–76, Evening: 61–50, 13–73, 81–4, 64–43, 12–80, 64–52, 5–108 (108) Afternoon: 18–79, 31–77 (62), 54–63, 58–11, 79–40, 54–74, 64–14 65 Highest break 108 0 Century breaks 1 3 50+ breaks 3 Qualifying Qualifying matches were played as best-of-11-frames matches. Players in bold denote match winners. Player 1ScorePlayer 2WAL Tony Chappel6–5 ENG Ian WilliamsonENG Dave Chalmers 6–5 IRL Pascal BurkeSCO John Rea 6–0 ENG Mick Fisher AUS Warren King 6–4 ENG Paul Medati ENG Danny Fowler 6–1 WAL Clive EvertonNIR Tommy Murphy 6–3 IRL Dessie SheehanAUS Robby Foldvari 6–4 ENG Steve DugganENG Vic Harris 6–1 ENG Les DoddENG Tony Jones 6–0 ENG Geoff FouldsRSA 1982 Peter Francisco 6–3 IRL Billy KellyNZL Dene O'Kane 6–4 ENG Graham CripseyWAL Steve Newbury 6–0 IRL Paddy BrowneENG Malcolm Bradley 6–2 CAN Mario MorraIRL Tony Kearney 6–4 ENG Mike WattersonENG Doug French 6–0 SCO Eddie McLaughlinCAN Bob Chaperon 6–5 IRL Patsy FaganENG Bob Harris 6–1 ENG Jim MeadowcroftENG Steve Longworth 6–1 ENG Fred DavisCAN Bernie Mikkelsen 6–0 ENG Dennis HughesENG George Scott 6–3 ENG Mike DarringtonAUS James Giannaros 6–1 WAL Colin RoscoeCAN Frank Jonik 6–2 NIR Jack McLaughlinWAL Wayne Jones 6–1 SCO Jim DonnellyIRL Paul Watchorn 6–1 ENG Jack FitzmauriceENG Roger Bales 6–4 SCO Ian BlackCAN Marcel Gauvreau 6–3 ENG David GreavesSCO Matt Gibson 6–1 SCO Bert DemarcoENG Ray Edmonds 6–1 RSA 1982 Derek Mienie References Category:British Open (snooker) British Open British Open British Open British Open