World Snooker Championship 1982
Encyclopedia
The 1982 Embassy
World Snooker Championship
professional ranking
snooker
tournament took place at the Crucible Theatre
, Sheffield
between 30 April and 16 May 1982.
Alex Higgins
won in the final 18–15 against Ray Reardon
.
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 30 April and 16 May 1982.
Alex Higgins
Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
won in the final 18–15 against Ray Reardon
Ray Reardon
Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...
.
Notable moments
- 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...
lost 1–10 to 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:...
in the first round. Terry GriffithsTerry GriffithsTerrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...
lost 6–10 in the same round to 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...
. The World No 1 at the time Cliff ThorburnCliff ThorburnClifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...
lost to Jimmy WhiteJimmy WhiteJames Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
4–10.
- Alex HigginsAlex HigginsAlexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
' semi-final against Jimmy White was regarded as one of the greatest matches at the Crucible. White was appearing in his first semi-final and at one stage led Higgins by 15 frames to 14. Needing one of the last two frames to reach the final, he led 59–0 in the 30th frame only for Higgins to score a frame-winning 69 break. The break is remembered because the balls were not best placed on the table but Higgins potting led him to not only clinch the 30th frame but also the decider to win 16–15. His 18–15 victory over 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...
in the final is also best remembered as he was captured embracing his wife Lynne and baby daughter Lauren after the final in front of a worldwide television audience of millions. Reardon meanwhile became the oldest ever finalist at the age of 49 years and 7 months.
- 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...
made the second highest break in professional snooker at the time, when he made a 143 against Alex HigginsAlex HigginsAlexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
in the quarter-final; the highest break of the tournament and one of ten centuries in the tournament.
- Jim DonnellyJim DonnellyJim Donnelly is a Scottish former professional snooker player who now coaches. He was seeded 29th in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season. He played in the 1982 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, the first Scottish professional player to do so, where he was eliminated in the...
became the first of many ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
players to play at the Crucible.
- This was the first tournament in which the top 8 seeds had to play in the first round, taking the tournament from 24 to 32 players. This format still remains today.