The crucible is a distinguished and well-known theatre in the world snooker scene, as the World Snooker Championships are held in this theatre every year since 1977. The Crucible was built in the city centre of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England in 1971.
Being the most coveted tournament, the World Snooker Championship drags millions of snooker fans to the crucible theatres every year.
There were number of world snooker championships held at the crucible, which are still in the memories of many snooker fanatics. What made those events unforgettable is the main theme of this article.
Since its establishment experienced alongside newly turned professional players participated in the event. This article will cover the most interesting and thrilling attempts including some debuts made by the snooker players at Crucible theatres.
John Spencer – 1977
Undoubtedly, snooker’s all-time-great John Spencer, won the first world snooker championship held at the Crucible. Prior to the victory, John had been able to win the titles twice.
John started off his run for the third title by defeating John Virgo with a score-line of 13-19 in the last-16 round of the tournament, moving onto the next round he ousted five times world champion Ray Reardon in the quarter-final.
After seeing his old rival John Pulman walking off the theatre, Spencer was through to the finals of the first world snooker championship at Crucible Theatre. The final was a close-call match played between the Canadian star Cliff Thorburn and John Spencer,
it was John in the end who prevailed the clash.
One interesting fact about John winning the championship is the use of two-piece cue. Throughout the tournament, John used a two-piece cue for the first time in the history of snooker, which is now being used worldwide.
Terry Griffiths – 1979
This happened to be the most interesting championship of all, as Terry qualified for world championship for the first time in his career. His intentions surely would have been to get some exposure and improve his ranking, but luck had other plans for the
young contestant.
After defeating Perry Mans in the first round and another 13-8 win, Terry went on to play a nerve wrecking match with the legendary Alex Higgins. The quarterfinal was doubtlessly a tough skirmish on the baize table, where Terry recovered from a four-frame
deficit before scoring a century in the last frame to win the match.
After a breathtaking victory in the semi-final match against Eddie Charlton, Terry booked his place in the final of the first world championship he played. “I am in the final and now you know” are the famous words by Terry after winning the semi-final.
In the final of the 1979 World Snooker Championship Terry Griffiths took on Dennis Taylor. It was an uptight match in the start, as the score-line rose to a 15-15 level. Terry refrained his opponent from winning more than one frame onwards, took the lead
until he made it home in an astounding fashion.
Terry became the first qualifier in the snooker history to win the championship at Crucible, a distinction matched by Shaun Murphy in 2005.
Jim Wych – 1980
Another Canadian snooker player rising to the surface after Kirk Stevens, Cliff Thorburn and Alain Robidoux is Jim Wych. In the 1980 World Snooker Championship, Jim made his way to the quarterfinal while playing his debut world snooker championship.
Unfortunately, his fairytale run was ended by the fellow countryman and ultimate champion Cliff Thorburn. Nevertheless, it was an impressive effort by the young cueist as he had knocked seven times world champion John Pulman out of the tournament, ending
his crucible career eventually.
Silvino Fransisco – 1982
The controversial Fransisco did not turn out to be a legendary snooker player, but he at least had the potential to play impressive snooker.
The South-African cueist made his way to the quarterfinals of 1982 World Snooker Championship playing some marvellous snooker that season.
His debut run was noteworthy as he defeated a star on the rise Dennis Taylor moving onto the last-16 round, where he claimed a superb victory against Dean Reynolds.
The best run of his career was put to a halt by the legendary Ray Reardon in the quarterfinals. Fransisco was involved in betting which ruined his career as a snooker player, later he was imprisoned for smuggling cannabis.
To be continued…
Tags: