1981 International Open
The 1981 International Open (officially the 1981 Jameson International Open) was the first staging of the professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 14 and 20 September 1981 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. Television coverage was on ITV. Earlier matches were played at the Romiley Forum in Stockport finishing on 12 September. Four of the last-16 matches were played there with the remaining four played in Derby. Steve Davis won the tournament by defeating Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He turned professional in 1972 and won the 1985 World Snooker Championship, in which he lost the first eight frames of 1985 W ... 9–0 in the final. Main draw References {{Snooker season 1981/1982 Scottish Open (snooker) Sport in Derby International Open International Open International Open 1980s in Derby ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jameson Irish Whiskey
Jameson () is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Originally one of the six main Dublin whiskeys at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., Jameson is now distilled at the New Midleton Distillery in County Cork. It is by far the best-selling Irish whiskey in the world; in 2019, annual sales passed 8 million cases. It has been sold internationally since the early 19th century, and is available to buy in over 130 countries. Company history John Jameson and his family John Jameson (1740–1823) was originally a lawyer from Alloa in Scotland before he founded his eponymous distillery in Dublin in 1780. Previous to founding the distillery, he married Margaret Haig (1753–1815) in 1768. She was the eldest daughter of John Haig, a whisky distiller in Scotland. John and Margaret had a family of 16 children, eight sons and eight daughters. Portraits of the couple by Sir Henry Raeburn are on display in the National Gallery of Ireland. Jo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patsy Fagan
Patsy Fagan (born 15 January 1951) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Having been runner-up in the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he turned professional in October 1976. He experienced early success with victories at the 1977 UK Championship and the 1977 Dry Blackthorn Cup but following a car accident, developed a psychological block when using the which affected his playing and he did not win another title. He lost his professional status in 1989 following a 2–9 playoff defeat by Brady Gollan and now works as a snooker coach. His highest career ranking was 11, in 1978/79. Early life and amateur career Fagan was born in Dublin on 15 January 1951, one of twelve children. He started playing snooker at the age of 12, and moved to London in 1968. He played at the Chiswick Memorial Club, and in 1974 it was reported in a local newspaper that in a six-frame session he had recorded a break of 106, another over 80, and three more over 70. In the 1974 English Am ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terry Griffiths
Terence Martin Griffiths (16October 19471December 2024) was a Welsh professional snooker player, coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship (snooker), Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and back-to-back English Amateur Championships in 1977 and 1978, Griffiths turned professional in June 1978 at the age of 30. In his second professional tournament, he qualified for the 1979 World Snooker Championship. He reached the final of the event where he defeated Dennis Taylor by 24 to 16. This was only the second time a qualifier had won the World Snooker Championship, after Alex Higgins in 1972 World Snooker Championship, 1972; only Shaun Murphy in 2005 World Snooker Championship, 2005, and Zhao Xintong in 2025 World Snooker Championship, 2025 has since emulated the achievement. In 1988 World Snooker Championship, 1988, Griffiths again reached the final of the competition. He was tied with Steve Davis, 8–8, but lost the match 11 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Doug Mountjoy
Douglas James Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16. Mountjoy enjoyed a resurgence in his 40s, and at the age of 46 he defeated Stephen Hendry in the final of the 1988 UK Championship. He followed up by also winning the next ranking event, the 1989 Classic, and by the end of the 1988–89 season he was back in the top 16, where he remained unt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Taylor (snooker Player)
David Taylor (born 29 July 1943) is an English former professional snooker player. He won the English Amateur Championship 11–6 against Chris Ross in 1968 and the 1968 World Amateur Snooker Championship 8–7 against Max Williams later that year. Those wins encouraged him to turn professional. He was nicknamed "The Silver Fox" because of his prematurely grey hair. Taylor reached three major professional finals, the 1978 UK Championship, 1981 Yamaha Organs Trophy and the 1982 Jameson International, but lost them all. Together with his team-mates Steve Davis and John Spencer, he won the 1981 World Team Classic, representing England. His best performance at the World Snooker Championship was in 1980 event, when he reached the semi-finals. He was also a losing quarter-finals in three editions. Taylor was a member of the elite top 16 of the world rankings for ten consecutive years until the 1985–86 snooker season, reaching a high of number 7 in the 1981–82 season. Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joe Johnson (snooker Player)
Joe Johnson (born 29 July 1952) is an English former professional snooker player and a snooker commentator for Eurosport. As an amateur, he became the British champion in 1971, defeating Tony Knowles (snooker player), Tony Knowles in the final. After reaching the finals of both the English Amateur Championship and the World Amateur Snooker Championship, World Amateur Championship in 1978, Johnson turned professional the following year. He reached his first Snooker world rankings, ranking final at the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, where he finished runner-up to Knowles, and he progressed to the semi-finals of the 1985 Classic (snooker), 1985 Classic. With first-round losses in both of his previous Crucible Theatre, Crucible appearances, Johnson started off as a 1501 outsider at the 1986 World Snooker Championship. He defeated Terry Griffiths 1312 in the quarter-finals, Knowles 168 in the semi-finals, and Steve Davis 1812 in the final to win the world title and the only r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Graham Miles
Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player. Career Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship, losing 12–22 to Ray Reardon. As he was left-eye dominant, the right-handed Miles developed an idiosyncratic sighting style with his cue crossing his chin on the left side. This style became more pronounced over time, to the point where the cue ran beneath his left ear. Miles became one of the best known players in Britain, in an era when there was little televised snooker other than the ''Pot Black'' series. He won this tournament at his first attempt in 1974 (after entering as a late replacement for Fred Davis, who withdrew because of illness) and again in 1975. Other notable moments in his career included reaching the final of the 1976 Masters, where he again lost to Reardon. The 1978/79 season saw something of a purple patch for Miles. At the 1978 UK Championship ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bill Werbeniuk
William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and also a UK Championship semi-finalist, reaching a career high world ranking of #8 for the 1983–84 season. Early life Werbeniuk was born on 14 January 1947 in Winnipeg. His paternal grandfather had immigrated to Canada from Ukraine; his father, according to Werbeniuk, "was one of the biggest fences in Canada" and "committed armed robberies, peddled drugs, every larceny in the language." His father also owned Pop's Billiards on Logan Avenue in Winnipeg, where Werbeniuk began playing snooker as a child. Werbeniuk spent a portion of his youth travelling with Cliff Thorburn and playing pool for money. Career Werbeniuk won the Amateur Championship in 1973, with a 16–15 victory against Robert Paquette after being 12–15 behind. This qualifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dave Martin (snooker Player)
Dave Martin (born 9 May 1948) is a retired English snooker player. He became a professional player in 1980, and later reached the semi-finals at the 1981 International Open. He was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 International Masters. Career Martin was born in Wheatley Hill on 9 May 1948. He was the runner-up in the English Amateur Championship in both 1979 and 1980. turned professional in 1980, by defeating Eugene Hughes 9–6 in the final of the 1980 Professional Ticket Event, and reached the first round of the World Championship the same season, losing 4–10 to Bill Werbeniuk. The next season, he reached the semi-final of the International Open, defeating Bill Werbeniuk 5–2, Eddie Charlton 5–2, and Graham Miles 5–1, before losing 1–9 to Dennis Taylor. He followed this up by beating Eddie Sinclair 9–7 to qualify for the UK Championship, where he lost in the first round to Alex Higgins. He also qualified for the World Championship in 1982, once again l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Knowles (snooker Player)
Anthony Knowles (born 13 June 1955) is an English former professional snooker player. He won the 1982 International Open and the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, and was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s. His highest world ranking was second, in the 1984/85 season. Knowles was the British under-19 snooker champion in 1972 and 1974. He turned professional in 1980, and surprisingly defeated the defending champion Steve Davis 10–1 in the first round of the 1982 World Snooker Championship. In 1984, tabloid stories about his personal life were published, and he was fined £5,000 by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association for bringing the game into disrepute. His other tournament victories included the 1984 Australian Masters and, as part of the England team with Davis and Tony Meo, the 1983 World Team Classic. Career Tony Knowles was born in Bolton on 13 June 1955. He began playing snooker at the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Virgo
John Trevor Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English snooker commentator and former professional snooker player. After turning professional in 1976, Virgo won four professional titles, including the 1979 UK Championship, the 1980 Bombay International and the 1984 Professional Snooker League. A member of the sport's elite Top 16 for seven seasons, Virgo is also a former British Open and World Championship semi-finalist and was runner-up at the 1980 Champion of Champions and the 1984 Australian Masters. Virgo retired from professional snooker in 1994. Virgo has had a successful career working for the BBC, as a co-presenter of Big Break from 19912002, and as a snooker commentator for the channel. He is a member of the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame. 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 pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fred Davis (snooker Player)
Fred Davis (14 August 1913 – 16 April 1998) was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards. He was an eight-time World Snooker Championship winner from 1948 to 1956, and a two-time winner of the World Billiards Championship. He was the brother of 15-time world snooker champion Joe Davis; the pair were the only two players to win both snooker and English billiards world championships, and Fred is second on the list of those holding most world snooker championship titles, behind Joe. Davis' professional career started in 1929 at the age of 15 as a billiards player. He competed in his first world snooker championship in 1937 and reached the final three years later, losing to Joe by 36–37. From 1947, Davis played in five straight finals against Scottish player Walter Donaldson, winning three. When the event merged into the World Professional Match-play Championship in 1952, Davis won five more championships, defeating Donaldson three times and then John ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |