Steve Longworth (27 July 1948 – 10 October 2021) was an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

player.

Career

Born in 1948, Longworth turned professional in 1984. He lost his first match at the International Open of that year 4–5 to

Steve Newbury Steve Newbury (born 21 April 1956) is a former Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. As an amateur, Newbury won the 1979 National Pairs Championship (with Cliff Wilson), and the 1980 Welsh Amateur Championship. At the 1980 World Amateu ...

, but reached the last 16 of the 1985 Classic, where he lost 3–5 to

Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn (born 16 January 1948) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex ...

, and the semi-final of the 1985 English Professional Championship, where Tony Knowles defeated him 9–6. He went on to reach the last 16 of the 1986 UK Championship, losing 6–9 to

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

, the 1987 World Championship, where he beat

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10–4 before falling 7–13 to the young

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

, and the 1988 Canadian Masters, losing 0–5 to

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. Longworth also registered ten last-32 finishes in ranking events, the last coming at the 1989 British Open, where he was defeated 1–5 by Parrott. Following this, he dropped out of the top 64 during the 1990–91 season, and fell to 131st in the rankings in 1995; this was insufficient for Longworth to keep his place on the tour, and he left professional snooker at the age of 46.

Personal life

Longworth had two children and three grandchildren and settled into retirement before his death in October 2021. Longworth died on 9 October 2021, at the age of 73. Tributes were led by former practise partner

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a f ...

References

English snooker players 1948 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Blackburn {{England-snooker-bio-stub