By Elliott West
Introduction
With Tony Knowles currently making the snooker headlines as he attempts to regain his place on the main tour via Q School, it is only fitting to look at one of his memorable professional title victories. Tony had already ended Steve Davis’ dreams of winning a second World Championship title in 1982, stopping him in his tracks with a 10-1 win in the first round. Steve Davis had already made an impression on the new snooker season by winning the Langs Supreme Scottish Masters and was already the reigning Jameson International champion.
In the light of these circumstances, it seemed likely that Davis would dominate this tournament but as we know snooker often produces a surprise when you least expect one. A sting in the tail for Steve as he dominated the previous season.
The Tournament
Held at the famous Assembly Rooms in Derby, this event took place between 27 September to 10 October 1982. A ranking event, it rewarded the victor with a winner’s share of £22,000.
The Draw
Last 32 (Best of 9 frames)
Tony Knowles v Eddie Sinclair 5-2
Ray Reardon v Eugene Hughes 5-3
Cliff Wilson v Doug Mountjoy 5-1
Jimmy White v Jim Meadowcroft 5-1
Kirk Stevens v Mike Watterson 5-3
Petrie Mans v Les Dodd 5-3
Terry Griffiths v Rex Williams 5-2
Alex Higgins v Billy Kelly 5-3
David Taylor v Mick Fisher 5-4
Bill Werbenuik v Jim Wynch 5-3
Steve Davis v Colin Roscoe 5-1
Dean Reynolds v Willie Thorne 5-3
John Virgo v Eddie Charlton 5-4
John Virgo v Ray Edmonds 5-2
Dennis Taylor v Mark Wildman 5-2
Cliff Thorburn v George Scott 5-1
Last 16 (Best of 9 frames)
Tony Knowles v Ray Reardon 5-2
Cliff Wilson v Jimmy White 5-2
Kirk Stevens v Petrie Mans 5-2
Terry Griffiths v Alex Higgins 5-2
David Taylor v Bill Werbenuik 5-2
Steve Davis v Dean Reynolds 5-0
John Virgo v John Spencer 5-4
Dennis Taylor v Cliff Thorburn 5-2
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Tony Knowles v Cliff Wilson 5-4
Kirk Stevens v Terry Griffiths 5-3
David Taylor v Steve Davis 5-3
John Virgo v Dennis Taylor 5-3
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Tony Knowles v Kirk Stevens 9-3
David Taylor v John Virgo 9-5
The Final (Best of 17 frames)
Tony Knowles v David Taylor 9-6
Quarter-Finals
John Virgo beat Dennis Taylor 5-3
By reaching this stage of a competition, John Virgo assured himself the biggest payout of his professional career, £5,000. This topped the £4,500 earned at the Coral UK Championship in 1979. By defeating Taylor, he achieved the record of beating three players in this tournament ranked above him. From 1-2 down in the match, Virgo won three consecutive frames but missed the brown in the seventh frame when he was on the brink of a 5-2 victory. However, he maintained the pressure with an effort of 58 in the eighth and Taylor didn’t manage to come back in the match.
David Taylor beat Steve Davis 5-3
David Taylor caused a major upset in his match against Steve Davis. Taylor who had been beaten 5-1 by Davis at the same stage of the event the previous year, took the last three frames in a row from 2-3 down in the match with breaks of 52, 63 and 45. After obtaining the snooker he needed on the pink ,Taylor lost the first frame on the black in this 45 minute frame. He did however win the second frame with a break of 76 to reply to Davis’s opening frame outburst of 55.
Davis then won two of the next three frames to lead 3-2 but then Taylor sprung into life and didn’t give Steve hardly any chances, dominating the table. This was definitely one of David’s best career performances and proved that even the greatest player can fold under pressure.
Tony Knowles beat Cliff Wilson 5-4
A pink ball took Tony Knowles to 4-2 but Cliff fought back to 4-4 before the man from Bolton took a lead in the decider with a break of 42 and never looked back.
Kirk Stevens beat Terry Griffiths 5-3
Steve Davis’s exit from the tournament seemed to haunt Terry Griffiths as it had in the Embassy World Championship the previous May. Kirk was on the attack from the start of the match and was soon 3-0 up. Griffiths managed to narrow the deficit to 2-3 but it wasn’t enough and Stevens took the required frame with a 65-0 lead with only three reds left in the eighth frame.
Semi-Finals
Tony Knowles beat Kirk Stevens 9-3
Tony didn’t need to do anything special to win this match and win the first three frames and took the fourth with a break of 98 before he snookered himself on the last red, preventing him from a attaining a possible 133 clearance. Kirk took the fifth frame with a break of 46 but Tony still had a 5-1 lead. However Stevens managed to take the last two frames of the afternoon session.
Tension crept into the evening session and it was clear that both players were nervous as the winning line approached. Once Knowles had taken the opening frame though with a 52 break, it was plain sailing for Tony. Combining fluency and flair, Knowles took the remaining frames needed to win the match, thanks to breaks of 83, 33, 40 and 84 and finished the match in 45 minutes.
David Taylor beat John Virgo 9-5
From 2-2 Taylor played four excellent frames to lead 6-2 at the interval and also won the first frame of the evening session with two visits of 56 and 27 after John had opened with a 49. Virgo hit back and won two frames with breaks of 64 and 63 and led 44-0 in the next but Taylor recovered and won the frame with 41 to lead 8-4. Taylor was clearly nervous but held it together to win the match and reach his first final since the 1978 Coral UK Championship and the 1981 Yamaha Organs Trophy.
The Final
Tony Knowles beat David Taylor 9-6
The match began with both players sharing the first four frames. At 2-2, Knowles broke away and won the next three frames with a 93 break in the last of these. Taylor took the last frame before the interval to trail 3-5 going into the evening session.
Going into the evening session, Tony produced the highest break of the tournament in the first frame, a break of 114 and superseding Taylor’s previous record in this event of 101 against Bill Werbenuik. Taylor then narrowed the gap by taking the next two frames to B go one frame behind at 5-6.
Despite Tony clearly suffering from nerves, he took the next frame with a break of 63 to go 7-5 ahead. Safety play followed and Knowles was able to recover from a mistake when he had made 43 but Taylor came back in this, the thirteenth frame to lead by five points. Knowles retaliated by potting the colours to the blue and then went safe off the pink, making Taylor go in-off and lose the frame. Taylor only took one more frame with a break of 74 before Tony took the needed frame and match with a 76 break. Tony won combined earnings of £23,200 as a result of winning the tournament and the highest break prize (£22,000 & £1,200) and David Taylor walked away with a runner’s-up prize of £12,000. A great and very memorable win for the lad from Bolton.
