By Elliott West
Introduction
The Crucible Curse or Crucible Jinx is a term used to describe the fact that every first-time World Championship winner at the Crucible has never retained the title the following year. This curse is not actually exclusive to the Crucible as if you look at the entire history of the World Championship, as John Spencer won the title in 1969 against Gary Owens 37-24 at the Victoria Halls in London but lost to Ray Reardon, the eventual winner 33-37 in 1970. The only players who have won the title, prior to the Crucible, in successive years were Joe Davis in 1927 and 1928, Fred Davis in 1948 and 1949 and John Pulman, when two tournaments were held in 1964.
For the purpose of this piece, I want to look in more detail at some of these players and try to get to the bottom of why this curse still prevails, and whether anyone will ever break it? This is a piece that I am revisiting in the light of the start of the World Championship.
The Dreaded Crucible Curse
Since 1977, eighteen world champions have experienced the curse, the most recent being the 2019 World Champion, Judd Trump, who was beaten in the quarter-finals of the 2020 event.
Of the eighteen players to have won their first world title at the Crucible Theatre, six lost in their first match as defending champion: Terry Griffiths in 1980, Steve Davis in 1982, Dennis Taylor in 1986, Graeme Dott in 2007, Neil Robertson in 2011, and Stuart Bingham in 2016. Most recently, Judd Trump fell to the curse at the quarter-final stage. Only two of the eighteen were able to reach the final as defending champions: Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998.
Four players have won consecutive world titles at the Crucible (having already won the championship previously): Steve Davis (1983–1984 and 1987–1989), Stephen Hendry (1992–1996), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2012–2013), and Mark Selby (2016–2017). All of these players had already experienced the “Crucible curse” after winning their first world title.
The Crucible Curse is essentially the pressure heaped on a World Champion to retain the title the following year. That champion is vulnerable and it only takes one player to find some form on the day to scalp this title holder. In the history of the tournament, the most obvious example of this was in 1982. Steve Davis was still riding a wave from his first World Championship title in 1981, when he defeated Doug Mountjoy 18-12 in the final. The odds on favourite champion was drawn against Tony Knowles in 1982. What should have been a walk in the park for Davis, turned into a living nightmare. Davis only managed to capture one frame in this match amidst a 10-1 drubbing. Knowles went on to reach the quarter-finals where he lost to Eddie Charlton 11-13.
These first round jitters have happened multiple times over the years with Dennis Taylor losing to Mike Hallett in 1986, 6-10, Graeme Dott being defeated by Ian McCulloch in 2007, 7-10, Neil Robertson losing to Judd Trump in 2011, 8-10 and Stuart Bingham to Ali Carter in 2016, 9-10.
No disrespect to their winning opponents but all these victors were vulnerable. Yes they beat them on merit but imagine a person teetering on the edge of a cliff and you may experience a small percentage of what this winner must have been feeling on the day to survive another round at Sheffield’s hallowed theatre of dreams.
Stephen Hendry was inflicted a defeat blow in the 1991 World Championship. Reaching the quarter-finals, the Scot drew the very talented Steve James. In a close match, James withstood the force of the Golden Bairn and won the match 13-11. Hendry had to wait until the following year to regain the title when he beat Jimmy White in the final 18-14.
There has however, been one player who has almost broken this dreaded curse. The first and undoubtedly the best, was Joe Johnson in 1987. Having blown Davis away in 1986, Joe met his nemesis again in the final in 1987. Having beaten Steve 18-12 in 1986, Johnson did extremely well to get to the final the next year but Davis wanted revenge for his defeat and losing to Dennis Taylor in 1985. Davis won 18-14 but the man from Bradford is undoubtedly the man who came closest to snuffing out the curse.
The Curse’s Final Curtain
The course of time will determine if any player will be able to break the Crucible Curse. A feat not for the faint hearted, the lucky player will have to have nerves of steel and a game that outclasses his opponent in every department. A big ask but that’s why these players are professionals in the first place, they are the best of the best. Perhaps another title before the World Championship will trigger this achievement or all departments of their game will click into outstanding mode when asked upon. The feat is achievable but one that may not happen for several years to come.
