By Elliott West
Introduction
It was with a heavy heart that I learnt that another of the snooker family was taken from us this week. The player in question is Steve Longworth who was a professional snooker player from 1984–1995. Someone whose actual talent on the table is probably not justifiably reflected on the statistic sheets. Born in 1948, Steve was part of an epic chapter of snooker and rubbed shoulders with all the greats of the sport in the 1980s and early 1990s. A sportsman who had Dennis Taylor as a practice partner and could have been a titleholder if the competition wasn’t so stiff at the time.
Career
Turning professional in 1984, Steve first appeared at the International Open of that year but lost in his first match to Steve Newbury 4-5. However, he did go on to reach the last 16 of the 1985 Classic, losing to Cliff Thorburn 3-5 and the semi-final of the English Professional Championship where he was defeated by Tony Knowles 9-6.
Carrying on this trend of going deep into competitions, Longworth started 1986 where he had left off in 1985, reaching the last 16 of the UK Championship, losing to John Parrott 6-9 and in the 1987 World Championship, beat Kirk Stevens 10-4 before losing to a rapidly impressive player, the young Stephen Hendry 7-13. He also qualified for the 1988 Canadian Masters, reaching the last 16 with an impressive win over Scotland’s Murdo MacLeod before being whitewashed in the last 16 by Jimmy White 5-0. A title that Jimmy went on to claim after defeating Steve Davis 9-4 in the final and a monetary prize of £40,000.
Longworth went on to make a further ten last-32 finishes in ranking events, his last coming at the 1989 British Open where he was defeated 1-5 by John Parrott. Steve then sadly started to fall off the snooker radar and in the 1990-1991 season fell out of the top 64 after being as high as 30th in the rankings during the 1987-1988 season. This downward trend continued with Steve having fallen to 131st in the rankings in 1995 and a placing that caused him to drop off the main tour, aged 46.
Summary
Steve Longworth was a player of considerable finesse, widely admired in his time as a professional and someone you could be fearful of playing if you drew him in a tournament. Someone who made ten professional career centuries and a high break of 120 in the 1993 World Championship qualifiers. With total career earnings of £104,469, Steve played 168 matches, reaching a total of 1511 frames, winning 75 of them and losing the other 93. His highest single prize money as a professional came in the 1991 World Masters-Men’s Singles where he reached the quarter-finals and won £15,000. A professional career that allowed him to spend eleven seasons on the main tour, making his most money in the 1988-1989 season where he won £21,443. His last professional appearance came at the 1993 Dubai Classic where he lost to Daryl Peach 3-5 in round 7.
An incredible player in his era, Steve sadly passed away, aged 73 on the 9th October 2021 at the Royal Blackburn hospital and leaves behind two children and three grandchildren.
