By Elliott West
Introduction
The year was 1982 and the tournament, the first round of the World Championship. Terry Griffiths was pitched against Willie Thorne. Griffiths was at the top of his game, having won all of the Triple Crown events, the Irish Masters on two occasions and The Classic and looked the favourite on the day. Willie Thorne on the other hand, had only won one non-ranking title, the Pontins Spring Open in 1980. This was a match of the methodical player (Griffiths) against the break-builder (Thorne). Two different styles of play but with one aim, to go deep into the tournament.
The Match
The first frame looked like it was going Thorne’s way but with only the black required to win the frame, Willie missed it and Terry potted it, winning it by one point, 57-56. This black was so significant in this match because it turned the tide in the Welshman’s direction. Thorne couldn’t reverse the deficit and before he knew it, he was 2-4 down.
Like all great players though, WT as we fondly call him, bounced back, finding an inner strength that would cause him to rattle off three frames in a row. They were all close on points but the main thing was that they had Thorne’s winning stamp on them. With the bit between his teeth, Thorne returned from the interval and threw himself into another gear, taking the game to a 9-5 lead including a fluent break of 106. Two frames later, he had won the match 10-6.
Frame scores : Willie Thorne v Terry Griffiths
56-57; 71-30; 1-94; 88-32; 61-66; 42-75(51); 68-48; 59-46; 68-59; 65-52; 70-47; 28-58; 88-36; 112(106)-1; 38-74(52); 81-47
Conclusion
This match was so significant because it marked the rise of Willie Thorne as a player on the main stage. This was his first win at the Crucible in his six years as a professional. Willie used this win as a springboard, winning his second round match as well, beating John Spencer, 13-5 before losing 10-13 to Alex Higgins, the overall winner that year. WT later reflected on the win against Griffiths, saying:
“I owe a lot to David Taylor” said Thorne. “I stayed with him a lot and he’s sorted my mind out about the game”.
Willie Thorne
