Cliff Thorburn
Born | (1948-01-16) January 16, 1948 Victoria, British Columbia |
---|---|
Sport country | Canada |
Nickname |
|
Professional | 1972–1996 |
Highest ranking | 1 (1981/82) |
Career winnings | £988,098 |
Highest break | 147: (2 times) |
Century breaks | 92 |
Tournament wins | |
Ranking | 2 |
Non-ranking | 23 |
World Champion | 1980 |
Clifford Charles Devlin "Cliff" Thorburn CM (born January 16, 1948) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. He won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, the first player from outside the United Kingdom to win the title in the sport's modern era. He was also ranked number one that year. In 1983, Thorburn became the first player to compile a maximum break at the World Championship. He is one of two snooker players inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the other being George Chenier.[1] His slow, determined style of play earned him the nickname "The Grinder".
Contents
1 Career
1.1 Early career
1.2 1980s
1.3 Later years
2 Performance and rankings timeline
3 Career finals
3.1 Ranking finals: 10 (2 titles, 8 runner-ups)
3.2 Non-ranking finals: 28 (23 titles, 5 runner-ups)
3.3 Team finals: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
3.4 Amateur finals: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)
4 References
5 External links
Career
Early career
Thorburn first went to England to play snooker professionally in the early 70s. He had met John Spencer in Canada, who had advised him to go to the UK to improve his game. He was runner up in the world championship in 1977, and was soon considered a contender for tournaments.
1980s
Thorburn's finest moment came in the 1980 World Championship. He met Alex Higgins in the final, a personality that could hardly have been more different from his own. Thorburn won the match 18-16 to take the championship,[2] and rose to number two in the world rankings. The BBC's coverage of the final had been interrupted by the broadcast of live footage of the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy.
The following season Thorburn reached number one in the world rankings.
In 1983, Thorburn was made a Member of the Order of Canada. That same year, he became the first player to make a maximum break at the World Championships. He compiled the break in the fourth frame of his second round match against Terry Griffiths (a match he went on to win 13-12). Whilst completing the break, play stopped on the tournament's second table because Thorburn's friend and fellow Canadian Bill Werbeniuk wanted to watch him complete the break. He subsequently went on to reach the final, but lost to then world number 1 Steve Davis. His wife had a miscarriage during his semi-final and partly explains his eventual heavy defeat by Davis in the final. Thorburn himself refused to blame this for his loss, instead citing that he was fatigued after his three back-to-back final frame victories; 13-12 win over Terry Griffiths in the Second Round, 13-12 win over Kirk Stevens in the quarter finals and a gruelling 16-15 victory (from 13-15 behind) in his semi-final against Tony Knowles, which finished at 2:30am and left him physically exhausted before the final commenced later that same day; Thorburn stated that, following the early morning finish against Knowles, he simply had nothing left for the final less than thirteen hours later against the in-form Steve Davis, who eventually defeated Thorburn 18-6, with a session to spare.
Thorburn was a three time champion of The Masters, the most prestigious non-ranking event on the snooker calendar for many years. The event was held at the Wembley Conference Centre near London, England, which is where Thorburn lifted the title on three occasions winning in 1983 beating Ray Reardon 9-7 in the final, 1985 beating Doug Mountjoy 9-6 and in 1986 beating Jimmy White 9-5. Thorburn was the first player to retain the Masters title.
During the 1984/85 season Thorburn enjoyed a resurgence in form. He made the final of the Grand Prix losing to Dennis Taylor 10-2 in the Final. The highlight of the tournament was Thorburn's 9-7 victory over Steve Davis in the semi-final. Thorburn played outstanding snooker to overcome his great rival and the victory came unexpectedly because at that time Davis was in outstanding form.
In January 1985 Thorburn also made the final of the Classic and was again in outstanding form. On this occasion he met Willie Thorne in the final who was in equivalent good form and Thorne ran out the winner 13-8. Thorburn was again runner-up in the 1986 Classic this time losing to Jimmy White in the final 13-12. Thorburn looked certain to win the title but White got a snooker in the deciding frame on the final pink and potted pink and black to win the title.
Thorburn enjoyed success in the 1985 and 1986 Scottish Masters, an invitational event which opened the snooker season. Thorburn defeated Willie Thorne 9-7 in 1985 final and Alex Higgins 9-8 the following year.
Thorburn won the opening ranking event in the 1985-1986 snooker calendar, the Matchroom Trophy. Thorburn beat Jimmy White in the final 12-10 having trailed 0-7 and 4-8 and was runner-up in the same event the following two seasons.
Later years
He last qualified for the World Championship in 1994, where he faced Nigel Bond in the first round. Thorburn led by 9-2 but lost 10-9.
In 2001 Thorburn was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[1] The same year he won the pro-am Canadian Open Championship; he had previously won the tournament in 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977.[3][3]
During the 2006 World Championships, Thorburn flew to Sheffield to unveil a lifesize painting of his break, by the artist Michael Myers. It is on display at the Macdonald St. Paul's Hotel in Sheffield.[4] In 2010 Cliff Thorburn returned to the UK to compete on the Snooker Legends Tour where he faced Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and John Parrott.
Along with the highs there were a few lows. His manager Darryl McKerrow was killed in a hunting accident during the mid 80s and he was fined £10,000 and banned for two ranking tournaments in 1988 after failing a drug test.
He is the father of two children, Jamie and Andrew. Thorburn won around C$2.5 million in prize money during his 25-year career but also received a considerable income from inter alia billiards equipment endorsements, exhibition games, a snooker instruction book and an autobiography, Playing for Keeps, published in 1987.[5]
Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament | 1972/ 73 | 1973/ 74 | 1974/ 75 | 1975/ 76 | 1976/ 77 | 1977/ 78 | 1978/ 79 | 1979/ 80 | 1980/ 81 | 1981/ 82 | 1982/ 83 | 1983/ 84 | 1984/ 85 | 1985/ 86 | 1986/ 87 | 1987/ 88 | 1988/ 89 | 1989/ 90 | 1990/ 91 | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 | 1994/ 95 | 1995/ 96 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking[6] | No ranking system | 13 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 36 | 41 | 54 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Classic[nb 1] | Tournament Not Held | NR | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Prix[nb 2] | Tournament Not Held | 3R | QF | F | SF | 1R | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | Non-Ranking Event | SF | 3R | QF | QF | QF | 2R | WD | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Open[nb 3] | Tournament Not Held | NR | 2R | F | 1R | W | F | F | A | 1R | Not Held | LQ | 2R | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Open | Tournament Not Held | QF | 1R | SF | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Open[nb 4] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Not Held | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | SF | WD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
British Open[nb 5] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 3R | 3R | SF | SF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Championship | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | F | QF | 1R | W | SF | 1R | F | QF | QF | SF | 1R | SF | 1R | QF | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Masters[nb 6] | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | RR | W | 1R | A | A | QF | NH | R | Tournament Not Held | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scottish Masters | Tournament Not Held | F | A | SF | QF | W | W | SF | NH | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Masters | Not Held | 1R | 1R | A | F | QF | QF | SF | QF | W | 1R | W | W | SF | QF | QF | 1R | A | LQ | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irish Masters[nb 7] | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | RR | SF | QF | A | QF | QF | SF | QF | QF | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European League[nb 8] | Tournament Not Held | A | Not Held | RR | RR | RR | RR | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters[nb 9] | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking | QF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hong Kong Open[nb 10] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | NH | LQ | Tournament Not Held | NR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classic | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | F | F | 2R | 2R | SF | 2R | 1R | 2R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | QF | MR | NR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Champion of Champions | Tournament Not Held | A | NH | RR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Open[nb 11] | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Ranking Event | Not Held | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Ireland Classic | Tournament Not Held | QF | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
British Open[nb 12] | Tournament Not Held | A | RR | 2R | A | A | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classic | Tournament Not Held | A | QF | QF | QF | Ranking Event | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pot Black | A | RR | A | A | SF | RR | A | A | W | SF | A | A | SF | SF | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | NH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters[nb 13] | Not Held | W | QF | QF | QF | W | W | W | Tournament Not Held | SF | QF | SF | R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Professional Championship | Tournament Not Held | W | Not Held | SF | W | W | W | W | SF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dubai Masters[nb 14] | Tournament Not Held | QF | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matchroom Professional Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | A | QF | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Matchplay | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | 3R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Seniors Championship | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held |
Performance Table Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. | |||
NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989) and Dubai Classic (1989/1990–1994/1995)
^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
^ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
^ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
^ The event was also called the Matchroom League (1978/1979–1980/1981)
^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
^ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988 & 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
^ The event was also called the Dubai Classic (1989/1990–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
Career finals
Ranking finals: 10 (2 titles, 8 runner-ups)
Legend |
World Championship (1–2) |
Other (1–6) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
Runner-up | 1. | 1977 | World Snooker Championship | John Spencer | 21–25 |
Winner | 1. | 1980 | World Snooker Championship | Alex Higgins | 18–16 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1983 | World Snooker Championship (2) | Steve Davis | 6–18 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1983 | International Open | Steve Davis | 4–9 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1984 | Grand Prix | Dennis Taylor | 2–10 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1985 | The Classic | Willie Thorne | 13–8 |
Winner | 2. | 1985 | Matchroom Trophy | Jimmy White | 12–10 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1986 | The Classic (2) | Jimmy White | 12–13 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1986 | International Open (2) | Neal Foulds | 9–12 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1987 | International Open (3) | Steve Davis | 5–12 |
Non-ranking finals: 28 (23 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Legend |
The Masters (3–1) |
Other (20–4) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
Winner | 1. | 1970 | North American Snooker Championship | [citation needed] | |
Winner | 2. | 1971 | North American Snooker Championship (2) | [citation needed] | |
Winner | 3. | 1972 | North American Snooker Championship (3) | [citation needed] | |
Winner | 4. | 1974 | Canadian Open | Dennis Taylor | 8–6 |
Winner | 5. | 1974 | Australia World Masters | [citation needed] | |
Runner-up | 1. | 1978 | The Masters | Alex Higgins | 5–7 |
Winner | 6. | 1978 | Canadian Open (2) | Tony Meo | 17–15 |
Winner | 7. | 1979 | Canadian Open (3) | Terry Griffiths | 17–16 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1980 | Bombay International | John Virgo | 7–13 |
Winner | 8. | 1980 | Canadian Professional Championship | Jim Wych | 9–6[7] |
Winner | 9. | 1980 | Lada Snooker Championship | [citation needed] | |
Winner | 10. | 1980 | Canadian Open (4) | Terry Griffiths | 17–10 |
Winner | 11. | 1981 | Pot Black | Jim Wych | 2–0 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1981 | Tolly Cobbold Classic | Graham Miles | 1–5 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1981 | Scottish Masters | Jimmy White | 4–9 |
Winner | 12. | 1982 | Canadian Professional Championship | [citation needed] | |
Winner | 13. | 1983 | The Masters | Ray Reardon | 9–7 |
Winner | 14. | 1983 | Australian Masters | Bill Werbeniuk | 7–3 |
Winner | 15. | 1984 | Canadian Professional Championship (3) | Mario Morra | 9–2 |
Winner | 16. | 1985 | The Masters (2) | Doug Mountjoy | 9–6 |
Winner | 17. | 1985 | Canadian Professional Championship (4) | Bob Chaperon | 6–4 |
Winner | 18. | 1985 | Scottish Masters | Willie Thorne | 9–7 |
Winner | 19. | 1986 | The Masters (3) | Jimmy White | 9–5 |
Winner | 20. | 1986 | Canadian Professional Championship (5) | Jim Wych | 6–2 |
Winner | 21. | 1986 | Scottish Masters (2) | Alex Higgins | 9–8 |
Winner | 22. | 1987 | Canadian Professional Championship (6) | Jim Bear | 8–4 |
Runner-up | 5. | 2000 | World Seniors Masters | Willie Thorne | 0–1 |
Winner | 23. | 2018 | The Seniors Masters | Jonathan Bagley | 2–1 |
Team finals: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
Runner-up | 1. | 1980 | World Challenge Cup | Canada | Wales | 5–8 |
Winner | 1. | 1982 | World Team Classic | Canada | England | 4–2 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1986 | World Cup (2) | Canada | Ireland | 7–9 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1987 | World Cup (3) | Canada | Ireland | 2–9 |
Winner | 2. | 1990 | World Cup (2) | Canada | Northern Ireland | 9–5 |
Amateur finals: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
Winner | 1. | 1974 | Canadian Amateur Championship | Julien St Dennis | 13–11 |
Winner | 2. | 1975 | Canadian Amateur Championship (2) | Bill Werbeniuk | |
Winner | 3. | 1976 | Canadian Amateur Championship (3) | Bill Werbeniuk | 11–1 |
Winner | 4. | 1977 | Canadian Amateur Championship (4) | Robert Paquette | 10–6 |
Winner | 5. | 2001 | Canadian Amateur Championship (5) | Tom Finstad | 4–3 |
Runner-up | 1. | 2002 | Canadian Amateur Championship | Kirk Stevens | 1–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 2003 | Canadian Amateur Championship (2) | Alain Robidoux | 2–6 |
References
^ ab "Cliff Thorburn". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 20, 2015..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/23112009/58/cliff-thorburn.html
^ ab http://www.cbsa.ca/cbsa-champions-list.php
^ Artist puts a perfect frame on the map
^ Amazon.co.uk Retrieved 2015-04-30.
^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120107161810/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/natpro.html
Cliff Thorburn's Snooker Skills. (With text by Cliff Thorburn, edited by Peter Arnold.) Photography Peter Dazeley London: Hamlyn, 1987.
ISBN 0-600-55210-1.
External links
- Official website
Cliff Thorburn at CueTracker: Snooker Results & Statistics Database
- Profile on the Global Snooker Centre
- Profile at World Snooker
- http://www.worldsnooker.com/players/cliff-thorburn/
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cliff Thorburn. |
Achievements | ||
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First | Maximum break-scorer in World Championship 23 April 1983 | Succeeded by Jimmy White |