Cliff Thorburn























































Cliff Thorburn
CM
Cliff-Thorburn-2010.jpg
Born
(1948-01-16) January 16, 1948 (age 70)
Victoria, British Columbia
Sport country
 Canada
Nickname

  • The Grinder

  • Champagne Cliff

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.




  1. ^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989) and Dubai Classic (1989/1990–1994/1995)


  2. ^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983–1983/1984)


  3. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)


  4. ^ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)


  5. ^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)


  6. ^ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)


  7. ^ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)


  8. ^ The event was also called the Matchroom League (1978/1979–1980/1981)


  9. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)


  10. ^ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988 & 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)


  11. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)


  12. ^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)


  13. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)


  14. ^ 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

England John Spencer
21–25
Winner
1.

1980

World Snooker Championship

Northern Ireland Alex Higgins
18–16
Runner-up
2.

1983

World Snooker Championship (2)

England Steve Davis
6–18
Runner-up
3.

1983

International Open

England Steve Davis
4–9
Runner-up
4.

1984

Grand Prix

Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor
2–10
Runner-up
5.

1985

The Classic

England Willie Thorne
13–8
Winner
2.

1985

Matchroom Trophy

England Jimmy White
12–10
Runner-up
6.

1986

The Classic (2)

England Jimmy White
12–13
Runner-up
7.

1986

International Open (2)

England Neal Foulds
9–12
Runner-up
8.

1987

International Open (3)

England 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

Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor
8–6
Winner
5.
1974
Australia World Masters

[citation needed]
Runner-up
1.

1978

The Masters

Northern Ireland Alex Higgins
5–7
Winner
6.

1978

Canadian Open (2)

England Tony Meo
17–15
Winner
7.

1979

Canadian Open (3)

Wales Terry Griffiths
17–16
Runner-up
2.

1980

Bombay International

England John Virgo
7–13
Winner
8.

1980

Canadian Professional Championship

Canada Jim Wych
9–6[7]
Winner
9.
1980
Lada Snooker Championship

[citation needed]
Winner
10.

1980

Canadian Open (4)

Wales Terry Griffiths
17–10
Winner
11.

1981

Pot Black

Canada Jim Wych
2–0
Runner-up
3.

1981

Tolly Cobbold Classic

England Graham Miles
1–5
Runner-up
4.

1981

Scottish Masters

England Jimmy White
4–9
Winner
12.
1982

Canadian Professional Championship

[citation needed]
Winner
13.

1983

The Masters

Wales Ray Reardon
9–7
Winner
14.

1983

Australian Masters

Canada Bill Werbeniuk
7–3
Winner
15.

1984

Canadian Professional Championship (3)

Canada Mario Morra
9–2
Winner
16.

1985

The Masters (2)

Wales Doug Mountjoy
9–6
Winner
17.

1985

Canadian Professional Championship (4)

Canada Bob Chaperon
6–4
Winner
18.

1985

Scottish Masters

England Willie Thorne
9–7
Winner
19.

1986

The Masters (3)

England Jimmy White
9–5
Winner
20.

1986

Canadian Professional Championship (5)

Canada Jim Wych
6–2
Winner
21.

1986

Scottish Masters (2)

Northern Ireland Alex Higgins
9–8
Winner
22.

1987

Canadian Professional Championship (6)

Canada Jim Bear
8–4
Runner-up
5.
2000
World Seniors Masters

England Willie Thorne
0–1
Winner
23.
2018

The Seniors Masters

England 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

Canada Julien St Dennis
13–11
Winner
2.
1975

Canadian Amateur Championship (2)

Canada Bill Werbeniuk

Winner
3.
1976

Canadian Amateur Championship (3)

Canada Bill Werbeniuk
11–1
Winner
4.
1977

Canadian Amateur Championship (4)

Canada Robert Paquette
10–6
Winner
5.
2001

Canadian Amateur Championship (5)

Canada Tom Finstad
4–3
Runner-up
1.
2002

Canadian Amateur Championship

Canada Kirk Stevens
1–6
Runner-up
2.
2003

Canadian Amateur Championship (2)

Canada Alain Robidoux
2–6


References





  1. ^ 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}


  2. ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/23112009/58/cliff-thorburn.html


  3. ^ ab http://www.cbsa.ca/cbsa-champions-list.php


  4. ^ Artist puts a perfect frame on the map


  5. ^ Amazon.co.uk Retrieved 2015-04-30.


  6. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.


  7. ^ 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/













Achievements

First

Maximum break-scorer
in World Championship

23 April 1983
Succeeded by
Jimmy White









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