Dennis Taylor

Early career

Taylor turned professional in 1972 and made his world championship debut in 1973, narrowly losing to Cliff Thorburn in the first round. After world semi-final losses in 1975 and 1977, Taylor reached his first major final – the World Championship – in 1979, but lost 24–16 to debutant Terry Griffiths.

Having reached the semi final of the World Championships in 1984, losing to Steve Davis, Taylor was playing very well as he began the 1984–85 season. In September, however, he was devastated by the sudden death of his mother, which caused him to withdraw from the Jameson International. His first ranking event win came later in 1984, when he won the Rothmans Grand Prix by beating Cliff Thorburn 10–2 in the final.

The 1985 final

Later that season he reached his second world final in 1985, where he faced Steve Davis, world number one, reigning world champion and the dominant player of the 1980s. Taylor trailed 0–8 after the first session, but bounced back to trail 7–9 and 15–17 and then level at 17–17. In an incredibly tense final frame, the score was 62–44 to Davis with only the brown, blue, pink and black still on the table. While Davis needed only the brown, Taylor needed all the colours. He potted a long brown, which he says was one of his best ever shots under pressure.

A tricky blue and a difficult pink also went in, bringing the score to 62–59 to ensure that, for the first time ever, the title would be decided on the black ball. Taylor eventually potted the black after Davis had missed a tricky cut into the top pocket and, amid euphoric scenes watched by over 18 million viewers well after midnight on live BBC television, took the title at the relatively advanced age of 36.

Davis later drily commented that the match had all been there "in black and white". The World Championship win added to Taylor's popularity. On his return to Coalisland with the world trophy he was mobbed by the town's inhabitants, and he appeared widely on television thereafter.

Later career

Taylor reached the Rothmans Grand Prix final again in autumn 1985, and again faced Davis in a match that went to a deciding frame, but this time was beaten 10–9. As with all other first-time world champions so far, Taylor succumbed to the "Crucible Curse" on his return to the Crucible Theatre the following year and lost 10–6 to Mike Hallett in the opening match, humorously acknowledging defeat by putting his handkerchief on the end of his cue to resemble a white flag. He won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1987, beating Alex Higgins 9–8 in the final, having trailed 8-5. Taylor often credits his comeback win to having heard that Higgins's manager had ordered champagne to celebrate their impending victory.

Taylor had a well-publicized row with Higgins at the 1990 snooker World Cup in which the Northern Ireland team were beaten by Canada in the final, which ended with Higgins threatening to have Taylor shot, a threat Taylor understandably took seriously since he and Higgins belonged to opposite sides of Northern Ireland's sectarian divide. Shortly afterwards they met in the quarter-finals of the Irish Masters, and a determined Taylor won 5–2. The match was attended by a young Ken Doherty. Taylor also beat Jimmy White 6–5 in the semi-finals but, emotionally drained by the Higgins match, lost 9–4 to Davis in the final. Taylor and Higgins were later reconciled.

Taylor and Davis met in the World Championship for a second time in 1991, this time in the quarter-finals. Davis won this match 13-7 to advance to the semi-final.

Taylor was renowned for the glasses he wore during matches, with their large frame and unusual 'upside-down' structure that is required to avoid a player looking over the top of the lenses when down on a shot. As a member of the Matchroom group of players (managed by promoter Barry Hearn), Taylor performed on the hit single with Chas & Dave, "Snooker Loopy", which peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart. His perceived bad eyesight was parodied in the song with the lines "them long shots, he never ever got. Why the old mind boggles. But nowadays he pots the lot" with Taylor himself singing "'cos I wear these goggles".

He was also one of the first players to develop a relative competence in using his left hand to play the game, though he himself said this was partly because he hated to play shots with the rest. Taylor's form deteriorated gradually in the 1990s and he dropped out of the top 16 after the 1994 World Championship, the last remaining player who had been in the original world rankings in 1976. He retired from playing in 2000.

Personal life

Taylor now commentates on the three televised snooker tournaments each year for the BBC and is known for his bona fide and light-hearted commentary. His most famous commentary incident occurred in 1998 when co-commentator Clive Everton nearly strangled Taylor after instinctively grabbing his tie as he fell off his chair. Everton wrongly believed one snooker was required by a player before Taylor stated correctly that he actually needed three snookers to get back into the frame. Everton subsequently proclaimed that his "brains have gone completely" before leaning back in his chair which then gave way. He reached out as he fell, grabbing Taylor's tie and pulling him down with him. An audible bang rang around the auditorium as Everton fell off his chair and out the commentary box with Taylor chuckling uncontrollably.

Taylor has also made guest appearances on Big Break, They Think It's All Over, Russian Roulette, A Question of Sport, The Weakest Link and The Sooty Show. In 2005, he was one of the celebrities taking part in the third series of the successful BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, reaching eighth place with his partner Izabela Hannah.

In February 1990, Taylor officially opened the Royal Mail Sorting Office, in Blackburn, Lancashire, giving it his own stamp of approval. He then took part in a one-frame friendly challenge match. Taylor currently lives in Llay near Wrexham and has been a resident of the village since April 2003. His son Damien is a professional golf coach. His autobiography is entitled Frame By Frame.

Ranking event finals: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Legend World Championship (1–1) UK Championship (0–0) Other (1–3) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1979 World Championship Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths 16–24 Winner 1. 1984 Grand Prix Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 10–2 Winner 2. 1985 World Championship Davis, SteveSteve Davis 18–17 Runner-up 2. 1985 Grand Prix Davis, SteveSteve Davis 9–10 Runner-up 3. 1987 Grand Prix (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 7–10 Runner-up 4. 1990 Asian Open Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 3–9 Non-ranking event finals: 36 (17 titles, 19 runner-ups) Legend Masters (1–0) Other (16–19) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1974 Canadian Open Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn 6–8 Runner-up 2. 1975 Pot Black Miles, GrahamGraham Miles 0–1 Runner-up 3. 1976 Pot Black (2) Spencer, JohnJohn Spencer 0–1 Runner-up 4. 1978 Irish Professional Championship Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 7–21 Runner-up 5. 1979 Bombay International John Spencer Round-Robin Runner-up 6. 1980 Tolly Cobbold Classic Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 4–5 Winner 1. 1980 Irish Professional Championship Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 21–15 Runner-up 7. 1980 Pontins Camber Sands Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 7–9 Runner-up 8. 1980 The Classic Davis, SteveSteve Davis 1–4 Runner-up 9. 1980 Australian Masters John Spencer Aggregate Score Winner 2. 1981 Irish Professional Championship (2) Fagan, PatsyPatsy Fagan 22–21 Runner-up 10. 1981 International Open Davis, SteveSteve Davis 0–9 Runner-up 11. 1982 Tolly Cobbold Classic (2) Davis, SteveSteve Davis 3–8 Winner 3. 1982 Irish Professional Championship (3) Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 16–13 Runner-up 12. 1983 Irish Professional Championship (2) Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 11–16 Winner 4. 1984 Costa Del Sol Classic Hallett, MikeMike Hallett 5–2 Runner-up 13. 1984 Professional Snooker League John Virgo Round-Robin Winner 5. 1985 Irish Professional Championship (4) Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 10–5 Winner 6. 1985 Thailand Masters Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths 4–0 Winner 7. 1985 Canadian Masters Davis, SteveSteve Davis 9–5 Winner 8. 1985 Kit-Kat Break for World Champions Davis, SteveSteve Davis 9–5 Winner 9. 1986 Irish Professional Championship (5) Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 10–7 Winner 10. 1986 Australian Masters Davis, SteveSteve Davis 3–2 Runner-up 14. 1986 Malaysian Masters White, JimmyJimmy White 1–2 Runner-up 15. 1986 Hong Kong Masters Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne 3–8 Winner 11. 1986 Carlsberg Challenge White, JimmyJimmy White 8–3 Winner 12. 1987 The Masters Higgins, AlexAlex Higgins 9–8 Winner 13. 1987 Irish Professional Championship (6) Joe O'Boye 9–2 Winner 14. 1987 Tokyo Masters Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths 6–3 Winner 15. 1987 Carling Challenge Johnson, JoeJoe Johnson 8–5 Winner 16. 1987 Matchroom Professional Championship Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne 10–3 Winner 17. 1987 Canadian Masters (2) White, JimmyJimmy White 9–7 Runner-up 16. 1988 Irish Professional Championship (3) Jack McLaughlin 4–9 Runner-up 17. 1988 Matchroom Professional Championship Davis, SteveSteve Davis 7–10 Runner-up 18. 1990 Irish Masters Davis, SteveSteve Davis 4–9 Runner-up 19. 1995 Charity Challenge Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 1–9 Pro-am event finals: 1 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1980 Pontins Camber Sands Open Foulds, GeoffGeoff Foulds 7–5 Team finals: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups) Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score Winner 1. 1985 World Cup Ireland  England 9–7 Winner 2. 1986 World Cup (2) Ireland  Canada 9–7 Winner 3. 1987 World Cup (3) Ireland  Canada 9–2 Runner-up 1. 1987 World Doubles Championship Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn Hallett, MikeMike Hallett Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 8–12 Runner-up 2. 1990 World Cup  Northern Ireland  Canada 5–9 Other wins World Trickshot Championship – 1997, 1998