Steve Davis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Steve Davis
OBE

Davis in 2012
Born	(1957-08-22) 22 August 1957 (age 67) Plumstead, London, England
Sport country	England
Professional	1978–2016
Highest ranking	1 (1983/84–1989/90)
Tournament wins
Ranking	28
World Champion	1981 1983 1984 1987 1988 1989

Steve Davis (born on 22 August 1957) is a famous English snooker player who has now retired. He works as a commentator, DJ, and electronic musician. He also writes books.

Steve Davis was amazing at snooker in the 1980s. He reached the World Snooker Championship final eight times in nine years. He won six world titles and was the world number one for seven years in a row!

He won 28 big tournaments in his career. This puts him fifth on the list of all-time winners. Only Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, and Judd Trump have won more.

Steve was the first player to make a perfect score in snooker, called a maximum break, in a professional game. This happened at the 1982 Classic. He was also the first snooker player to earn over £1 million in prize money. In 1988, he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. He is the only snooker player to have won this award.

Steve Davis is well-known for a very famous snooker match. It was the 1985 World Championship final. He was the champion at the time. He started with a huge lead of 8–0 against Dennis Taylor. But Taylor fought back and tied the game three times! The final game lasted 68 minutes. It was a thrilling fight over the very last black ball.

About 18.5 million people in the UK watched this match. It is still the biggest TV audience for any show after midnight in Britain. Dennis Taylor potted the black ball to win the game. This was his only world title. After the match, Steve Davis's short answers in interviews became a joke. A TV show called Spitting Image made fun of him. They gave him the funny nickname "Interesting."

Besides his six world titles, Steve Davis won the UK Championship six times. He also won the Masters three times. This means he won 15 "Triple Crown" titles. Only Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have won more. In the 1987–88 season, he was the first player to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. Only Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams have done this since.

He won his last major title at the 1997 Masters when he was 39. He kept playing very well and was still in the top 16 players at age 50. He played his last game at the Crucible Theatre in 2010. He was 52 years old. He beat the world champion, John Higgins, in that tournament. This made him the oldest player to reach the quarter-finals since 1983. He stopped playing professionally at the end of the 2015–16 season. This was after 38 years on the professional tour. But he still works as a commentator for the BBC. He was given an MBE award in 1988. He was later given an OBE award in 2000.

Outside of snooker, Steve Davis also played nine-ball pool. He played for Europe in the Mosconi Cup eleven times. He is also very good at chess and poker. He was even the president of the British Chess Federation for five years. In 2013, he was on the TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

He loves progressive rock music. He works as a radio host, a club DJ, and a musician. He started an electronic music band called the Utopia Strong. They have released two albums. He has written books about snooker, chess, cooking, and music. He has also written three books about his own life.

How Steve Davis Started Playing Snooker (1970–1979)

Steve Davis was born in Plumstead, London, on August 22, 1957. His father, Bill, loved snooker and taught Steve to play when he was 12. They played at their local club. Bill gave Steve a book called How I Play Snooker by Joe Davis. Steve used this book to learn his snooker skills.

He started playing at the Lucania Snooker Club in Romford. When Steve was 18, the club manager told Barry Hearn about his talent. Barry Hearn became Steve's friend and manager. Steve was paid £25 for each match. He traveled around the UK and played against famous players. These included Ray Reardon, John Spencer, and Alex Higgins. People started calling him "Nugget." Barry Hearn said this was because you could bet money on him and know you would win.

In 1976, Steve won the English Under-19 Billiards Championship. He also won the 1978 Pontins Spring Open as an amateur. He beat Tony Meo in the final. The next year, he won the same title again. He beat Jimmy White 7–4. Steve became a professional player in 1978. He was the youngest professional player at the time.

He first appeared on TV in a show called Pot Black. He played against Fred Davis. He played in his first World Snooker Championship in 1979. He won two qualifying matches. But he lost 11–13 to Dennis Taylor in the first main round.

Winning Big: Early Success (1980–1984)

At the 1980 World Snooker Championship, Steve reached the quarter-finals. He beat Patsy Fagan and the champion, Terry Griffiths. But he lost 9–13 to Alex Higgins. That same year, he won his first major title, the 1980 UK Championship. He beat Griffiths 9–0 in the semi-finals. Then he beat Higgins 16–6 in the final.

After this first win, he won the Wilson's Classic in 1980. He also won the Yamaha Organs and English Professional in 1981. He was expected to win the 1981 World Snooker Championship. He was seeded 13th. Steve reached the final by beating Jimmy White, Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, and Cliff Thorburn. In the final, he won 18–12 against Doug Mountjoy. This was his first world championship!

Steve won the International Open final 9–0 against Dennis Taylor. He also kept his UK Championship title. He beat Griffiths 16–3 in the final. He won five events in 1981. In January 1982, Steve made the first perfect score (maximum break) shown on TV. This happened at the Classic against John Spencer. He won a car for this amazing achievement. He reached the final but lost 8–9 to Griffiths. However, later that month, Steve beat Griffiths 9–5 in the Masters final. This was his first Masters title.

His winning streak ended at the 1982 World Snooker Championship. He lost 1–10 to Tony Knowles in the first round. But he still finished the season as the world number one. Later that year, Steve lost to Griffiths in the quarter-finals of the 1982 UK Championship. After these losses, he won the World Doubles Championship with his partner Tony Meo.

He beat Cliff Thorburn 18–6 in the 1983 World Snooker Championship. He won his second world title easily. Steve led 7–0 against Alex Higgins in the 1983 UK Championship final. But he lost 15–16 in the very last game. At the 1984 World Snooker Championship, he was the first player to win the title again at the Crucible Theatre. He beat Jimmy White 18–16 in the final. This was his third world championship. Steve also won the 1984 UK Championship, beating Alex Higgins 16–8.

The Famous 1985 World Snooker Championship Final

At the 1985 World Snooker Championship, Steve Davis played against Dennis Taylor in the final. Steve won all the games in the first session. He led 8–0. But Taylor started to catch up. Taylor tied the match at 11–11, then at 15–15, and again at 17–17. This meant they had to play a deciding game.

The scores were very close in the last game. Taylor potted the last colored ball, leaving only the black ball. Steve was leading 62–59 in that game. The player who potted the black ball would win the championship. Both players missed the black ball several times. Finally, Taylor potted it and won the title!

This final was watched by 18.5 million viewers. It set records for TV audiences in Britain. This match is now known as the "black ball final." It was voted the ninth-greatest sporting moment ever in a 2002 poll. Steve's surprise and Taylor's happy pointing finger have been shown many times on TV.

More World Championship Wins (1985–1989)

Steve and Taylor played again in the final of the 1985 Grand Prix. This time, Steve won in the deciding game. This match lasted over 10 hours. It was the longest one-day final in snooker history.

Steve was losing 8–13 to Willie Thorne in the 1985 UK Championship final. Thorne missed an easy blue ball. If he had potted it, he would have led 14–8. But Steve won that game and seven of the next eight. He won the match 16–14. Steve also won the 1986 British Open, beating Thorne 12–7.

At the 1986 World Snooker Championship, Steve reached the final again. He beat Jimmy White and Cliff Thorburn. His opponent in the final was Joe Johnson. Johnson was not expected to win, with very high odds against him. But Steve lost the match 12–18. At the end of 1986, Steve beat Neal Foulds 16–7 to win the 1986 UK Championship again.

Steve started 1987 by winning the Classic 13–12 against Jimmy White. At the 1987 World Snooker Championship, he beat Terry Griffiths and Jimmy White. He met Joe Johnson in the final again. Steve led 14–10. Johnson got closer, making the score 14–13. But Steve won four of the next five games. He won the match 18–14 and took his fourth world title. In December, he won his UK title again. He beat Jimmy White 16–14 in the final.

Steve won the Classic again in 1988. Then he won his second Masters title. In the final, he beat Mike Hallett 9–0. This is the only time someone has won 9–0 in that event's history. He also won the World Cup with England. And he won his fourth Irish Masters title. In the World Championship that year, Steve beat Mike Hallett, Tony Drago, and Cliff Thorburn. He met Terry Griffiths in the final. Steve led 5–2 after the first session. But Griffiths tied it at 8–8. On the second day, Steve won ten out of thirteen games. He won his fifth world title 18–11.

He won the first ranking event of the 1988–89 snooker season. He beat Jimmy White 12–6 in the International Open. In that match, Steve was the first player to make three century breaks in a row in a major tournament. In October, he won the Grand Prix final 10–6 against Alex Higgins. He held the World, UK, Masters, Grand Prix, Classic, and Irish Masters titles all at the same time. His four-year winning streak in the UK Championship ended in December. He lost 3–9 to Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals.

Steve did not win another major title until the 1989 World Championship. He beat Stephen Hendry 16–9 in the semi-finals. Then he had a huge win in the final. He beat John Parrott 18–3. This was his sixth world championship. He won the Grand Prix again in October. He beat Dean Reynolds 10–0 in the final. This was the first time someone won 10–0 in a ranking event final. By the end of the 1980s, Steve Davis was snooker's first millionaire.

Later Career and Retirement (1990–2016)

Steve Davis won the Irish Masters for the fifth time in 1990. He beat Dennis Taylor 9–4. Jimmy White stopped Steve from reaching his eighth straight 1990 World Snooker Championship final. White won their semi-final 16–14. Steve was no longer world number one at the end of the 1989–90 snooker season. Stephen Hendry took his place.

The next season, Steve reached the final of the UK Championship again. He played Stephen Hendry and lost 15–16 in the deciding game. Steve won the Irish Masters again, beating John Parrott 9–5. At the world championship, Steve reached the semi-final but lost to John Parrott 16–10.

Steve won the Classic in 1992, beating Stephen Hendry 9–8. Then he won the Asian Open, beating Alan McManus 9–3. But he lost in the first round of the 1992 World Snooker Championship. He was beaten 4–10 by Peter Ebdon. This was his first first-round loss in nine years.

He won the European Open in 1993. He beat Stephen Hendry 10–4 in the final. Steve won his seventh Irish Masters event in 1993. He beat Alan McManus 9–4. At the 1993 World Snooker Championship, Steve beat Peter Ebdon. But he lost to Alan McManus 13–11 in the second round.

Steve won his eighth and final Irish Masters event in 1994. He beat Alan McManus in a deciding game. Steve went past the second round at the 1994 World Snooker Championship for the first time in three years. He beat Dene O'Kane, Steve James, and James Wattana. But he lost to Stephen Hendry 9–16 in the semi-final.

Over the next two seasons, Steve won the Welsh Open titles twice in a row. At the 1994 event, he won three games 5–0 without losing a single frame. He won the final 9–6 over Alan McManus. The next season, at the 1995 event, he beat John Higgins 9–3 in the final. This was his last ranking title.

In 1996, Steve reached the quarter-finals of both the Masters and World Championship. He lost to Alan McManus and Peter Ebdon. The next year, at the 1997 Masters, Steve reached the final. He beat Alan McManus, Peter Ebdon, and Ken Doherty. He was losing 4–8 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. But Steve won six games in a row to win 10–8. This was Steve's last professional title. It was his third Masters title.

At the world championship later that year, Steve beat David McLellan. But he lost to Ken Doherty 3–13. He also reached the second round in the 1998 event. He beat Simon Bedford but lost to Mark Williams 6–13.

For the 1998–99 season, Steve's best result was reaching the quarter-finals at the 1998 UK Championship. This was the first time he had gone past the third round in five years. But he lost to Paul Hunter. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 1999 Welsh Open, but lost to Mark Williams. However, at the 1999 World Snooker Championship, he lost in the first round to Joe Perry.

He reached the quarter-finals of the 1999 British Open in 1999–2000. But he only won one match at the 2000 World Snooker Championship. He beat Graeme Dott but lost to John Higgins 11–13. After this loss, Steve dropped out of the top 16 world rankings. This was the first time since 1980. He also did not play in the Masters for the first time since he first qualified.

Steve's best result in the 2000–01 snooker season was reaching the quarter-finals at the 2001 Irish Masters. He lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Steve did not qualify for the 2001 World Snooker Championship. He lost 6–10 to Andy Hicks. This was the first time Steve missed the event since he started in 1979. After this loss, he thought about retiring. But he said it would be "easy" to quit. He still enjoyed playing, so he continued.

In the 2001–02 snooker season, he reached the semi-finals of the 2002 LG Cup. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Irish Masters the next season. However, Steve could not qualify for the 2002 World Snooker Championship. He lost 8–10 to Robin Hull.

Despite this, his past results helped him get back into the top 16 for the 2003–2004 season. He started ranked 11th in the world. Steve reached the final at the 2004 Welsh Open. This was nine years after he last won a ranking event. He beat Mark King, John Higgins, Stuart Milkins, and Marko Fu. He played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He led 8–5 but lost 8–9. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 World Snooker Championship. He lost to the winner, Shaun Murphy.

Davis during a 2008 match against Ville Pasanen

Steve reached his 100th major final at the 2005 UK Championship. This was his first time in that final since 1990. He beat champion Stephen Maguire and Stephen Hendry. But he lost 6–10 to Ding Junhui in the final. Steve said he was not going to retire before the World Championships. He reached the second round, where he lost to Shaun Murphy.

His good play in the 2006–07 season helped him stay in the top 16 at age 50. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 UK Championship. He also reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. Steve dropped out of the top sixteen a year later. But he reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters and Grand Prix in 2008. At the 2009 World Snooker Championship, Steve lost 2–10 to Neil Robertson in the first round. At the 2009 UK Championship, he beat Michael Judge 9–7. He then played Stephen Hendry but lost 6–9.

He qualified for the 2010 World Snooker Championship. This was his 30th time at the event. He beat Adrian Gunnell 10–4. In the first round, Steve beat Mark King 10–9. At 52, he was the oldest player to win a match at the Crucible since 1989. In the second round, he played against the champion, John Higgins. Steve won 13–11. A commentator called this "the greatest upset" in the Crucible's history. This made him the oldest world quarter-finalist since 1983. In the quarter-final, Steve lost 5–13 to Neil Robertson. This was his best run at the World Championship in five years. But it was his last time playing at the Crucible. He did not qualify for the tournament again before he retired. Ronnie O'Sullivan matched Steve's record of 30 Crucible appearances in 2022.

Steve played in the Players Tour Championship in 2010. His best result was reaching the quarter-finals at the Paul Hunter Classic. He lost 1–4 to Shaun Murphy. He finished 67th on the Order of Merit. He reached the final of the 2010 World Seniors Championship, losing 1–4 to Jimmy White. He almost qualified for the 2011 World Snooker Championship. He beat Jack Lisowski 10–9 but then lost 2–10 to Stephen Lee.

Steve Davis playing a trick shot during a break at the 2012 German Masters final.

Steve started the 2011–12 season ranked world number 44. This was his lowest ranking since he became professional. He reached the final of the 2011 World Seniors Championship. He lost 1–2 to Darren Morgan. He played in the 2011–12 Players Tour Championship. His best result was reaching the semi-finals at the Warsaw Classic. He lost 3–4 to Ricky Walden. He finished 26th on the Order of Merit.

He qualified for the 2011 UK Championship. He beat Ian McCulloch and Andrew Higginson. But he lost 1–6 in the first round to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He reached the last 16 of the Welsh Open, losing 0–4 to Shaun Murphy. Steve did not qualify for the main stage of the World Snooker Championship. He lost 7–10 to Ben Woollaston.

He qualified for the 2012 Shanghai Masters, where he lost 4–5 to Ricky Walden. He then qualified for the final stages of the 2012 UK Championship. But he lost in the first round 2–6 to Ali Carter. He played in the Players Tour Championship again. His best results were reaching the last 16 at the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy and the Scottish Open. He lost to John Higgins and Ding Junhui. He was 52nd on the tour's Order of Merit.

He finished the season in the qualifying stage of the World Championship. He lost 7–10 to David Gilbert. He won his first World Seniors Championship in 2013. He beat Nigel Bond 2–1. After losing to Craig Steadman 8–10 in the second round of the 2014 World Snooker Championship qualification, Steve was no longer in the top 64 players. He left the main professional tour after 36 years.

Steve received a special invitation to play in tournaments for the 2014–15 season. He played in the 2014 Champion of Champions event. He qualified by winning the 2013 World Seniors Championship. He lost 1–4 to Mark Selby. He played in the 2016 World Snooker Championship qualifiers. He lost to Fergal O'Brien in his last professional match.

On April 17, 2016, Steve announced his retirement from professional snooker on the BBC. He said his father's recent death was the main reason. He walked into the Crucible Theatre holding the World Championship trophy. The audience gave him a standing ovation. During his career, Steve won over £5.5 million in prize money. As of 2021, he still plays in exhibition games. He is also a commentator for the BBC's snooker coverage.

Other Sports and Hobbies

From 1994 to 2007, Steve Davis often played in professional nine-ball pool events. He helped create the Mosconi Cup. This is a yearly nine-ball pool tournament between teams from Europe and the United States. He played for Europe eleven times. He was on the winning teams in 1995 and 2002. His win against Earl Strickland helped Europe win in 2002. In 2001, Steve reached the final of his first pool event at the World Pool League. He lost 9–5 to Efren Reyes. A commentator called him "Romford Slim." This was a nickname like the famous American pool player "Minnesota Fats." Steve does not like blackball pool played in British pubs. He thinks it is a "Mickey Mouse game" when the cue ball is smaller.

At the 2000 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Steve was ranked 63rd. He was losing 2–8 to the world champion, Efren Reyes. But he came back and won the match 9–8. He beat two other former world champions. He beat Ralf Souquet 9–6 and Kunihiko Takahashi 11–6. But he lost 7–11 in the quarter-finals to Corey Deuel.

He reached the last 16 of the 2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales. He played against three-time champion Earl Strickland. This match was famous for how the players acted. Strickland said the crowd was unfair to Steve. When the referee warned him, he told her to "shut up." He also complained when Steve took a second toilet break. Steve later said he took the second break to play mind games with his opponent. Strickland won the match.

Steve Davis is also a good poker player. He has played well in TV poker tournaments. He was at the final table of the 2003 Poker Million with Jimmy White. Jimmy White won that tournament. Steve finished 579th at the 2006 World Series of Poker. He won $20,617. At the 2008 World Series of Poker, Steve finished 389th and won $28,950. He finished 131st at the 2010 World Series of Poker, winning $5,491. At an event in 2011, Steve finished eighth and won $2,049.

He loves chess. He was the president of the British Chess Federation from 1996 to 2001. Steve also wrote a chess book in 1995 called Steve Davis Plays Chess.

Steve Davis in Media

Steve Davis is known for being calm under pressure. At first, he didn't show much emotion. His interviews were not very exciting. This made people think he was boring. The TV show Spitting Image even gave him the nickname "Interesting." But Steve has used this image to his advantage. He says it helped people like him more. In 1988, he wrote a book called How to Be Really Interesting with a comedy writer.

Steve worked on several video games. He was in a funny online ad for a Nintendo DS game. He also worked with the World Snooker Championship games and Virtual Snooker. Two video games were named after him: Steve Davis Snooker in 1984 and Steve Davis World Snooker in 1989. In 2010, Steve played himself on a TV show called The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. He also appeared on The Morecambe & Wise Show in 1981.

Steve has written many books. Five of them are about snooker. He also wrote two chess books in 1995. He wrote three cookbooks in 1994. His third book about his life, Interesting, came out in 2015. He also helped write a music book in 2021.

In 2013, he was a contestant on the TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He finished in eighth place. A 2016 BBC TV film called The Rack Pack was about snooker in the 1970s and 1980s. It focused on Steve's rivalry with Alex Higgins. Will Merrick played Steve Davis in the film.

Music Career

When Steve was in high school, he started listening to progressive rock music. He loved bands that made challenging and complex music. He said that one album everyone should hear is Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt. Steve is a fan of the French progressive rock band Magma. He even helped them get back together for a concert in London. He has a collection of about 2,000 music albums.

Steve joined a radio station called Phoenix FM in 1996. He hosted different music shows for ten years. When the station started broadcasting full-time in 2007, he hosted The Interesting Alternative Show. Because of his radio shows, Steve was a guest presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music in 2011. Steve uses "Thunder Muscle" as his DJ name. This is a brand from the TV show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. He also used the name "Rocky Flame."

In 2015, he started working as a club DJ in London. Steve performed with Kavus Torabi at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival. They then formed an electronic music band called the Utopia Strong. Their first album came out in 2019. In March 2023, Steve toured the UK with the Utopia Strong. He played a special electronic instrument called an analogue modular synthesizer.

Steve also joined the band Chas & Dave and other snooker stars. They were called the Matchroom Mob. They released a funny song called "Snooker Loopy" in 1986. It was a top 10 hit in the UK. A year later, they released another song called "Romford Rap."

In September 2021, Steve appeared in a music video for a song called "Lily." This song was from an album by Richard Dawson and Circle.

Steve Davis's Legacy

Steve Davis won a record 84 professional snooker titles. He was second place in 38 events. Twenty-eight of his wins were in ranking events. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan have now won more world titles than his six. Ronnie O'Sullivan has also won more UK Championship titles than Steve's six. Steve made 338 century breaks in his career. A century break is when a player scores 100 points or more in one turn.

His coach for most of his career was Frank Callan. Frank also coached Stephen Hendry. In 2011, Steve was added to the World Snooker Hall of Fame. Seven other world champions were also added. In a book called Masters of the Baize, Steve Davis was ranked as the third-greatest snooker player of all time.

Steve was one of the first professional snooker players to visit China. He toured there in the 1980s. This, along with many good deals outside of snooker, made him the highest-paid sportsperson in the UK in the late 1980s.

During the 2010 world championship, Steve and Dennis Taylor did a funny re-enactment of their famous 1985 final. Taylor wore very big glasses, and Steve wore a red wig.

Images for kids

• 

  Davis in 2012

• 

  Davis during a 2008 match against Ville Pasanen

• 

  Steve Davis playing a trick shot during a break at the 2012 German Masters final.

• 

  Davis performing at the Krankenhaus Festival at Muncaster Castle in 2019