Dennis Taylor
Born	January 19, 1949 in Coalisland, County Tyrone
Nationality	Northern Irish
Professional	1972–2000
Tournament wins
Ranking events	2
Non-ranking events	3
World Champion	1985

For the soul singer, see Dennis Taylor (singer).

Dennis Taylor (recte Denis), born January 19, 1949 in Coalisland, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, is a retired Irish snooker player. Taylor was one of the game's great characters, known for his sense of humour and his trademark over-sized glasses. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating the then seemingly invincible Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's greatest finals. Dennis_Taylor_0001 This work is copyrighted. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... This article is about County Tyrone. ... Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The World Snooker Championship, currently held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, is the climax of snookers annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. ... 1985 Embassy World Championship results: First Round: Steve Davis [1] (ENG) 10-8 Neal Foulds (ENG) David Taylor [16] (ENG) 10-4 Dene OKane (NZL) Alex Higgins [9] (NIR) 10-4 Dean Reynolds (ENG) Terry Griffiths [8] (WAL) 10-3 Rex Williams (ENG) Ray Reardon [5] (WAL) 10-9... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... This article is about County Tyrone. ... Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... Snooker is a billiards sport that is played on a large (12 feet × 6 feet) baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. ... The snooker world rankings are a system of ranking professional snooker players. ... 1985 Embassy World Championship results: First Round: Steve Davis [1] (ENG) 10-8 Neal Foulds (ENG) David Taylor [16] (ENG) 10-4 Dene OKane (NZL) Alex Higgins [9] (NIR) 10-4 Dean Reynolds (ENG) Terry Griffiths [8] (WAL) 10-3 Rex Williams (ENG) Ray Reardon [5] (WAL) 10-9... The World Snooker Championship, currently held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, is the climax of snookers annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. ... Steve Davis OBE (born August 22, 1957) is an English professional snooker player who lives in Brentwood, Essex with his wife and two sons. ... Dennis Taylor just after winning the 1985 championship The 1985 World Snooker Championship final is often cited as the most exciting game of snooker ever seen. ...

Career

Taylor turned professional in 1971 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. His first ranking event win came in 1984, when he won the Rothmans Grand Prix by beating Cliff Thorburn 10-2 in the final. // The event The competition took place at the City Exhibition Hall, Manchester Prize Money Winner £1,500 Total £8,000 The Results First Round Best of 17 frames Pat Houlihan 9-2 Jackie Rea David Greaves 9-8 Bernard Bennett Perrie Mans 9-2 Ron Gross Graham Miles 9-5... Clifford Charles Devlin (Cliff) Thorburn (born January 16, 1948 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a retired professional snooker player. ... The event The competition took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between the April 1979. ... Terry Griffiths (born October 16, 1947, Llanelli) is a retired Welsh snooker player. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Clifford Charles Devlin (Cliff) Thorburn (born January 16, 1948 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a retired professional snooker player. ...

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 8-0 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 is one of his best ever 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 final black. Taylor attempted two unsuccessful doubles on the black, but it ran safe both times. After a superb safety shot by Steve Davis under extreme pressure, Taylor attempted to double the black up and down the full length of the table. He missed the double by quite some margin, yet the black ran safe once more. Davis missed a tricky cut to the top left corner, leaving the black over the pocket. Taylor then potted it and, amid euphoric scenes, lifted the Joe Davis Cup at the relatively advanced age of 36. Davis drily commented that the match had all been there "in black and white". Joe Davis (15 April 1901 - 10 July 1978), was an English professional snooker and billiards player, generally regarded as the father of modern snooker, and one of the greatest players of all time. ...

He reached the Grand Prix final again a few months later, 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, 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. He won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1987, beating Alex Higgins 9-8 in the final. It was Higgins who once threatened to have Taylor shot after a row at the snooker World Cup in which the Northern Ireland team were beaten by Canada in the final. Taylor understandably took this threat seriously and the next time the two of them played, in the Irish Masters, Taylor was determined to win, which he did. The match was attended by a young Ken Doherty. He went on to reach the final of that tournament but, emotionally drained by the Higgins match, lost 9-4 to Davis. Taylor and Higgins were later reconciled. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Crucible Theatre, located in the city centre of Sheffield, England is known for being a producing theatre, meaning shows are designed and rehearsed in-house. ... 1986 Embassy World Championship results: First Round: Dennis Taylor [4*] (NIR) 6-10 Mike Hallett (ENG) Joe Johnson [16] (ENG) 10-3 Dave Martin (ENG) Alex Higgins [9] (NIR) 10-7 John Spencer (ENG) Terry Griffiths [8] (WAL) 10-2 Danny Fowler (ENG) Kirk Stevens [5] (CAN) 10-6 Dean... Mike Hallett (July 2, 1959 - April 19, 2006) was an English professional snooker player. ... The Masters, formerly the Benson & Hedges Masters is a professional snooker tournament. ... Alexander Gordon Higgins (born March 18, 1949) is a world-famous snooker player. ... The Irish Masters is a professional snooker tournament. ... Ken Doherty (born September 17, 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player. ...

Taylor was renowned for the glasses he wore during matches, with the large frame supposedly giving him a broader view of the table. Taylor sang a cameo line in the Chas & Dave song "Snooker Loopy". His line was "because I wear these goggles". He was also relatively successful using his left hand to play the game. Chas and Dave are cockney pop rock music artists, often billed as Chas n Dave. ... Snooker Loopy is a humorous song by cockney duo Chas & Dave and the Matchroom Mob, released in 1986. ...

Taylor now commentates on the four televised snooker tournaments each year for the BBC, alongside the likes of Terry Griffiths, John Virgo and Clive Everton. He has also made guest appearances on Big Break, They Think It's All Over, A Question of Sport and The Weakest Link. The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest public broadcasting corporation in the world. ... John Virgo (born 3 March 1946, in Salford, Greater Manchester,England) is an English ex-professional snooker player, commentator, and TV personality. ... Clive Everton (b. ... Big Break was a BBC game show combining quiz show questions with snooker, presented by comedian Jim Davidson and snooker player and later commentator John Virgo. ... They Think Its All Over (1995-2006) is the name of a British satirical game show with a sporting theme produced by TalkbackTHAMES and shown on BBC One. ... A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 5 January 1970 and continues to this day. ... Weakest Link UK Version The Weakest Link (now officially titled Weakest Link) is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000. ...

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. Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, shown on BBC One based on ballroom dancing. ...

Dennis Taylor’s nephew David Taylor also found fame through reality TV by winning the Irish pop idol in 2004 and is now currently touring the labour clubs of North West England with his group Risc. They plan to release a cover version of Snooker Loopy on their forthcoming album Rover Love, due in 2007, in tribute to Dennis.

Dennis currently lives in Llay near Wrexham and has been a resident of the village since April 2003 Wrexham (Welsh: Wrecsam) is an industrial town in northeast Wales, close to the English border with Cheshire. ... For other uses, see April (disambiguation). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Tournament wins

Ranking wins

• World Championship - 1985
• Rothmans Grand Prix - 1984

The World Snooker Championship, currently held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, is the climax of snookers annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

Other wins

• Benson & Hedges Masters - 1987
• World Trickshot - 1997, 1998

The Masters, formerly the Benson & Hedges Masters is a professional snooker tournament. ... Winners Categories: Sports stubs | Snooker tournaments ...

External links

• Official website