Did snooker legend Willie Thorne ever win a ranking tournament?

To readers of a certain age, mention of Willie Thorne instantly brings to mind the verse devoted to him in the singalong classic ‘Snooker Loopy’, by Chas & Dave, which begins with the lines, ‘But old Willie Thorne, his hair’s all gone, and his mates all take the rise’. Thorne, of course, sang backing vocals, alongside fellow members of the so-called ‘Matchroom Mob’, Tony Meo, Dennis Taylor, Terry Griffiths and Steve Davis, on the song, which was released to coincide with the 1986 World Snooker Championship and reached number six in the singles chart.

Anyway, the occasional foray into the pop charts aside, the ‘Great W.T.’ did, indeed, win a ranking tournament. In fact, he did so in January, 1985, at the Mercantile Credit Classic, played at the Spectrum Arena in Warrington, Cheshire. Thorne beat John Virgo 5-3 in quarter-finals before edging out reigning world champion Steve Davis 9-8 in the semi-finals – the first time in his career he had beaten ‘The Nugget’ – to set up a meeting with Canadian Cliff Thorburn in the best-of-25 frames final. Thorburn led 4-3 after the first session, but Thorne won four of the first five frames in the second, making breaks of 105 and 118 in the process, to lead 7-5. Thorburn rallied, winning two of the remaining three frames and the first frame of the third session to level the match at 8-8. Thereafter, the match belonged to Thorne, who won the next five frames in a row for an historic 13-8 victory.

The following December, Thorne also reached the final of 1985 UK Championship, in which he led Steve Davis 13-8 and 59-50 in the opening frame of the final session, with just blue, pink and black remaining. However, Thorne missed a routine blue off the spot which, he later admitted, he ‘just didn’t look at’, allowing Davis stage a comeback. In fact, ‘The Ginger Magician’ won that frame and seven of the next eight for an unlikely 16-14 victory.