| Tournament name | 1985 Coral UK Championship |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 November 1985 – 1 December 1985 |
| Venue | Preston Guild Hall |
| Location | Preston |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £120,000 |
| Winners share | £24,000 |
| Highest break | Willie Thorne (England) (140) |
| Winner | Steve Davis (England) |
| Runner up | Willie Thorne (England) |
| Score | 16–14 |
| Previous | 1984 |
| Next | 1986 |
The 1985 UK Championship (officially the 1985 Coral UK Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 15 November and 1 December 1985 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England.[1] The last-16 televised stages were shown on the BBC from 23 November through to the end of the championship. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Coral.
Steve Davis won his fourth UK Championship title by defeating Willie Thorne 16–14 in the final. Thorne had led 12–6 and 13–8, but the match turned after Thorne missed a straightforward blue off its spot which would have given him a 14–8 lead. Davis subsequently won the frame and seven of the next eight to clinch the title.[2][3] Stephen Hendry made his debut in the tournament, aged sixteen, but lost his first qualifying round match 2–9 to Omprakesh Agrawal.[4]
The highest break of the tournament was a 140 made by Willie Thorne during the non-televised stages; the highest break of the televised stages was a 135 made by Neal Foulds.
The final attracted an average of 10.8 million viewers on BBC1, peaking at 13.6 million.[5]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:
- Winner £24,000
- Runner-up £14,000
- Total £120,000
Main draw
Final
| Final: Best of 31 frames. Referee: Jim Thorpe The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 30 November and 1 December 1985. | ||
| Steve Davis | 16–14 | Willie Thorne |
| First session: 76–25, 23–112 (112), 84–47, 0–90, 34–98 (70), 6–83 (69), 78–1 Second session: 85–4, 0–122 (121), 121–5 (104), 11–95 (87), 30–101 (66), 71–67 (Thorne 67), 39–75 (63) Third session: 59–88, 56–69 (Davis 56, Thorne 68), 0–135 (115), 30–75 (61), 80–0 (76), 89–25 (64), 0–98 Fourth session: 68–59, 63–1 (63), 70–13, 71–10, 69–41, 12–96 (96), 129–1 (86), 64–19, 70–19 | ||
| 104 | Highest break | 121 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 3 |
| 6 | 50+ breaks | 12 |
Century breaks
- 140, 121, 115, 112, 112, 104, 102 – Willie Thorne
- 137, 101 – Alex Higgins
- 136, 130, 105 – Neal Foulds
- 135 – Dennis Taylor
- 134, 103 – Peter Francisco
- 130 – Mario Morra
- 128, 115 – Cliff Thorburn
- 128, 111, 109 – Terry Griffiths
- 127, 122, 115, 106, 104, 102 – Steve Davis
- 122 – Steve Newbury
- 119, 108, 104, 103 – John Virgo
- 110 – Omprakesh Agrawal
- 109 – John Spencer
- 109 – Kirk Stevens
- 107, 107, 101, 100 – Jimmy White
- 106 – John Campbell
- 105 – Joe Johnson
- 101 – Ray Edmonds
- 101 – Warren King
References
- ^ Turner, Chris. "UK Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ "Davis fights back to retain UK title". The Glasgow Herald. 2 December 1985. p. 23.
- ^ Pye, Steven (3 December 2015). "The cruelty of snooker: Willie Thorne, Gary Lineker and the 'unmissable' blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "1985 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Waumsley, Rick (April 1992). "Television's Top Ten". Snooker Scene. Birmingham: Everton's News Agency. pp. 14–15.
- ^ "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived 24 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 February 2013.