Steve_James_(snooker_player)

Steve James (snooker player)

Steve James (snooker player)

English snooker player

Stephen James (born 2 May 1961)[1] is an English retired professional snooker player.

Quick Facts Born, Sport country ...

Career

A former postman, the high point of his career was his sole ranking title – the Classic in 1990, beating Australian Warren King 10–6 in the final. His world ranking peaked at number seven the following season, the best of his five seasons in the top sixteen.[2]

On 14 April 1990, in his match against Alex Higgins at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, James became the first player to produce a 16-red total clearance in competitive play. In other words, he potted 16 reds and 16 colours consecutively, followed by all the coloured balls in order: a situation that was only possible because he was awarded a free ball before any red had been potted.[3]

A year later he reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, beating defending champion Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals (it was six years before anyone else beat Hendry in the tournament: Ken Doherty in 1997). He was beaten in the semi-final by Jimmy White, with whom he shares his birthday; coincidentally, the match began on their birthday, 2 May.

James became wealthy through snooker, but was banned from driving in 1996,[4] and in 1998 declared himself bankrupt after spending £700,000 on "fast living", even having to sell his practice table.[5] His financial problems saw him turn to drinking heavily.[2] A diabetic, James missed the British Open in 2004 due to a kidney infection.[6]

He was the first player ever to score two centuries on his Crucible debut, including a 140, the second highest by a debutant of all time. In addition to 1991, he reached the quarter-finals on his debut in 1988, and the last 16 on three further occasions.

Performance and rankings timeline

More information Tournament, 1986/87 ...
More information Performance table legend ...
NH / Not Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventevent is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. [N 1]
    From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. [N 2]
    New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. [N 3]
    He was an amateur.
  4. [N 4]
    The event was also called the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  5. [N 5]
    The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)
  6. [N 6]
    The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  7. [N 7]
    The event was also called the Australian Masters (1986/1987–1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  8. [N 8]
    The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  9. [N 9]
    The event was also called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  10. [N 10]
    The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  11. [N 11]
    The event was also called the International Open (1986/1987–1989/1990 and 1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1990 The Classic Australia Warren King 10–6

Non-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1992 Pontins Professional England Neal Foulds 9–8
Runner-up 1. 1992 Indian Masters England Steve Davis 6–9
Runner-up 2. 2004 Challenge Tour - Event 3 England Brian Salmon 2–6

Pro-am finals: 3 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1985 Warners Open England David Roe 4–2[8]
Runner-up 1. 1992 Pontins Spring Open Northern Ireland Declan Hughes 2–7
Runner-up 2. 1993 Pontins Spring Open (2) England Mike Hallett 6–7

References

  1. [1]
    White, Jason (2002) "Steve James: Crucible or bust for James; Last act beckons in great entertainer's compelling snooker tale", Sports Argus, 26 January 2002, (confirms May 1961)
  2. [2]
    "Booze nightmare for snooker star who blew fortune", Sunday Mercury, 28 June 1998
  3. [3]
    Guinness World Records 2001, IBS Books, ISBN 978-1-892051-01-1
  4. [4]
    "Snooker: James steps up a gear", The Independent, 15 February 1997, Retrieved 22 May 2010
  5. [5]
    Larner, Tony (1999) "Bankrupt snooker ace Steve on cue for return", Sunday Mercury, 18 April 1999
  6. [6]
    McLaughlan, Lee (2004) "Steve's Fit For Fresh Start", Sunday Mercury, 7 November 2004
  7. [7]
    "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. [8]
    Morrison, Ian (1986). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. p. 147. ISBN 0600501922.
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