Crucible Curse
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The Crucible Curse is a phrase widely used in professional snooker.
The term refers to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, venue of the World Snooker Championship since 1977, and the fact that no first-time champion has ever successfully defended his title there the following year, hence the "curse".
Of the fifteen players to have won the championship at the Crucible Theatre, four lost in their first match as defending champion (John Spencer in 1978, Terry Griffiths in 1980, Steve Davis in 1982 and Dennis Taylor in 1986) and only two have reached the final: Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998.
[edit] The curse
| Year | Defending Champion | Progress | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | John Spencer | First Round | 8-13 vs Perrie Mans |
| 1979 | Ray Reardon | Quarter-finals | 8-13 vs Dennis Taylor |
| 1980 | Terry Griffiths | Second Round[1] | 10-13 vs Steve Davis |
| 1981 | Cliff Thorburn | Semi-finals | 10-16 vs Steve Davis |
| 1982 | Steve Davis | First Round | 1-10 vs Tony Knowles |
| 1983 | Alex Higgins | Semi-finals | 5-16 vs Steve Davis |
| 1986 | Dennis Taylor | First Round | 6-10 vs Mike Hallett |
| 1987 | Joe Johnson | Final | 14-18 vs Steve Davis |
| 1991 | Stephen Hendry | Quarter-finals | 11-13 vs Steve James |
| 1992 | John Parrott | Quarter-finals | 12-13 vs Alan McManus |
| 1998 | Ken Doherty | Final | 12-18 vs John Higgins |
| 1999 | John Higgins | Semi-finals | 10-17 vs Mark Williams |
| 2001 | Mark Williams | Second Round | 12-13 vs Joe Swail |
| 2002 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Semi-finals | 13-17 vs Stephen Hendry |
| 2003 | Peter Ebdon | Quarter-finals | 12-13 vs Paul Hunter |
| 2006 | Shaun Murphy | Quarter-finals | 7-13 vs Peter Ebdon |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Griffiths, along with the other top 8 seeds, received a bye for the opening round. The Second Round was thus his first match.
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