Dennis Taylor

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Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor in 2004
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 Northern 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.

1 Career
2 Tournament wins
- 2.1 Ranking wins
- 2.2 Other wins
3 External links

[edit] 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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dennis Taylor’s nephew David Taylor also found fame through reality TV by winning the Irish Pop Idol in 2003 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