Willie Thorne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Willie Thorne | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1954 , Leicester |
| Nationality |  English |
| Nickname(s) | Mr Maximum, the Great W.T. "the Homer Simpson of snooker" |
| Professional | 1975–2002 |
| Highest ranking | #7 (1986/87) |
| Highest break | 147 (UK Championship 1987) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
William Joseph Thorne (born 4 March 1954 in Leicester, England), best known as Willie Thorne, is a former English professional snooker player and now a commentator.
Contents |
[edit] Life and Career
A strong junior player, Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970. He never really converted this early promise into professional success, however, only ever winning one ranking snooker tournament (the Classic in 1985). The same year, he reached the UK Championship final against the then dominant Steve Davis, and seemed to have built himself an unassailable 13-8 lead. But a miss on a straightforward blue off its spot during the first frame of the final session allowed Davis to take the frame and eventually win the title. Thorne later said that he had hardly looked at the blue, considering it a certainty. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 1982 and 1986.
He peaked at No. 7 in the snooker world rankings in the mid-1980s, while also battling a serious gambling problem.[1] In one famous incident, Thorne bet £38,000 on a match involving John Parrott, betting that Parrott would lose as Parrott had lost his personal cue and had to use one supplied by the venue. Much to Thorne's dismay (not least because he was actually commentating on the match), Parrott recovered from a slow start to win, only worsening Thorne's debts.[2][3] Also, in an interview with the Guardian Newspaper in 2004, Thorne admitted to placing bets worth up to £20,000 on one horse.[3] He fell into serious debt and depression,[citation needed] and was forced to sell off his snooker club in Leicester to cover a huge loss at cards[citation needed], but has subsequently beaten both of these problems.[citation needed]
Thorne's bald head makes him instantly recognisable and he is often referred to as "the Homer Simpson of Snooker",[4] and he has become a popular senior character in the game, commentating on snooker for television on the BBC and Sky Sports. Alongside other Matchroom professionals, Thorne featured in the popular song "Snooker Loopy", written and performed by Chas & Dave. In the verse which begins "Willie Thorne, his hair's all gorn", Willie's cameo line was "Perhaps I ought to chalk it", in reference to his gleaming head putting off his opponents. Willie also appeared in the "Romford Rap" video with the rest of the "Matchroom Mob". Ironically, Willie wore the pink costume, not the blue one.
He is often known as "Mr. Maximum" [5] because he claims to have hit nearly two-hundred 147 breaks in practice, though only one in tournament play. Thorne has been described as a skilled break-builder and possibly the "missing link" between old-school percentage play and the current aggressive potting game. But he took 19 seasons to record 100 competitive century breaks which compares unfavourably to both modern players and those from his own era as can be seen on the List of snooker players with over 100 century breaks He ran a club in Leicester for many years, where Mark Selby used to often compete in junior tournaments as a youngster.
Willie Thorne also won the World Seniors Masters in 2000 - beating Cliff Thorburn in the final.
Willie competed in Series 5 of Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Erin Boag, before being voted out on 20th October in 12th place (out of 14).
[edit] Tournament wins
[edit] Ranking tournaments
- Mercantile Credit Classic - 1985
[edit] Personal Life
He currently lives in Broughton Astley, England and is married to former Miss Great Britain winner Jill Saxby. He has 3 children with his first wife Fiona.
[edit] References
- ^ Watkins, Janie (2005). Player Profile: Willie Thorne. Global Snooker Centre. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Fowler, Dave (2006-02). Big Willie Style. Inside Poker. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b Harper, Nick (2004-04-23). Willie Thorne. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Media Monkey September 10-14 2007. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group (2007-09-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Where are they now? - Willie Thorne. johnvirgo.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
-
- Double or Quits: The Willie Thorne Story (2004), Willie Thorne's autobiography
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||
