1985 Classic (snooker)

The 1985 Mercantile Credit Classic was the sixth edition of the professional snooker tournament with qualifiers taking place in late 1984 with the main stages taking place from 4–13 January 1985. The tournament was played at the Spectrum Arena, Warrington, Cheshire. The event was extended from 8 days to 10, with the semi-final stage and the final both being extended to two days. Television coverage was shared by ITV and Channel 4.

1985 Classic
Tournament information
Dates4–13 January 1985 (1985-01-04 – 1985-01-13)
VenueSpectrum Arena
CityWarrington
CountryEngland
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£200,000
Winner's share£40,000
Highest break Willie Thorne (ENG) (120)
Final
Champion Willie Thorne (ENG)
Runner-up Cliff Thorburn (CAN)
Score13–8
← 1984
1986 →

Willie Thorne beat Steve Davis 9–8 in the first semi-final on the Thursday. Davis led 7–5 before Thorne won the next three frames to lead 8–7. Davis won the 16th frame to level the match but Thorne won the deciding frame after taking an early 62–0 lead. It was Thorne's first win over Davis. Thorne made a break of 120 in the fourth frame of the afternoon session, which eventually won him £4,000 for the highest break in the televised stage of the event.[1]

In the second semi-final on the Friday, Cliff Thorburn beat Joe Johnson. Johnson won the second frame to level the match but Thornburn then ran away with the match winning 9–2.[2]

Willie Thorne won his only ranking title beating Cliff Thorburn 13–8. The final was played in three sessions finishing on Sunday afternoon. Thorburn led 4–3 after the first session. Thorne won the first three frames in the evening session to lead 6–4 and finished the day with an 8–7 lead. There were three centuries in the session, 105 and 118 by Thorne and 100 by Thorburn. Thorburn levelled the match at 8–8 by winning the first frame on the Sunday but Thorne then won five frame in a row to win the match and the first prize of £40,000.[3]

Main draw

[4]

Last 16
Best of 9 frames 		Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames 		Semi-finals
Best of 17 frames 		Final
Best of 25 frames
            
1  Steve Davis (ENG) 5
9  Alex Higgins (NIR) 2
1 England Steve Davis 5
5 Wales Ray Reardon 1
5  Ray Reardon (WAL) 5
 Eugene Hughes (IRL) 1
1 England Steve Davis 8
12 England Willie Thorne 9
4  Kirk Stevens (CAN) 1
12  Willie Thorne (ENG) 5
12 England Willie Thorne 5
England John Virgo 3
 Murdo MacLeod (SCO) 0
   John Virgo (ENG) 5
12 England Willie Thorne 13
3 Canada Cliff Thorburn 8
3  Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 5
 Steve Longworth (ENG) 3
3 Canada Cliff Thorburn 5
8 Wales Terry Griffiths 4
8  Terry Griffiths (WAL) 5
 Rex Williams (ENG) 3
3 Canada Cliff Thorburn 9
England Joe Johnson 2
7  Jimmy White (ENG) 2
 Warren King (AUS) 5
  Australia Warren King 1
England Joe Johnson 5
   Joe Johnson (ENG) 5
 Cliff Wilson (WAL) 0

Final
Final: Best of 25 frames. Referee: John Williams.
Spectrum Arena, Warrington, England, 12 & 13 January 1985.
Willie Thorne
 England		 13–8 Cliff Thorburn
 Canada
First session: 82–0 (72), 57–81 (Thorne 52, Thorburn 77), 50–66, 92–14 (88), 29–64, 70–9, 53–66
Second session: 105–22 (105), 49–44, 62–40, 4–123 (75), 118–10 (118), 58–112 (72), 69–67 (Thorburn 66), 7–113 (100)
Third session: 29–73, 75–5, 63–33, 96–24, 69–32, 66–18 (54)
118 Highest break 100
2 Century breaks 1
6 50+ breaks 5

Qualifying

The last-32 round was played in Warrington in December 1984.[5]

Last-32 round

Century breaks

(Including qualifying rounds)

References
  1. "Davis falls to fluent Thorne". The Guardian. 11 January 1985. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Thorburn breaks away". The Guardian. 12 January 1985. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Everton, Clive (14 January 1985). "Thorne breaks into the elite at last". The Guardian. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Classic". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  5. "Snooker". The Guardian. 5 December 1984. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
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