1. Steve Davis was born on 22 August 1957 and is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, DJ, electronic musician and author.
62 Facts About Steve Davis
1. 2.
Steve Davis dominated professional snooker in the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons.
3.
Steve Davis won 28 ranking titles during his career, placing him fifth on the all-time list, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Judd Trump.
4.
Steve Davis is the only snooker player to have won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, which he received in 1988.
5.
Steve Davis won his last major title at the 1997 Masters, aged 39, but continued to compete at a high level and was still a top-16 ranked player at age 50.
6.
Steve Davis made the last of his 30 Crucible appearances in 2010, aged 52, when he eliminated the defending world champion John Higgins to become the oldest world quarter-finalist since 1983.
7.
Steve Davis was made an MBE in the 1988 Birthday Honours and elevated to OBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
8.
Outside snooker, Steve Davis competed in nine-ball pool tournaments, which included representing Europe in the Mosconi Cup eleven consecutive times between 1994 and 2004.
9.
Steve Davis has authored and co-authored books on snooker, chess, cooking and music, as well as three autobiographies.
10.
Steve Davis was born on 22 August 1957 in Plumstead, London, the elder of two boys; Keith being his younger brother.
11.
Steve Davis began playing at the Lucania Snooker Club in Romford.
12.
The club manager brought his talent to the attention of Barry Hearn when Steve Davis was 18 and Hearn became his friend and manager.
13.
Steve Davis applied in 1978 to become a professional and was initially rejected, before being accepted with effect from 17 September 1978, becoming the youngest of the professional players.
14.
Steve Davis made his professional television debut on Pot Black, where he played against Fred Davis.
15.
Steve Davis reached the final by defeating White in the first round, Higgins in the second round, Griffiths in the quarter-finals and defending champion Cliff Thorburn in the semi-final.
16.
In January 1982, Steve Davis compiled the first televised maximum break at the Classic at Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham against John Spencer.
17.
Steve Davis lost to Griffiths in the quarter-finals of the 1982 UK Championship later that year.
18.
At the 1985 World Snooker Championship, Steve Davis defeated Neal Foulds, David Taylor, Griffiths and Reardon en route to the championship final, where his opponent was Dennis Taylor.
19.
Steve Davis won the World Cup with England and secured his fourth Irish Masters title.
20.
Steve Davis won his eighth Irish Masters event in 1994 with a deciding frame win over McManus.
21.
In 1996, Steve Davis reached the quarter-finals of both the Masters and World Championship, losing to McManus and Ebdon, respectively.
22.
Steve Davis reached the same stage at the 1999 Welsh Open, but lost to Williams.
23.
Steve Davis's best result during the season was a quarter-final appearance at the 2001 Irish Masters losing to O'Sullivan.
24.
Steve Davis defeated Mark King, Higgins, Milkins and Marco Fu and met O'Sullivan in the final.
25.
Steve Davis reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 World Snooker Championship, losing to eventual winner Shaun Murphy.
26.
Steve Davis reached his 100th major career final at the 2005 UK Championship in York, his first appearance in the event's final since 1990.
27.
Steve Davis brushed off suggestions of retirement before the World Championships, and reached the second round where he lost to Murphy.
28.
Steve Davis placed 52nd on the tour's Order of Merit.
29.
Steve Davis entered the 2016 World Snooker Championship qualifiers but lost to Fergal O'Brien in his last professional match.
30.
Steve Davis entered the Crucible Theatre holding the World Championship trophy and received a standing ovation from the audience.
31.
From 1994 to 2007, Steve Davis regularly participated in professional nine-ball pool events; he was instrumental in creating the Mosconi Cup, an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Europe and the United States.
32.
Steve Davis represented Europe in the tournament eleven times and was a member of the victorious 1995 and 2002 teams; his victory against the US's Earl Strickland clinched the 2002 competition for Europe.
33.
At the 2000 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Steve Davis was seeded 63rd.
34.
Steve Davis reached the last 16 of the 2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales, where he faced three-time champion Strickland.
35.
Strickland accused members of the crowd of bias towards Steve Davis; when warned by referee Michaela Tabb, he told her to "shut up".
36.
Steve Davis complained after Davis took a second toilet break, and Davis later admitted that the second break was gamesmanship against his opponent.
37.
Steve Davis has become a proficient poker player, with successful appearances at televised tournaments; they included an appearance at the final table of the 2003 Poker Million with Jimmy White, who eventually won.
38.
Steve Davis finished 579th at event 41 of the 2006 World Series of Poker, winning $20,617.
39.
At event 54 of the 2008 World Series of Poker, Steve Davis finished 389th and won $28,950.
40.
Steve Davis finished 131st, winning $5,491, at event 56 of the 2010 World Series of Poker.
41.
At event 22 of the 2011 Grand Poker Series, Steve Davis finished eighth and won $2,049.
42.
Steve Davis has become known for his coolness and conduct in high-pressure situations.
43.
Steve Davis has since played on this image and says it helped him gain public acceptance.
44.
Steve Davis co-authored the 1988 book How to Be Really Interesting with Geoff Atkinson, a comedy writer who had been a key part of Spitting Image's writing team.
45.
Steve Davis co-authored two chess books in 1995 with David Norwood: Steve Davis Plays Chess and Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur.
46.
Steve Davis co-produced a music book with Kavus Torabi titled Medical Grade Music in 2021.
47.
Steve Davis participated in the thirteenth series of I'm a Celebrity.
48.
When in the sixth form at school, Steve Davis began listening to progressive rock and was introduced to the Canterbury scene.
49.
Steve Davis is a fan of French progressive rock band Magma and produced a London concert so he could see them, which led to their re-formation.
50.
Steve Davis has a record collection with around 2,000 albums.
51.
Steve Davis joined Brentwood community radio station Phoenix FM in 1996, broadcasting a variety of soul and rock shows during the next ten years online and on FM under a Restricted Service Licence.
52.
Steve Davis branched out into club work in 2015 and has regular slots at London bars and nightclubs.
53.
Steve Davis performed with Kavus Torabi at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival; their collaboration led to the formation of the Utopia Strong, an electronic music band whose debut album was released on 13 September 2019.
54.
Steve Davis played analogue modular synthesiser on two free-form pieces each night totalling 30 mins.
55.
In September 2021, Steve Davis appeared in a music video for a track titled "Lily" from the Richard Dawson and Circle collaborative album.
56.
Steve Davis won a record 84 professional titles and was the runner-up in 38 events, with 28 of these as ranking event victories.
57.
Steve Davis was coached by Frank Callan for much of his career, who represented Hendry in the 1990s.
58.
In 2011, Steve Davis was inducted into World Snooker's new Hall of Fame with seven other former world champions.
59.
Steve Davis was one of the first professional players to play in China, touring through the 1980s.
60.
In 1988, Steve Davis became the only snooker player named as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and was made an MBE.
61.
Steve Davis was made an OBE in 2000, and has been honorary president of the Snooker Writers' Association.
62.
At age 47, Steve Davis began a relationship with 31-year-old accounts worker Jeannie Nash, who became his long-term partner.