“Willie Thorne”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

William Joseph "Willie" Thorne (born 4 March 1954) is a former English professional snooker player who is now a sports commentator. He is most famous for winning the 1985 Classic.

He is the player that caused the "miss" rule to be introduced, after admitting he meant to just about hit the ball or miss it to gain the advantage in a frame.

Career

Thorne became national under-16 champion at snooker in 1970. He never really converted this early promise into professional success, only ever winning one ranking snooker tournament (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 straight forward {{Cuegloss|Blue ball|blue}} off its {{Cuegloss|Spot|spot}} during the first {{Cuegloss|Frame|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 rankings in the mid-1980s, while also battling a serious gambling problem.^[3] In one 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.^[4]^[5] Also, in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2004, Thorne admitted to placing bets worth up to £20,000 on a horse.^[5]

Thorne's bald head makes him instantly recognisable and he is often referred to as the "Homer Simpson of Snooker".^[6] He has become a popular senior character in the game, commentating on snooker for television on the BBC and Sky Sports as well as BBC Wales for the Welsh Open. Alongside other Matchroom professionals, Thorne featured in the popular song "Snooker Loopy", written and performed by Chas & Dave. In the verse which begins "but old Willie Thorne, his hair's all gorn", Thorne's cameo line was "Perhaps I ought to chalk it", in reference to his gleaming head putting off his opponents. Thorne also appeared in the "Romford Rap" video with the rest of the "Matchroom Mob".

Thorne has been described as a skilled break-builder and possibly the "missing link" between old-school percentage play and the current aggressive {{Cuegloss|Pot|potting}} game. He took 19 seasons to record 100 competitive century breaks. He was only the third player to achieve this accomplishment, ahead of many of the world champions of his era, leading many to believe he was an underachiever in the game.

Thorne also won the World Seniors Masters in 2000, beating Cliff Thorburn in the final.

Personal life

Thorne is married to former Miss Great Britain winner Jill Saxby^[7] and lives in Broughton Astley.^[8]

He ran a club in Leicester for many years, where Mark Selby used often to compete in junior tournaments as a youngster.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Thorne competed in Series 5 of Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Erin Boag, before being voted out on 20 October 2007 in 12th place (out of 14).{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Thorne is known for his friendship with retired professional footballer Gary Lineker.^[9] Their friendship was the subject of the Home Video, "Best Of Friends – The Official Story Of Gary Lineker & Willie Thorne".^[10]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78	1978/ 79	1979/ 80	1980/ 81	1981/ 82	1982/ 83	1983/ 84	1984/ 85	1985/ 86	1986/ 87	1987/ 88	1988/ 89	1989/ 90	1990/ 91	1991/ 92	1992/ 93	1993/ 94	1994/ 95	1995/ 96	1996/ 97	1997/ 98	1998/ 99	1999/ 00	2000/ 01	2001/ 02
Ranking^[11]	^[12]	^[13]	UR	20	15	17	20	22	16	18	12	11	7	11	13	9	11	17	15	7	15	25	25	36	51	75	76	^[14]
Ranking tournaments
British Open^[15]	Tournament Not Held					Non-Ranking Event					2R	F	3R	3R	3R	1R	1R	2R	3R	2R	1R	1R	3R	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Grand Prix^[16]	Tournament Not Held								2R	SF	3R	1R	3R	QF	1R	2R	3R	2R	2R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	LQ	1R	LQ	A
European Open	Tournament Not Held														3R	2R	3R	3R	1R	1R	QF	LQ	LQ	NH	LQ	Not Held		A
UK Championship	Not Held			Non-Ranking Event							QF	F	3R	SF	3R	3R	3R	3R	3R	1R	3R	2R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Welsh Open	Tournament Not Held																	QF	3R	1R	2R	1R	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
China Open	Tournament Not Held																							NR	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Thailand Masters^[17]	Tournament Not Held									Non-Ranking Event				Not Held		QF	3R	SF	QF	1R	2R	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Scottish Open^[18]	Tournament Not Held							NR	1R	QF	QF	3R	1R	2R	3R	3R	Not Held		2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	A
World Championship	A	LQ	1R	1R	LQ	1R	1R	QF	2R	2R	1R	QF	1R	2R	2R	2R	1R	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Champions Cup^[19]	Tournament Not Held																				QF	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A
Scottish Masters	Tournament Not Held							A	A	A	A	F	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
The Masters	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	QF	QF	1R	1R	QF	1R	A	1R	1R	WR	A	A	LQ	A	LQ	A	A
Irish Masters^[20]	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	F	F	1R	A	QF	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Premier League^[21]	Tournament Not Held									A	Not Held		RR	RR	RR	RR	RR	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters^[22]	Non-Ranking Event							Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking			1R	Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open^[23]	Tournament Not Held					Non-Ranking Event									NH	3R	Tournament Not Held				NR	NR	Tournament Not Held
Classic	Tournament Not Held					Non-Ranking Event				LQ	W	1R	1R	2R	SF	1R	1R	2R	Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open	Tournament Not Held																	1R	MR	NR	Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic^[24]	Tournament Not Held														NR	A	2R	1R	QF	2R	1R	LQ	1R	Tournament Not Held
German Open	Tournament Not Held																					1R	LQ	LQ	Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held																				Non-Ranking Event					LQ	NR	NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
UK Championship	Not Held			QF	QF	2R	2R	2R	1R	2R	Ranking Event
British Open^[25]	Tournament Not Held					RR	LQ	LQ	2R	2R	Ranking Event
Thailand Masters	Tournament Not Held									A	A	A	RR	Not Held		Ranking Event
Canadian Masters^[26]	QF	SF	1R	1R	2R	A	2R	Tournament Not Held				A	F	A	R	Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic^[27]	Tournament Not Held														SF	Ranking Event								Tournament Not Held
{{nowrap\|Matchroom Professional Championship}}	Tournament Not Held												W	F	QF	Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship	Tournament Not Held						SF	Not Held			2R	2R	SF	QF	QF	Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay	Tournament Not Held														1R	1R	A	A	A	Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out	Tournament Not Held																2R	Tournament Not Held
Pot Black	A	RR	SF	A	A	A	A	A	RR	SF	QF	A	Tournament Not Held					1R	1R	1R	Tournament Not Held
{{nowrap\|Australian Masters^[28]}}	Tournament Not Held					A	A	A	A	A	QF	QF	A	A	NH	R	Tournament Not Held				F	A	Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held																				QF	A	1R	A	A	R	A	NH

Performance Table Legend
LQ	lost in the qualifying draw	#R	lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)	QF	lost in the quarter-finals
SF	lost in the semi-finals	F	lost in the final	W	won the tournament
DNQ	did not qualify for the tournament	A	did not participate in the tournament	WD	withdrew from the tournament

NH / Not Held				means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event				means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event				means an event is/was a ranking event.

1. ^{{cite web|title=Career Total Statistics For Willie Thorne - Professional Results|url=http://cuetracker.net/players/willie-thorne/career-total-statistics|publisher=CueTracker - Snooker Database|accessdate=5 May 2016}}
2. ^{{cite web|title=Centuries|url=http://www.prosnookerblog.com/centuries/|publisher=Pro Snooker Blog|accessdate=5 July 2015}}
3. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Players/Global_Europe/Global_England/p_profile007.htm |title=Player Profile: Willie Thorne |accessdate=5 May 2008 |last=Watkins |first=Janie |year=2005 |work=Global Snooker Centre |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316020145/http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Players/Global_Europe/Global_England/p_profile007.htm |archivedate=16 March 2008 }}
4. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.inside-edge-mag.co.uk/othersports/features/668/willie_thorne.html |title=Big Willie Style |accessdate=5 May 2008 |last=Fowler |first=Dave |date=February 2006 |work=Inside Poker |publisher=Dennis Publishing}}
5. ^¹{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/apr/23/smalltalk.sportinterviews |title=Willie Thorne |accessdate=5 May 2008 |last=Harper |first=Nick |date=23 April 2004 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian Media Group}}
6. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/14/mediamonkey |title=Media Monkey September 10–14, 2007 |accessdate=5 May 2008 |date=14 September 2007 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian Media Group}}
7. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wife-rescued-willie-thorne-from-suicide-3djptrsnbks|title=Wife rescued Willie Thorne from suicide|first=Harriet|last=Line|publisher=}}
8. ^[https://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/snooker-star-reveals-cancer-diagnosis-9572286 Snooker star reveals cancer diagnosis - Hinckley Times] Retrieved 2018-03-11.
9. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/that-1980s-sports-blog/2015/dec/03/uk-snooker-championship-willie-thorne-1985-steve-davis|title=The cruelty of snooker: Willie Thorne, Gary Lineker and the 'unmissable' blues|first=Steven|last=Pye|date=3 December 2015|publisher=|via=The Guardian}}
10. ^{{YouTube|uYqxmYgxhUA}}
11. ^{{cite web|title=Ranking History|url=http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp|publisher=Snooker.org|accessdate=7 November 2017}}
12. ^He was an amateur.
13. ^The ranking system did not begin until 1976.
14. ^He was not on the Main Tour.
15. ^The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
16. ^The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/84) and the Grand Prix
17. ^The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1994/1995–1997/1998)
18. ^The event was also called the International Open (1981/1982 to 1996/1997) and the Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
19. ^The event was also called the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)
20. ^The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
21. ^The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), the Matchroom League (1986/1987–1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993–1996/1997)
22. ^The event was also called the Canadian Open (1974/1975–1980/1981)
23. ^The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988 & 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
24. ^The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
25. ^The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
26. ^The event was also called the Canadian Open (1974/1975–1980/1981)
27. ^The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
28. ^The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
29. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pontins.html|title=pontins|date=28 February 2012|publisher=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228200841/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pontins.html|archivedate=28 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}

Career

Personal life

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Non-ranking finals: 15 (6 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Amateur finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

References

Further reading

External links