I met Willie Thorne at the crucible and I have to say he was without doubt the nicest and most accommodating players I EVER met. I worked for the sponsor of the tournament and he had so much time for me and my family and also the full audience and posed for photographs for at least an hour without any issues. He appreciated that the fans are what makes any sports person and without fans ???

RIP Willie . . . Real genuine nice guy . . . Had a real hard time with his gambling addiction . . . Sleep well Mr Thorne 🙏🏻

@mickharrison9004

3 жыл бұрын

He did indeed sadly, i was the same but managed to give it up, i used to see Willie in Ladbrokes at Toddington services with my job as an hgv driver used to go past often, he was always in and as cash was the main currency back then, it wasn't hard to notice him wading in with big amounts, i didn't think much of it at the time, now it brings me sadness for him, the place is now a greggs Ladbrokes shut most of there services bookies, i think Willie probably went out there to be a bit out of the way.

@trappenweisseguy27

2 жыл бұрын

It’s just recently become known that Phil Mickelson is a gambling fiend who’s lost tens of millions of dollars 😳. Alex Higgins was known to be betting on horses all the time and was “never seen to ever win “.

@robryan2875

23 күн бұрын

Drake is the ambassador for ganbling now.

@robryan2875

23 күн бұрын

99.9999999999999999% lose.

@bentattersfield7987

22 күн бұрын

He was a lovely bloke, as is John Virgo who I've met

RIP Willie, a TRUE gent of the game ❤

@colindavid2078

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, and may his bright head shine upon us from heaven! :) LEGEND! EDIT: How much more fun it was to watch snooker back then! Slower cloth, more nerves between players, and a 70 break was a big thing!! Used to love the World championship going on till near 1 or 2am..... now it's all over by 11pm!

@DaveTheRaveBangkok

3 жыл бұрын

Willie Thorne was a gentleman of the game but most certainly not a snooker legend. The legends are World Champions such as Davis, Hendry and O’ Sullivan. Now these guys are snooker legends!

@hemmojito

3 жыл бұрын

He had cue power this man.... Some nicely timed screw shots off the cushion with reverse side. Elegant stuff...

@ThePhilGrimm

3 жыл бұрын

Yes but he talked a better game than he played.

@bryanl3452

3 жыл бұрын

@@DaveTheRaveBangkok Thorne played a great deal of end matches against Davis, if Davis hadn't had been so good... we would've been talking about Willie as a legend.

RIP Willie Thorne. I will always remember him for his quiet, yet incisive commentary. He also became a promoter of young players, such as Mark Selby.

Wow Willie Thorn, I miss the amazing talent and his snooker commentating was great. Rip mate!

Mr maximum....great player and commentator.

@simonlevett4776

26 күн бұрын

He was, but he upset the BBC somehow and wasn't used as a commentator [in the WC] in his last few years. Disgraceful imo. I hate the f*cking BBC.

My parents met willie thorne at owlerton greyhound racetrack in sheffield once and said he was a right decent bloke. My mother got his autograph. Always liked him myself also. A great commentator as well as a player. Made the most 147 breaks as well off screen than any other player ever. My father met john spencer once also and my father said put your moniker there on a £5 note and he did not know the word moniker. John then said to my father you must be a millionaire haha. Another top bloke was john spencer too.

This is why we all loved snooker. Hard to believe Willy is lost to us. Rip mate

Yes I miss big willy . The greatest snooker commentator.,,💯🇯🇲🇬🇧👍

80s davis would deffo be top 5 today, people forget how good steve was

@RhysapGrug

3 жыл бұрын

He dominated the 80s like Henry did the 90s, WTF you taking about 'people forget how good he was'??

@RhysapGrug

3 жыл бұрын

@Jan De Rijk Plus looking like a Red headed 'freddie cruger' also sent a shiver down my spine.

@suhaibnoor9792

3 жыл бұрын

@Jan De Rijk i am very new to snooker but i had question does age affect the player ?

@shaz2761

3 жыл бұрын

Which people forget how good he was?

@robertwilliams-mv9ok

3 жыл бұрын

Steve who?

RIP Willie Thorne, so sadly missed by everyone in the game.

He was a really naturally gifted player willie....great game great channel.. thanks for posting👍👍

@JohnJaySnookerChannel

27 күн бұрын

Well said James 👌🏻🍀

Top player Willie was master at 147 ..... Should have won more tourments sadly missed by many rip mate

These are both outstanding players, yet they do show how incredible the standard today has become. We are so used to seeing 90+ breaks and tricky exhibition-style shots that this looks comparatively tame from today's viewpoint. Not bad, not at all, just a slower pace and less flamboyant. Yet still pleasant to watch.

What a great player some great memories of Willie back in the day had a marvellous sense of humour RIP Willy he will be missed

Fantastic footage, well edited. Thanks for this.

Thorne was extremely talented rip!

I saw Willie Thorn at a petrol station in the 80s. His head was massive. He was with Duncan Norvell.

@dkb276

23 күн бұрын

Did you say Chase me?

@mortgagelink7513

14 күн бұрын

I saw him at a petrol station too, around 2013 ish! He asked me where the nearest Halfords was so he could be a phone charger!!! I thought it was John Virgo for a moment!!!

I miss the old embassy set up. The regal red carpet was iconic for the worlds. I wish they didn’t change it

@AD-kv9kj

Ай бұрын

The colours, the minimal advertising logos and most importantly, for me, the big globes indicating the World Championship. Embassy may have been a cigarette company, but at least they knew how to decorate the arena tastefully...and frankly I would say online gambling is hardly much better than advertising cigarettes. I watched a ton of snooker as a kid then and never even realized that Embassy and Regal etc were cigarettes...I actually thought for years that it was just called "The Embassy World Championship" for some other reason, like there was an actual embassy involved 😅Like "The Regal Scottish Masters" just sounded like a regal description. The online gambling companies now constantly remind you they're gambling companies, and with names like "bet365" and all that it's obvious even to kids already.

@TheJohnCooperShow

Ай бұрын

@@AD-kv9kj agreed!

@29memyselfandi

Ай бұрын

Wel said. Even their waistcoats now are destroyed with tacky advertising.

@soulbrother61

27 күн бұрын

The balls seem heavier back then

@kufujitsu

27 күн бұрын

​@soulbrother61 Heavier balls, & slightly coarser cloths. Unlike the shaved naps they play on today. Much easier to play a deep screw off a long shot on today's cloths.

what a match . both were great players ... 😓❤

RIP Willie I certainly miss his commentary. He should've won more in his prime. Davis and Hendry would have the odd bad matches but even if they scraped through they'd normally learn from that and win the tournament they were that good

@DaveTheRaveBangkok

3 жыл бұрын

Willie Thorne only won one ranking tournament, he was light years away from the true legends such as Davis, Hendry and O' Sullivan.

RIP Willie Thorne. The guy knew everything about the game, and was probably one of the most talented players of all time. It's such a shame he couldn't bring his practice game to the tournaments because he would have won everything, easily!! Best commentator of all time, too!!

RIP WT what a match, thank you for the upload

Smashing bloke..Sorely missed. He's having fun with Alex.

When he flowing, he was sublime.

Great player,commentator & top bloke sadly missed 🙏🏻

The most exquisite bridge and moustache in the history of snooker R.I.P Willie Thorne 🙏

Willie had class around the table.

Rip willie 🙏💔

was thorne born aged 65 and just never aged? thanks for putting this together, some great shots

2 top players. I was quite young watching this and loved it and still love snooker to this day. And hate it sometimes too!! When in full flow it’s great to play and watch 👌🏻🍀 this set up at the crucible was legendary

Willie’s bridge was phenom

Willie looked like a pretty decent, fluid no messing player

@Sam-gw5pl

Ай бұрын

He was a decent player.

Interesting, Wild never seen Davis showing emotion in a match like that!

Thornes break building was a good pace. Faster than a number of modern players.

That double... Oh Willie

That was some great snooker 👍

I had a pleasure meeting Willie in Thailand Snooker Open. Had photo taken with him . 😢

Sadly missed, loved him as a commentator ❤ never watched him play until now 🎉

Willie was a head scratcher for me. He had a tremendous reputation for 147’s and scoring highly but didn’t really seem to win much, if ever.

@trappenweisseguy27

3 жыл бұрын

Nice video, nicely edited.

@jackybogues2495

2 жыл бұрын

Mentally not right, compulsive gambler would have ruined his nerve at the right moments

@johnmc3862

Жыл бұрын

He must have suffered with the nerves or had the odd tipple b4 hand.

@trappenweisseguy27

Жыл бұрын

John, it was probably nerves. I don’t think he was known as a drinker. Gambling was his vice.

This was when a young Stephen Hendry was bursting on to the scene his formidable break building and his willingness to take long pots completely changed the game and without SH I don't think the game would have evolved as it did so many people got into the sport making snooker EXCITING no longer was 40/50 breaks were acceptable. Even a 147 was held by a American (Kirk Stevens) & a Canadian( Cliff Thorborne) it was so rare I think S,Davis did it once on live tv until SH came and ripped up the record books it was so rare in 1 comp. SH received £147,000,00 now it's just highest break around £10,000

@garycook5071

3 жыл бұрын

Do you mean the Canadian Kirk Stevens?

@davidwong825

3 жыл бұрын

& then, someONE was stupid enough to shoot with his LEFT hand, only took him A few yrs of practicing

@stanleyharrison7031

3 жыл бұрын

Guys like stephen hendry put people off watchin snooker because they didnt please the crowds or tv audience. Part of the reason why snooker nearly died in the noughties

@johnmc3862

Жыл бұрын

@@stanleyharrison7031 Davis was the same, he was robotic.

Willie Thorne....class player......class commentator 🔥❤🔥☝😇

Willie was great to watch around this time. Similar game to Ding and Ronnie; he was among the first to really routinely go for little cannons when among the balls to make the big breaks happen.

@amit77

3 жыл бұрын

Best break builder of his day

The table is so slow, I keep thinking it will run further lol

Thank you for highlighting the balls

The cloth was so slow compare to today.

The 147 king, shite most of the time in televised tournaments but in practise was untouchable as a break builder..

Good to see rare footage of Willie Thorne. Davis was good to watch, though!

21:19 Oh no Willy, you found the only part of the pack that had a flat back :-)

This game is soo stressy...but beautiful to watch!

One really sees in this video the difference in pace between the cloths of then compared to now

Whatt a match......

Amazing how much slower tables were, they're like glass now compared to this

@paulbennett4009

2 жыл бұрын

These tables would have suited Willie down to the ground. He was a great touch player

@dkb276

23 күн бұрын

I was just thinking that.

Watching this is incredible, I don't think snookers players are any better now, if anything Davis ball control is better then most modern snooker players. And both of them are potting into the center of the pockets.

steve new he had been in a battle here.

I played him 3 frames in the match room llanelli before he played Tony drago in an exhibition nice guy bought me a pint after

Thorne surprises me...I see his line up, thinking "it'll never go," but then they keep dropping in the pockets. Reading the comments, I gather he's not with us anymore. Pity. Seems like a good man.

About jumping into the crowd, hitting the referee or walking out during the match - all of this made Ronnie O'Sullivan :P

@frazerthorley7551

3 жыл бұрын

Only did one

@adamoksiuta4715

3 жыл бұрын

@@frazerthorley7551 No. Ronnie jumped into the crowd after winning UK Championship 2018, he walked away during the match against Stephen Hendry in UK 2006 and he hit the referee in the 90s.

@christurvey9161

3 жыл бұрын

@@adamoksiuta4715 any link to him hitting a referee? I don't think I ever heard about that

@adamoksiuta4715

3 жыл бұрын

@@christurvey9161 I don't remeber when it was, but I will try to refresh my memory :P

@adamoksiuta4715

3 жыл бұрын

@@christurvey9161 OK, so I've made a mistake - Ronnie didn't hit the referee, but he hit referee's son. It was in 1996, during World Championship, between his first and second round matches.

If willie thorne had the bottle of a davis he could have won at least 2 world championships but unfortunately he never quite had it mentally to win big tournaments. Great to watch though very fluent player indeed. R.I.P nice bloke

If Willie had possessed a mindset similar to that of Davis or Hendry, he surely would have been world champion at least once.

@Gbonejohn1974

8 ай бұрын

exactly ,mentally he was so weak ,you literally see him crumble in real time ....had a beautiful touch around the balls he just couldnt close a game

I miss embassy's they were a good smoke

Mr Maximum, claimed to have made over 200 maximums RIP Willie, for those of you watching in black and white the red is next to the green

Don't quite get why you are including a quote about Higgins in this but no matter, thanks for the upload.

R.i.p willie 147 master

Willie's head was a tribute to the pink ball.

Looking back at footage from the 90s I always feel the tables play slower and the cue actions are a lot longer than they are today

The good ol days when dads ruled snooker.

He was a great play was the Maximum Man

Willie Thorne to kill 😂😂😂

I believe Willie had the coveted number plate 147 UP

Davis ice cool. Willie was a truly lovely person, however he didn't have the temperament required of a champion. Think I'd rather be remembered for being nice, like Willie is!

Old Willie thorn his hairs all gorn..... poor old Willie R.I.P my son

Oh yes, I forgot about this.

6:55 "And that was a baaaaad miss".

22:25 Suddenly the reds become red.

An audience. People shaking hands. It all seems so shockingly unfamiliar in February 2021...

Poor old Willie had Davis by the nuts

Великолепная игра...👍

Wow that was weird music at the end. it sounded like it was coming from the other room with my head phones on.

Rip Willie we all got demans I'll have another beer tonight and another bet. I'm down 700+ and been drinking since Friday fly high mate

All the players agreed that on the practice table Willie Thorne was the best player.

What year was this?

STEPHEN LEE was in attendance

what year was this?

@CesarMuroya

3 жыл бұрын

1996

Davis in the 80s was what Selby is today. His safety was impeccable.

@hemmojito

3 жыл бұрын

Selby is now what Davis was in the 80s.

Does anyone know what year this was?

The table was extremely slow back then

That table looked very slow.

If this had been anyone knocking some of these shots in now, people would be worshipping them as geniuses and saying how much better the standard is now.

Davis was well past his peak in 1996, but was still ranked no. 2 in the world at this time. Shows how poor the standard of the competition was during Hendry's peak years. As soon as the class of '92 - O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams - matured in the late 90s, Hendry's dominance was over.

@cv003799

3 жыл бұрын

Hendry made century after century. Hendry played the table.

@koen8185

3 жыл бұрын

You can also say that the generation of '92 is an extraordinary bunch , still at the top after almost 30 years....

The late. The great. WT. good luck son

This table is mighty slow compared to todays

wow, that table is SLOW

How slow were them tables?

@mikebest634

3 жыл бұрын

Those tables .

@IDTV66

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikebest634 the grammar nazi

@gavinpalmer2435

3 жыл бұрын

Last few inches the ball really puts the brakes on. Would run easily another 6-8 inches the way they dress the tables today.

Steve Davis had the longest legs of any snooker player until Neil Robertson arrived on the scene....not a lot of people know that.

@amit77

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that very useful piece of information. My life's richer because of it.

@a.tanner8524

3 жыл бұрын

Did you measure them?

Dick Strawbridge weren't half bad at snooker in those days.

Willie got to 40 odd then messed up. He shouldn’t have attempted that double in the last frame.

Willy's cue aways looked to short?

@Gbonejohn1974

8 ай бұрын

he was a big guy about 6'2 with probably a 57 or 58 cue bound to look a little small mark williams is the same with a 57 cue ...im only 5'11 but feel better with a 59 cue

The only game they ever played at the Crucible? They played a multitude of games.

Referee was Martin Webb I think not john Newton

@CesarMuroya

2 жыл бұрын

You are right. Thanks Steven!