‘I won the World Snooker Championship and then blew £50,000 on silly buy'
Dennis Taylor won the World Snooker Championship in 1985, narrowly beating Steve Davis in the final, and it didn't take him long to splash the cash after his Crucible success
Dennis Taylor splashed out £50,000 on a swanky car following his World Snooker Championship win in 1985. The 76-year-old hailing from Coalisland, Northern Ireland, burst onto the scene in 1972.
He secured his first and only world title 13 years later, narrowly defeating Steve Davis in the famous 18-17 black-ball final at the Crucible. Taylor pocketed a cool £60,000 cash prize for his win.
However, he quickly put a significant dent in his winnings. The vast majority of them went on a sleek dark blue BMW 750, which cost £50k.
Reflecting on his extravagant buy, he said: "I did allow myself one extravagant purchase after I won the world championship. I went and spent £50,000 on a car, and I couldn't believe I did it really.
"When I thought back to when I first moved to England at 17, the first car I bought cost me £15. I often joke about it, it was the same price as a block of new chalk cost.
"To spend £50,000 on a motorcar was a bit silly back then, but I suppose I earned it anyway." Taylor's 1985 World Championship victory wasn't without its trials as he trailed 9-1 against Davis at the Crucible before staging a comeback to clinch victory.
After that memorable night in April four decades ago, he never managed to progress beyond the quarter-finals of the tournament. Davis, during his celebrated career, hoisted six World Championships of his own.
His inaugural win came in 1981 and his final championship in 1989. It comes as Zhao Xintong clinched the 2025 World Championship on Monday evening, overcoming Mark Williams with an 18-12 win in the Crucible finale.
The prodigy from China triumphed in 111 frames across nine matches, spanning a gruelling 29 days, including qualifiers, to lift the title and etch his name in history as the first Asian to claim the prestigious accolade.
Reflecting on his Sheffield success, he told the BBC: "This is like a dream. I can't believe it. There was big pressure and big nerves.
"I knew if I missed he could come back quickly. I was so nervous tonight. Mark is still a top player and put me under so much pressure. He's the best."
With this monumental win, Zhao pocketed a whopping £500,000 prize and catapulted to 11th in the world rankings, setting a robust precedent for the 2025/26 season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
7 hours ago
- Metro
Zak Surety on wild Crucible debut: They can't ever move from there - it's mad
Zak Surety had a very eventful debut at the World Snooker Championship this year and although he both loved and hated the experience, he was convinced that the 'mad' Crucible is the perfect home for the event. The 33-year-old enjoyed his best ever season by a long stretch, reaching a first semi-final at the World Open and finishing the campaign with a Crucible debut after brilliant performances in qualifying. At the iconic Sheffield theatre he faced Chinese superstar Ding Junhui and the pair produced an amazing opening round contest. Ding went 4-0 up as Surety struggled with the occasion and things looked very sticky for the Englishman at the first interval. 'At the start I walked out and sat in my seat and that was the strangest I've ever felt,' Surety told Metro. 'I've never felt that uncomfortable. My arms didn't feel part of my body. It felt like my tip didn't belong to me. Everything felt wrong. 'I've got myself in a bit of a state and I'm 4-0 down. I'm in the dressing room thinking I really don't want to go out there. It's your dream, but I just didn't want to go back out there because I was making myself look like an absolute idiot.' Surety has spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety before, so it is to his immense credit that he overcame those feelings in some style, starting with only losing that first session 6-3. 'I made a century the last frame of the first session,' he remembers. 'When the screen came up it was probably the best buzz I've ever had because it was the whole Crucible to myself. The noise in there! I was welling up as I got to 90 and thought, is this really me? 'Obviously then the second day I flew.' He certainly did, becoming the first player in Crucible history to make four centuries on debut and although he ultimately lost 10-7, he did anything but make himself look like an absolute idiot. 'I actually watched the second session back last week and I don't feel like it's me,' he said. 'It's just some random bald bloke on the tele. I'm watching it back and thinking, did that really happen? 'I felt weird after because I left, I've set a record, I've played well, I can go home and the pressure of it is all over. They're all talking about me on the tele, great position going into next season, everything's good. 'Then you're home and you think about it and that was such a good chance. I was playing so well, I could have done something there and it quickly goes from feeling quite content about the whole experience to being quite annoyed.' Mixed feelings sums up the Crucible experience as Surety's first game there epitomised the cliché that the venue is both the best and worst place to play snooker. 'I sat down and tried to convince myself it was going to be the best place on Earth, but you get it drummed into your head how you're meant to feel in there,' he said. 'Mark Allen asked me how I was feeling and told me that he was there for the 19th time and still struggles every time he walks out there. It's like it's normal. 'I watched the opening morning before travelling up and Steve Davis said on camera: 'I can't wait to watch the top players in the world squirm under the pressure of the Crucible.' I looked at my girlfriend and said: 'Bloody hell, that's me this year!'' 'Although I hated those first four frames, that's how I'm meant to feel. You sit there, look left and that's where Steve Davis picked up all them trophies. I was looking up at the lights on the roof and tearing up. How the hell am I here? You find yourself losing yourself in the history of the place. 'At the start it felt like the walls sucked in on me and you just notice every set of eyes in the whole arena. I thought they were on me, which they were, but you notice it. The next day I was flying and it was like no one else was in there.' Surety was a huge fan of the place before playing there, but is now convinced that the unique nature of the Crucible is why it should remain the home of the World Championship, beyond the current contract which ends in 2027. 'They can't ever move from there,' he said. 'It's just…it's mad. 'It's so small in there, I think you're only allowed two back stage passes, but it works because you walk into the Champions Lounge upstairs and there's Stephen Hendry. As I walked in he said: 'Great run in the World Open, well done for qualifying, I'm glad to see you doing well.' I'd never spoken to Stephen Hendry before! Things like that make it mad.' The challenge for Surety now is to build on the very encouraging end to last season and make it back to the Crucible next year, something he is working hard on. 'I lost to Ding on the Tuesday and I was back here in the club on the Wednesday,' he said. 'I quite like that time of year because you're not practising for anything, just playing and having a laugh.' More Trending The popular Essex star also had a summer of cue questions which has seen him chop, change and return to old faithful which arrived from eBay a decade ago. 'My cue's not the greatest. I love it, but it's an old Chinese cue that my dad picked up off eBay about 10 years ago for 130 quid,' he explained. 'There are a lot better cues, but it's obviously my own. 'John Parris has made me a new one and I used it for three or four days. I like using other cues as a bit of a challenge. I think I've made a century with near enough every bit of wood in the club. But when it's handed to you and this could be something you're going into the season with, I couldn't do it. 'I had to call John and say you can have your you're very expensive, beautiful cue back. I want me little piece of poo off eBay back and I I'm cracking on.' MORE: Wuhan Open and British Open draws made as Ronnie O'Sullivan enters both MORE: Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty disagree on most underrated snooker player ever MORE: Anthony Hamilton reflects on epic career as Sheriff of Pottingham hands in his badge
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Tennis fans slam BBC live coverage of Queen's after Emma Raducanu snub ahead of Wimbledon
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TENNIS fans slammed the BBC for snubbing live coverage of Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter's doubles debut. The all-star British duo teamed up for the first time at Queen's in the opening grass-court event ahead of Wimbledon. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter played their first competitive doubles match together Credit: Getty 3 The British pairing beat Fang-Hsien Wu and Xinyu Jiang 6-4 6-2 Credit: PA But despite the BBC holding the rights to the tournament and the euphoria around tennis after yesterday's epic French Open final, they opted against spotlighting two of GB's biggest names and instead only showed the singles action on the main show court - now called the Andy Murray Arena. While Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova were live on TV, that meant that Raducanu and Boulter - second up on Court 1 - were overlooked on BBC Two. And their match against Fang-Hsien Wu and Xinyu Jiang was not available for British tennis fans to watch on either the red button or iPlayer. BBC presenter Isa Guha said: "Unfortunately, we won't be able to show you this match because we're focused on Andy Murray Arena, but we will be bringing you updates throughout the course of the afternoon." READ MORE ON TENNIS MIC MY DAY Wimbledon finals to be shown on new TV channel after 88 years of BBC coverage But wannabe viewers were not happy. One moaned: "Errrrr you've got two Brits linking up in the doubles - don't you think that might have been of an interest to the British viewers?" Another blasted: "You have the British women 1 and 2 playing together in doubles and you're not showing it? Make it make sense!! So frustrating!!" A third added: "You just showed a clip of Court 1 where Emma and Katie are starting their match; so why not show the match as a second option or one court on iPlayer and one on BBC Two? Very frustrating!" CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS A fourth complained: "Literally just showed us a clip of it why can't we watch it?!!!!" A fifth fumed: "Absolutely ridiculous you're not showing Boulter/Raducanu in doubles." Katie Boulter destroys tennis star fiance Alex de Minaur in four words after newly-engaged couple lose in doubles And a final user typed: "Why isn't Court 1 on BBC iPlayer though? Can't watch Boultercanu?" Boulter and Raducanu - nicknamed Boulteranu by some on social media - ran out 6-4 6-2 winners in 71 minutes, laughing and high-fiving their way to victory in joyful scenes in front of the 1,000-seater stand. The match was Raducanu's second WTA doubles match of her career - and a first win. Quizzed if they would team up again at Wimbledon, the former US Open champion downplayed their ambitions. Raducanu - delighted to have overcome any injury concerns as she ended the match with a volley - insisted: 'It's a spontaneous thing, we're just trying to do the best we can this week. "We thought about it in Madrid, Miami and Paris. 'Moving to the grass, which is a very different surface, it helps us get a feel of serving, returning and playing some points." Tennis stars' new careers PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring. But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best… I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend I'm last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I'm singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts I'm former world No1 but quit aged 29 - instead I went on to play professional poker and golf I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist But partner Boulter interjected: 'Scrap what she said - we're going for the Wimbledon title! "No, just kidding… we haven't thought about that. "We both return very well and have great volleys, so if one of us hits a good ball we can capitalise on that. "I'm very confident that Emma is going to put the ball away if I hit a good shot." World No37 Raducanu - who admitted she is still "wary" in public after he stalker hell - faces Cristina Bucsa in her opening singles match on Tuesday. Boulter, three places higher than her partner in the WTA rankings, takes on Ajla Tomljanovic. SunSport has contacted the BBC for comment on the snub, which comes after news that the BBC will have to share broadcast rights to the singles finals at Wimbledon with TNT Sports for the next five years. 3 Raducanu had only played one WTA doubles match before Credit: Getty
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Tennis fans slam BBC live coverage of Queen's after Emma Raducanu snub ahead of Wimbledon
TENNIS fans slammed the BBC for snubbing live coverage of Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter's doubles debut. The all-star British duo teamed up for the first time at Queen's in the opening grass-court event ahead of Wimbledon. 3 But despite the BBC holding the rights to the tournament and the euphoria around tennis after yesterday's epic French Open final, they opted against spotlighting two of GB's biggest names and instead only showed the singles action on the main show court - now called the Andy Murray Arena. While Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova were live on TV, that meant that Raducanu and Boulter - second up on Court 1 - were overlooked on BBC Two. And their match against Fang-Hsien Wu and Xinyu Jiang was not available for British tennis fans to watch on either the red button or iPlayer. BBC presenter Isa Guha said: "Unfortunately, we won't be able to show you this match because we're focused on Andy Murray Arena, but we will be bringing you updates throughout the course of the afternoon." But wannabe viewers were not happy. One moaned: "Errrrr you've got two Brits linking up in the doubles - don't you think that might have been of an interest to the British viewers?" Another blasted: "You have the British women 1 and 2 playing together in doubles and you're not showing it? Make it make sense!! So frustrating!!" A third added: "You just showed a clip of Court 1 where Emma and Katie are starting their match; so why not show the match as a second option or one court on iPlayer and one on BBC Two? Very frustrating!" CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS A fourth complained: "Literally just showed us a clip of it why can't we watch it?!!!!" A fifth fumed: "Absolutely ridiculous you're not showing Boulter/Raducanu in doubles." Katie Boulter destroys tennis star fiance Alex de Minaur in four words after newly-engaged couple lose in doubles And a final user typed: "Why isn't Court 1 on BBC iPlayer though? Can't watch Boultercanu?" Boulter and Raducanu - nicknamed Boulteranu by some on social media - ran out 6-4 6-2 winners in 71 minutes, laughing and high-fiving their way to victory in joyful scenes in front of the 1,000-seater stand. The match was Raducanu's second WTA doubles match of her career - and a first win. Quizzed if they would team up again at Wimbledon, the former US Open champion downplayed their ambitions. Raducanu - delighted to have overcome any injury concerns as she ended the match with a volley - insisted: 'It's a spontaneous thing, we're just trying to do the best we can this week. "We thought about it in Madrid, Miami and Paris. 'Moving to the grass, which is a very different surface, it helps us get a feel of serving, returning and playing some points." But partner Boulter interjected: 'Scrap what she said - we're going for the Wimbledon title! "No, just kidding… we haven't thought about that. "We both return very well and have great volleys, so if one of us hits a good ball we can capitalise on that. "I'm very confident that Emma is going to put the ball away if I hit a good shot." World No37 Raducanu - who admitted she is still "wary" in public after he stalker hell - faces Cristina Bucsa in her opening singles match on Tuesday. Boulter, three places higher than her partner in the WTA rankings, takes on Ajla Tomljanovic. SunSport has contacted the BBC for comment on the snub, which comes after news that the BBC will have to share broadcast rights to the singles finals at Wimbledon with TNT Sports for the next five years. Wimbledon ditching line judges a double fault for British tennis By Joshua Jones THE absence of line judges at Wimbledon will be a sad sight. For as long as I can remember, the men and women decked out in their Ralph Lauren outfits have been part of the furniture at the All England Club. Yes, they provided some mild entertainment on the court when one would call "fault" with plenty of extra, and unnecessary, gusto and volume that boomed around Centre Court, prompting a snigger from the fans. Then there was the ongoing game of dodgeball they had to play when a big serve nailed a mammoth ace down the line and they had to take rapid evasive action or take a whack to the top of the head. And challenges provided some audience participation, excitedly joining in the clapping countdown before the inevitable "oooh" when the graphic showed just how close the ball was to landing in or out. Purely objectively, Wimbledon's decision to replace line judges with Hawk-Eye Live makes total sense. The accuracy and consistency of calls in real-time will speed things up, save time and should mark the end of arguments over the tight incorrect calls - well, until the technology malfunctions. And Wimbledon's hand was somewhat forced to ditch tradition for their standing in tennis. The Australian Open and US Open already use electronic line calling and the ATP Tour is adopting Hawk-Eye Live across all of its tournaments from 2025. Wimbledon's refusal to comply would leave them lagging behind and exposed to the threat of needless controversy over human error. But the impact - as is so often the case in these decisions - has ramifications further down, below the surface with very little impact on Wimbledon's Championships or the players. It is on the line judges themselves. Approximately 300 officials - aged from 18 to 80 - covered more than 650 matches at Wimbledon. A fraction travel internationally with the circuit but the vast majority of those are part-time line judges based in the UK, earning up to £180 per day to work at the prestigious tournament and their chance to play their part at Wimbledon. For many, they will help out at British tournaments throughout the year, spurred on by the possibility of taking to the lawns of the All England Club. But it is understood many of those officials would be reluctant to work at the lower-level tournaments without the carrot of Wimbledon dangling in the summer. That in turn will put a major stumbling block in the pathway for British tennis umpires, who grind up through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of the sport. Like football with referees, tennis needs umpires and line judges. So the inability to call "out" at Wimbledon could prove to be a major "fault" for the future of the UK's tennis officials and therefore the state of the sport on these shores.
