Steve Davis
Alternate use: Steve Davis (trombonist)
| Steve Davis | |
|---|---|
| File:England flag large.png | |
| Personal Information | |
| Nicknames | The Nugget |
| Date of birth | August 22, 1957 |
| Nationality | English |
| Career | |
| Professional | 1978–current |
| 2004/5 World Ranking | 13 |
| Best World Ranking | 1 (7 years) |
| World Championship Best | Winner (6 times) |
| Highest Break | 147 (1982) |
| Ranking Tournament Wins | |
| World Championship | 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987–1989 |
| International | 1983, 1984, 1987–1989 |
| UK Championship | 1984–1987 |
| Lada Classic | 1984 |
| Rothmans Grand Prix | 1985, 1988, 1989 |
| British Open | 1986, 1993 |
| Mercantile Credit Classic | 1987, 1988, 1992 |
| Asian Open | 1992 |
| European Open | 1993 |
| Welsh Open | 1994, 1995 |
Steve Davis (born August 22, 1957) is an English professional snooker player.
Having turned professional in 1978, Davis won the World Snooker Championship 6 times during the 1980s (1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1989), a record at the time. Despite not repeating his earlier successes following the rise of Stephen Hendry in the early 1990s, Davis remained one of the world's best players well into the 2000s. Perhaps his most famous match however was the 1985 final versus Dennis Taylor. In a nail-biting match that saw a record post-midnight audience on British television and a record audience for BBC2 of 18 million people, Taylor finally defeated Davis 18 frames to 17, winning the final frame on the final ball. Davis completed the most crushing World Championship victory in the modern era when he defeated John Parrott 18-3 in 1989. As of 2004, he has won 73 titles, 28 of them in ranking events.
Davis became known for his coolness and impeccable conduct in high-pressure situations, earning himself the nickname The Nugget. His featureless expressions and monotone interviewing style earned him a reputation as boring. As a result, the satirical television series Spitting Image gave him the ironic nickname, Steve 'Interesting' Davis. Davis himself has long played upon this image, particularly as a pundit and commentator for the BBC's snooker coverage and as a guest on television quizzes, with an appealing line in deadpan humour.
In 1988, Davis was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The same year he was made an MBE. He was awarded on OBE in 2001.
Davis has taken up his non-snooker interests in the public arena too. Since 1996 he has been a soul presenter on his local radio station, Phoenix FM. He is also a keen chess player and was for a while the President of the British Chess Federation.
Steve Davis is no relation to snooker players Joe Davis and Fred Davis.