THE GENERATION that contributed to the snooker boom of the 1980s has been gearing up for a return to the spotlight at this weekend’s World Seniors Championship at the East of England Showground in Peterborough.
Canada’s Cliff Thorburn, who won the World Championship in 1980 and went on to become the first person to make a 147 maximum break at the Crucible in 1983 says he is not phased by the prospect of a 30 second shot clock, which will kick in once the frame exceeds 10 minutes. Thorburn, now aged 63, faces Doug Mountjoy on Saturday evening. He said: “Some people called me slow, but if you got all the slow players together then I would be the fastest, none of the others would get near me.
“I’ve been practising a fair bit and checking my average shot time, and hopefully I won’t have a problem with the shot clock. Sometimes you can be too careful by double or triple checking you are playing the right shot. The first shot you see is the right one, 95 per cent of the time, so under pressure you just have to go for that one. I’ve got enough experience to see the shot right away and not to be frazzled by the clock.”
Thorburn, who retired in 1996, will have to compete against several players who are still active on the main tour, including Steve Davis and Jimmy White, but ‘The Grinder’ insists he still has a chance of landing the trophy and the £18,000 top prize. He said: “The matches are only best of three frames, and that gives me more of a chance. There’s no reason why I can’t win two frames, and no reason why I can’t win more than one match. At least no one is taking money off me! I still have a very competitive instinct and always will.
“I’ve got Doug Mountjoy in the first round and that will bring back some great memories of matches we had in the 1980s. Last year it was lot of fun to see the other players again, and I was really impressed by the standard.”
Jimmy White, who won the inaugural event last season, faces Tony Knowles in the first round.
The action begins at 1pm on Saturday afternoon with quickfire potter Tony Drago taking on Steve Davis, who remains a force to be reckoned with on the main tour at the age of 54 and recently reached the semi-finals of a PTC event in Warsaw, Poland. Drago paid tribute to his opponent’s ability to resist the forces of time ahead of their clash. He said: “I’ve always been inspired by Steve – if you are feeling old then you look at him and realise you’ve still got time in the game – he’s 54 and still going strong on the pro tour. He still hits the ball beautifully and had a great run to the semi-finals of a PTC event recently.
“I’m 46 now and able to play in the Seniors, which is strange because I remember the day I turned pro in 1985 like it was yesterday. Nearly 27 years later I’m still here and set to play against the guy I’ve been competing against for three decades.”
Drago, nicknamed ‘The Tornado’, once made a century break in a record 210 seconds, but he does not think the 30 second shot clock will put him at a huge advantage. He said: “Maybe if it was 15 seconds it would be good for me, but 30 is enough for everyone.
“I’m really looking forward to it because I’ve been practising with Jimmy White and he’s been telling me what great fun it was last year. I feel I’ve got a chance of a long run. My form has been good this season although my results haven’t matched how well I have played.”
Television coverage can be seen across the weekend on Sky Sports 4 and Sky Sports 4 HD.
Draw:
Saturday, 1pm GMT:
Tony Drago v Steve Davis
Dene O’Kane v Neal Foulds
Karl Townsend v Steve Ventham
John Parrott v Joe Johnson
Saturday, 7pm GMT:
Jimmy White v Tony Knowles
Nigel Bond v Dennis Taylor
Gary Wilkinson v Darren Morgan
Cliff Thorburn v Doug Mountjoy