Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He turned professional in 1972 and won the 1985 World Snooker Championship, in which he lost the first eight frames of the final to defending champion Steve Davis but recovered to win 18–17 in a duel on the last black ball. The final's conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK viewership records for any post-midnight broadcast and for any broadcast on BBC Two that still stand.

Taylor had previously been runner-up at the 1979 World Snooker Championship, where he lost the final 16–24 to Terry Griffiths. He attained his highest world ranking in 1979–1980, when he was second. He won one other ranking title at the 1984 Grand Prix, where he defeated Cliff Thorburn 10–2 in the final. He reached two other Grand Prix finals but lost 9–10 to Davis in 1985 and 7–10 to Stephen Hendry in 1987. He won the invitational 1987 Masters, defeating Alex Higgins 9–8 in the final. He made the highest break of his career at the 1987 Carling Challenge, a 141.

Beginning in 1983, Taylor wore distinctive glasses during his matches. Designed by Jack Karnehm specifically for playing snooker, they were often described as looking upside-down. Taylor began commentating on the sport in the 1980s and has been a regular commentator on BBC snooker broadcasts since his retirement from the professional tour in 2000. He competed on the World Seniors Tour until he announced the end of his competitive playing career in 2021, aged 72. Outside snooker, he appeared on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing, finishing eighth alongside dance partner Izabela Hannah.

Born on 19 January 1949 in Coalisland, Northern Ireland, Dennis James Taylor was the son of a lorry driver, and had six siblings. In 1966, Taylor left Coalisland to look for work in England and moved in with his aunt near Blackburn. He landed a job cutting out carpet patterns for cars, but left abruptly after nearly severing his little finger. He then worked 12-hour shifts at the Waterside paper mill, followed by a position as a weighbridge clerk and then for Relayvision, a television rental firm. He left his snooker cue at home, feeling he was unable to compete against more experienced English players, but found he was of equal skill at his local club. With a new cue he competed in the Blackburn league, winning the Accrington and District singles title and a Champion of Champions event. Taylor also played exhibition matches with professional and future champion John Spencer, who praised his abilities and gave him encouragement. Taylor won the 1968 British Junior Billiards Championship and the East Lancashire championship in 1970, which he won four times in five years. He was chosen to join the English amateur team against Wales and Scotland after making a 136 break, then a record for an amateur.

Taylor turned professional in 1972. That season he made his debut in the World Snooker Championship at the 1973 event, losing 8–9 to Cliff Thorburn in the first round. Over the next few years, Taylor reached the semi-finals at the event in 1975 where he lost 12–19 to Eddie Charlton, and 1977, losing to Thorburn 18–16. Two years later he reached the 1979 final, but lost 16–24 to qualifier Terry Griffiths. He reached his highest world ranking for the following season, second behind Steve Davis.

He reached the semi-final for a third time in 1984, losing to Davis. His mother died of a heart attack as he was beginning the new season at the 1984 Jameson International. He retired from the event before his quarter-final match against Silvino Francisco. However, he won the first ranking event of his career at the 1984 Grand Prix later that year defeating Thorburn 10–2 in the final.

Following his first ranking tournament victory, Taylor played in the 1985 World Championship. Seeded 11th for the tournament, he defeated Francisco in the opening round 10–2, Eddie Charlton 13–6 in the second round, Cliff Thorburn 13–5, and Tony Knowles 16–5 to reach the final. In the final, he played three-time winner and world number one Steve Davis. In the four session match, he trailed 0–7 after the first, but bounced back to trail 7–9 overnight after the second. Never being ahead, he took the match to a deciding frame with the scores tied at 17–17. Trailing at 62–44 to Davis in the deciding frame with four coloured balls remaining. He potted a long brown ball, which he says was one of his best ever shots under pressure. He also potted the blue and pink to bring the score to 62–59 with one ball, worth seven points, remaining. Both players missed a shot on the black, but it was finally potted by Taylor to win the championship.

The final has been voted by BBC viewers as the greatest snooker match in history and was broadcast to a peak audience of 18 million viewers in the United Kingdom. As of 2020^[update] this is the highest viewership of any broadcast after midnight in the country, and a record for any programme shown on BBC2. On his return to Northern Ireland, Taylor was awarded the key to the city of Coalisland. He also received a victory parade that 10,000 attended.