Steve Davis is a six-time world snooker champion and one of the most successful players in the history of the professional game.
Steve Davis – Career Snapshot
| Date of birth: | 22 August 1957 |
| Nationality: | England |
| Turned professional: | 1978 |
| Highest world ranking: | No. 1 |
| Ranking titles: | 28 |
| World Championship titles: | 6 |
| Triple Crown titles: | 15 |
| Masters appearances: | 27 |
| Maximum 147 breaks: | 1 |
Steve Davis’s Snooker Career
Steve Davis turned professional in 1978, becoming the youngest player on the Main Tour at the age of 21. It did not take long for the Englishman to establish himself, and less than three years later he had already claimed his first World Championship title.
Known as The Nugget, Davis went on to dominate the sport throughout the 1980s, a period during which snooker enjoyed unprecedented mainstream popularity. With the professional game expanding and prize money increasing, Davis emerged as the undisputed world number one, collecting major titles at a remarkable rate.
Between 1981 and 1989, he failed to reach the World Championship final only once, famously falling victim to the Curse of the Crucible in a first-round defeat in 1982. Across that era, Davis secured six World Championship crowns, adding victories in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, and 1989 to his maiden success in 1981.
One of the most famous moments of his career came in defeat rather than victory, when he surrendered an 8-0 lead and missed the final black in a dramatic 18-17 loss to Dennis Taylor in the 1985 World Championship final. Despite that setback, Davis remained the dominant force in the game, holding the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons.
The 1987/88 season marked another historic milestone, as Davis became the first player to win snooker’s three biggest titles – the World Championship, UK Championship, and Masters – in the same campaign. That achievement, combined with snooker’s surge in popularity, saw him named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1988.
The arrival of a young Stephen Hendry soon signalled a shift at the top of the sport. Davis lost successive UK Championship finals to Hendry in 1989 and 1990, marking the beginning of a gradual decline in his dominance, though notable successes continued to follow.
In the mid-1990s, Davis enjoyed a late-career resurgence, adding six more ranking titles to take his career total to 28 – a record at the time that was later eclipsed by Hendry. One of his most memorable later victories came at the 1997 Masters, where he recovered from 8-4 down to defeat Ronnie O’Sullivan in a classic final.
Davis remained a competitive presence inside the top 16 until 2008 and eventually retired from professional snooker in 2016 at the age of 58, bringing to a close one of the most influential and successful careers in the history of the sport.
Steve Davis’s Ranking Titles
Steve Davis won a total of 28 ranking titles during his professional career.
| Year | Tournament |
|---|---|
| 1981 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1983 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1983 | International Open |
| 1984 | The Classic |
| 1984 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1984 | International Open |
| 1984 | UK Championship |
| 1985 | Grand Prix |
| 1985 | UK Championship |
| 1986 | British Open |
| 1986 | UK Championship |
| 1987 | The Classic |
| 1987 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1987 | International Open |
| 1987 | UK Championship |
| 1988 | The Classic |
| 1988 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1988 | International Open |
| 1988 | Grand Prix |
| 1989 | World Snooker Championship |
| 1989 | International Open |
| 1989 | Grand Prix |
| 1992 | The Classic |
| 1992 | Asian Open |
| 1993 | European Open |
| 1993 | British Open |
| 1994 | Welsh Open |
| 1995 | Welsh Open |
Other Major Titles and Notable Wins
In addition to his ranking event successes, Steve Davis also won numerous invitational and non-ranking titles during his career.
- UK Championship (1980, 1982)
- The Masters (1982, 1988, 1997)
- The Classic (1980, 1983)
- Irish Masters (1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994)
- World Matchplay (1988)
- Matchroom League (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)
- Scottish Masters (1982, 1983, 1984)
- China Masters (1985, 1986)
- Hong Kong Masters (1984, 1987)
- Tolly Cobbold Classic (1982, 1983, 1984)
- Pot Black (1982, 1983, 1991, 1993)
- Thailand Masters (1991)
- Canadian Masters (1986)
- China International (1997)
- World Seniors Championship (2013)
- World Doubles Championship (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986)
- World Cup (1981, 1983, 1988, 1989)
- World Mixed Doubles Championship (1991)
- World Masters Mixed Doubles (1991)
Steve Davis and the Triple Crown
The Triple Crown refers to snooker’s three oldest and most prestigious events: the World Championship, the Masters, and the UK Championship. Steve Davis is one of a select group of players to have enjoyed sustained success across all three, winning 15 Triple Crown titles in total.
- World Championship: 6 titles (1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989)
- UK Championship: 6 titles (1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)
- Masters: 3 titles (1982, 1988, 1997)
SHQ Star Rating: ★★★★★★★
SnookerHQ uses a seven-point star scale based on the scoring values of snooker balls, with a black (7) representing the highest career classification. Ratings are assigned using career achievements, longevity, and historical impact.
Steve Davis: ★★★★★★★
SHQ Star Rating: How it works →
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Featured photo credit: WSS