Cliff Wilson

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Cliff Wilson
birthday May 10, 1934
place of birth Tredegar , Monmouthshire , Wales
date of death 21st May 1994 (age 60)
nationality WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Wales
Nickname (s) The Whirlwind
professional 1979 - 1994
Prize money £ 241,965
Highest break 136 ( Grand Prix 1989 )
Century Breaks 6th
World rankings
Highest WRL place 16 ( 1988/89 )
Best results
Ranked tournaments 5 × quarter-finals
Other professional tournaments Winner World Seniors Championship 1991
Amateur tournaments Winner of the World Amateur Championship 1978

Cliff Wilson (born May 10, 1934 in Tredegar , Monmouthshire , Wales , † May 21, 1994 ) was a Welsh snooker player . He was already considered a highly talented player in his youth, but only decided to pursue a professional career at the age of 45 after winning the Amateur World Cup in 1978 and achieved his highest place in the world rankings at the end of the 1980s with 16th place. Wilson was never one of the world's top snooker players, but despite several health problems, most notably his poor eyesight, he was one of the most dynamic and fastest players of his time. In addition, he was very popular with the audience for his risky game in snooker, which was then still strongly defensive.

Life

Beginnings as an amateur

Wilson was born in Tredegar , Wales , in 1934 . As a teenager he started snooker, which is very popular in Great Britain and Ireland, and befriended Ray Reardon , who was two years older and also from Tredegar , who later became a six-time world snooker champion. While Wilson's home club was the Lucania Billiards Hall , Reardon played at the Miners' Institute . Their joint games were popular among the local population and always ensured that the gambling halls were well filled. While Reardon had the upper hand in the amateur years at the Welsh level, Wilson could show mostly better results at the national level. So he reached the final of the English U19 championship in 1951 and was defeated there by Rex Williams before winning the tournament in the two following years.

At the age of 17, Wilson first took part in the English Amateur Championship in the spring of 1952 . Among other things, through victories over Reardon and Gary Owen he reached the semifinals, where he was defeated by the eventual winner Charles Downey . After he was eliminated in the round of 16 the following year, he defeated Reardon again in 1954 and moved into the final of the tournament. There he was defeated by Ernest Geoffrey Thompson at 9:11 . Also in 1955 he reached the semifinals, in which he lost to Alf Nolan . His friend Reardon, who had won all editions of the Welsh Snooker Championship between 1950 and 1955, finally moved to Stoke-on-Trent, England, whereupon Wilson was able to win the Welsh Snooker Championship in 1956 against V. Wilkins .

In the mid-1950s, professional snooker had hit rock bottom, and even the World Snooker Championship was suspended. Wilson saw no future as a professional player and the death of his father and his own wedding were further reasons for his decision to quit snooker for the time being. He then found a job in a steel mill in Llanwern . In retrospect, this temporary retreat was often seen as a break in his career, as he was later unable to build on his playing high. At the time, many Welshmen assumed that the whiz kid Wilson had more talent than his competitor and friend Reardon, but Reardon won six professional world championships in the following years.

Wilson never played snooker for the next 15 years. His interest only returned in 1972 when he was asked by a work colleague if he would play for the factory snooker team in a local competition. The sport of snooker was becoming more popular again, but Wilson was struggling with poor eyesight and his left eye was as good as useless. At times Wilson wore an eye patch, later glasses with different lens strengths. Nevertheless, he took part in the Welsh Snooker Championship in 1974 and reached the semi-finals, two years later the second round.

In the following years Wilson achieved a series of successes: He won the Pontins Autumn Open (1976) with a 7: 4 victory over Paul Medati and shortly afterwards, 21 years after his first title win, with an 8: 1 win over Dai Thomas the Welsh Snooker Championship (1977). The following year he took part in the Pontins Spring Open unsuccessfully , but reached the final of the southern qualifying competition of the English Amateur Championship, which he lost 8-2 to his Welsh compatriot Terry Griffiths .

Even at the beginning of his professional career, Wilson could hardly see the end of the 3.56 meter long snooker table

Also in 1978, Wilson first took part in an amateur world championship , survived the group phase there without defeat and reached the final by winning over Joe Grech and Kirk Stevens . There he defeated the Englishman Joe Johnson with 11: 5 and won his first international title. He then succeeded in the Welsh Snooker Championship with an 8: 5 win over Geoff Thomas the third title win and together with Steve Newbury the victory in the national two-man championship. After these successes, Wilson became a professional player for the 1979/80 season at the age of 45. His eyesight was already so bad that he could no longer see the end of the table. In his game he compensated for this disadvantage with his good memory.

First professional years

Wilson's first professional season 1979/80 was mixed and despite some successes he did not manage to place himself in the world rankings. He took part in the UK Championship , the Welsh Professional Championship and the British Gold Cup , with reaching the round of 16 at the UK Championship being his greatest achievement. Here he was defeated by the eventual world champion Terry Griffiths 4: 9, who also played his first professional season. At the end of the season, he defeated the Canadian Frank Jonik at the World Snooker Championship before losing to the Welsh professional Doug Mountjoy in the round of 24 . Apart from that, Wilson also reached the final of the Pontins Spring Open at amateur level , which he lost 3: 7 to Willie Thorne .

Although he lost his opening game at the UK Championship against Mark Wildman in the following season 1980/81 and was later eliminated again in the group stage of the British Gold Cup - then renamed the Yamaha Organs Trophy - Wilson achieved his first successes. So he reached the final of the Welsh Professional Championship , which he lost 6: 9 against his childhood friend Ray Reardon. In addition, he managed to move into the round of the last 24 of the World Snooker Championship , which was the first time he was assigned a world rankings, so that he finished 23rd in the following season. He also reached the semi-finals at the Pontins Professional and again the final at the Pontins Spring Open , which he lost to the Englishman John Hargreaves 3: 7.

In the 1981/82 season Wilsons could not build on his first modest successes and lost his opening games at the International Open and the UK Championship , and he was eliminated again at the International Masters in the qualifying group phase. At the Welsh Professional Championship he made it to the semi-finals, but lost to Terry Griffiths. Only in the snooker world championship did he manage to get into the round of 32 a respectable result, in which he was defeated by the multiple world championship finalist Eddie Charlton . On the world rankings, this meant a loss of three places, so that he finished 26th in the following season.

Years in the extended world elite

Wilson's ranking history; during the 1988/89 season he was ranked 16th, his highest place.

From the 1982/83 season there were some changes in the ratings of professional tournaments. From 1982 onwards, in addition to the World Snooker Championship , the International Open and the newly established Professional Players Tournament , which later became the Grand Prix , were given the status of a world ranking tournament. The Classic , the UK Championship and the British Open were added later. As a result, the annual world rankings were no longer limited to the results of the World Cup, which made it easier for Wilson to move up to higher places. Up to and including 1989, Wilson reached the quarter-finals at the 1982 International Open , 1985 Grand Prix , 1986 International Open , 1987 Classic and 1989 International Open, as well as the last sixteen in ten other ranking tournaments. Far from these tournaments, he succeeded in the 1984 Welsh Professional Championship , which continued to exist as a so-called non-ranking tournament , in which he had to admit defeat Doug Mountjoy 3: 9.

During this time, Wilson was able to hold his ground steadily in the upper twenties of the world rankings, before he was among the top twenty players in the world between 1987 and 1990. In the 1988/89 season he reached his highest ranking with rank 16. This enabled him to take part in the prestigious Masters invitation tournament for the only time in his career . Here, however, he lost 5-2 in the opening game against Steve Davis , who dominated professional snooker in the 1980s and who is still one of only three players to win all three Triple Crown tournaments in one season (Davis 1987 / 88).

His professional high phase ended with the 1989/90 season and he only reached the quarter-finals at the International Open 1989 and the second round of the European Open 1991 in the upcoming ranking tournaments . He was eliminated from the top of the world and at the end of the 1990/91 season was only 32nd in the world rankings. Wilson thus only just secured the necessary rank for a direct qualification for the main rounds of most ranked tournaments.

Last professional years and death

The 1991/92 season began with the invitation tournament World Seniors Championship , in which Wilson reached the finals with wins over Rex Williams , Doug Mountjoy and Terry Griffiths . With a 5-4 victory over the Australian Eddie Charlton , at the age of 57 years and 135 days, he won a professional tournament for the first time and at the same time for the last time. The rest of the season, like the previous seasons, went badly for Wilson and he was mostly eliminated in the round of 32 at the latest. Only in the first edition of the Welsh Open did he reach the second round with victories over Paul Davies and Ken Doherty , in which he was defeated by his compatriot Darren Morgan . On the world rankings he lost another place and was ranked 33rd. As a result, he lost his secure place for the main rounds of most of the ranking tournaments and had to qualify for them from now on.

In the following season , however, Wilson was eliminated from most tournaments in the round of 96 and only occasionally reached the round of 32, such as the Grand Prix and the first event of the Strachan Challenge . In addition, he succeeded in the UK Championship after victories over Leigh Robinson and Silvino Francisco a surprising 9: 8 win against the talented young Englishman Ronnie O'Sullivan , before he lost in the round of 16 against Stephen Hendry from Scotland . In contrast to Wilson, O'Sullivan was still at the beginning of his career and later became the dominant player of the 2000s with an even faster style of play after Hendry had shaped the 1990s. Wilson slipped another fourteen places in the world rankings after the season and was thus only led to 47th place.

The 1993/94 season was even worse than the previous seasons. Wilson was only able to win an opening game in three tournaments, such as the UK Championship , the European Open and the International Open . End of the season he managed to qualify for the World Snooker Championship against Mark O'Sullivan again in the decision frame , but eventually lost his very last professional game with 9:10. In the following season he would have been ranked 66th in the ranking.

Wilson, who was married with four children, had gradually developed health problems with his back, knee, hip and heart in addition to his eye problems since the 1950s. In addition, Wilson had developed a serious, inoperable disease of the liver and pancreas, of the consequences of which Wilson died a few weeks after the end of the season and eleven days after his 60th birthday on May 21, 1994.

Style of play

Especially in the 1950s Wilson, whose nickname The Whirlwind was later also common for Jimmy White , had one of the best and fastest match games and was also one of the most dynamic snooker players, before another with Alex “Hurricane” Higgins in the early 1970s faster player was added. If he hadn't decided against a professional career at the time, he would have become one of the most popular snooker players from today's perspective. His match play in particular was outstanding in that era. However, his career climax fell at a time when a defensive style of play was common, which could not have developed Wilson's offensive style of play.

In his later professional years, the health problems and the spotlight for the TV broadcasts made it difficult for Wilson's game, who at that time was also suffering from obesity, so that he had to adapt his technique to his possibilities. Nevertheless, Wilson remained a fast player for his time and was able to maintain his outstanding match play. In contrast to the much more defensive players, Wilson was much more risky and dared to attempt a hole instead of weighing the probabilities long. One reason for this was Wilson's view that snooker was a game, not a sport, and that it shouldn't be taken too seriously, but enjoyed. This resulted on the one hand in a high error rate with normal impacts, but on the other hand also in a high number of successful, risky impacts.

Although Wilson had only made it into the extended world elite during his active time, he was considered one of the most popular professional players despite his lack of success and his not too great ambition. After his death, Wilson was also referred to as the “prototype of the modern entertainers Jimmy White and Alex Higgins,” who have also included Ronnie O'Sullivan since the 2000s .

successes

output year competition Final opponent Result
Amateur tournaments
Second 1954 English Amateur Championship EnglandEngland Ernest Geoffrey Thompson 9:11
winner 1956 Welsh Snooker Championship Wales 1953Wales V. Wilkins unknown
winner 1977 Welsh Snooker Championship WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Dai Thomas 8: 1
Second 1978 English Amateur Championship - South WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Terry Griffiths 2: 8
winner 1978 IBSF World Snooker Championship EnglandEngland Joe Johnson 11: 5
winner 1979 Welsh Snooker Championship WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Geoff Thomas 8: 5
Second 1978 English Amateur Championship - South EnglandEngland Jimmy White 5: 8
Pro / Am tournaments
winner 1976 Pontin's Autumn Open EnglandEngland Paul Medati 7: 4
Second 1980 Pontins Spring Open EnglandEngland Willie Thorne 3: 7
Second 1981 Pontins Spring Open EnglandEngland John Hargreaves 3: 7
Non-ranking tournaments
Second 1981 Welsh Professional Championship WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Ray Reardon 6: 9
Second 1984 Welsh Professional Championship WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Doug Mountjoy 3: 9
Invitation tournaments
winner 1991 World Seniors Championship AustraliaAustralia Eddie Charlton 5: 4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Cliff Wilson - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Cliff Wilson - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Chris Turner: Player Profile: Cliff Wilson. (No longer available online.) Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, 2009, archived from the original on November 1, 2011 ; accessed on September 4, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Kevin Leck: Cliff Wilson- Snooker's great entertainer. Sportpyched, March 16, 2017, accessed September 5, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1951–1952 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1952–1953 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1953–1954 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1954–1955 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Jamie Watkins: Welsh Amateur Snooker Championship. (No longer available online.) Global Snooker Center, 2004, archived from the original on June 14, 2004 ; accessed on September 4, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1960–1961 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b c d Guy Hodgson: Obituary: Cliff Wilson. The Independent , May 27, 1994, accessed September 4, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Steve Davis : Interesting . 1st edition. Dragonstars Eventmanagement, Fürth 2016, ISBN 978-3-00-053061-6 , p.  100 (English: Interesting . Ebury Press, London 2015.).
  13. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1973–1974 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1975-1976 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1976-1977 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1977–1978 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1978–1979 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  18. ^ Jamie Watkins: Euro Player Profile - Steve Newbury (Wales). (No longer available online.) Global Snooker Center, 2003, archived from the original on November 28, 2007 ; accessed on September 20, 2019 (English).
  19. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ron Florax: Ranking History For Cliff Wilson. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1979–1980 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1979–1980 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1980–1981 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1980–1981 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1981–1982 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on August 31, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1982–1983 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 1, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1985–1986 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 2, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1986–1987 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 2, 2019 .
  28. ↑ a b Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1989–1990 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1983–1984 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 1, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1988–1989 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1990–1991 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1991-1992 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1992–1993 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Ron Florax: Cliff Wilson - Season 1993-1994 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  35. ^ Then and Now: Cliff Wilson. (No longer available online.) Eurosport , March 11, 2010, archived from the original on March 16, 2010 ; accessed on November 12, 2019 .
This article was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 30, 2019 in this version .
personal data
SURNAME Wilson, Cliff
BRIEF DESCRIPTION welsh snooker player
DATE OF BIRTH May 10, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Tredegar
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1994