Classic (snooker)
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| Ranking tournaments |
| World Championship |
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| Withdrawn tournaments |
| See: Snooker tournaments |
The Classic was a professional snooker tournament.
The tournament started life as the Wilsons Classic in 1980. A change in sponsor in 1982 meant a name change to Lada Classic. Two years later, the tournament was made a ranking tournament. Mercantile Credit took over the sponsorship for the 1984/85 season. The tournament ran until 1992.
Memorable incidents from the history of the tournament include the following:
- In 1982, Steve Davis made the first televised 147 break against John Spencer.
- In 1983, Bill Werbeniuk reached the only ranking final of his career in what was by far his best season.
- In 1984, Davis was level at 8 frames each with Tony Meo and only the colours were left in the deciding frame. As Meo lined up on the yellow, a spectator yelled out "Come on Tony!". Although Meo took time to compose himself after the shout, he missed the yellow and Davis cleared the colours to win.
- In 1985, Willie Thorne won his first ranking tournament victory, beating Cliff Thorburn in a final of extremely high quality. Earlier the same seasons, Thorburn had lost to another popular player winning his first ranking tournament, Dennis Taylor in the Grand Prix.
- In 1986, the tournament finally provided Jimmy White's first ranking tournament victory.
- In 1989, Doug Mountjoy at the age of 47 won his second ranking tournament in a row, having previously won the 1988 UK Championship. He remains one of only four players to win back-to-back ranking tournaments.
[edit] Winners
| Year | Winner | Opponent | Final score | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilsons Classic (non-ranking) | ||||
| 1980 | John Spencer-  England |
Alex Higgins-  Northern Ireland |
4 - 3 | 1979/80 |
| 1981 | Steve Davis- England |
Dennis Taylor- Northern Ireland |
4 - 1 | 1980/81 |
| Lada Classic (non-ranking) | ||||
| 1982 | Terry Griffiths-  Wales |
Steve Davis- England |
9 - 8 | 1981/82 |
| 1983 | Steve Davis- England |
Bill Werbeniuk-  Canada |
9 - 5 | 1982/83 |
| Lada Classic (ranking) | ||||
| 1984 | Steve Davis- England |
Tony Meo- England |
9 - 8 | 1983/84 |
| Mercantile Credit Classic (ranking) | ||||
| 1985 | Willie Thorne- England |
Cliff Thorburn- Canada |
13 - 8 | 1984/85 |
| 1986 | Jimmy White- England |
Cliff Thorburn- Canada |
13 - 12 | 1985/86 |
| 1987 | Steve Davis- England |
Jimmy White- England |
13 - 12 | 1986/87 |
| 1988 | Steve Davis- England |
John Parrott- England |
13 - 11 | 1987/88 |
| 1989 | Doug Mountjoy- Wales |
Wayne Jones- Wales |
13 - 11 | 1988/89 |
| 1990 | Steve James- England |
Warren King-  Australia |
10 - 6 | 1989/90 |
| 1991 | Jimmy White- England |
Stephen Hendry-  Scotland |
10 - 4 | 1990/91 |
| 1992 | Steve Davis- England |
Stephen Hendry- Scotland |
9 - 8 | 1991/92 |
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