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| World Doubles Championship |
| Non Ranking Event |
A Brief History of the World Doubles Championship
In the early 1980s there was an insatiable
appetite for snooker on television and, by way of something a bit different,
the idea of a major doubles championship emerged. Doubles had never been a
serious part of the professional game but that did not deter the sponsors,
Courage, who used their Hofmeister brand to support the event.
29 pairs entered the event and the last 16
onwards was played at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre a week or so
before Christmas 1982. This turned out to be a far from ideal venue and
attendance was poor. One of the more surprising partnerships was Alex Higgins
and Eddie Charlton. In the event Steve Davis & Tony Meo seemed to have the
ideal formula and they won with little trouble.
The following year a far better venue was
found at the Derngate Centre in Northampton
and there it was to remain for the next five years. Davis & Meo were
unstoppable and took the title for the second year running with Jimmy White and
Tony Knowles as runners up. In 1984 Jimmy changed partners and teamed up with
Alex Higgins who, after Charlton, had played with Kirk Stevens previous
year. They managed to beat Davis & Meo in the semi-finals and went on to
beat Cliff Thorburn & Willie Thorne in the final.
Davis and Meo regained the title in 1985
and won again in 1986 where, in the final, they beat a new pairing of Mike Hallett and Stephen Hendry. It was this
partnership who went on to win the next year when the champions went out in the
first round, the only occasion that they had not reached at lest the semi
finals. Sponsorship had now moved to the Fosters brand but it was still part of
the Courage group and their contract ended with the 1987 event. Other events
were now filling the calendar and that was almost the last we have seen of this
form of the game other than in the Nations Cup team event. There was one more
major doubles tournament held as part of the one-off World Masters in 1991 when
Hallett & Hendry were again the winners.
Roll Of Honour
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1982 |
Crystal Palace, London |
Hofmeister |
Steve Davis &
Tony Meo |
Terry Griffiths &
Doug Mountjoy |
13-2 |
£24,000 |
| 1983 |
Derngate Centre, Northampton |
Hofmeister |
Steve Davis &
Tony Meo |
Tony Knowles &
Jimmy White |
10-2 |
£25,000 |
| 1984 |
Derngate Centre, Northampton |
Hofmeister |
Alex Higgins &
Jimmy White |
Cliff Thorburn &
Willie Thorne |
10-2 |
£34,500 |
| 1985 |
Derngate Centre, Northampton |
Hofmeister |
Steve Davis &
Tony Meo |
Tony Jones &
Ray Reardon |
12-5 |
£40,000 |
| 1986 |
Derngate Centre, Northampton |
Hofmeister |
Steve Davis &
Tony Meo |
Mike Hallett &
Stephen Hendry |
12-3 |
£50,000 |
| 1987 |
Derngate Centre, Northampton |
Fosters |
Mike Hallett &
Stephen Hendry |
Dennis Taylor &
Cliff Thorburn |
12-8 |
£60,000 |
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