1983 Professional Players Tournament

{{Infobox individual snooker tournament

|tournament_name=Professional Players Tournament

|dates={{Start and end dates|1983|10|10|1983|10|21|df=y}}

|venue=Redwood Lodge

|location=Bristol

|country=England

|organisation=WPBSA

|format=Ranking event

|Total prize fund=£60,000

|winners_share=£12,500

|highest_break={{flagathlete|Joe Johnson|ENG}} (135)

|winner={{flagathlete|Tony Knowles|ENG}}

|runner_up={{flagathlete|Joe Johnson|ENG}}

|score=9–8

|previous=1982

|next=1984

}}

The 1983 Professional Players Tournament was a professional ranking snooker tournament which took place between 3 September and 21 October 1983.

In a change from the previous year, the event was hosted at one venue, the 600-seater Redwood Lodge in Bristol. The following year, it would be renamed as the Grand Prix.{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Chris|title=Professional Players Tournament, Grand Prix, LG Cup|url=http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/GP.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216155938/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/GP.html|archivedate=16 February 2012|work=cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk|publisher=Chris Turner's Snooker Archive|accessdate=14 September 2012}}

The event started on 10 October, the day after the finish of the International Open at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cliff Thorburn, a finalist in the International Open, had to travel overnight to Bristol for his first match the following morning, but won against Vic Harris 5–1.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ufU9AAAAIBAJ&pg=5670%2C2166873 |title=Snooker |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=22 |date=11 October 1983}} World number one Steve Davis was beaten 5–2 at the last-32 stage by Mike Hallett.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v_U9AAAAIBAJ&pg=4662%2C3567101 |title=David beaten by unknown |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=22 |date=18 October 1983}}

Willie Thorne reached his first major semi-final after beating Eugene Hughes 5–2 in the quarter-finals.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wfU9AAAAIBAJ&pg=5024%2C4052473 |title=Thorburn beaten |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=17 |date=20 October 1983}} Hughes had reached the quarter-finals after beating Bill Werbeniuk 5–0 and then Terry Griffiths 5–2 at the last-16 stage.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vvU9AAAAIBAJ&pg=3877%2C3314920 |title=Twitchy Werbeniuk goes out |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=15 |date=17 October 1983}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wPU9AAAAIBAJ&pg=6941%2C3839316 |title=Griffiths crashes to Hughes |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=22 |date=19 October 1983}}

Joe Johnson reached the first ranking final of his four-year professional career, defeating Pascal Burke, Jimmy White, Eddie Charlton, Cliff Thorburn and Tony Meo. His opponent Tony Knowles reached his second ranking final, overcoming Paul Medati, Rex Williams, Silvino Francisco, John Campbell and Willie Thorne.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wvU9AAAAIBAJ&pg=1591%2C4411596 |title=Knowles the lone survivor |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=31 |date=21 October 1983}}

In the final, Knowles dominated most of the match, building a 6–1 lead. Johnson then made the highest break of the tournament, a 135, in recovering to a score of 5–7 and eventually levelled the match at 8–8. Knowles won the deciding frame on the colours, to prevail 9–8, winning the first prize of £12,500. Johnson won £7,500 as runner-up and £1,000 for the high break prize.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_U9AAAAIBAJ&pg=5863%2C4629652 |title=Johnson's fightback just fails |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |page=18 |date=22 October 1983}}

Main draw

{{cite web|title=Professional Players Championship|url=http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=29|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071750/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=29|archivedate=24 January 2013|publisher=Snooker Scene|accessdate=24 November 2011}}{{cite web|title=1983 Grand Prix Results|url=http://snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=154|publisher=Snooker Database|accessdate=29 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031854/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=154|url-status=dead}}

{{#invoke:RoundN|main|columns=5

|team-width=200

|short_brackets=yes

|bold_winner=high

| RD1=Last 64
Best of 9 frames

| RD2=Last 32
Best of 9 frames

| RD3=Last 16
Best of 9 frames

| RD4=Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames

| RD5=Semi-finals
Best of 17 frames

|3rdplace=no

||{{flagathlete|Ray Reardon|WAL}} (1)| 5| {{flagathlete|George Ganim|AUS}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Steve Duggan|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|John Dunning|ENG}}| 2

||{{flagathlete|Willie Thorne|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Clive Everton|WAL}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|John Spencer|ENG}} (16)| 5| {{flagathlete|Ian Black|SCO}}| 2

||{{flagathlete|Eugene Hughes|IRL}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Eddie Sinclair|SCO}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Bill Werbeniuk|CAN}} (8)| 5| {{flagathlete|Tony Jones|ENG}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Terry Griffiths|WAL}} (9)| 5| {{flagathlete|Les Dodd|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|John Parrott|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Patsy Fagan|IRL}}| 2

||{{flagathlete|Tony Knowles|ENG}} (4)| 5| {{flagathlete|Paul Medati|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Rex Williams|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Dessie Sheehan|IRL}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Silvino Francisco|RSA|1982}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Mario Morra|CAN}}| 3

||{{flagathlete|George Scott|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Dennis Taylor|NIR}} (13)| 4

||{{flagathlete|John Campbell|AUS}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Doug Mountjoy|WAL}} (12)| 3

||{{flagathlete|Graham Miles|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Marcel Gauvreau|CAN}}| 3

||{{flagathlete|Dave Martin|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Jack Fitzmaurice|ENG}}| 0

||{{flagathlete|Mike Watterson|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Alex Higgins|NIR}} (5)| 2

||{{flagicon|WAL}} Ray Reardon (1)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Duggan| 2

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Willie Thorne| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} John Spencer (16)| 1

||{{flagicon|IRL}} Eugene Hughes| 5| {{flagicon|CAN}} Bill Werbeniuk (8)| 0

||{{flagicon|WAL}} Terry Griffiths (9)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} John Parrott| 1

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Knowles (4)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Rex Williams| 4

||{{flagicon|RSA|1982}} Silvino Francisco| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} George Scott| 1

||{{flagicon|AUS}} John Campbell| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Graham Miles| 2

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Dave Martin| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Mike Watterson| 4

||{{flagicon|WAL}} Ray Reardon (1)| 3| {{flagicon|ENG}} Willie Thorne| 5

||{{flagicon|IRL}} Eugene Hughes| 5| {{flagicon|WAL}} Terry Griffiths (9)| 2

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Knowles (4)| 5| {{flagicon|RSA|1982}} Silvino Francisco| 0

||{{flagicon|AUS}} John Campbell| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Dave Martin| 0

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Willie Thorne| 5| {{flagicon|IRL}} Eugene Hughes| 1

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Knowles (4)| 5| {{flagicon|AUS}} John Campbell| 3

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Willie Thorne| 7| {{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Knowles (4)| 9

}}

{{#invoke:RoundN|main|columns=5

|team-width=200

|short_brackets=yes

|bold_winner=high

| RD1=Last 64
Best of 9 frames

| RD2=Last 32
Best of 9 frames

| RD3=Last 16
Best of 9 frames

| RD4=Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames

| RD5=Semi-finals
Best of 17 frames

|3rdplace=no

||{{flagathlete|Joe Johnson|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Pascal Burke|IRL}}| 3

||{{flagathlete|Jimmy White|ENG}} (11)| 5| {{flagathlete|Ian Williamson|ENG}}| 2

||{{flagathlete|Eddie Charlton|AUS}} (6)| 5| {{flagathlete|Eddie McLaughlin|SCO}}| 0

||{{flagathlete|Mick Fisher|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Fred Davis|ENG}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Cliff Thorburn|CAN}} (3)| 5| {{flagathlete|Vic Harris|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Jim Meadowcroft|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Colin Roscoe|WAL}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Cliff Wilson|WAL}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Bernard Bennett|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|John Virgo|ENG}} (14)| 5| {{flagathlete|Doug French|ENG}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Tony Meo|ENG}} (15)| 5| {{flagathlete|Warren King|AUS}}| 2

||{{flagathlete|Dean Reynolds|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|David Greaves|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Mike Hallett|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Billy Kelly|IRL}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|Steve Davis|ENG}} (2)| 5| {{flagathlete|Jim Donnelly|SCO}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Kirk Stevens|CAN}} (7)| 5| {{flagathlete|Ray Edmonds|ENG}}| 1

||{{flagathlete|Tommy Murphy|NIR}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Murdo MacLeod|SCO}}| 0

||{{flagathlete|Mark Wildman|ENG}}| 5| {{flagathlete|Frank Jonik|CAN}}| 4

||{{flagathlete|David Taylor|ENG}} (10)| 5| {{flagathlete|Paddy Morgan|AUS}}| 3

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Johnson| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Jimmy White (11)| 3

||{{flagicon|AUS}} Eddie Charlton (6)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Mick Fisher| 4

||{{flagicon|CAN}} Cliff Thorburn (3)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Jim Meadowcroft| 1

||{{flagicon|WAL}} Cliff Wilson| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} John Virgo (14)| 1

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Meo (15)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Dean Reynolds| 0

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Mike Hallett| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Davis (2)| 2

||{{flagicon|CAN}} Kirk Stevens (7)| 5| {{flagicon|NIR}} Tommy Murphy| 1

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Mark Wildman| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} David Taylor (10)| 3

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Johnson| 5| {{flagicon|AUS}} Eddie Charlton (6)| 0

||{{flagicon|CAN}} Cliff Thorburn (3)| 5| {{flagicon|WAL}} Cliff Wilson| 3

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Meo (15)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Mike Hallett| 3

||{{flagicon|CAN}} Kirk Stevens (7)| 5| {{flagicon|ENG}} Mark Wildman| 0

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Johnson| 5| {{flagicon|CAN}} Cliff Thorburn (3)| 1

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Meo (15)| 5| {{flagicon|CAN}} Kirk Stevens (7)| 3

||{{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Johnson| 9| {{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Meo (15)| 6

}}

Final

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"

colspan="3" align="center" bgcolor="#ffd700" | Final: Best of 17 frames.
Redwood Lodge, Bristol, England, 21 October 1983.

width="230" align="right" | Tony Knowles
{{ENG}}

| width="100" align="center" | 9–8

| width="230" | Joe Johnson
{{ENG}}

colspan="3" align="center" style="font-size: 100%" | 92–22, 80–16, 67–41, 26–81, 84–17, 82–18, 62–17, 0–135 (135), 58–61, 28–63, 78–32, 17–100, 76–0, 39–90, 9–76, 14–93, 73–33

align="right" | 75

| align="center" | Highest break

| 135

align="right" | 0

| align="center" | Century breaks

| 1

Century breaks

135, 117, 111 {{ndash}} Joe Johnson
122 {{ndash}} John Campbell
112, 100 {{ndash}} Eugene Hughes
102 {{ndash}} Tony Knowles

References

1983

Professional Players Tournament