Samborn was a huge success in the snooker movement in the 1980s, winning a total of 20 titles, and the mustache-bearded, hoarse-voiced Canadian also became one of the most popular and easily recognizable faces in snooker, enjoying the "rock superstar" treatment in the snooker field.
文/Hector Nunns，《The Sportsman》
Kuwamoto, 73, has announced that the Elderly Championship in Hull is his last match. He lost 3-0 in a 16-8 match to Kurdish Jowhar, 32 years younger than him.
Born in January 1948 in British Columbia, Canada, Cliff Samborn left school at the age of 16 and earned money by playing in billiard halls across Canada to support himself as a garbage man and dishwasher. The young Kuwamoto had already lived a very fulfilling, exciting, glorious and occasionally dangerous life with the club in his hand.
He moved to Oakland and San Francisco on the West Coast in the late sixties, and Kuwapburn said: "Of course there were some memorable moments. Once I was playing at a place in Oakland and I won, and the loser's supporter unzipped his coat and pulled out a gun. ”
"He said ' No one can get out of here with money by winning me' and my friend told me to lose all the money we won and I was very upset. But I also know that the winnings are either a part of our own loss or waiting to be robbed, and we have to choose one or the other. It feels interesting, but it's very likely that something terrible and dangerous will happen. ”
"I haven't played much in the U.S. since. Once, in one place, two people got into a fight and smashed the club on each other's backs and started throwing the ball at each other. The whole club hid behind the table, then slowly poked their heads out to watch the heat of the battle. In Detroit, after winning a guy named Cornbread Red, we had to be escorted to the car to leave. ”
So luscious to Snooker, Samborn was recommended to play the Pro Tour in 1973 after making a splash in an exhibition match with John Spencer. Samborn thought he could play calmly in a professional snooker game, but he was so wrong that he met alex Higgins...
The similar personalities and styles of play between Kuwamburn and Higgins have clashed to varying degrees on and off the pitch. At the 1983 Irish Open, Mulberry punched Higgins to the ground, and when someone tried to mediate to make the two shake hands and make peace, he kicked Higgins in the abdomen. Later, Higgins yelled at Sanborn: "You're a Canadian ****, a **** in snooker." ”
The clash between Samborn and Higgins culminated in the 1980 SAS Final, where Samborn won the only World Championship of his career with an 18-16 victory over Higgins Sr. in Crucible. The live television broadcast of that final was interrupted, interspersed with photo coverage of the six days after iran's embassy in London was besieged. Higgins pushed the celebratory cake to his own dressing room at 16:16, and of course it was Soben who buried his face in the huge cake as the winner.
"Alex is an amazing player, but he knows what he can do to get away with it, and he always seems to be wronged," Samborn said. I don't know why he's like this, I still wonder how he can play so well. But I think I've caused a lot of trouble for him. ”
"In many ways, he's the toughest opponent I find to play. Many times he was narrowly winning, and I was so close to winning, at least that's how I felt. Of course, Steve Davis also played against me. But for Steve, he beat a lot of opponents away, and I always felt that if I was a little bit tougher, a little closer, and won two sets, then I could win him (Davis). ”
In 1983, Kuwamoto scored a 147 perfect score against Terry Griffiths in the second round of the World Championships, making Kuwamoto the first player to score 147 points in Crucible. The match took so long that he won the match against Griffiths 13:12 at 3:51 a.m. on Monday.
Speaking of the biggest regret of Samborn's career, which was the discovery of cocaine during a drug test in 1988, he was fined £10,000 by the WWPBSA, accompanied by a penalty of withholding ranking points and suspension (both competitions), for which he did not make any objection applications and reviews. "People may forget that I was the number one in the world, but they definitely remember this scandal and I will regret it for the rest of my life," Kuwaben said. ”
In recent years, Kuwamoto has enjoyed a quiet, relaxed and peaceful retirement in Markham, Ontario, Canada. He can play golf in the summer, spend more time with his family, and do some snooker coaching activities.
There are so many more snooker games now than he did as a player, which gives Mulberry time to reflect on a few things. For his signature safety ball play and tactical acumen, although clichéd, he is still fully defending his own game experience.
Kuwamoto said: "You see young people nowadays like to play 'blitzkrieg', and in my time there were players who played such balls. That's fine, but you still need something key to support. There are always exceptions to everything, but I've always felt that Anglo-Global is a true technology, and I still think that learning Anglo-Global is the first lesson to become a professional player, which is a prerequisite for winning the game. You can't win anything just by attacking. ”
"When I'm also at my best, I want to play against John Higgins at his peak, who is an invincible King of Chiang Kai. It would be great to have a long game with him. ”
"The Senators Championship will be my last game. I've been competing in the Elders and Legends tournament for almost 25 years and I've enjoyed meeting my old friends. I have lived in the UK twice, once for two years and once for six years. As a Canadian, I've always been popular here. I am honoured and proud that my name is still known today since I came to the UK in 1973. ”