On the evening of April 17, Beijing time, the first round of the 2016 World Snooker Championship is in full swing at the Crucible Grand Theatre. But one incident off the pitch that attracted more fans' attention was that the old king Davis officially announced his retirement.
Steve Davis has won more than 70 titles in his career, including six World Championships, six British Championships, and three Masters titles. In 1988-89, Davis became the first snooker player in history to win more than £500,000 in a single season. After entering the 1990s, due to the rise of Stephen Hendry and others, Davis did not continue the glory of the 1980s again, but it is undeniable that he is one of the most prominent representatives of his modern snooker movement.
It is worth mentioning that Steve Davis is 58 years old this year, and he also signed up for the qualifiers at this World Championship, when he was just 100th in the world ranking. Unfortunately, the old ball king was eliminated by the veteran O'Brien in the first round of the qualifier, but every game he played won unanimous applause from the audience, opponents, referees, and even the entire staff. In the end, the first round of the qualifiers lost 4-10 to O'Brien, which became The final battle for Davis.
In fact, as early as 2013-2014, Davis's career has ended, and he can continue to participate in the World Championships and occupy a certain number of points in the world rankings because the World Taiwan Federation took the initiative to invite him to participate. Participating in this World Championship, Davis admitted that he was completely for his father, so his father is 89 years old this year, which may be one of the few opportunities for him to watch his son play. Therefore, As the king of the ball, Davis stared at the pressure of being swept by his opponents and resolutely decided to return to the field and contribute his father's retirement battle.
"Originally, I also wondered whether I would still attend Q-School to see if I could return to my career. But because of my father's relationship, I registered for the World Championships qualifiers for him, he was still alive when he registered, but he was already gone when he was playing, so I still want to use this game as the end of my career. Davis said that although he chose to retire, he will not leave Snooker, and he will continue to work as a commentator on BBC television and the promotion of the World Snooker Association.
"I'm not going to leave Snooker completely, and after I retire, I'll continue to enjoy other jobs related to snooker. I just don't play in person anymore, and it's really hard for me now. As long as my BBC colleagues are willing to work with me, they will do as long as they want me to do. And being a coach in school, I'm going to continue, and I think that's important. ”