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Kirk Stevens

For the footballer, see Kirk Stephens.
Kirk Stevens
Born (1958-08-17) August 17, 1958 (age 66)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sport country Canada
NicknameThe Man in the White Suit[1]
Professional1978–1993, 1998/1999
Highest ranking4 (1984/85)
Maximum breaks1
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)

Kirk Stevens (born August 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional snooker player.

Career

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Stevens started playing young, achieving his first century break aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship aged 21. In 1984 he achieved a maximum 147 break in a televised match against Jimmy White in the Benson & Hedges Masters, which remained the only such break ever made in the competition until Ding Junhui achieved the same feat in 2007.[2] His stylish choice of attire (he often appeared at major tournaments wearing an all-white suit, as opposed to the traditional black suit with a white shirt) and his youthful 'popstar' good looks made him a ladies' favourite.

In 1985 he was wrongfully accused of taking stimulants before the final of the Dulux British Open Snooker Championship by South African Silvino Francisco.[3] Stevens lost 9–12. Francisco was subsequently fined by the world governing body of snooker, the WPBSA, for the comments.[4] The WPBSA, accepted that the accusation was false and it is on record that Stevens has never failed a drugs test in the history of his career. Shortly after the comments were made public, Stevens admitted to an addiction to cocaine in his personal life.[4]

Although he underwent treatment, his career never really recovered. He dropped out of the top 16 in 1986/87, but continued to play on until 1992/93, before returning home to Canada and retiring from professional tournament play on the world circuit.

After returning to Canada Stevens won the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2008. In 2011 he returned to the Crucible Theatre for the first time since 1988 to play in a "Snooker Legends" exhibition event.[5]

On September 23, 2019, Jimmy White published an apology to Stevens on White's official Facebook page stating that in his autobiography Second Wind he misremembered a few stories as occurring with Stevens that in fact did not. These events were widely broadcast in the media and White wanted to make the apology public to prevent them from being repeated. White further stated that he did not intend his words to be interpreted as meaning that Stevens introduced him to crack cocaine or that Stevens ever played WPBSA snooker under the influence of drugs.[6]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 1976/
77 		1977/
78 		1978/
79 		1979/
80 		1980/
81 		1981/
82 		1982/
83 		1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		1991/
92 		1992/
93 		1998/
99
Ranking[7] [nb 1] [nb 1] [nb 2] 19 11 10 6 7 4 5 9 21 37 50 68 58 59 [nb 2]
Ranking tournaments
Grand Prix[nb 3] Tournament Not Held 2R QF QF QF 1R 2R 1R LQ 3R LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship NH Non-Ranking Event SF QF 2R 2R 2R 2R LQ LQ 1R LQ
Irish Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQ LQ
Scottish Open[nb 5] Tournament Not Held NR SF WD 1R 1R 1R 1R WD LQ Not Held LQ LQ
Thailand Masters[nb 6] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
China International Tournament Not Held LQ
British Open[nb 7] Not Held Non-Ranking Event F 3R 3R WD LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ
World Championship A A 1R SF 2R QF QF SF 2R QF 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters Tournament Not Held QF A A QF A SF A NH A A A A A
Masters A A A A 1R A 1R SF 1R 1R 1R A A A A A A A
Irish Masters A A A A QF A A A QF WD 1R A A A A A A A
Premier League[nb 8] Tournament Not Held WD Not Held A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 9] Non-Ranking Event Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking LQ Tournament Not Held
Classic Not Held Non-Ranking Event QF 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ 1R Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 1R MR NH
Dubai Classic[nb 10] Tournament Not Held NR LQ 1R 2R LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Bombay International Not Held A RR Tournament Not Held
Pontins Camber Sands Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters[nb 11] 1R 1R QF SF SF Tournament Not Held A A A R Tournament Not Held
Champion of Champions Not Held A NH RR Tournament Not Held
Scottish Open[nb 12] Tournament Not Held 2R Ranking Event Not Held Ranking
Northern Ireland Classic Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
UK Championship NH A A A A 2R A A Ranking Event
Classic Not Held A A A SF Ranking Event Not Held
Tolly Cobbold Classic Not Held A A SF A A SF Tournament Not Held
British Open[nb 13] Not Held A SF RR RR RR Ranking Event
New Zealand Masters Tournament Not Held F Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Carlsberg Challenge Tournament Not Held SF A A A A Tournament Not Held
Australian Masters Not Held A A A A SF QF A A A NH A Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A A A RR A RR 1R 1R F Tournament Not Held A A NH
Belgian Classic Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Canadian Professional Championship Tournament Not Held SF Not Held W SF QF SF SF QF Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. ^ a b He was an amateur.
  2. ^ a b New players on the tour don't have a ranking
  3. ^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984)
  4. ^ The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1992/1993)
  5. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy and the International Open (1981/1982–1984/1985 & 1986/1987–1992/1993)
  6. ^ The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  7. ^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  8. ^ The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993 to 1996/1997)
  9. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  10. ^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)
  11. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1976/1977–1980/1981)
  12. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy and the International Open (1981/1982–1984/1985 & 1986/1987–1992/1993)
  13. ^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

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Ranking finals: 1

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1985 British Open South Africa Silvino Francisco 9–12

Non-ranking finals: 6 (3 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1979 Canadian Professional Championship Canada Cliff Thorburn # [8][9]
Winner 2. 1981 Canadian Professional Championship #[8][9]
Winner 3. 1983 Canadian Professional Championship Canada Frank Jonik 9–8[10]
Runner-up 1. 1984 New Zealand Masters England Jimmy White 3–5
Runner-up 2. 1986 Belgian Classic Wales Terry Griffiths 7–9
Runner-up 3. 1986 Pot Black England Jimmy White 0–2

Team finals: 4 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1980 World Challenge Cup  Canada  Wales 5–8
Winner 1. 1982 World Team Classic  Canada  England 4–2
Runner-up 2. 1986 World Cup (2)  Canada Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland Ireland 7–9
Runner-up 3. 1987 World Cup (3)  Canada Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland Ireland 2–9

Amateur finals: 6 (6 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1978 Canadian Amateur Championship Canada Bob Paquette 10–6
Winner 2. 1997 Canadian Amateur Championship (2) Canada Charlie Brown 6–3
Winner 3. 1998 Canadian Amateur Championship (3) Canada Tom Finstad 7–3
Winner 4. 2000 Canadian Amateur Championship (4) Canada Bob Chaperon 6–3
Winner 5. 2002 Canadian Amateur Championship (5) Canada Cliff Thorburn 6–1
Winner 6. 2008 Canadian Amateur Championship (6) Canada Tom Finstad 6–2

References

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  1. ^ "Return of the Man in White". WPBSA. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Yates, Phil (January 15, 2007). "Snooker: Inscrutable Ding takes maximum break in his stride". The Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Burn, Gordon, 1948-2009. (2008). Pocket money : Britain's boom-time snooker. Faber and Faber. ISBN 9780571236831. OCLC 321008855.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b "Snooker Association acquits Stevens over drug addiction". The Sydney Morning Herald. October 8, 1985. p. 41. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  5. ^ "Snooker Legends". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "StevensK". Archived from the original on April 18, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Kirk Stevens". Archived from the original on February 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Other National Professional Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
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