# 1985 Classic (snooker)

The 1985 Mercantile Credit Classic was the sixth edition of the professional snooker tournament with qualifiers taking place in late 1984 with the main stages taking place from 4–13 January 1985. The tournament was played at the Spectrum Arena, Warrington, Cheshire. The event was extended from 8 days to 10, with the semi-final stage and the final both being extended to two days. Television coverage was shared by ITV and Channel 4.
Willie Thorne beat Steve Davis 9–8 in the first semi-final on the Thursday. Davis led 7–5 before Thorne won the next three frames to lead 8–7. Davis won the 16th frame to level the match but Thorne won the deciding frame after taking an early 62–0 lead. It was Thorne's first win over Davis. Thorne made a break of 120 in the fourth frame of the afternoon session, which eventually won him £4,000 for the highest break in the televised stage of the event.
In the second semi-final on the Friday, Cliff Thorburn beat Joe Johnson. Johnson won the second frame to level the match but Thornburn then ran away with the match winning 9–2.
Willie Thorne won his only ranking title beating Cliff Thorburn 13–8. The final was played in three sessions finishing on Sunday afternoon. Thorburn led 4–3 after the first session. Thorne won the first three frames in the evening session to lead 6–4 and finished the day with an 8–7 lead. There were three centuries in the session, 105 and 118 by Thorne and 100 by Thorburn. Thorburn levelled the match at 8–8 by winning the first frame on the Sunday but Thorne then won five frame in a row to win the match and the first prize of £40,000.

## Main draw

| Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 17 frames | Semi-finals Best of 17 frames | Semi-finals Best of 17 frames | | Final Best of 25 frames | Final Best of 25 frames | Final Best of 25 frames |
| 1 | Steve Davis (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Alex Higgins (NIR) | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Alex Higgins (NIR) | 2 | 1 | Steve Davis | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Ray Reardon | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Ray Reardon (WAL) | 5 | 5 | Ray Reardon | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | Eugene Hughes (IRL) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Eugene Hughes (IRL) | 1 | | | | 1 | Steve Davis | 8 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 12 | Willie Thorne | 9 | | | | |
| 4 | Kirk Stevens (CAN) | 1 | | | | | | | 12 | Willie Thorne | 9 | | | | |
| 12 | Willie Thorne (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Willie Thorne (ENG) | 5 | 12 | Willie Thorne | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | John Virgo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | Murdo MacLeod (SCO) | 0 | | John Virgo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | John Virgo (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | John Virgo (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | 12 | Willie Thorne | 13 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Cliff Thorburn | 8 |
| 3 | Cliff Thorburn (CAN) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Cliff Thorburn | 8 |
| | Steve Longworth (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Steve Longworth (ENG) | 3 | 3 | Cliff Thorburn | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Terry Griffiths | 4 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Terry Griffiths (WAL) | 5 | 8 | Terry Griffiths | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | Rex Williams (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Rex Williams (ENG) | 3 | | | | 3 | Cliff Thorburn | 9 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Joe Johnson | 2 | | | | |
| 7 | Jimmy White (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | | | Joe Johnson | 2 | | | | |
| | Warren King (AUS) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Warren King (AUS) | 5 | | Warren King | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Joe Johnson | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | Joe Johnson (ENG) | 5 | | Joe Johnson | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | Cliff Wilson (WAL) | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Final

Final: Best of 25 frames. Referee: John Williams. Spectrum Arena, Warrington, England, 12 & 13 January 1985. :
| Willie Thorne England | 13–8 | Cliff Thorburn Canada |
| First session: 82–0 (72), 57–81 (Thorne 52, Thorburn 77), 50–66, 92–14 (88), 29–64, 70–9, 53–66 Second session: 105–22 (105), 49–44, 62–40, 4–123 (75), 118–10 (118), 58–112 (72), 69–67 (Thorburn 66), 7–113 (100) Third session: 29–73, 75–5, 63–33, 96–24, 69–32, 66–18 (54) |||
| 118 | Highest break | 100 |
| 2 | Century breaks | 1 |
| 6 | 50+ breaks | 5 |

## Qualifying

The last-32 round was played in Warrington in December 1984.

### Last-32 round

| Steve Davis (ENG) | 5–0 | Silvino Francisco (RSA) |
| Alex Higgins (NIR) | 5–3 | Marcel Gauvreau (CAN) |
| Ray Reardon (WAL) | 5–3 | Mike Hallett (ENG) |
| Tony Meo (ENG) | 4–5 | Eugene Hughes (IRL) |
| Kirk Stevens (CAN) | 5–4 | Paul Medati (ENG) |
| Willie Thorne (ENG) | 5–2 | Robby Foldvari (AUS) |
| Eddie Charlton (AUS) | 1–5 | Murdo MacLeod (SCO) |
| Bill Werbeniuk (CAN) | 2–5 | John Virgo (ENG) |
| Cliff Thorburn (CAN) | 5–1 | George Scott (ENG) |
| David Taylor (ENG) | 4–5 | Steve Longworth (ENG) |
| Terry Griffiths (WAL) | 5–0 | Patsy Fagan (IRL) |
| Dennis Taylor (NIR) | 3–5 | Rex Williams (ENG) |
| Jimmy White (ENG) | 5–2 | Paddy Browne (IRL) |
| John Spencer (ENG) | 2–5 | Warren King (AUS) |
| Tony Knowles (ENG) | 1–5 | Joe Johnson (ENG) |
| Doug Mountjoy (WAL) | 4–5 | Cliff Wilson (WAL) |

## Century breaks

(Including qualifying rounds)
* 137 – Terry Griffiths
* 129 – Marcel Gauvreau
* 120, 118, 105, 100 – Willie Thorne
* 118 – Bill Werbeniuk
* 105, 100 – Cliff Thorburn
* 104, 102 – Steve Davis
* 104 – Joe Johnson
* 103 – Roger Bales