WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POT LUCK

Davis: I didn’t turn pro to make money, but was in the right place at the right time. TV took the game by the scruff of the neck & it all went snooker loopy

lucky position.” Hearn had discovered Davis after buying into snooker on the advice of his accountant.

“I fell in love with the game,” Hearn said. “It’s a great touchand-feel game, it provides more drama than most sports, and every single frame is different.

“Six months after I bought the billiard halls, the BBC started showing lots of snooker on television. I was very lucky – and I’ve always said it’s better to be born lucky than be born good-looking.”

Hearn (above, with Davis in their glory days) added: “I met Steve when he was 18. He didn’t have any personality but he had a steely-eyed determination instilled by his father, Bill.

“Steve didn’t see daylight again until his mid-20s!

“He was a total machine – and he was a secret. He was

JUDD TRUMP must crack the infamous Crucible Curse to successfully defend his first World Championship crown.

Starting on Friday, the Juddernaut will be hoping to do what legends like Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and unheard of and unbeatable – what a combination! We would travel the country playing anyone. No one had heard of him back then. I would pay him £25 and a cut of the winnings.

“We called him ‘The Nugget’ because you could bet your last tenner on him and still be sure you were going to get paid. You could have bet £1million on him and he wouldn’t care. He just loved playing the game.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan could not, but world No.1 Trump (left) said: “There is no pressure on me at all. Every great you could name has not managed to defend their first Crucible title.

“For me it is all about getting over that first hurdle and the first round.”

HEAD MAN Davis was the king of snooker back in the 1980s