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Silvino Francisco

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Silvino Francisco
Born(1946-05-03)3 May 1946
Cape Town, South Africa
Died14 December 2024(2024-12-14) (aged 78)
Mansfield, England
Sport country South Africa
NicknameThe Silver Fish[1]
Professional1981–1997
Highest ranking10 (1987/88)
Tournament wins
Ranking1

Silvino Francisco (3 May 1946 – 14 December 2024) was a South African professional snooker player who won the 1985 British Open.

Snooker career

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Francisco came from a snooker-playing family. His brother Manuel and nephew Peter both played at a high level, Manuel having been a runner-up in the World Amateur Billiards Championship on several occasions, and Peter having risen to the world ranking of number 14.

Francisco won the 1985 British Open, beating Kirk Stevens 12–9. Prior to the start of the Final match, Francisco accused Stevens of playing under the influence of drugs. Francisco was subsequently fined for the comments.[2] The world governing body of snooker, the WPBSA, accepted that the accusation was false and it is on record that Kirk Stevens has never failed a drugs test in the history of his career.[3] Stevens later admitted to having an addiction to cocaine.[2]

He was involved in another scandal after the 1989 Masters. After losing 5–1 to Terry Griffiths in the last-16, it was discovered that there had been heavy betting on that exact score. Francisco was arrested, but later released without charge.

Personal life and death

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Francisco suffered gambling problems towards the end of his professional career, to the extent of being declared bankrupt in 1996 due to income tax arrears, having split up with his second wife who claimed his £350,000 house, and having to pay maintenance for his four children. He later took to working evenings in a friend's fish and chip shop for extra cash.

In 1997, he was arrested for smuggling cannabis, and served three years in prison.[4]

Francisco died on 14 December 2024, at the age of 78.[5]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 1979/
80 		1981/
82 		1982/
83 		1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		1991/
92 		1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95 		1995/
96 		1996/
97
Ranking[6] [nb 1] [nb 2] 17 21 17 13 12 10 12 23 26 24 28 33 57 81 125
Ranking tournaments
Asian Classic[nb 3] Tournament Not Held NR 1R 3R 2R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Grand Prix[nb 4] Not Held A 3R 3R QF SF 2R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event 1R 3R 2R 3R 2R 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ A
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R LQ 1R LQ LQ
International Open[nb 5] NH NR A QF SF 1R QF 3R 2R 2R Not Held 3R 1R 1R LQ LQ
European Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Thailand Open[nb 6] Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held QF WD 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
British Open[nb 7] Non-Ranking Event W 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ
World Championship A QF 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters NH A A A A SF A A NH A A A A A A A A
The Masters A A A A A 1R QF 1R 1R A LQ LQ LQ LQ WD A A
Pontins Professional A A A QF A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking LQ Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 8] Non-Ranking Event NH 1R Tournament Not Held NR NH
Classic Non-Ranking 2R 1R 1R QF 3R 3R SF 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 1R MR NR Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Limosin International SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Brean Sands Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A A QF 1R A Tournament Not Held A A A Not Held
Australian Masters[nb 9] A A A A A 1R A A NH A Tournament Not Held A A NH
South African Professional Championship SF Tournament Not Held W A A Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held QF Tournament 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. ^ He was an amateur.
  2. ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996).
  4. ^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984).
  5. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  6. ^ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and 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 Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  9. ^ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)

Career finals

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Ranking finals: 1 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1985 British Open Canada Kirk Stevens 12–9

Non-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1978 South African Professional Championship South Africa Perrie Mans 5–9
Runner-up 2. 1983 Pontins Brean Sands England Tony Meo 7–9
Winner 1. 1986 South African Professional Championship South Africa François Ellis 9–1

Team finals: 1

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Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1989 World Cup Rest of the World  England 8–9

Amateur finals: 4 (4 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1968 South African Amateur Championship South Africa
Winner 2. 1969 South African Amateur Championship (2) South Africa
Winner 3. 1974 South African Amateur Championship (3) South Africa Mike Hines 7–0
Winner 4. 1977 South African Amateur Championship (4) South Africa Ayoob Majiet

References

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  1. ^ Jackson, Jamie (3 May 2009). "Back to the 80s when we were all snooker loopy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Snooker Association acquits Stevens over drug addiction". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 1985. p. 41. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. ^ Gordon Burn, Pocket Money.
  4. ^ "Where are they now? : Silvino Francisco". BBC Sport. 31 January 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  5. ^ In memory of... Silvino Francisco. awassfuneraldirectors.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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