Stephen James (born 2 May 1961 in Cannock)White, Jason (2002) "Steve James: Crucible or bust for James; Last act beckons in great entertainer's compelling snooker tale", Sports Argus, 26 January 2002, (confirms May 1961) is an English retired professional snooker player.

Career James became a professional snooker player in 1986 based on his results in the Professional Ticket Tournaments in 1985.

In 1988, he was involved in a car accident ten days prior to his World Championship debut which flipped his car over into a field, although he escaped with only cuts, bruises and a black eye. He subsequently became the first debutant to score two centuries at The Crucible in his first round match of the 1988 Snooker World Championship against Rex Williams. He went on to reach the quarter-finals that year.

The high point of his career was his sole ranking title – the Classic in 1990, beating Australian Warren King 10–6 in the final. His world ranking peaked at number seven the following season, the best of his five seasons in the top sixteen."Booze nightmare for snooker star who blew fortune", Sunday Mercury, 28 June 1998

On 14 April 1990, in his match against Alex Higgins at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, James became the first player to produce a 16-red total clearance in competitive play, with a break of 135. In other words, he potted 16 reds and 16 colours consecutively, followed by all the coloured balls in order: a situation that was only possible because he was awarded a free ball before any red had been potted.Guinness World Records 2001, IBS Books,

A year later he reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, beating defending champion Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals. He was defeated in the semi-final by Jimmy White.

He made his final appearance at the Snooker World Championship in 1999. He dropped off the World Snooker Tour in 2002, having failed to win a match that season.

Personal life A former postman, he was born in Cannock, Staffordshire. James became wealthy through snooker, but was banned from driving in 1996,"Snooker: James steps up a gear", The Independent, 15 February 1997, Retrieved 22 May 2010 and in 1998 declared himself bankrupt after spending £700,000 on "fast living", even having to sell his practice table.Larner, Tony (1999) "Bankrupt snooker ace Steve on cue for return", Sunday Mercury, 18 April 1999 His financial problems saw him turn to drinking heavily. A diabetic, James missed the British Open in 2004 due to a kidney infection.McLaughlan, Lee (2004) "Steve's Fit For Fresh Start", Sunday Mercury, 7 November 2004

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 RankingFrom the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.6632169710131726242437446462He was an amateur.85 Ranking tournaments Grand PrixThe event was also called the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)LQ1R2R1RSF3R3R3R1RSF2R1R1R1RLQLQAALQLQ UK ChampionshipLQLQ2R1R2RQF3R2R1R1R1R1R2R1RLQLQAALQLQ Malta CupThe event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999) Not Held1RSF3R2R3R1R1R2RLQNHLQ Not HeldLQAALQA Welsh Open Tournament Not HeldQF2R3R1R1R2R2RLQLQLQLQAA1RWD China OpenThe event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999) Tournament Not HeldNRLQLQLQLQ Not HeldLQWD World ChampionshipLQQF1R2RSF1R2R2RLQ1RLQLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQLQA Non-ranking tournaments Pot BlackTournament Not Held1R1RSFTournament Not HeldA The MastersAAA1RQF1RQFQFLQLQLQLQLQLQLQAALQAA Former ranking tournaments Canadian Masters NR2R Tournament Not Held Hong Kong OpenThe event was also called the Australian Masters (1986/1987–1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995) NRNH2R Tournament Not Held NR Tournament Not Held ClassicLQ1R2RW1R2R Tournament Not Held Strachan Open Tournament Not Held2R Tournament Not Held Dubai ClassicThe event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997) Not HeldNR3R2RSF1R1RLQLQ1R Tournament Not Held German MastersThe event was also called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998) Tournament Not Held1RLQ2RNR Tournament Not Held Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking EventLQNR Tournament Not Held Thailand MastersThe event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)NR Not Held2R1R1R1R1RLQ1RLQ1RLQLQLQLQNR Not Held Scottish OpenThe event was also called the International Open (1986/1987–1989/1990 and 1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)LQ3RSF3R Not Held3R3R1R1R2R1R1R2R1RLQAA Not Held British Open2R2R1RSF1R2R1R2R2R2R2R1RLQLQ1RLQAAWDNH Irish Masters Non-Ranking EventAALQNH Former non-ranking tournaments 2RLQ1R Tournament Not Held Shoot-OutTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held World MastersTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held European Challenge Tournament Not HeldQFATournament Not Held Thailand MastersA Not Held RankingQF Ranking EventNR Not Held Hong Kong ChallengeAAANHQFQFTournament Not Held Indian Challenge Tournament Not HeldQFTournament Not Held Scottish MastersAANHASFSFAAAAAAAAAAA Not Held Belgian Masters Tournament Not HeldQF Not HeldA Tournament Not Held World MatchplayNot HeldAA1R1RA Tournament Not Held Belgian ChallengeTournament Not Held1R Tournament Not Held Irish MastersAAAAQFQFAAAAAAAAAA Ranking EventNH Indian Masters Tournament Not HeldF Tournament Not Held Pontins ProfessionalAAAAAWSFAAAAAAA Tournament Not Held

Performance table legendLQ 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-finalsSF lost in the semi–finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournament NH / Not Held event was not held.NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.MR / Minor-Ranking Event event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1990 The Classic Warren King 10–6

Non-ranking finals: 3 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1992 Pontins Professional Neal Foulds 9–8Runner-up 1. 1992 Indian Masters Steve Davis 6–9Runner-up 2. 2004 Challenge Tour - Event 3 Brian Salmon 2–6

Pro-am finals: 3 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1985 Warners Open David Roe4–2Runner-up 1. 1992 Pontins Spring Open Declan Hughes2–7Runner-up 2. 1993 Pontins Spring Open (2) Mike Hallett6–7

References