How 'dropout's hangout' became snooker's ultimate stage
"I've had moments in there when it's been the most wonderful place. There were other times when I wanted the whole place to swallow me up because it was the worst place ever. " Davis was humbled 10-1 on day one by Tony Knowles in 1982, his first year as defending champion.
He was turned white as a sheet by Dennis Taylor in the 1985 black-ball final, then turned over by a Yorkshireman when Bradford's Joe Johnson triumphed a year later. Fortunately for him, Davis also has rip-roaring memories of triumph at the theatre that this year is staging the World Snooker Championship for a 50th time. Twenty-four men have lifted the trophy in Sheffield; hundreds have left empty-handed.
The Crucible and all that it entails chews up players, scars them. All the greats have been through the wringer. But what is it that makes the 980-seat venue so special?
How did a venue once considered a "dropout's hangout" become snooker's ultimate stage? Sheffield's Crucible Theatre has staged snooker's World Championship since 1977 "It's the history, the quirkiness, the layout of the arena, how close the spectators are. It's everything," says Crucible MC Rob Walker, a coiled spring each April.
"In 2018, Mark Williams shared a packet of Minstrels with somebody in the front row; he didn't have to outstretch his arm, that's how close they are. "The players tell you there's nowhere harder to win. That arena doesn't look very big, but I can assure you that when there is a bum on every seat and the whole place is silent, and you are the one about to play - or in my case, speak - it's huge.