Willie Thorne

English snooker player and popular BBC commentator known as 'Mr Maximum' for his prolific break-building during the sport's 1980s boom.

Born in Leicester on 4 March 1954, William Joseph Thorne grew up as a passionate Leicester City fan and lifelong friend of footballer Gary Lineker. He turned professional in 1975 and became known for his fluent break-building, earning the nickname 'Mr Maximum' as one of the first players to compile 100 competitive century breaks. Thorne's sole ranking title came at the 1985 Classic, and he reached two World Championship quarter-finals during his career, along with a runner-up finish at the 1985 UK Championship, where he led Steve Davis 13-8 before missing a routine blue and losing 16-14 — a moment he later said haunted him for years. He was a top-16 mainstay through the 1980s and reached a career-high ranking of world number seven. Like several contemporaries, Thorne was part of Barry Hearn's 'Matchroom Mob' management group that recorded the novelty hit 'Snooker Loopy' in 1986. After his playing career wound down in 2001, he became a fixture of BBC snooker coverage for over 30 years and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007. His later life was marked by well-publicised struggles with a gambling addiction that led to bankruptcy in 2016. Thorne was diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2020 and died that June at the age of 66. Tributes from across the sport, including Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hearn, remembered him as one of snooker's most beloved characters and a key figure in the game's rise to mainstream popularity.

Fluent, high-scoring break-builder

One of snooker's best-loved characters and a fixture of BBC commentary for three decades