In the final, he inflicted on John Parrott the heaviest defeat the Crucible has ever seen as he claimed the title 18-3 with a session to spare.

Davis had blown away the rest of the field, dropping just 20 frames en route to the final, nine against Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals.

Parrott, a Liverpudlian, had been severely affected by the Hillsborough stadium disaster on the opening day of the championship, in which 96 Liverpool football fans were crushed to death.

He wore a black armband during his 10-9 win over Steve James and was particularly impressive in defeating Jimmy White 13-7 in the quarter-finals.

There was controversy in the quarter-final between Tony Meo and Dean Reynolds, a dour, turgid affair, in which the referee, John Williams, warned Reynolds, but not Meo, for slow play.

Reynolds, beaten 13-9, broke down in tears at his post match press conference.

In the first round, Eddie Charlton, not adverse to grinding it out, beat Cliff Thorburn, another hardened campaigner, 10-9 at 2.40a.m., the second latest finish at the Crucible.