The "Crucible curse" (also known as the "The curse of the Crucible") refers to the fact that no first-time snooker world champion has retained his title the following year since the event moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977. The last player to successfully defend his first world title was John Pulman in 1964, when the championship was still decided by challenge matches.
Read more about Crucible Curse: The Curse, Pre-Crucible
Famous quotes containing the words crucible and/or curse:
“The high plains, the beginning of the desert West, often act as a crucible for those who inhabit them. Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it before it bestows a blessing.”
—Kathleen Norris (b. 1947)
“She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She looked down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
“The curse is come upon me,” cried
The Lady of Shalott.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)