Silvino Francisco dead: Snooker star who was jailed for smuggling drugs dies aged 78
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Silvino Francisco, a colourful snooker star of the 1980s, has passed away aged 78. Francisco won the British Open in 1985 and reached a career-high rank of No.10 in the world during his peak. The South African player remains the only person born in Africa to win a snooker ranking event.
The World Snooker Tour confirmed that Francisco had passed away on December 14. “WST and WPBSA extend our sincere condolences to Silvino's wife June and all of his family and friends,” a statement read. Francisco turned professional in 1981 and immediately made his mark on the sport, reaching the quarter-finals of the World Championship in 1982 in a run which included wins over Dennis Taylor and Dean Reynolds. He made it to the last-16 four more times in Sheffield between 1984 and 1989 and was ranked among the world’s top 16 players for four consecutive seasons.
His crowning achievement came in 1985 when he lifted the British Open trophy thanks to a 12-9 win over Kirk Stevens in a final that was watched by 15.5m viewers on ITV. Francisco, known by his nickname the 'Silver Fish', beat legends of the era Alex Higgins and Jimmy White during that run.
He came from a snooker family, with his brother Manuel and nephew Peter also competing on the professional circuit in the 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, their name became synonymous with the more unsavoury aspect of the sport. Peter was banned for five years by the World Snooker Association, who said he had “not conducted himself in a manner consistent with his status as a professional sportsman” after allegedly fixing the score of a first-round World Championship match against White.
