The Crafty Englishman Who Took On Mister Chapéu
Placar Magazine. June 28, 1985
Translation into English by Cristiane B.
Edited by Lucas M.
Three-time world champion Steve Davis came to Brazil to beat the country’s best player three times, and was truly delighted with the girls from the São Paulo’s Boca do Luxo.
Never before had Brazilian snooker seen such a celebrated and distinguished visitor at its tables—a man accustomed to breaking scoring records with his powerful, precise shots and drawing huge TV audiences when he appeared weekly before the BBC cameras in London on the program Frame with Davis.
The Bahian from Itabuna, Rui Chapéu—who, until only five years ago, roamed the country’s snooker halls challenging opponents to wagers—could never have dreamed he would face one of England’s highest-paid sportsmen, a player capable of earning £1 million (about 7.5 billion cruzeiros) in a single season.
And yet there he was: the Bahian, dressed all in white, facing the Englishman Steve Davis. At 27 years old, clad entirely in black, Davis circled around the table draped in English felt and set up at the center of the small venue at Clube Sírio in São Paulo, eliciting applause and gasps during three matches of the International Snooker Challenge, held on three consecutive days on the penultimate weekend.
Despite having won three World Championship titles and currently being the runner-up, the Englishman’s reputation did not fill the small hall at the event organized by PromoAção and Rede Bandeirantes de Televisão. Tickets were sold for 30,000 to 70,000 cruzeiros, and the largest audience—about 400 people—attended the opening match. Those who had eagerly awaited the promised live TV broadcast were left a bit disappointed, as even on Sunday the series of matches was naturally interrupted due to the Brazil–Paraguay game in Asunción.
It was a surprise even for Steve Davis—a player so elegant that he keeps his chalk in the vest pocket and can play for hours without a single stain on his clothes. “In England, people go to matches to see the action up close, to feel the atmosphere and to be on TV,” said the Englishman, who had been World Champion in 1981, 1983, and 1984 in the tournament held in London and recognized by WPBSA Promotions Limited (the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association).
Steve Davis attracted many of Brazil’s snooker stars to Clube Sírio—players like Carne Frita, Jesus, Praça, Fantoche, Português, and Boca Murcha—as well as federation officials, owners of snooker halls and billiard academies, manufacturers, and dealers of tables, cues, and balls. Everyone was convinced that snooker was taking another step toward being officially recognized as a sport and strengthening its status as a lucrative business.
Up to that point, the established Rui Matos de Amorim—known as Rui Chapéu, 45 years old—had only managed to earn 1.5 million cruzeiros per appearance on Rede Bandeirantes’ Show do Esporte. The 15‑million cruzeiro fee to play against Steve Davis was the biggest of his career. For the Englishman, it was no big deal: he had initially demanded $50,000 but eventually settled for $10,000—roughly 70 million cruzeiros—comforted by the fact that he was staying at the exquisite Maksoud Plaza and had the chance to meet “the best women in the world” during two frenzied nights at the Scarabocchio nightclub in São Paulo’s Boca do Luxo. “I experienced paradise,” he said, referring to the Friday and Sunday night festivities.
THE ENGLISHMAN GAVE IT HIS BEST
It wasn’t so much a challenge as it was almost a class delivered by Steve over the three evenings at Clube Sírio. Although he was highly impressed with Rui Chapéu’s technique, Davis noted the lack of harmony in the Brazilian’s movements and his nervousness at crucial moments. Rui explained his unease as the result of excessive pressure and a lack of international experience: “I had never even faced an Argentine before. Suddenly, I’m up against a monster—a three-time World Champion who makes a fortune. It isn’t easy. But I only got really angry on the third day, when they started offering unsolicited advice on my game.” He was referring to the intrusive opinions of some well-known players and even federation officials present at the tables.
Steve Davis won all three matches, with close scores of 6–5, 4–3, and 4–3, which led some spectators to suspect that he had “fixed” his opponent in order to preserve the allure of this great international challenge. Rui did not appreciate the insinuation at all and, at the end of the third match—still by the table—he addressed the Englishman through interpreter Derek Evans: “Ask him,” he said, “whether he fixed my game or played seriously. I’m sure he really did his best.”
“I gave it my all and did everything I could in the first and third matches,” replied the Englishman. “But in the second match, under English rules, the uneven table and the felt prevented me from showing my true game. I could have won 4–0.”
To prepare, two months before the series, Steve had already sent an English table cloth and a set of balls. The cloth is velvety, and according to Steve, it did not adjust well to São Paulo’s climate. The table was set up under the coordination of Jesus, one of the owners of the Palácio dos Bilhares in São Paulo and a former two-time Brazilian snooker champion, who explained:
“The English table was a bit sagging but was accepted—no fuss—by the Englishman. The man is a marvel. He can play on any table. His coming here forced us to rethink many aspects of the game. He strikes the ball hard and with certainty, proving that snooker isn’t only for those who play with a light touch and refined technique.” For Jesus, Steve’s defining moment was when he potted a ball 7, nearly without any angle, in the middle pocket: “Any one of us would have taken it very slowly. But he struck it forcefully and even went on to retrieve ball 3 from the opposite corner of the table. A shot that, to me, used to be impossible.”
Among other feats, on the final night Steve compiled a break of 94 points in a single visit, threatening the Brazilian record—set by two-time champion Jesus at 104 points since the 1980 Brazilian Championship. The maximum possible break in one visit is 112 points. Under English rules, however, the world record belongs to Steve himself: 147 points. This is the maximum for a single break, in which the player must “clear” all 15 red balls interspersed with the ball in play, before starting an uninterrupted sequence from ball 2 through ball 7. He achieved this feat in front of the English TV cameras in 1982 during the Lada Classic, one of the professional circuit tournaments.
GESTURES AND EXPRESSIONS
In Brazil, Steve demonstrated precision, firmness, and even a cheeky swagger rarely seen in an Englishman—and strangely absent in the Bahian Rui Chapéu. He took control of the situation and, by the second day, was communicating with the audience through gestures and facial expressions. Nothing unusual for a player who spends the first half of the year competing in tournaments against the world’s top names, including the Irishman Dennis Taylor, who had defeated him in the final decider of the World Championship in May and was immediately signed by Barry Hearn, the manager of the team of which Steve is the captain and that now includes four players—the other two being the Englishmen Tony Meo (with whom Steve won the doubles championship in 1982 and 1983) and Terry Griffiths.
Competitions, exhibitions, clinics, radio and TV programs—all are managed by Barry Hearn Ltd. Sports Management and Promotions, a company based in Romford near London, where Steve and his teammates live.
Steve never goes anywhere without handing out keychains bearing his photo and address, press releases, magazines, color photos of the team, and freebies—such as the perfume bottle he gifted Rui Chapéu after the final match. The Brazilian also received the bow tie that the Englishman wore during the three evenings. Little did Rui know that Steve had borrowed that tie from a waiter at Clube Sírio. Preparing for the first match, he noticed he had forgotten his own tie in London and tried to borrow one from the nearest waiter at Maksoud Plaza. He didn’t like it: “It’s too big. It makes me look like a clown.”
Today, Steve has three major sponsors: Courage Brewers (a beer brand), Riley Leisure (a manufacturer of snooker tables, cues, and other accessories), and Matchroom (an aftershave lotion). Son of Bill Davis, an avid snooker fan and former English amateur champion, Steve began learning the game with his father at the age of 12 during a family vacation. Now, he trains five hours a day, owns a 200‑alqueire farm in Romford (about 24 km from London), and only drives a Porsche. He even quit studying when he was about to enter college: “To compensate, I’ve already written two books about snooker.” His latest commercial venture is expected to be a new cologne brand—named after himself, Steve Davis.
Barely arriving in São Paulo, Steve made a point of visiting the Eldorado Shopping Center, where he spent 2 million cruzeiros on popular Brazilian music records, one of his passions. But what caught his attention most was an invitation from Homero Carvalho Pinto—a well-known regular at the Palácio dos Bilhares and the maître d’ of the Scarabocchio nightclub—who said, “You’re going to meet the best women in the world.” Enthusiastic, Steve used every break between his matches against Rui to call his manager Barry Hearn: “I’ll finish this quickly so we can go there.”
And barely having finished dispatching his opponent on Friday night with a 6–5 win, the Englishman invaded Boca do Luxo—still with his cue slung over his shoulder and the same intensity with which he struck the ball and cleaned the table. At Scarabocchio, the performance of the world’s best cue player was as calculated as it was on a snooker table. He drank in moderation and used his fine-tuned accuracy to choose the women he preferred, among the many that surrounded his highly sought-after table.
“Paul Newman, pleased to meet you,” he introduced himself, in his irreverent style, trying to associate his fame as a three-time snooker champion with the fantasy experienced by Newman in the film The Hustler (1961), a drama directed by Robert Rossen in which the protagonist—a snooker player—faces a series of deceptions and dangers at the table.
“I AIMED AT YOUR BALL SACK”
In the end, Steve left with two female escorts. Nothing extraordinary for someone who had just received a fee of 70 million cruzeiros and would have to pay a minimum wage per head. After resting on Saturday, he returned on Sunday to Scarabocchio for further adventures and to the delight of maître Homero: “This is the best souvenir Steve will take from Brazil. He’ll always want to come back.”
Steve will carry another memento from O Maravilhoso—a traditional snooker club in the country located very near the famous São Paulo corner of Avenida Ipiranga and São João. There, on Monday, shortly before boarding his flight back to London, the Englishman experienced that popular slice of Brazilian snooker. People like the player Gaguinho, who intended to challenge him again if he had time, remarked, “Against me, on this table, that foreigner is no match. I’m not Rui Chapéu, you know.”
Steve even picked up a cue that looked more like a broom handle compared to his usual one. And the pockets—so delicate and shallow—could hardly withstand the force of his balls. While attempting to clear a ball 5 from the middle, the ball shattered in the pocket, bounced up, struck a spectator, and ended up on an adjacent table. Ever the witty one, Steve quipped, “I was aiming at your ball sack.”
Manager Barry Hearn—who once owned 20 snooker halls scattered around London and now meticulously tracks the earnings of his millionaire team of professionals—felt as if he were transported back in time watching those humble folk at O Maravilhoso, fixated on every shot of the champion: “It feels like I’m in London ten years ago.”
For next year, PromoAção plans not only to bring Steve but also the entire Barry Hearn team to a Master tournament—featuring professionals and amateurs—in São Paulo. It will be another opportunity for the advancement of Brazilian snooker and for Rui Chapéu to secure another multimillion-dollar contract. And it will bring further joy to the girls at Scarabocchio, who will undoubtedly keep their doors open for an Englishman in search of paradise.
Nelson Urt
Six Tips from the Englishman for Brazilians
Steve Davis won his first World Championship at 23 in 1981, but he was not the youngest champion ever—the Englishman Alex Higgins had already lifted the title at 22. However, with the experience of someone who has played since the age of 12, Steve left a few lessons on technique and poise during his visit to São Paulo, summed up in six tips:
• “When taking a shot, lean your entire body until your chin touches the cue. Your aim will be more precise—the chin serves as a sight, and your cue as a rifle.”
• “For a right-handed player, the left arm acts as support. Try to rest your whole body weight on it to provide more stability for your shot. Keep it straight, too, so you don’t lose your balance. I noticed that Brazilian players, even Rui Chapéu, bend their left arm like a wing. That only hinders you.”
• “Your legs are also important for harmonious movement. Keep your right leg straight, bearing all your weight on it. Only bend your left leg. Don’t be embarrassed to bend your knees and keep your backside raised—that is the proper stance.”
• “To improve your technique, whenever possible, play matches under English rules—with 15 red balls—even on a smaller table. Brazilian snooker is technically inferior and limits creativity.”
• “Brazilian television should expand its coverage of snooker and, whenever possible, show footage from the World Championship. It would help boost the sport’s popularity and refine the skills of Brazilian players.”
• “Brazilian snooker won’t progress much if the game remains banned for minors under 18. In England, I know an 11‑year‑old girl who has already compiled a break of 111 in a single visit. Snooker is a noble sport and represents a significant segment of the job market.”
You can download the original article in Brazilian Portuguese at this link: