Steve Davis: The Snooker Legend’s Life After Retirement
As the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship gets underway at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, a man who knows what it takes to win a world title will be keeping a close eye on the action. Six-time world champion Steve Davis, 67, will be back on BBC punditry duty for the big final, which started on Sunday and will conclude on Monday.
According to a report by Sports Yahoo, Davis, a Welshman, dominated snooker throughout the 1980s, reaching eight World Championship finals and holding the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons [1]. His no-nonsense style on the table earned him the label of being "boring" throughout his playing career, but he has since become a fan favourite as part of the BBC’s snooker coverage.
After retiring from professional snooker in 2016, Davis made a surprising career change, swapping the snooker table for turntables and moving into DJing. A lifelong prog rock fan who has collected over 10,000 records, the former snooker ace is now a successful DJ and musician who has played all across the country, including gigs at Glastonbury and supporting Blur at Wembley Stadium, as reported by Sports Yahoo [1].
As quoted in an article by The Mirror, Davis admitted his new career was "ridiculous", confessing: "I didn’t know my life would turn out like this. You haven’t got a clue. My life seems to have gone in reverse. I started off as a snooker player practising for eight hours a day in a dark room, and I ended up at Glastonbury DJing. You just don’t know what is going to happen" [2].
Davis’ love of music is nothing new, however, having started presenting a soul and rock show on Brentwood’s Phoenix FM in 1996. He also famously collaborated with Chas & Dave on ‘Snooker Loopy’ as part of ‘The Matchroom Mob’ which also featured Terry Griffiths, Tony Meo, Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne.
In his personal life, Davis has experienced his fair share of ups and downs. He married Judy Greig, a former Concorde flight attendant, in 1990 but they divorced 15 years later. Davis admitted he had been "difficult to live with" and his wife had "met someone else", as reported by Sports Yahoo [1]. The couple’s split came 10 years on from a British tabloid newspaper paying 19-year-old dancer Cheree Palla over £30,000 to print her allegations that she had a brief affair with Davis.
After his split from Judy, Davis later began a long-term relationship with accounts worker Jeannie Nash, who was 16 years his junior.
As one of the most successful snooker players of all time, Davis is also one of the wealthiest. Having earned over £5.6 million in winnings over the course of his career, lucrative endorsements also saw him become the UK’s highest paid sportsperson in the latter half of the 1980s. According to reports, Davis’ net worth is significantly higher having moved into commentary and other avenues since retiring, with his net worth reported to be an estimated £26.5 million.
In conclusion, Steve Davis is a true legend of the snooker world, and his life after retirement has been just as fascinating as his playing career. From DJing to relationships, Davis has experienced it all, and his insight into the world of snooker will undoubtedly be valuable to fans tuning in to the 2025 World Snooker Championship.
References:
[1] https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/steve-davis-split-wife-horrible-145137921.html
[2] https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebrity-news/steve-davis-reveals-new-djing-25610846
