Hot Chocolate once sang: “It started with a kiss, never thought it would end like this." The first of six 147 breaks compiled at the Crucible began with a fluke, at which point Cliff Thorburn never thought it would end in history.

As is so often the case, Thorburn’s breakbuilding breakthrough in 1983 came out of the blue, in the fourth frame of an otherwise slow, tactical match against Terry Griffiths.

Thorburn’s measured pace allowed tension to build to a crescendo and when he stroked in a long yellow – subsequently voted shot of the championship – it was clear that something special was brewing. With only the final black to be potted, the commentator Jack Karnehm captured the mood by simply saying: “Good luck, mate".

When the black found its target, Thorburn raised both arms, dropped to his knees and on rising was embraced by Griffiths and Bill Werbeniuk, a fellow Canadian. One of Thorburn’s proudest moments came that summer when, during a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game at the Skydome the final four pots of the break were shown on the Jumbotron, the world’s largest electronic scoreboard. He received a standing ovation.

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