Top Ten Snooker Memories (Snooker in General)

Member Name: litefoot

Product:	Snooker in General
Date:	21/01/06 (1060 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classic moments from a great sport

Disadvantages: Snooze filled moments if you don't like snooker...

Ever since my parents bought a mini snooker table for my birthday in the 80s, snooker has been one of my favourite sports. It isn't to everyone's taste I know but I'm quite happy to sit down in the evening and watch a match live on TV.

Here are my top ten memorable moments that I saw at the time. And before anyone asks why the 1985 final isn't included, well I was only 7 years old and sound asleep in bed while Dennis Taylor was wagging that finger!


RONNIE'S MAGNIFICENT MAXIMUM (1997)

In the mid 90s a crop of new young players was coming to the fore and one of the most talented was Ronnie O'Sullivan. Regarded as a great talent, Ronnie confirmed it at the 1997 World Championships in the first round. In the very first frame he potted all the reds and blacks and cleared the colours to give him his first televised maximum 147 break. What was all the more stunning was that he did it in 5 minutes and 20 seconds, a world record. The greatest genius who ever picked up a snooker cue? Without question.

THE OTHER BLACK BALL FINAL (1998)

Whenever anyone mentions 'The Black Ball Final', they're usually talking about the Davis/Taylor 1985 classic final. But there's another black ball final which was just as good. In the 1998 Masters, newcomer Mark Williams was faced with the prospect of beating Stephen Hendry to take the title. With an exciting match tied at 9 frames apiece and one to play, both players racked up an equal share of points leaving a respotted black as the decider. Williams left Hendry with an easy pot to middle to win, and thought it was all over, but Hendry jawed it and Williams said thanks very much to win the trophy.

EBDON CLINCHES TITLE (2002)

By 2002 most of the new breed of snooker players had fulfilled their potential and won the World Championship title - Williams, O'Sullivan, Higgins. Peter Ebdon had yet to do so and it looked like he had missed the boat after losing to Hendry in a close match in 1996. Then out of the blue, Ebdon played superb snooker to reach the final once more and face - who else? - his old rival Hendry. Both players got more and more tense as the match went on until it was 17 frames all. Ebdon, usually a cool customer, was starting to show emotion - jumping into the air when he missed an easy red near the end - but his nerve held as he beat Hendry 18 frames to 17 and finally took the title.

DAVIS STUNS YORK (2005)

By 2005, 48 year old Steve Davis, once King of the 80s, was no longer the player he once was. Although still in the top 16 and having a good run here and there, his chances of winning a major tournament looked long over. That is, until the 2005 UK Championship. In the second round and 8-5 down against defending champion Stephen Maguire, Davis produced the snooker of his life to win the last four frames and beat Maguire 8-9. He also produced a stunning 145 break, his highest since 1982. In the next round he beat Ken Doherty, leading 5-0 at one point. The icing on the cake came in the semi final when he wiped the floor with that young whippersnapper Stephen Hendry and reached the final. The fairytale ending wasn't to be when he was beaten by teenage prodigy Ding Jun Hui, but Davis proved that even at his age he can still live with the best of them.

COMEBACK KEN (2003)

In the first round of the 2003 World Championships, ex-champion Ken Doherty looked to be heading for an early exit against the lowly ranked Sean Murphy. But Doherty produced an amazing comeback from behind to win the match 10-9 and progress. The same happened in the next round, and the next, and the next... by the semi final stage, he was 15-9 frames down against Paul Hunter but in one of the most incredible comebacks the Crucible had ever seen, clawed back the deficit and won 17 frames to 16. He eventually reached the final where Mark Williams narrowly beat him, but it was without doubt Doherty who had left the greater impression on the tournament.

WHITE STUNS EBDON (2003)

Picture the scene. It's the Masters second round at Wembley and Peter Ebdon is playing Jimmy White. White plays awfully to leave Ebdon coasting 5-1 with only one frame needed to secure victory. Does White go out with a whimper? No, he suddenly ups his game ten times to take the final five frames and stun Ebdon 6-5. Fantastic stuff!

CENTURY AFTER CENTURY (2002)

By 2002 the standard of snooker play had improved so much that players had begun to produce giant breaks with ease. This was shown at the World Championships where century breaks were being achieved in a steady stream and some of the highest quality snooker ever played was on display. One of the finest matches had Ken Doherty against Stephen Hendry who won nearly *all* their frames with century breaks!

HIGGINS BEATS O'SULLIVAN (2005)

Ronnie O'Sullivan had destroyed John Higgins 10-1 in the 2005 Masters final. Ronnie's standard of play was so good that Higgins literally hung a white flag of surrender on his cue in the last frame. Both players reached the Grand Prix final eight months later and an easy O'Sullivan victory was expected. But Higgins surprised everyone by playing superbly, scoring four century breaks in a row with 480 unanswered points - a record - and winning the title 10-3.

DOHERTY ENDS HENDRY ERA (1997)

Stpehen Hendry had dominated the 90s like no other player. He had won the World Championship title every year since 1990 (except one) and looked unbeatable. Until 1997, when his run of consecutive titles was finally ended by Dubliner Ken Doherty in the final, where he beat Hendry 18-12. It signalled the end of the Hendry era.

HUNTER'S 'PLAN B' (2004)

Young talent Paul Hunter confirmed his place amongst the greats of the game when he tooked a hattrick of Masters titles. Most memorably in the 2004 final, he was 7-2 down against Ronnie O'Sullivan and looked on the way out, until his girlfriend Lyndsey came to his rescue with the legendary 'Plan B' at his hotel before the final session (nudge nudge wink wink). Lindsey's magic worked because Hunter stormed back to take the title 10-9!

Summary: Snooker is a game full of surprises, here's ten of them...