Throwback

Stephen Hendry’s Significant Seven – Throwback

Who would have thought that following the incredible triumph of Steve Davis in the 1980s, that anyone would be able to not only replicate, but even surpass the sensational accomplishment of clinching six world titles in a single decade? In the subsequent decade, we would witness the emergence of The King of The Crucible however, at the turn of the 1990s, we only knew him as Stephen Hendry.

1990

At only 21 years old, Hendry had already made a name for himself as a multiple event and Masters/UK winner. Despite not being a WSC winner (yet), Hendry was the threat to others going into the tournament. Hendry overcame Alain Robidoux, Tony Meo, Darren Morgan and John Parrott to reach the finals where the beginning of an age-old rivalry would commence. Hendry would defeat Jimmy White 18-12 which would elevate him to the top of the rankings.

1992

Hendry wasn’t able to lift the Crucible Curse in 1991 (click here to read about that) but that wasn’t going to stop what would happen in the years to come. He would prove that the first time wasn’t a fluke as Stephen Murphy, James Wattana, Dene O’Kane and Terry Griffiths would soon come to discover. After a crushing 16-4 semi-final contest, Hendry would once again meet with White where he would have a little more trouble than he did in the year prior. Hendry found himself 14-8 behind but remarkably would win the following 10 frames to win his second world title 18-14.

1993

Throughout this entire tournament, Hendry only conceded 25 frames out of the 90 that he played. This is the year Hendry really put the foot down on his opposition and this was particularly evident at the final. In order to reach the final, Hendry would beat Danny Fowler, Darren Morgan, Nigel Bond and Alan McManus. And his final opponent, you guessed it – Jimmy White. In a far more one-sided contest, White didn’t stand a chance as Hendry dominated 18-5, ending the proceedings with a session to spare.

1994

Many will remember the 1994 WSC (Instant Classic) for the unforgettable finale between Hendry and White. The match was level at 17-17 with White on the cusp of lifting the trophy, but then came the famous missed black. Needless to say, Hendry went on to clear up and win the championship with a tremendous display of temperament. This would be the last time Hendry and White would contest a World Championship final. Hendry would also beat Steve Davis in the semi-finals 16-9 in what would be Davis’s last semi-final appearance. All with a broken elbow.

1995

As it stood, Steve Davis held the record of consecutive Crucible wins at three. Hendry would surpass the first of Davis’s records by claiming the title in 1995 with 18-9 victory over Nigel Bond. Rounds 1 and 2 saw Stefan Mazrocis and Tony Drago fall to the eventual champion. A young Ronnie O’Sullivan would meet Hendry in the quarter-finals but would lose out 13-8 which would lead to another White/Hendry clash…in the semi-final. Hendry’s 16-12 victory over White saw the Crucible’s third maximum break achieved at the venue.

1996

Hendry won five consecutive Masters titles from 1989-93, which in itself is unfathomable. WSC 1996 would see this feat topped in the only possible way and that’s with Hendry winning No. 6, equalling Davis and collecting his fifth in a row. He defeated Jason Ferguson (yes, the WPBSA Chairman) in Round 1 then saw through Gary Wilkinson, Darren Morgan and Nigel Bond in the semi-final. He would meet Peter Ebdon where despite being behind early in the match, Hendry was able to turn things around and establish a foothold for the rest of the 18-12 contest.

1999

After coming runner-up in 1997 and a shock first round elimination in 1998, Hendry returned to his grand stage, beating all too familiar names along the way as he created history. It was quite possibly his toughest draw including names such as Paul Hunter, James Wattana, Matthew Stevens and 17-13 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-final. Mark Williams would stand in Hendry’s way this year but to no avail as Hendry would maintain control and do what was necessary to secure the trophy and truly become The King of The Crucible.

There may be a time a player overtakes the seven world titles that Hendry has won, but in no way will that ever happen within the span of a single decade. The decades of dominance do seem to be a thing of the past given how the game has evolved over time and how competitive the field has become. We really won’t see anything like this ever again.

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Steve Davis’s Sensational Six – Throwback

One of snookers most prolific champions, Steve Davis conquered the 1980s with a style of match play that proved too difficult for most at the time. As the champion of the 1980s, Steve Davis etched his name into World Championship history with a collection of six titles obtained throughout the decade, earning his place at the mountaintop of the golden age of snooker. Let’s look at each of his triumphs.

1981

At just 23 years old, Davis had stiff competition in his journey to win his maiden world title. Davis was only seeded 13th but was a strong favourite to lift the title, with the prospect becoming far more likely given his victories over Jimmy White and three former champions in Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths and Cliff Thorburn. Davis went through hard fought matches to reach the final where he faced Doug Mountjoy in an effort that resulted in a 18-12 victory.

1983

In one of his strongest WSC performances, Davis only lost 31 frames out of a possible 135, with 11 resulting from his second-round match against Dennis Taylor. Davis otherwise had fairly comfortable matches against Rex Williams (R1), Eddie Charlton (QF), Alex Higgins (SF) and then 1980 champion Cliff Thorburn in the final (18-6). The final was watched by just under 10 million viewers on BBC 2 as snooker was still reaching its great heights in popularity and Davis truly begun his period of dominance.

1984

Davis became the first person to successfully defend his title at The Crucible as his voyage included wins over Warren King, John Spencer, Terry Griffiths and Dennis Taylor. He would then face a young Jimmy White in the final which saw a match of swings and roundabouts as Davis led 12-4 after the opening day. White was able to reduce the deficit to 13-11 and kept matters close to the very end where Davis was able to pull away with a result of 18-16.

1987

It had been two years since Davis lifted his last title yet he would contest the final in both the years that he didn’t win. One of these many would remember as the famous 1985 final against Dennis Taylor; and in 1986, Davis would lose out to Joe Johnson – a loss he would have a chance to rectify in 1987. Davis would have to go through the usual suspects such as Warren King, Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths and Jimmy White to get a chance at this redemption. It was a closer encounter than that of 1986 with Davis showing his steel-minded temperament as he pushed away the thoughts of the previous two finals as he clinched number four.

1988

There didn’t seem to be much standing in the way of Davis and his fifth world title. Rather, it was a series of comfortable matches with Davis’s hardest test coming in the opening round in the form of John Virgo and a 10-8 victory. The remainder of Davis’s contests against Mike Hallett, Tony Drago, Cliff Thorburn and even Terry Griffiths in the final proved to be unchallenging to the champion who has reclaimed control of his era. This was further exemplified with his completion of the Triple Crown in the 1987-88 season.

1989

Closing out Davis’s Sensational Six is probably his most dominant performance of them all. Perhaps his competition to the title wasn’t as fierce as prior years but Davis wasn’t playing around that year, so I think it was irrelevant who was put in front of him. After beating Steve Newbury, Steve Duggan and Mike Hallett, Davis found himself in front of the one who would eclipse his accomplishments in the decade that followed. His match against Stephen Hendry resulted in a 16-9 finish where he then felt the need to rush his final performance against John Parrott with an astonishing 18-3 score line, still the highest winning margin to this day.

And thus wraps up Steve Davis’s Sensational Six. Even if World Championships were out of the equation, Davis still racked up quite the trophy cabinet with his strong performances in other majors and ranking events. His performances during the Worlds just showed how well his style of play suited the marathon of the WSC. Similar to how effective Mark Selby is in the Worlds is exactly how Davis displayed his prowess during the 1980s.

Like this Short? Click here to read: World Snooker Championship 1989 - Throwback

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Masters 1975 - Throwback

If you read Short Post #200 (click here to read that), you’ll know that one of my favourite snooker memories involved the re-spotted black between Mark Williams and Stephen Hendry in 1998. But did you know that the Masters contested another re-spot back in 1975? It was in fact the very first edition of the Masters where two of the top players during the 1970s battled to the very end.

Ten of the top players you can remember from the 1970s were invited to play in the Masters. This included the likes of Alex Higgins, Rex William, Ray Reardon, Eddie Charlton, John Spencer and Bill Werbeniuk. The inaugural event was held in West Centre Hotel London, following which the subsequent iterations would change locations until a more permanent home was established.

The format of the Masters in 1975 followed a series of best-of-9 matches until the final, which saw a best-of-17 contest. Some of the notable matches included Rex Williams vs. Alex Higgins, Fred Davis vs. Eddie Charlton, Reardon vs. Williams and of course, the final between Reardon and John Spencer. Interestingly, all the quarter-final matches resulted in a 5-3 finish.

Reardon and Spencer competed in a closely fought final that was down to the wire straight from the start, with no more than one frame separating the two players for nearly the whole match. That is, until Reardon was able to distance himself with an 8-6 lead, requiring just one more frame for the trophy. However, Spencer was able to keep the match alive by winning the following two frames 53-3 and 64-25, forcing a decider. A decider that led to a 58-58 score and a re-spotted black.

It was a deciding black that only took four shots to resolve. Unlike the players of today, Reardon opened with the up-and-down shot that tried to achieve maximum distance between cue and object ball; as opposed to the side-to-side shot that you see played today on a re-spot. Spencer responded with a similar up-and-down shot and despite not leaving the black against the rail, he left Reardon with a very difficult long pot against the left cushion. Reardon was unable to sink the shot which left Spencer with a long pot and a chance to win the first Masters.

Spencer was able to sink the pot with authority, resulting in a 9-8 finish and a £2,000 first prize. It was a very different atmosphere than most will probably be used to. Slower tables, Ted Lowe on commentary, juxtaposed by a referee shouting the score for those in attendance. Reardon and Spencer embraced a had a laugh at the end of the endeavour, something you don’t see a lot of nowadays.

Spencer was already a two-time World Champion prior to this event. This was before WSC found its place at the Crucible; a year where Spencer was also the first player to triumph at this historic venue. Out of the 11 events that took place during the 1974/75 season, Spencer won 3 of them (including the Norwich Union Open and B&H Ireland Tournament) to mark the finish of a very strong season.

Like this Short? Click here to read: World Championship 1989 - Throwback

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World Snooker Championship 1989 – Throwback

The year 1989 was historic for several reasons. The first episode of The Simpsons had aired, the Gameboy was released and the little thing we like to call the World Wide Web made its presence. However, the 1989 World Snooker Championship is what will catch the attention of readers as Steve Davis would once again reach the summit, for what would be his final time. And boy did he do it in emphatic fashion.

Davis was a five-time champion at this point, with victories at his previous two ventures in 1987-88. In addition to this, he had won five tournaments throughout the season (not including WSC) so things were looking on the up for the defending champion. The battle of the Steve’s commenced in the first two rounds as Steve Newbury and Steve Duggan tried to overthrow Davis but were unable to do so, losing 10-5 and 13-3. Davis then replicated this score line in the quarter-finals against Mike Hallett, one point at which he was 11-1 ahead. This would set up a highly anticipated semi-final against a 20 year old Stephen Hendry.

Hendry perhaps had the more challenging route to the semi-finals, with victories over Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths and a near loss in the opening round against Gary Wilkinson which reached a decider. However, the Masters Champion and UK finalist perhaps has the mental edge against Davis with the recent head-to-head favouring the former. Having said that, Davis maintained the lead and the advantage throughout their contest and despite Hendry’s efforts to narrow the gap, Davis ultimately proved too strong that year.

Prior to his success in 1991, John Parrott had a bite of the cherry as he reached his first WSC final in 1989. Needless to say, it did not go the way that he was hoping…and then some. Parrott was only able to win frames 3, 7 and 14 in a match that was supposed to span four sessions. It was a performance so clinical that it could be considered the best Davis had ever played in his career. It was an 18-3 score line which still, to this day, is the biggest winning margin of a World Championship final in the modern era. This maybe even extends to all time if someone is willing to go through all the WSC finals and verify the scores before the dead frames were played in the pre-modern era.

To provide some more perspective, Davis only dropped 23 frames throughout the whole tournament. Out of a possible 137 frames, Davis only lost 23 (or 17%). However, if you factor in the frames that Davis actually played, which was 93, across the entire event Davis lost approximately 1-in-4 frames. It was such a dominant performance that prompted well-deserved praise from his peers which made it impossible to predict that Davis would never lift the world title once again.

This post isn’t to highlight the shift in power of the years that followed, but rather the closing of the chapter in which Davis had governed snooker during the 1980s. Not only that, but he did so in such a resounding manner where no one really posed a threat to him. The display that Davis put on was a prime example of snooker at its finest by one of the best to ever play the game.

Like this Short? Click here to read: World Snooker Championship 1978 - Throwback

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