Arguably the greatest break ever made; if not, then it is undoubtedly in most viewers’ top three clearances of all time. Yes, of course this was going to be covered (38 years later) at some point. As soon as you mention Instant Classic, it is considered a crime if this historic break is not thrown into the mix. Let’s rewind to the 1982 World Championship semi-final, where Jimmy White is one frame away from reaching the world final.
However, his opponent was 1972 champion, Alex Higgins. White had an impressive run to the semi-finals, passing by Cliff Thorburn, Perrie Mans and Kirk Stevens along the way. Meanwhile, 33 year old Higgins had some closer encounters against Doug Mountjoy and Willie Thorne; having won a deciding frame against the former. Little did the Hurricane know that another deciding frame was imminent. But this Instant Classic is all about the penultimate frame of this semi-final epic.
White had gained a 41 point lead but missed a black off the spot, not too dissimilar to 1994 (click here to read about that Instant Classic), whilst trying to make a cannon. Fortunately for White, Higgins gave him another chance with a poor safety but only capitalised enough to get the score-line to 59-0 due to a missed rest shot. And the table was set. Six reds remaining; two tight alongside cushions; 75 points on the table; 15-14 down in a first-to-16; and insurmountable pressure.
Red. Position was clearly an afterthought during this break. Higgins was focusing on each ball and pot as he arrived at them. Most eulogise about the upcoming blue but for me, this following green was equally as impressive. Hampered just as much as the blue, a longer distance green potted perfectly to naturally come off the angles and bring the difficult red off the cushion. Red. During the break, the black came up the table, so the following pot saw Higgins sink the black from the baulk colours. Nice.
That red that Higgins developed earlier off the impressive green? Thin cut, but in. And Higgins arrives at the blue. Higgins wasn’t showing the usual distaste that many players show when they’re not correctly in position. He just realised the importance of the shot and the difficulty required in bringing the cue ball back to any of the remaining reds. Hampered, extreme bottom left on the cue ball, high power – what are the chances? Not only did Higgins pot it, but he did it so well that he overran the cue ball by a tremendous margin and almost ended up snookering himself behind the black.
Red. But not just any red. Possibly the most important red of the break. Due to the previous shot, Higgins had to take a red to the top right corner pocket. Compared to his previous shot, it didn’t seem as challenging. Nevertheless, it wasn’t guaranteed. A very missable pot, Higgins played to perfection and landed behind the black in what seemed to be the last complex pot of the break.
Although, it was anything but that. The worst thing for a snooker player is to sink a difficult pot just to follow it up with a fairly simple miss. In this case, Higgins sunk a series of complicated pots as he was fighting to hang onto the rope that was keeping him in the 1982 WSC. The remaining 10 shots may have seemed textbook, but the pressure was rampant. Red. Black. Red. Black. Colours.
It’s always the unorthodox breaks that are remembered the most; particularly the breaks where one wouldn’t expect a player to be able to clear in one visit. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 92 comes to mind. Higgins utilised five out of the six pockets to manufacture this clearance, and that was before he got to the colours. If good positional play was compared to having the cue ball on a string; the first half of this break was comparable to trying to chase a slinky down a stair case with one hand on the bannister.
The reason this 69 break is still praised to this day revolves around the circumstances in which it was made. White required one more frame to reach the final and any shot Higgins took could have been his last. And the shots he took on…the possibility was highly likely. The technical difficulty of some of the pots Higgins took on, particularly the cannon from the green, and the famous blue are so easy to miss and go horribly wrong.
John Spencer regarded this as the pressure break of the century. I don’t think that’s far off. Decades later and this break is still highly regarded as one of the greatest and most memorable of all time, and rightfully so. While many other players possibly would have gotten the cue ball in better position, if any of the pots came up that Higgins had to take on, considering the circumstances I don’t think there’s many (or even any) that could have sunk those series of incredible pots.
What do you think of this monumental pressure break? What other clearances do you think belong up there with this memorable clearance?
Like this Short? Click here to read: Neil Robertson's 100th Century – Instant Classic
Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!