Memorable Hits - Jimmy's Banana Brilliance

The 1984 Masters is remembered for a number of reasons. And most of those reasons often overshadow the actual result of the match. Whether it’s Kirk Stevens’s white suit or the occasion of making the third televised 147 break, these are likely the memories that fans remember of this entire match and tournament. However, one of snooker’s most Memorable Hits took place at the end of this match which I wanted to look at today.

And this was made by Stevens’ opponent, Jimmy White. If you didn’t know already – spoiler alert – but White ended up winning this semi-final match 6-4, and then proceeded to win the Masters tournament. In response to Stevens’ maximum break, White hit back with a century break of his own to close out the match. But the exhibition pink he potted at the end of the frame left everyone in awe and excitement.

This shot was a prime example of the ‘banana shot’ in which the cue ball is hit with so much screw (extreme bottom), or in some cases top spin, to cause the cue ball to travel in a trajectory/arc similar to the shape of a banana. In this case, White’s shot caused the cue ball to travel down the table in a backwards C-like pattern. But where exactly did he strike the cue ball?

The first component of this shot is indeed, the screw/bottom. It’s obvious where you need to strike the cue ball for this to happen although, for a shot that requires extreme backspin such as this one, things can go wrong. White was aiming as far down on the cue ball as humanly possible. Aim any higher, you won’t achieve the desired backspin, or it can turn into a stun shot if struck incorrectly. Aim any lower, then the cue ball is flying into the audience.

You know a deep screw shot is effective where the initial reaction off the object ball starts off slow (which some commentators refer to as a slight pause), but very quickly speeds up due to the amount of backspin generated. This is only achieved when the cue ball is struck to perfection; and White was an expert at getting action out of a cue ball.

The second component of this shot observes which side of the cue ball White struck in order to get it to rebound off the two cushions in the way it did. If you replay the shot, the cue ball seems to bounce off the first cushion normally, but when it contacts the black cushion, a couple of things happen. Firstly, the pace of the cue ball slows down dramatically. Secondly, the angle that the cue ball rebounds is in more of a straight line as opposed to the natural angle which would suggest it go nearer the black in more of a ‘v’ pattern.

This is a result of applying right-hand side on the shot in addition to the screw. The right-hand side in effect, ‘checks’ the cue ball when it bounces off the second cushion thereby, slowing the pace of the cue ball as well as creating that angle when it rebounds off the second cushion. If left-hand side was applied the cue ball would have likely gone above the black, if not around it.

The reason this shot was so magnificent was because of the way it was executed. This shot was an example of the perfect cue action required in order to get that kind of response from the cue ball. These kinds of shots are rarely played due to their technical difficulty, so you mainly see them when the frame is safe however, it doesn’t take away from the spectacle of a perfect arc achieved from a well struck shot. And there wasn’t a person better than White at manufacturing this kind of shot, as he demonstrated in that same clearance as he banana’d the cue ball back up the table on the final black.

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Memorable Hits - Murphy's Magical Manoeuvre

The Shaun Murphy trick shot from the 2017 World Championship will go down as one of the most memorable hits for years to come. Whether it was because of the Crucible setting, his opponent, the stunned reaction of the crowd/commentary box or the smooth walk-away, this exquisite pool-like shot brought another level of excitement to the WSC that year.

It was the second round of the WSC as Murphy found himself 3-1 down against veteran, Ronnie O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan had just played an impressive long, two-ball plant with the cue ball coming back up the table next to the yellow. However, O’Sullivan didn’t play the ‘nestle behind a colour’ snooker too well to leave Murphy fully snookered. Although, it was awkward enough to block the view of the main bunch, leaving a line of sight only on the red at the left centre pocket (which couldn’t be cut in).

Murphy quickly established that the red couldn’t be cut it so the only other option would be to go up and down the table. Much like Steve Davis said in commentary, this was a relatively safe shot to play given that if Murphy missed, he wouldn’t be leaving the red on unless he massively under-hit the shot. The problem with the up and down though, is that the yellow was blocking the cue ball slightly enough so that the bottom/black cushion couldn’t be hit naturally.

So in the minute and a half that Murphy spent thinking on this shot, he was visualising exactly how the cue ball would react coming off the cushions while the rest of us were trying to think about a possible escape route. Once it was clear in his mind what kind of shot he wanted to attempt, it was now a matter of practice.

With an extreme amount of right hand side – which can be classed as check side, in this case due to the resultant impact – Murphy struck so the cue ball impacted the left side cushion first. Now, while it may not look like that had an angular effect when it bounced off the side cushion, it already slowed the pace of the cue ball down a little bit, hence the check side. But the bottom cushion is where the spin really took effect. When the cue ball came off the bottom cushion, the right hand side in effect pulled itself back up the table towards the left hand side where it was able to impressively nudge the red in the left centre.

If there was no side applied the cue ball would have follow the natural angle and likely ended up around or just above the blue. However, the shot was played with right hand side; so much in fact, that the cue ball bounced off the left side cushion on its way back up. Murphy may or may not have accounted for this extra bounce since had it not occurred, chances are the cue ball would have followed a straight line back up to knock the red in regardless.

The fact that Murphy succeeded in his method on his first attempt in a manner that no one was really expecting meant that he received a loud response from the audience and commentators alike. John Virgo and Davis particularly, were racking their brains trying to figure out what Murphy was thinking, as well as trying to find a path out themselves. My favourite moment during commentary was when Davis just flat out went ‘now, what’s he doing?’ Please always do commentary, Steve.

But were there alternative shots? The shots that Virgo and Davis were talking about where Murphy could have played safe off the red would have certainly sent the red up the table due to how close it was to the bottom jaw of the centre pocket. The only other possible option would have been a two-cushion escape with running (left) side off the reds near the pink. Though this would have been just as technically difficult as the shot he played. In fact, it could have been more risky because if it was hit too thick, he would have left O’Sullivan the furthest right red on the table.

So it was actually a choice shot in terms of risk and reward. When Murphy cleverly thought of it, he potentially had the mind-set of giving it one or two attempts then trying one of the alternative shots, depending on how close he got. But the fact that he nailed it first time to everyone’s surprise, with a shot that goes against the natural angles, while at the Crucible against O’Sullivan…well, it just deserved Shot of the Championship that year.

If he missed his attempt and then got it on the second or third, expectations would have been slightly dampened as the audience knew what he was going for. But it wasn’t, and that’s what made it special. And to those who criticise the shot for how easy it was are probably the same people who spend multiple attempts at their club trying to recreate the shot on camera, let alone in the circumstances that Murphy achieved it in.

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Memorable Hits - Judd's Elegant Escape

This new series of Short posts will look at specific, individual shots that remain in memory as time goes by. Shots that stun a crowd and makes jaws drop; either from their technical difficulty, creativity, or both. No shot will be excluded, so pots as well as safeties, snookers and escapes will be mentioned as the ‘Memorable Hits’ grow in size. For this instance, I want to share one of my favourite all-time shots in recent years as Judd Trump was forced into a difficult position by opponent Neil Robertson, during the Masters 2019 semi-final.

Trump was 4-3 up against Robertson with a 40 point lead in a match where Robertson had been rebounding against every 2 frame lead that Trump was generating. As shown in the video above, Robertson played a safety shot that didn’t promise any obvious return-to-baulk solution.

The left side of the cluster couldn’t be played off as any contact would’ve resulted in hitting the side cushion first, or even going in-off. There wasn’t any space to swing around the reds on the right side of the table, and there were no plants available. There was a possibility of a dump shot but that could only result in trouble for Trump in his next visit. However, I reckon this is the shot most would have played because I don’t know many that could have visualised what Trump did next.

He played off the red up the middle of the table, manoeuvred around the reds on the right of the table and manufactured an angle that allowed the cue ball to travel in the gap between these reds and the main cluster in the middle of the table. Because Trump was playing off the side cushion before the bottom cushion, the relevant running side involved striking the cue ball on the right, to allow the cue ball to have the pace to make it up the table. If he overdid the side, the cue ball would have careered into the cluster; if he underdid it, at the pace he struck it, the cue ball wouldn’t have made it far.

Making it up the table to the top cushion wouldn’t have changed how incredible that shot was, so getting the bonus snooker behind the brown was the icing on the cake. And Trump reaped the rewards of that escape/snooker as he secured the frame and went on to win the Masters.

The reason this shot was so ingenious and imaginative is because we are mostly used to seeing safety shots played off the bottom then side cushion. When situations like this arise, players often find a way to play a dump shot or nestle into a red. Trump showed real visual acuity here which is something he has significantly improved upon this past couple of years, and still only really took a minute or so to work out.

When compared with Gary Wilson’s phenomenal safety shot in the world championship (against Trump, ironically) which is also considered as the shot of the year, it’s a tricky one. While Wilson’s shot was technically more difficult because it had to be struck to absolute perfection, Trump’s shots required more inventiveness because there was very little alternative.

What do you think? What are some of the most memorable snooker shots that stay in your mind? Let me know in the comments or using the socials below!

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Like this Short? Click here to read: Are There Any Weaknesses in Judd Trump's Game?

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