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

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

Snooker Shorts Snooker Memories (#200)

For the 200th post on Snooker Shorts, I thought I would share some of my favourite snooker memories over the years and the ones which resonated the most. There have been many matches, moments and tournaments over the decades which stand the test of time and even though making an entire list would be endless, I’m going to highlight a few below.

World Championship 2020 Semi-Final Finish (click here to read)

It’s easily one of my favourite days in snooker history. Kyren Wilson and Anthony McGill battled until the very end of their semi-final contest, with a final frame decider that included a number of twists and turns resulting in a 103-83 score line favouring Wilson. Subsequently, Ronnie O’Sullivan fought from 16-14 down to overthrow Mark Selby in three of the best and dramatic frames you could ever hope to watch.

Alex Higgins 69 Break (click here to read)

Continuing the semi-final theme, WSC 1982 saw one of the greatest breaks that still holds true to this day. As opposed to a carefully crafted break with precise positioning, Alex Higgins produced a spectacular contribution that involved some of the wildest single pots that you wouldn’t see in matches of current standards. And that blue. You know which one.

Black Ball Masters Final 1998

Mark Williams vs. Stephen Hendry at the 1998 Masters was one of the most crowd-involved matches I have ever heard. Hendry was on the cusp of winning his 7th Masters title with a 9-6 lead and despite Williams staging a comeback, Hendry still had the lead in the deciding frame. Nevertheless, a young Williams was able to force a re-spotted black which eventually went his way after Hendry’s failed attempt to left middle.

World Championship Final 1985

The golden age of snooker contained the match that many still consider to this day as snooker’s greatest moment. 18.5 million viewers were up past midnight, eager to see the epic finish between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor as they fought to the deciding frame, spending almost 30 minutes alone on the final colours. Eventually, Davis overcut an attempt on the black to clinch the match/title after Taylor’s various attempts at potting from any position. However, Taylor was able to hold his nerve to pot the black needed to secure the 1985 WSC.

Ronnie O’Sullivan 1000th Century (click here to read)

A very memorable moment for such a historic milestone which occurred during the Players Championship 2019, as broadcasters and fans alike were counting down the centuries as O’Sullivan was closing in on the famous 1000 landmark. Indeed, the magical moment happened during the winning frame which turned a tame and civil snooker crowd into one that rivalled a football stadium.

Marco Fu World Championship 2017 (click here to read)

Fu’s first two round matches at WSC 2017 are among the finest things I have witnessed. In Round 1, Fu was heavily down and seemingly out against Luca Brecel with deficits of 5-0 and 7-1, but in the evening session was able to stage a monumental comeback to progress with a 10-9 victory. Following this win, Fu had an equally enthralling contest against Neil Robertson in Round 2 where he was similarly on the back foot but was able to keep with his opponent through to the end of the match where he turned a 10-8 deficit into a 13-11 triumph.

Ronnie O’Sullivan Overtakes Stephen Hendry

O’Sullivan broke records when he won his first ranking title at the age of 17, and 25 years later he was still doing the same thing at the same event as he overtook Hendry’s major tally of 18. O’Sullivan also broke Davis’s record of 6 UK titles as well as a number of milestones for successfully defending the championship. This achievement was met with a joyous reaction from the participating crowd as O’Sullivan jumped into the audience to celebrate amongst them.


How many of these memories do you recall? Of course, there are many more moments that I would add to this list but this is Snooker ‘Shorts’ at the end of the day so I had to keep things limited. Which memorable snooker moments would you add to this list?

I’m not sure how many Shorts you’ve read over the past couple of years, but thanks for reading No. 200. Happy New Year and see you in the next one!

Like this Short? Click here to read: The Old Snooker Ranking System (#100)

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

Snooker Rankings Update (December 2021)

As the end of the year approaches, we have a ranking list that isn’t as one-sided as it once was. There’s now a more competitive balance residing in the Top 3 where a ranking event win for any player could result in a changing of the top spot. Meanwhile, recent impressive results have seen other players make a breakthrough in the Top 16 while others have dropped to a worryingly low position.

Mark Selby regained the No. 1 spot earlier in the season during the British Open, thanks to his World Championship success. Whilst Judd Trump had a phenomenal couple of seasons that propelled his ranking with no one else in sight, it was always going to be a struggle later down the line if he was unable to maintain his ranking with further wins. Of course, Trump is still in a very strong position at No. 2, with most still considering him the best currently, but the race to the top is now a lot closer particularly with Ronnie O’Sullivan’s recent Grand Prix win. A ranking win for any of these three will see them secure the No. 1 position, and there are numerous ranking events left in the season to accomplish this.

Neil Robertson will soon be losing 80,000 points from his European Masters win a couple of years ago which will slightly narrow the gap for Kyren Wilson to take the No. 4 spot. On the other hand, the rest of the Top 16 remains in close contention with the field in and around the 200-300,000 ranking points range. Zhao Xintong and Luca Brecel have seen their rankings improve to No. 9 and 16 due to their UK Championship performances (plus Brecel’s Scottish Open victory). This has also put them in positions 1 and 2 on the one-year ranking list, which should see them comfortably entered into the Players and Tour Championships.

The field is so competitive at the moment it’s difficult to believe that players like Jack Lisowski and David Gilbert aren’t in the Top 16. It’s also concerning to see how Ding Junhui has fallen down the rankings to No. 29, especially after him being well within the Top 16 since the 2007/08 season. Ali Carter and Gary Wilson are also in a vulnerable spot to fall out of the Top 32 which could make things difficult for them should they not automatically qualify as a seed for the World Championship.

Lastly, an unexpected observation in the rankings lies at No. 50 where Thepchaiya Un-Nooh stands to lose 11,000 ranking points which will have a substantial impact on his position, to the point where it could affect his ability to remain in the Top 64. However, a reasonable venture in a ranking tournament to at least a quarter-final will aid his rank significantly and improve his position by at least 10 places.

What are your ranking predictions for the remainder of the season? Who will be the player in the No. 1 spot, and which players are in danger of falling out of the Top 16/32/64?

Fun fact: Only four players out of the Top 16 come from outside the UK (Robertson, Xintong, Bingtao and Brecel).

Like this Short? Click here to read: Difference Between an Amateur and Professional Snooker Player

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

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

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!