World Snooker Championship
After his 10-5 first-round defeat to Steve James in 1990, and an estimated 27 shots of vodka to the good, Alex Higgins refused to leave his seat at the Crucible. Then, having assaulted an official, he attended a rambling, shambolic press conference – during which he denounced professional snooker as corrupt, and quit while referencing former Tory minister Cecil Parkinson, the stomach lining of a cow, the iniquities of a two-tier education system, children from Amsterdam and a catchphrase associated with comedy double act Cannon and Ball. It wasn’t the end, but it was well past the beginning of the end.
Plenty more time, Paul 2003
The ladies were divided between the rival charms of Higgins and Cliff Thorburn – some went for the vulnerable bad boy, others the dashing antebellum dandy. Fans of the latter still remember his 147 maximum clearance in 1983 against Terry Griffiths almost as fondly as his slightly-too-tight trousers. It started with a fluke, but from such unpromising beginnings Thorburn chased down the reds and colours as the other game – featuring fellow Canadian Bill Werbeniuk – stopped play to watch the unfolding drama. A long pot on the yellow at 120 (a shot worth £18,000 in terms of prize money in its own right) was the key, and the rest followed. ”Good luck, mate,” said commentator Jack Karnehm as Thorburn eyed up the black. No need.
34 | April 26 2013 |
That’s how Everton described the 1999 semi final between Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan. If this was a fight, it would have been a heavyweight bloodbath between a sublimely talented young shaver and a determined old stager, with haymakers landing every round (there were eight century breaks in the 17-13 match, four apiece). As with the Rumble in the Jungle, experience won out; Hendry went on to claim his seventh world title, but O’Sullivan had served notice that there was a new kid on the block. And, several years on, like George Foreman but without the Lean Mean Grilling Machine, The Rocket made another comeback. Bill Borrows @billborrows
Adrian Murrell/Allsport, SSPL/Manchester Daily Express, Duncan Raban/Empics, Tom Shaw/Getty Images, Adam Davy/Empics
‘Snooker from the gods’ 1999
Of course, as Higgins demonstrated, some of the most poignant action takes place away from the table. On this occasion it was the press conference after Paul Hunter, nicknamed the ‘Beckham of the Baize’, had lost his 2003 semi final to Ken Doherty despite taking a 15-9 overnight lead. Perhaps best known for a revitalising sex session with his girlfriend during a break at the 2001 Masters tournament, the universally popular Hunter was crestfallen in Sheffield, but putting on a brave face. ”The feeling in the room was that he was on the brink of big things,” remembers Everton. ”Of course, that wasn’t to be.” Hunter died of stomach cancer three years later, aged just 27.