3) DENNIS TAYLOR 18, STEVE DAVIS 17 (Final, 1985)
That Steve Davis could lose any match, never mind a world final, having held a seemingly unimpeachable position was proof that, in snooker and in sport, anything is possible.
He led Dennis Taylor 8-0. At that point it was no certainty Taylor would even win a frame.
In the ninth frame, Davis missed a green to effectively make it 9-0 and the match turned. Taylor pulled back to trail only 9-7 overnight and then drew level at 15-15.
Davis got ahead again at 17-15 but could not shake the bespectacled Northern Irishman off. Taylor levelled at 17-17 and potted brown, blue and pink (all great pots, by the way) to take the final down to the final ball.
By now, 18.5m BBC2 viewers were transfixed. At had gone midnight but nobody could turn away.
The climax is forever written into snooker folklore: Davis has the black to win...he overcuts it...Taylor pots it...he raises his cue...he wags his finger...he holds the trophy aloft.
1 comment:
Best end to a match bar none. I was just coming up to 7, but was already in love with the game and was allowed to stay up. Fabulous. And the last frame was enthralling all the way. It was quite scrappy and a few misses, but there was some great safety from both players.
Taylor's pot on the brown was one of the best pots under pressure ever and meant he won two ranking tournaments that season.
Taylor went on to beat Davis 10-9 a few months later in Canadian Open in a match where he scored 3 centuries in 4 frames. From end of 1984 - early 1987, Taylor was the 2nd best in the world IMO as he also won the masters.
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