Stephen Hendry snooker blog
Archive for February, 2010
Magic number is 147 for Davis
0733 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Anyone who is a fan of snooker should try and find some time to read the autobiography of the legendary Joe Davis, the player who organised the first world snooker championship in 1927 and won it himself 15 times. Davis was without a doubt a snooker pioneer who probably did more for the sport than any other player. The book is called The Breaks Came My Way and can be read for free over at the EABA website.
Reading the book you realise how different everything about the sport was back then. One of the things that seems strange to today’s fans is the fact that snooker players back in Davis’s glory days didn’t even think about the possibility of making a maximum break. When Davis participated in the 1947 championship at the Leicester Square Hall, his brother Fred Davis played against a player named Scot Walter Donaldson who was famous for having made a 142 break on one occasion. This was something quite remarkable that people and players talked a lot about.
More than a decade earlier, Davis had made a break of 138 and was genuinely happy to break that record by two points in 1948 at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow against Donaldson. A few months later he beat the new record by another point. He was getting closer to the maximum but at this point he didn’t even think it was possible for anyone to do it.
Then a player named George Chenier came along and made a 144 break. Davis was amazed and thought that this record was unbeatable. He had made over 350 centuries without ever getting more than that. It may be a human factor but as soon as someone else has shown that a certain feat is possible, it suddenly gets easier to get there yourself. This is exactly what happened to Davis only one month after Chenier’s 144 break. He made a break of 146, in a match against Chenier of all people and pushed the record further by two points. If he hadn’t been forced to play a pink instead of a black somewhere in the middle of the frame, he would have compiled the first maximum. But players back then didn’t seem to go out there with the intention to do it, much because they didn’t think it was possible.
After having scored 600 centuries and won 15 world championships, the only ambition left for Davis was to score the 147. He had done virtually everything a player could dream of doing in snooker except for that so this clearly must have been a big goal for him.
On January 22nd 1955 he finally did it during one of the last matches played at the Leicester Square Hall before it was closed. He describes it as one of the greatest moments of his life. This time he had the maximum in mind early on in the frame and took quite a few crazy chances. The audience saw it coming and encouraged him to try which helped him pot a few seemingly impossible balls. A few moments later, the world’s first officially recognised maximum break was completed. His mentor and opponent, Willie Smith, gave him a hug and the spectators were cheering and came down to the table to shake his hand. The first thing Davis did afterwards was to call his wife. He almost couldn’t speak but she understood he had done it. They both started crying from happiness.
That’s how elusive the first 147 seemed to these players of the past. Since then countless maximum breaks have been made by innumerable players and nobody thinks of it as impossible anymore. It is, however, still a quite unusual thing that far from all players can brag about having done.
There will always be an aura of magic around the maximum even though it won’t ever be quite as extraordinary as it was back in the days of Joe Davis.
Snooker’s record breakers keep on coming
0734 days
by Elisabeth
in Uncategorized
Snooker is a sport that is slow enough to encourage pondering. Every now and then we find ourselves wondering if what we’re seeing is something unique and spectacular or just a common occurrence.
Keeping track of all the records and statistics isn’t easy when it comes to a sport that has been played professionally for decades.
There have been quite a few stunning records throughout the years, yet still new players keep breaking them. One kind of record that seems to be beaten constantly are in the “youngest player ever to…” category. For example we had grown used to the fact that Ronnie O’Sullivan was the youngest player to score a maximum break but then Judd Trump beat that record in 2004 and in 2007 Ding Junhui became the youngest player to score a televised maximum break.
So, what is the most impressive snooker record ever, all categories? Well, Joe Davis’s 15 World Championship titles is a fair candidate, you can’t argue with that. But then again, Stephen Hendry’s seven titles in modern times might be even more amazing considering the big increase in competition since 1946 when Davis won his last World Championship. Hendry’s 36 ranking titles is also a jaw-dropping achievement. Despite Steve Davis’s legendary status he’s quite far behind with his 28.
Even though maximum breaks don’t automatically mean you will win the match (we have seen enough matches ending in favour of the player who didn’t make the maximum to establish that) they still cause the most awe among spectators. The two players who have provided us with the most maximum breaks are O’Sullivan and Hendry who have both scored nine each. However, they have yet to score a 155 break, the absolute highest break possible in snooker. The only player who has reportedly made one is Jamie Cope. Except for the obvious skills needed to make a maximum break, luck is also required to compile a “super maximum break” of155. A free ball has to be involved which is something you can’t exactly control by yourself.
The fastest maximum break was made by Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1997 and was over in five minutes and 20 seconds. Will it ever be beaten? However, quite surprisingly O’Sullivan doesn’t hold the record for the fastest frame, no, it was made by Tony Drago in 1996 who won a frame in three minutes and thirty-one seconds.
The most annoying attempt at a maximum was probably that of Ken Doherty in 2000 when he missed the final black off its spot at the Masters.
A record that might not be very flattering is the one for the longest frame. It was played in the 2008 China Open between Shaun Murphy and Dave Harold and lasted 93 minutes and 12 seconds. The longest match was one of the most classic and famous matches ever played, namely the 1985 World Championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis. It lasted 890 minutes and went to the final black ball. But the match will most likely be remembered as the most exciting rather than the longest.
No matter how many complicated records you break (such as “the second-youngest player to win five consecutive frames in a professional tournament”), entertainment value might still rate higher. After all, people will remember exciting matches first and foremost and tend to forget exact figures.
Mr. Consistent lifts the Welsh Open trophy
0736 days
by Rob Swan
in Uncategorized
With Stephen Maguire, reigning champion Ali Carter and the world’s best player Ronnie O’Sullivan all in the semi-finals of the 2010 Welsh Open – John Higgins didn’t particularly stand out as the favourite to win the Welsh Open despite being snooker’s ‘Mr. Consistent’.
The Scot’s convincing 5-2 win against Mark Selby should have been a clear indicator that Higgins meant business in this year’s tournament at the Newport Centre, though; and he duly sprang a surprise by beating the in-form O’Sullivan for a place in the final.
Although this was easily Higgins’ toughest test in the competition, he still needed to overcome the challenge of the 2009 Welsh Open champion, Ali Carter, to land his hands on the rankings event trophy for a second time.
Regardless of his form coming into the tournament’s final, few could have imagined the one-sided nature of the opening session. The reigning world champion stormed to a 5-0 lead – hitting several 80+ breaks in the process – leaving his opponent wondering how to force his way into the match against a man relentless on his pursuit for glory.
Earlier in the day, sport’s focus had been firmly fixed on Britain’s Andy Murray, who despite his best efforts, was comprehensively beaten in the Australian Open final by the great Roger Federer.
It was a similar story in south-east Wales yesterday evening. Carter, assuming the role of Murray, was simply outclassed by Higgins. And when he produces that level of snooker it’s almost impossible to stop the man nicknamed the Wizard of Wishaw.
Higgins took a 6-2 lead going into the evening session; and during the interval the engravers must have been busy carving his name into the trophy because the Scot’s pending victory seemed inevitable.
It proved exactly that. The 35-year-old won the final two frames of the final session to record an emphatic 9-4 victory against Carter and seal the Welsh Open title for the first time in a decade.
This latest win took the 2009 Player of the Year’s ranking event tally to 21 – just one behind O’Sullivan – and he was delighted to win the Newport tournament for a second time.
Higgins said: “I was delighted with the way I played for the first five frames. That was the best I’d ever felt really. I was just properly zoned in.
“It’s hard to win any tournament these days with the quality of players around but I’m over the moon about winning the Welsh Open for a second time.
“The crowd here are one of the best. The Newport Centre is a great arena to play in.”
The three-time World Champion is now expected to overtake the Rocket at the top of the world rankings – if he matches his display at next month’s China Open then he will guarantee his place at the top of the rankings for the start of the 2010/11 season.
Meanwhile, Carter was slightly despondent that he had failed to retain his Welsh Open title, but conceded he had been beaten fairly by the better player on the night.
“I was under all sorts of pressure and I was just glad to make a game of it. I would have been glad to get back to 7-5, but he’s done me 9-4 in the end,” the 30-year-old added.
“The crowd have been great this week and I am disappointed I couldn’t keep my title, but I had a good go.”
The China Open, hosted at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium in the country’s capital, will begin on March 29th and conclude on April 4th; and Higgins will be looking to round off a spectacular season with a victory in the far-east, before another World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in May.
Rob Swan.