Snooker is a type of billiards game, the principle of which is to roll 15 red and six colored balls into pockets using a cue and a white ball according to special rules. A total of 22 balls in on the table when the game starts. The winner is the player who scores the most points per game (frame). Snooker is a kind of sport. Hence, adherents of this type of billiards may try their success in betting. Snooker bets are rather popular and often may involve significant amounts of money. Viewers enjoy the game. Sometimes, it may be dull, and sometimes extremely exciting. Exactly such are decisive matches that will stay in the memory of the snooker lovers forever. Let’s look at which snooker games were the most incredible in history.
Dennis Taylor vs Steve Davis (18-17) (1985)
Northern Irish snooker player Dennis Taylor could not be confused with any of his rivals on the tour. It’s all about his strange glasses. Both commentators and rivals always joked about this accessory: the lenses were very large, and the shape was so unusual that it looked as if Taylor had put them on upside down in a hurry. In the decisive match, Taylor met with Steve Davis, a three-time world champion from England, number one in the world ranking, and an almost invincible player in those years. The bookmakers gave an unconditional advantage to the Englishman. And the start of the match turned out great for him – 8:0. It seemed that Dennis had no chance to stop the titan of snooker.
Having reached the score of 62:59, everything was simple. Whoever scores the black ball becomes the world champion. There were no tactical tricks, just a test of nerves, technique, and luck. It seemed that Taylor had a real chance to score after another inaccurate shot from his opponent. But no. Black again bounced off the sponge and took a position from which Davis should have scored. But Davis failed at that decisive moment. A few seconds later, the whole hall was on its feet, and Dennis was practically dancing at the table – after all, in such a tough fight, he managed to beat the best player in the world!
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mick Price (10-6) (1997)
In 1997, a young Ronnie O’Sullivan (“Rocket”), who already had the titles of British champion and Masters winner, met Mick Price, a two-time world championship finalist, in the first round. Rocket was calmly leading with a score of 8:5 when the incredible happened. In the 14th frame, Ronnie began to make history. He went for the maximum break and rolled one ball after another into the pockets so quickly that the match referee barely had time to return the black ball to the table. When Rocket scored 56 points in two minutes, the silent audience began to applaud. After that, almost every ball pocketed was accompanied by loud claps from the audience.
Ronnie completed his maximum break in a fantastic 5 minutes 20 seconds, thereby setting a world record. That’s why he’s the greatest! The meeting with Price then ended in O’Sullivan’s victory with a score of 10:6. However, already at the next stage of the tournament, Rocket was eliminated, losing to Darren Morgan. He managed to win his first world title only in 2001.
Paul Hunter vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (10-9) (2004)
This match demonstrated that even stars can fail. It was one of the best Masters finals that took place in 2004. Ronnie, leading 7-2 in games and showing excellent snooker, was already looking forward to his triumph at the tournament. But only Paul Hunter did not agree with this! Showing his best game, with big breaks and centuries, Paul reduced his gap to 7-9, not in his favor, and then to 9-9. And in the deciding game, Paul won the match, and with it the whole tournament, and became a 3-time Masters Champion! After the final, Ronnie admitted that he played “okay,” but Paul played “better”! After this incredibly tense match, Ronnie announced that he was leaving snooker for a year and possibly leaving the sport completely. However, in September 2005, he announced that he would still play. After that, he succeeded in dozens of games and continues to do that.