SNOOKER’S MEMORABLE MOMENTS COUNTDOWN: No. 25 – No. 21

25. The Emergence of Judd Trump (2011)

Many people touted Judd Trump to be a snooker superstar from a very young age. At 14 he made a maximum and reached the World Under-21 Championship semi-finals. Even though he won his first ranking title in the 2011 China Open, no one could’ve foreseen his impact in the next tournament. He brought in a brand of ‘naughty snooker’ that no one had seen before in the 2011 World Championships, comprised of fearless long potting and crazy exhibition shots, below is a famous example.

Judd also breezed through several opponents including defending champion Neil Robertson. He beat another young sensation Ding Junhui 17-15 in one of the greatest Crucible semi-finals. Though he lost in the final to John Higgins 18-15, he brought a batch of fresh air that snooker badly needed. It’s not just a game for over-30s anymore. There’s a new generation in snooker. It felt more exciting and fast-paced with Trump around. It introduced many young fans to the sport, including myself.

One of the most exciting things in any sport is when an outsider makes a breakthrough. Or when a person of an unknown quality brings something different to the party. It brings new fans in and invigorates the sport.

Since that tournament, everyone tipped The Ace In The Pack to dominate the sport. Though it took longer than most people expected, Judd Trump eventually won the World Championship for the first time and thus, completed the Triple Crown in 2019. What a dominant force he is now!

24. The Tornado Whips Up A Storm With The Fastest Century (1996)

I would imagine it would take longer for you to read my blurb then it would for Tony Drago to make the fastest century in professional snooker.

Drago is one of the sport’s most popular characters. An incredibly fast player with an unpredictable temperament. The Maltese Falcon achieved success in the world of snooker, winning two professional titles, reaching No. 10 in the world and is a 1988 World Snooker Championship quarter-finalist. There could not be a greater example of speedy play than Drago making the fastest century in professional snooker.

It was in the first round of 1996 UK Championship where Drago was up against John Higgins. At 3-0 up, Drago made a century break in 3 minutes and 31 seconds. 3 minutes and 31 seconds!

A “pretty quick century” according to Dennis Taylor. Hmmm.

23. Mark King’s Emotional Victory Speech (2016)

2016/2017 was the season where many players won their first ranking title. That includes Anthony McGill (Indian Open), Liang Wenbo (English Open) and Anthony Hamilton (German Masters). But the maiden victory that sticks out for me is Mark King’s 9-8 victory over Barry Hawkins in the Northern Ireland Open, mainly because of his victory speech.

Mark King is one of the main characters on tour but was held back by demons in his career. As well as inconsistency in his game, he was struggling with his gambling addiction. He approximated that he squandered about £500,000 on gambling. Thankfully, he is helped back on his feet due to help from Gamblers Anonymous (GA).

After King won the title, his speech pulled many heartstrings. King mentioned that he didn’t think his dream of his family watching him lift a trophy would happen. He dedicated his victory to his Dad, who financed him to participate in this very tournament. Mark King later said, “…without the GA, I wouldn’t have a marriage, I wouldn’t have a wife and my kids certainly and I wouldn’t have even got to that final…they have been really helpful in my recovery“. The positive comments from fellow professionals showed how they appreciate how hard Mark had to work to get his goal.

His memorable speech and aftermath is below. Please do watch it:

22. Stuart Bingham’s Underdog Story (2015)

Before the 2015 World Championship, not many people tipped Stuart Bingham to be the winner. A 50-1 outsider, Stuart had won just two ranking events at the time, leading to him being labelled as a ‘journeyman.’ In fact, not many expected Bingham to win after his unconvincing 10-7 victory over Robbie Williams in the first round. He trailed 5-4 after the first session and complained he was suffering from a nasty cold.

After that, ‘Ball-run’ grew from strength to strength. He significantly improved during his comfortable 13-5 win over Crucible veteran Graeme Dott. He met Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, the same stage as the previous year where the Rocket thrashed him 13-4. However, Bingham beat him 13-9 to get to the semi-finals for the first time. He was expected to lose to Judd Trump in the semi-finals, considering Judd had been in the semi-final stage twice before and was widely tipped to win it. But Bingham led for most of the match and despite Trump forcing a decider, Bingham made a brilliant under-pressure break, while making an extremely high-risk double along the cushion to win it!

Shaun Murphy pushed Bingham very closely in the final but he defeated him with an emotional punch in the air at 18-15. Suddenly, Bingham became the epitome of someone who is prepared to graft to win the biggest prize. He was in his 20th year as a pro at the time. It shows to other people that all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears will pay off in the end.

Headlines like “How Stuart Bingham ended 20-year search for glory” and “Stuart Bingham’s decades of graft rewarded with World Championship title” cropped up to emphasise this! Such a magic moment.

21. The Jester From Leicester Wins World Championship (2014)

Mark Selby had a difficult route to get to the 2014 World Championship final. He won a nervy decider against Michael White, followed by defeating two-time World finalist Ali Carter and Alan McManus. He was put through the wringer against Australian Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. But Selby beat Robertson 17-15, lining up to the final with Ronnie O’Sullivan.

This was a clash of styles. Ronnie is attacking and clinical, while Selby is safety-laden and patient. It had the billing for a high-quality final.

O’Sullivan started brightly, with Selby feeling jaded from the previous semi-final. When Selby was 8-3 and later 10-5 behind O’Sullivan, commentators on the BBC were already writing off Selby’s chance of winning the title. After all, Selby has never won the World Championship, and O’Sullivan has won every one of the five World Championship he participated in. However, Selby fought back in Selby-style by winning six frames in succession and went on to win 18-14 and his first World Snooker Championship title. It was so memorable.

It was a memorable moment for many reasons. There is the realisation that O’Sullivan is not invincible. Selby paid tribute to his father, who he promised to him that he would be World Champion one day. In winning the World Championship, he completed the Triple Crown and reached No. 1 as a result. He then became a dangerous presence. After winning his first World title, he won eleven out of twelve ranking finals, including two more World titles and another UK Championship. Even more impressively, he held the No. 1 spot for over four years since February 2015. Magnificent!