20. Peter Ebdon’s Epic 5½ Minute Break of 12 (2005)
This is a memorable moment, wherever you like it or not. Though in most people’s cases, they would like to completely forget about it.
This was during the World Championship quarter-final between Peter Ebdon and Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2005. Basically chalk and cheese on the green baize. Peter Ebdon is a player who takes his time while preparing for a shot, while the Rocket is like, well, a rocket. Throughout the match, O’Sullivan was exhibiting strange behaviour throughout the match, such as shaving his head and openly mocking and smirking towards Ebdon’s direction. Arguably, Ebdon’s slower player was causing Ronnie to lose his concentration. But this next bit really takes the biscuit.
Ebdon managed to recover from 8-2 to just 10-9 behin O’Sullivan when this happened. It’s hard for me to describe such a break so here is a video of it. This left Ronnie suffering in his chair full of impatience. In fact, Ebdon’s break of 12 was ten seconds longer than the fastest ever 147 break by O’Sullivan back in 1997!
The Force ended up winning 13-11 in this epic encounter. I remember reading that Ebdon went to the post-match interview expecting to be congratulated by his comeback but instead got accusations that he was deliberately slowing the game down. That is seriously unfair!
19. Streaker Bares All In The Masters Final (1997)
Lianne Crofts is a name unfamiliar to modern viewers. But the then-22-year-old secretary would end up being snooker’s first ever streaker.
Lianne said that after seeing someone streaking onto the pitch, she always wanted to do the same. She admitted that she doesn’t actually like snooker, but when she heard about a snooker event happening when visiting friends in London, the opportunity was too good to turn down. She mentioned:
Liane hoped to plant a kiss on Steve Davis but was caught by security and whisked away. O’Sullivan amused the crowd by comically wiping the brow of veteran referee John Street, who was refereeing his final match of his career. It didn’t distract Davis though, as he ran out of the 10-8 winner.
18. “I’m in the final now, you know!” (1979)
So why is this line so famous? You would be surprised to hear that those words were from someone who was a miner, a bus conductor, a postman and worked in insurance before turning to professional snooker. This sort of transition into any sport wouldn’t happen a lot today.
These were the humble beginnings of Terry Griffiths, a Welshman who started work as a miner at 15 years of age. He had a long snooker amateur career before turning professional in 1978. Then, Terry made his World Championship debut in 1979. He defeated 2nd seed Perrie Mans, closely followed by Alex Higgins in the decider 13-12.
His line came after his semi-final victory over Eddie Charlton. It was a late night but Griffiths prevailed at 19-17. In a post match interview with David Vine, he delivered that famous line. It was just the mixture of shock and the pure Welsh accent that was so lovely!
The line shone more brightly through history because of what Griffiths did next. He beat Dennis Taylor in a long final 24-16. This victory made him, to date, the first and only player to win the World Championship on his debut. He went on to win the Triple Crown, became an accomplished commentator and coach and a legend in his own right. As described by Griffiths himself, it’s similar to an underdog story.
17. Stephen Hendry’s Record-Breaking 7th World Championship Title (2002)
It’s odd that this moment doesn’t get talked about often. This probably isn’t the most famous World Championship final Stephen Hendry was involved in.
Jimmy White defeated Hendry 10-4 in the first round the previous year of the 1998 World Championship. But the 1999 final itself was without much drama. In fact, there were only two centuries in the entire match. It was that moment when Stephen Hendry became confirmed his position as one of snooker’s immortals and won his SEVENTH World Championship title.
Let’s remember how significant this moment is. Stephen Hendry has surpassed Ray Reardon’s and Steve Davis’s record of the highest number of World Championships won. This is a testament of Hendry’s phenomenal ability.. What makes it so special is that this is a few years after his dominance, where he had a slow ebb. Hendry said it is without doubt, this is worth more than the other six titles put together. It was the one last ambition I had in snooker and I’ve proved I can do it.”
For me, this is an unbeatable record. For me, it is the zenith of snooker. This is also the greatest record anyone can hold. Many people including Jimmy White thought that Ronnie O’Sullivan would be the obvious contender to beat it. This is especially the case after he won his fifth World Championship title in 2013. Steve Davis disagrees with this and personally, I don’t think O’Sullivan will break that either. The reason why it is so far down this list is simply because it wasn’t too memorable for me, despite it being an amazing achievement.
16. The First Ever Official 147 (1982)
There isn’t too much one could say about this. Steve Davis compiled the first ever official 147. It took part at the Lada Classic at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham, against John Spencer. The first televised snooker break. The difficult final pink was the highlight. And it all started with a decent red to the middle.
It was very Steve Davis-like to sit on the side of the table, unable to believe what he just achieved after he potted the final black. The 24-year-old just shook his head and smiled. There was no roar or a “COME ON”. He received a standing ovation and rightly so. He won a Lada car for that!
The rest is history. The next maximum at the Crucible made by Cliff Thorburn. It was a massive break through the glass ceiling. Since that first maximum, players have made 156 maximum breaks in total at this time of writing and counting. Amazing moment in professional snooker.
There are already a few articles in my Snooker’s Most Memorable Moments Countdown:
MEMORABLE MOMENTS COUNTDOWN: An Introduction
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