SNOOKER’S MEMORABLE MOMENTS COUNTDOWN: No. 10 – No. 6

10. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 1000th Career Century (2019)

We talked about Neil Robertson reaching a century of centuries in an earlier part of this countdown. Now we have another century-related achievement. But only bigger. We can look at Ronnie O’Sullivan, arguably the greatest snooker player who ever lived, becoming the first player to reached 1,000 career centuries. At one point, O’Sullivan had played 1,257 matches and averaged 0.79 centuries per match – the best average of anyone who has played more than one match.

Of course, such a special achievement can only be made special if it was in a ranking final. In the final frame from winning a ranking title. Then to hit the final ball to reach the 1000th century with his opposite hand. That is very typical for Ronnie O’Sullivan to relish such a perfect moment.

There’s honestly not much I can say that hasn’t been said of how that milestone sums up Ronnie O’Sullivan. A player who constantly has the cue ball on a string, waltzing with wonderful precision during every century he’s ever made. This is a testament to his longevity and how he still kept winning titles when most would retire.

We might see Judd Trump beat his record within the next decade. But what matters most is that Ronnie is the first player to beat 1,000 centuries. So that I can stop being repetitive, this emphasises how successful his career is.

Rocket Makes 1,000th Century To Seal Title - World Snooker

9. Hendry And Williams’s Black Ball Battle (1998)

It is very rare for a final to send on the final black. However, it is almost unheard of to hear of a Triple Crown final to end on a re-spotted black. My god. The pressure must be nearly at its zenith by then.

I reckon my writing won’t do this justice in comparison to an in-depth article from World Snooker about this very moment. If you want to read it, please click here. But to put it succinctly, this is one of the very definitions of ‘high drama‘. For Mark Williams, to come back from 9-6 down to win it on the respotted black against 6-time Masters champion Stephen Hendry must be incredible.

The Greatest Masters Final - World Snooker

That black-ball battled lasted seven high-pressure shots, with the crowd completely engrossed at that spectacle, obeying the ‘Quiet, please!” calls from the referee. Years later, Hendry admitted that a particular black-ball miss to the middle pocket was probably more famous than most of his ranking titles! It was a straight black, which went across the nap of the middle before a relieved Williams managed to put the winner.

This is a video below if you want to watch it all unfold.

8. Stephen Hendry’s Incredible Masters Comeback (1991)

It’s very difficult to write so much about a comeback so incredible, so I can make this quite brief.

Two-time Masters winner Stephen Hendry was hunting for his third Masters trophy in a row. He was 7-0 BEHIND against first-time finalist Mike Hallett, who was playing his best-ever snooker. In fact when 8-2 up, Hallett missed the pink with a rest when he needed pink and black, which would win him the title. But he left Hendry to clear up. Hendry ended up winning every possible frame to win the Masters for the third time in a row.

1991 Snooker Masters final: Stephen Hendry 9-8 Mike Hallett ...

It was amazing for Hendry, as it allowed him to assert his dominance in snooker. Hendry won the Masters a further three times after that 1991 victory and won many World Championships and held the No. 1 spot for many years. It was very important for Hendry to keep his winning streak going. For Hallett, it was devastation. Not only did Hallett find his flat burgled on the same evening, but he later admitted that it took him about six months to get over that loss.

Snooker is a very cruel game.

7. The First-Ever 147 at The Crucible (1983)

This is the most famous breaks in snooker history.

There are three iconic things that happened during this break. Of course, the first one is the fluke that started off what turned out to be the first maximum at the Crucible. It makes the break even more special with a somewhat ironic twist. Second was when Cliff stroked in a wonderful yellow. The third part was probably one of the most famous words uttered by the nervous snooker commentator Jack Karnehm before the final black:

“Oh, good luck mate!”

Then there was probably the most famous moment. After Cliff potted the final black, he fell onto his knees and punched both fists into the air, cue in hand. He was then congratulated by the referee, opponent Terry Griffiths and Bill Werbeniuk, who paused his match to watch Cliff’s maximum.

There is an additional story and I cannot remember where I heard it. But commentators were talking about a player’s attitude towards a fluke going against them and mentioned that Cliff handles those situations very well. Apparently, Cliff said that since his led to one of the best achievements of his career, he was able to accept whenever a fluke doesn’t go his way!

6. THAT Clearance by Alex Higgins In The World Championships (1982)

Alex Higgins is famous for his flamboyance, passion and his unapologetic behaviour. But if you can pick any shot that was ‘his’ shot, this would be it. In fact, it’s probably one of the most famous shots in snooker history.

The shot isn’t just special because of Higgins’s unorthodox cue action. It is also the precarious position he was in. It was the 1982 World Championship semi-final against Jimmy White, where at this stage, White was 15-13 frames up and 59-0 ahead in the frame. Alex needed all reds, high colours and a clearance to keep his hopes alive. And by did he go full bloodied.

It was a magical 69 clearance and this blue was the best of the break. Commentators to this day described this as ‘crazy’ and ‘extraordinary’. This was followed by a long red and eventually clearing the colours, where every shot felt like a pressure shot. He went on to win the match and of course, won the 1982 World Championship. But that moment is for the final part of the countdown.

Don’t miss it!