Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Snooker: Thanks for the Memories - Six of the Best Crucible Finals

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Dennis Taylor celebrates his famous 1985 winWith snooker's World Championship almost upon us, FanHouse takes a nostalgic look at six of the best Crucible Theatre finals down the years.

2007: John Higgins 18-13 Mark Selby
If you thought Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis fought-out the latest finish in Crucible history you'd be wrong. Higgins eventually claimed his second world crown nine years after his first, shortly before 1am local time - two minutes later than the previous year - after fending-off Selby's sustained fightback. The Jester from Leicester showed his more serious side, recovering from losing the first two frames to stun the Scot by taking a 3-2 lead, before the wheels fell off in spectacular style to find the underdog 12-4 down. Selby displayed the fighting qualities which have him down as second favourite for this year's tournament by reducing the deficit to 14-13 before finally hitting the wall.

2000: Mark Williams 18-16 Matthew Stevens
The first of Williams' two world titles saw him become only the third Welshman after Ray Reardon and Terry Griffiths to earn the accolade as he fought back to beat his fellow countryman in a rollercoaster final. Tournament favourites Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan both fell at the first hurdle, and it looked like being Stevens' year, but he was unable to hold on to a commanding 13-7 lead as Williams claimed 11 of the subsequent 14 frames to cap a remarkable about-turn.

1994: Hendry 18-17 Jimmy White
The redoubtable Scot shrugged-off the rather major impediment of breaking a bone in his arm following a fall in his hotel room during the tournament to claim his fourth Crucible title. Rightly regarded as the best of the four Sheffield finals contested by the pair, White seemed to be ready to finally account for his regular nemesis when he was in among the balls in the deciding frame. That all changed when a routine black off the spot went begging in an era when the defending champion didn't need a second invitation to take advantage.

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/04/12/snooker-thanks-for-the-memories-six-of-the-best-crucible-fina/

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