I'm from Glasgow and saw the very beginning of Hendry's career, but moved abroad in January of 1988. So, I missed his rise to fame and domination of the game in the 90s. Brazilian sports channels didn't show any snooker when we got cable TV in the nineties. So, I only heard brief mentions about him in the Scottish newspapers my mum used to send me in those days. Now with TH-cam it's like catching up with 30 lost years as I watch the likes of Stephen and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Many joyful hours of watching them playing and also revisiting the old greats that I watched in the early 80s. A lot of great characters there. Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, The Grinder... I love snooker.
I cannot imagine that, I grew up watching hendry and as a fellow Scotsman he did us so proud. In my opinion, at his best, he was the greatest. Sorry you kissed it pal, he was great
In 1984, on the way to a caravan holiday, I was 12 years old, I saw this man at a fuel station filling up his Porsche, I asked for his autograph, very politely said yes, he said "you can have this too", it was the fuel receipt with his signature, oh my how I wish I still had that, Steve Davis is a true gentleman and a Brilliant snooker player.
O'Sullivan may be the most naturally gifted player ever, and Davis was exceptional at safety play, but Hendry's all round game was impeccable and faultless
The blue is the epitome of audaciousness...in that arena...under that pressure...with a rest...as good as any clearance in snooker. Only Hendry could do that. What a player.x
O'sullivan, Hendry, White, Davis, Higgins...all fantastic players lads.. no real reason to compare one against the other...we all breathed the same air..they were all/are outstanding.
As Steve said in his interview to Ronnie O’Sullivan that this loss was much worse than 1985 final. In 1985 Steve knew that he was better than Denis Taylor though he lost that match. But here he knew that his opponent was stronger than him.
Who would have thought they “one blue ball” would go in to shape and define the Hendry era. Played with the rest too!! Amazing match and frame of snooker. I will never forget this game!!x
Smashing video. Without a doubt, Hendry was the greatest predator the game has ever seen. At the tight end of a match, when your opponent starts missing easy pots that tension often spreads to your game. Certainly that is the case for most players, but with Hendry it just sparked him into life. Just the little hint of blood and the meanest baddest biggest bully in snooker put on his steel toecaps and stuck the boot in. Fantastic match player, the greatest ever.
That blue might be the greatest shot under pressure in the history of snooker. Miss it, and you just lost the tournament, make it and you're back in the match. Not only that, it wasn't resting on the cushion, which makes it a much harder shot, plus the rest. A ridiculous shot.
A brown Hendry once played in a world final against Jimmy White from near the middle pocket was way more difficult and important than the blue here and if he had of missed it Jimmy White would of probably become world champion he was so far ahead in frames.
anybody who says Davis was boring doesn't know anything about the game at all. Davis had the greatest cue action and killer instinct and greatest safety player the game has ever seen when in his prime.
yes totally agree I think Davis at his best would have been no match for anyone including Hendry & O Sullivan as he had the all round game, his safety place was second to none. Proof is O Sullivan, White & Higgins never won as much as Davis did because they took too many chances.
I love snooker. And the remarkle expert proponents of the game which we get to enjoyably watch. I am an observer soomrtman. And snooker is by far my most fascinating favourite game, it puts all else in my eyes to shame. Osullivan god bless Him.
1st frame is the strategic catalyst between the modern game and the bygone era, the perfect time to go into the reds is when you have loose reds, the old guys used to pick the reds off then go into the pack, problem being if you don't get on a red from the split, modern player's try and finish with one visit, strategic error, steve did have the technique to extend his era by another 10 years i recon he could have seriously dented hendry's titles, if he would have ditched the old mans game.
What an absolute classic and a joy to watch. It's not often you get such a close and hard-fought final as this one 😲😃. Hendry and Davis, two of Snookers greatest.
Two totally different types of player; Davis picking off reds and playing the percentage shot, whereas Hendry went into the reds early and played attacking Snooker. Davis should have won that 16-14 but the new no.1 Hendry was something else, and Davis knew it. This match really was the turning point for both players.
There is no denying Ronnie's genius on the slate.......but all around Hendry is the greatest snooker player that ever lived hands down.......It's been an honor to have watched so many memorable matches from that era and onwards
Davis' number one strategy was to use his opponent's fear of him. He would often leave them half chances. They would get down on the shot thinking that if they missed it was frame over. It usually was. This match is obviously a 'passing of the torch' event, perfect in the way it was so close.....
To me this match showcased why Hendry is the greatest. Davis still near his prime, win this uk open and your a big fav to retain the world championship. However a near prime davis lost to an approaching peak hendry. Hendry would later go on to be at his best and most unstoppable. Only time anyone could beat him was the naturally gifted jimmy white, the guy could play shots on that thick cloth that none of these new kids can do on these super thin cloths.
Cry with joy when he won noboby could won that match only great Stephen hendry do that was magic how kept is nervous was magic on edge my seat thank s best ever in snooker.never be nough Stephen hendry
This video shows why Hendry will always be slightly ahead of Davis in the GOAT debates. Hendry was absolutely clinical under pressure; Davis would occasionally crack, as he did against Higgins in the 83 UK final and here against Hendry, and as he did against Taylor and Johnson in the world finals. There is no way that Hendry would ever have missed all 4 of the chances that Davis had to win the title here in frame 30, when 1 up with 2 to play.
The greatest pressure player and snooker champion of all time and this is the difference between Hendry and Davis. Hendry can play under extreme pressure and Steve Davis can't when he had 4 clear chances at least to take the title.
I had never seen this, only read the Clive Everton article in The Guardian at the time aptly called 'Two Kings produce a feast for the gods'. Hendry signed the article for me, must dig it out. Thanks for the upload, subbed.
Steve Davis still was winning ranking and invitation events in the mid 90s. He met Stephen in a lot of semis and finals, these two to me where similar to Graff vs Navratilova , evenely match, big title winners. Both sets of players from different sport were dedicated and relentless. Great champions Great times
Hendry was much more attacking. As you saw in this footage..Stephen brought a brand new way to snooker. You can't rate Steve Davis amongst Stephen Hendry. Hendry was too talented and because of that too good for Davis. This was really the end of Steve Davis at his very best and the way people remembered him back then.
why would I be pissed off when your quote further cemented my position? After the 2011 WSC, the commentators were all talking about Higgins being the greatest snooker player. It happens often. It's the hype of the moment. Hendry, otoh, has been consistently called the greatest, by commentators and the like, long after his last victories. Dennis, tho I agree is a great commentator, is not immune to the hype of the moment. With a clear mind, he has consistently stated Hendry is the greatest.
Some funny comments here. Hendry played in a weak era, ok then let's take away all the titles that Ronnie won in that weak era. Funny but during that weak era Ronnie won absolutely no World titles. The huge difference between the two greats is that Hendry even below par, which was rare at the time invariably made finals and won finals, Ronnie got knocked out, by so called weak players. The simple truth is that when both players were on form Hendry literally always came out on top, 1997 Charity Challenge, 1999 World Championship Semi, 2002 World Championship Semi, super high standard from both players, Hendry wins. Anyone can win or lose easy, it's those games when we see their best that show us who is the best. Amount of centuries is a silly reason for an argument, but Hendry had 7 in a UK final against Doherty, a record to this day, that was in 1994. Hendry also had 16 centuries in the World Championships, another record, when he retired he was still banging them in quite regular but it's the twitches that began a decade earlier and the broken cue which inevitably brought on his demise. But in around 10 years of absolute dominance from Hendry he managed to beat every record of consequence and take the game to a whole new level. Head to head with Ronnie was close as you would expect up until Hendry losing his game, that's when O Sullivan finally started to dominate, along with many others. Ronnie has been playing at or near the top for an incredible amount of time but when exactly is his era? The Steve Peters factor is vital to Ronnie, without him i'd say Ronnie may well have retired by now, no such help for Stephen, it would have been interesting if he did go down that road though, we may have had a Hendry resurgence. I say well played Stephen, thanks for the memories and you were a gent from start to finish. The greatest.
what about when ronnie demolished hendry wc semi 17-4 or 17-6 or summat. ok your a hendry fan. my personal opinion davis is a better player coz he had the all round game hendry dident.
lol Hendo was washed up by that time .Davis had fuckin' nightmares against Hendry Hendry was far more dangerous. Davis might have had a better all round game. But Hendry's aggression and break building, bravery and temperament were just too strong for him.
I just don't understand what Steve was thinking there (4:25), I bet he wished he could replay that shot,...and the ones at 11:08 + 13:12,...anywhere but there to land those whites, wrong player won this match. This was basically a changing of the guards as they say.
Lol wat? Calling the current world champion at the time a spent force? Obviously Hendry and other players were about to overtake him, but he was still a threat to the top players.
And it's imposible to ignore your arguments, because you haven't made any. "most people think ronnie is the greatest ever" is not an argument, and is the entirety of what you have presented. Just more projection. Ron is so good, the greatest natural talent ever, that it only took him 16 years from first picking up a cue, to becoming world champion. The greatest ever! Oh wait, it only took Hendry 8 years? Oh golly, I wonder if winning snooker tournaments is about more than just potting balls, hmm
That final blue was tight against the cushion and nearer to the middle pocket than it was the end of the table. The break was outstanding. Legendary clearance up there with any ever made. Alex Higgins against Jimmy White in the 1982 world semi final was special but this frame was a “final” and potentially the last game. Miss the blue and it’s “final over”. Nerves of steel. Pound for pound my favourite player of all time. ⚪️🔴🟡🟢🟤🔵🟣⚫️.x
Not often you can pinpoint the exact moment in a sport the torch is passed, but this is definitely one such example. Steve quickly faded after this. In the same token, the exact same happened about 10 years later when Stephen faded fast in the 00s and was never very competitive against O'Sullivan.
Those demons made him the person / where created by the person, that he is now. Without them, there would be no Ronnie O'Sullivan. One has to take those as a part of his development and his whole personality and ability to play like he did and does and to be one of the greatest / maybe the greatest, player(s) of all time.
hendry was a funny player...he would make bad misses and have players think they can take on half chances and when they missed hendry would clear up....just like in this frame....but steve didn't have the bottle to win close ones....he always beat players by several frame leads back in his day.....I love the game of snooker and the biggest crime was jimmy white not getting that world championship....if hendry loved the game he should of let him have it in 94 it would been great for the sport.
+frank kelly why wud u want a ugly bald patch granddad looking white winning the world title over handsome, snooker maestro lol. maybe if white learned to attack more than rely on safety play he would of beat Hendry.
It's a pity Stephen and O'Sullivan weren't in their prime at the same time. That would have made for some exhilarating snooker with two born gunfighters slugging it out for supremacy.
ozdorothyfan, Their prime is not a relevant factor since both players always bought their A game when they played each other. There have been plenty of great matches between these two.
Steve Davis looked dejected in alot of the later frames. He must of been wondering exactly what he had to do to overcome Stephen hendry in this final. Both played really well.
And within two days of saying this, "I used to say Hendry overtook Davis as the greatest, with Ronnie at number 3. But I would put him top of the list now and say he is the greatest player to ever pick up a cue" He said this, "There'd be nothing wrong with winning the World Championship every year and playing in nothing else. And then when he's overtaken Stephen Hendry(in reaching 8 titles) I'll say he's the greatest player that's ever picked a cue up" Commentators, bastions of logic and sense
Ian Williamson that’s true but in this game the penultimate frame Davis with that 50 break and got out of position he would back in the days of dominance he would of play a safety he got drawn by Hendry into going for the pot he would of won the match if he played a safety shot in my opinion that shot cost him the game but your right a changing of the guard but people don’t realise Davis was still a top player in the nineties it’s that he wasn’t winning that people think he had lost it he was as good as ever just a new comer was taking over
@@tonyalder yeah that's true .he was a very good player all round .as was ray reardon in his day.i still think that henry at his best would beat Davis .and John higgins too I would say but not many others .Ronnie is amazing but plays crazy shots sometimes .
Ian Williamson I agree Hendry was a slightly better player I mean this game was the game where both where at good levels and Hendry was the better player Davis had to win this one to keep the aura on Hendry and he couldn’t do it...to me Reardon,Davis,Hendry and O‘Sullivan are the best because multiple world champions you have to respect...but it’s a shame Hendry and Davis only played two semis in the world championships it would of been good to see them battle it out like this UK open final
have all recently claimed Hendry is the greatest ever. In the last 5 years I've seen Davis cite 3 different players as the greatest ever. Commentators get caught up in the hupe of the occasion, they over-exagerate what is going on because they are trying to sell their sport. Ron is "box-office" as they always say, he draws in the crowds, which helps pay their wages. To further do that, they have to sell Ron to the public as a genius. Almost nothing a commentator says is worth true consideration.
If you watch the 1982 semi finals Ray Reardon vs Eddie Charlton and Alex Higgins vs Jimmy White the standard of play is this high as you can get. I do think they are exaggerating the standard of today compared with other era's. People forget a great player Ray Reardon was the forgotten champion. at his best would give all the top players of today problems his standard was so high. They talk about Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry era's but never talk about Reardon era. And for me is like one of the greatest players of all time. I think Ray Reardon once wiped washed Jimmy White 9-0. Nobody else has ever done that. At his best his standard was above most players even of today. You watch Reardon vs Charlton there's no way players like Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham, Graeme Dott standard is as high. So yeah it is a load of bull.
@Storm Woods Dude watch this full video. th-cam.com/video/QiRAjiqCzPY/w-d-xo.html Ray was pure class. And was number one at this time. Won so many events throughout his career much more supreme to Davis. Yeah I remember that he wiped washed him. may not be 9-0... But it wasn't a proper tournament or ranking event or anything... Could've been pot black? Don't think so...
@Storm Woods agree. I'm too young. But I speak to my mate who's older than me who lived through the Ray Reardon domination. He swears Ray Reardon"s level of consistency is still one of the best of all time. That's why he won so many tournaments including 6 world. Lots of those tournaments don't exist anymore
This was a defining match in many ways, if Davis had won as he should have done he might have won another World title or two and while he by no means fell away after this, he still continued winning the odd tournament every now and again and stayed No 2 in the rankings for another five years or so, this match was the end of the dominant Davis and the manner of the defeat must have hurt him badly, he knew he’d let Hendry off the hook, Hendry had won his first World Title a few months earlier and the momentum had swung Hendry s way and if Davis had beaten Hendry here it would have been a big win momentum wise for him but after this I don’t think Davis reached another UK or Masters final for a few years after until he got to the Masters final in 1997 and that was his last tournament win. Hendry s blue in the penultimate frame was maybe the best pressure pot ever and in many ways raised the standard which the other players took years to reach.
i think he Hendry would have still been the 1990s man but Davis would have hanged around more...and picked Stephen off now and again rather than losing all the time to him..
Davis wasn't boring he should have won at least 8 world titles and shouldn't have lost to Taylor or Johnson and that's the only 2 hiccups he suffered badly because should have won that 2 world titles 2. if Davis was Hendry's age Hendry would have got his ass kicked by Davis because he was the greatest all round player the game has ever seen.
+James Gerrie They were both great players but the standard of the opposition got better as the 80s progressed. You had the likes of David Taylor Spencer and Fred Davis ( the latter two great in their days but well past it by 1982) and Perrie Mans in the top 16 in 1982....hardly likely to worry Steve Davis....; Look at the number of century breaks made in major championships in the 80s. Probably about a dozen.... Come the 90s the standard was far higher. One final point Hendry won the world championship 5 out of 6 years at his best.....
"keep it real from now on kid. respect." The irony. It is 2013, you're being schooled on youtube. It is not a cheesy 1970's movie about black kids in the hood. Good to see you finally concede something, instead of blithely ignoring every cogent point I've made. So according to Taylor, Ron needed to win 8 titles to overtake Hendry, and then in the space of three sessions of snooker he only needed to win 5, something must've happened in Taylors mind. Lets pinpoint what that was. A shot Ron played?
spleeeen4it Yep i agree i think Davis got a bit nervous and negative he ran out of postion a lot.I think he sensed that Hendry was a serious threat to him and cracked under the pressure.This is basically when Hendry became the dominant force.
Thanks for your life story son. rivetting. Tell me more about you being a little girl who couldn't get past their biases and come to terms with their hwero not being the greatest anymore. You've still presented no argument other than you believe it, so it must be true. Well done. In all sports the greatest is normally decided by how many majors they won, but somehow when it comes to snooker those rules don't apply. I wonder why. Hendry world titles 7, Ron 5. Ranking titles hendry 36, Ron 25.
Hendry, like Selby after him, was the master of consistency and a good all-round player. What he never did was touch the highest realms that only a genius can reach. Snooker has had only two geniuses. Alex Higgins and Ronnie. Don't look for consistency from either though. You can only fly close to the sun so many times. The greatest break every in the game was Higgins' 69 in 1982. Nobody has ever approached the breath-taking audacity of this before or since.
So was Davis in the 80s. 6 world titles is pretty consistent. Cud say same Reardon in 70s tho there was only a handful of really good players inc Spencer, Montjoy and A Higgins
11:00 + 12:44 snooker history might have turned out different if Davis had judged those easy pots better. Then came that legendary blue to seal his fate 18:38
wow, in the heat of the moment, when a player was about to win a major tournament, a commentator made an overstated comment. We've never seen that before. During last years world championship he also said Ronnie would need to win 8 world titles to overtake Hendry as the greatest. As I've already explained, commentators talk bollocks, we'll see what he thinks when he has time to properly reflect on a tournament that was notedly void of class where Rons win came through no serious challenges
And for posterity sake, my position on commentators opinions: "In the last 5 years I've seen Davis cite 3 different players as the greatest ever. Commentators get caught up in the hype of the occasion, they over-exagerate what is going on because they are trying to sell their sport, which helps pay their wages. Almost nothing a commentator says is worth true consideration." And your fallacy ridden claim: " no serious commentator on the game today will deny that o'sullivan is the greatest"
It's hard to take someone seriously when they claim that titles, records, and win percentages are just stats and don't matter. Claiming that all snooker commentators agree Ronnie is the greatest, and providing no proof for that claim. That Hendry only won in a weak era, an era that Ronnie was also in. That White was better than Reardon even though past his prime and half blind he tied White 5 apiece. That my sexuality is relevant to the topic of who is the greatest snooker player ever.
Davis lost his game when the new lighter Aramith balls came out and new faster cloths were fitted to tables ,it never really suited his style of play .
If Davies had managed to win here, in fr 30 especially, im sure he coukd have won a couple more Worlds, this was the frame Hendry got into Davies' head and was the end of an era.
+Ruco 2016 if he ever gets to the final again. not in the same league as these two guys at their best. not even got 3 in a row like davis never mind 5 in a row like hendry. age 30 hendry had seven world titles ronnie had 2.
Hendry never won anything important after turning 30. Hendry 7 world titles in the weakest era of snooker ever, with basically no opposition. Peak Ronnie will go through peak Hendry like a knife through butter
Ruco 2016 Ronnie was not an all-round player back then. His tactical and safety game were nowhere near as good as nowadays. Plus he wasn't as mentally tough as he is now.
if hes so mentally tough now why hasnt he won world title for last few years and why has selby got two of the last three and been number one for last few years? or is he not just always been unable to compete at the top level and win consistently? if hes an all round player now i dont see that his performances are much different than they were in the 90s other than he has no stephen hendry to worry about now.
Modern snooker is amazing. All respect to these amazing contributers to our game. But shit the modern guys are good. Williams would hit most of these missed shots straight in. And Osullivan, well let's just all bless His gift of a soul.
No disrespect to Higgins and Williams and these last generation guys. They have all contributed to what we have now. In ways none of us observers could imagine. What a game!
madmoose147 The rest bore you? We just had the most exciting and highest quality world championship ever in 2015... and you know what was missing? Hendry in his prime, he's the only player who could have raised this championship even higher, fair enough you're a Ronnie fan, but when someone's past their best and approaching 40 years old like Davis here and Ronnie this year there's nothing that can be done, this match was passing of the torch, changing of the guard, I admire Davis for putting up such a good fight. The key thing for me in believing Hendry is slightly better than Ronnie are the 2 semi finals of the world championship in 1999 and 2002, Ronnie was just coming into his prime and Hendry at the end of his best, those 2 matches showed Hendry to be slightly better overall player, sure Hendry beat Ronnie in the early 90's and Ronnie beat Hendry in the mid to late 2000's but that 2002 semi when O'Sullivan was fired up and ready to send Hendry "back to his sad life" but failed to do so even though they were basically trading centuries until Hendry broke him in the 2nd session was telling, who knows what these 2 could have achieved if it wasn't for O'Sullivan's depression and other mental problems or Hendry's lack of motivation and that horrible yips he had from 1998 onwards, maybe both would have won 10 or more titles, just let these 2 greats be what they are, the best of their era along with Davis the best of the 80's, 3 legends in my eyes.
he may be the greatest ever in the record books as John Virgo said but no one cares about Stephen Hendry and sorry to say it's true. I care for Hendry a lot but sorry he's like Davis, they are both two great snooker players both unbelievably talented and very successful but for fucks sake can both be anymore boring
Why are you ronnie drones always utterly clueless? Stephen Hendry is barely top 5, somehow below players who have won a lot less tournaments, been to a lot less finals, have lower win % and have lost a lot fewer matches by 1 frame. Oh and ‘It’s still Stephen Hendry for me, he is the greatest player,’ O’Sullivan said. ‘Not just for his game, but for his bottle. There will never be another Hendry.' Claiming that Ronnie is the greatest ever because Hendry admits it, is demonstrably moronic.
Davis should have won the UK in 1990 he led 15-14 and by nearly 50+ in frame for title but ran out of position to get game ball and that's all he wanted and very unlike Davis to throw that title away after leading so much in frame he wanted to win title. When Davis played at his greatest Hendry couldn't beat him as Steve was already past his best when Hendry came good. but yeah Steve should have won this one.
Hard to take you seriously when you claim to have read freud, and continue to use words that you don't understand. Which is my personal favourite. When I had to explain to you that ad hominem didn't mean what you think it did, and then you typed it in google to find its definition. You probably went to wikipedia(ha!), and then you tried(but failed), to manipulate your previous comments so that they weren't ad hominem but relevant to the argument. That made me laugh, at you, the most.
I'd love to see a Hollywood blockbuster based on this match. I'm thinking Hendry could be played by Gerard Bulter and Davis could be portrayed by Mickey Rourke.
yes stephen hendry was already much better player than steve davis at this point , although the public were not aware of it , steve was outplayed and outclassed , hendry had tons more bottle and it showed
Its always funny when the crowd clap at the most simple shots, I mean for club players they are even pretty easy but for a pro, its a gimme, clap clap clap. lol
oh, eras overlapped. So if two players didn't become pro in the same year, they are from different eras? David turned pro in 78, and White 80. Different eras? Parrot turned pro in 83, is he a different era from, Davis or White? Hendry turned pro 86, different Era from Parrot? Doherty turned pro in 90, different era from Hendry? Ebdon and Williams turned pro in 91, different era from Hendry? Higgins and Ronnie turned pr in 92, different era from doherty? Why persist in embarrassing yourself?
I'm from Glasgow and saw the very beginning of Hendry's career, but moved abroad in January of 1988. So, I missed his rise to fame and domination of the game in the 90s. Brazilian sports channels didn't show any snooker when we got cable TV in the nineties. So, I only heard brief mentions about him in the Scottish newspapers my mum used to send me in those days. Now with TH-cam it's like catching up with 30 lost years as I watch the likes of Stephen and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Many joyful hours of watching them playing and also revisiting the old greats that I watched in the early 80s. A lot of great characters there. Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, The Grinder... I love snooker.
I cannot imagine that, I grew up watching hendry and as a fellow Scotsman he did us so proud. In my opinion, at his best, he was the greatest. Sorry you kissed it pal, he was great
Same here. I moved to Germany in May 1988 and have only begun to catch up 🙂
Did you get a job with David hasselhoff knocking down the Berlin Wall?
In 1984, on the way to a caravan holiday, I was 12 years old, I saw this man at a fuel station filling up his Porsche, I asked for his autograph, very politely said yes, he said "you can have this too", it was the fuel receipt with his signature, oh my how I wish I still had that, Steve Davis is a true gentleman and a Brilliant snooker player.
This story makes him seem like a complete tosspot in all honesty
@@senecaknowledge2274 Also sounds BS. Who has a fuel receipt before paying?
Henry's blue was one of the greatest pressure shots of all time.
dont you think he just thought YOLO I all in?
See ebdon's shot on pink in 2002 world championship against Stevens
One of the best pressure clearances of all time, that blue was incredible!
Under pressure there was simply nobody else in Stephen Hendry's league
@@allthekingshorses7178 can’t argue with that, he did it time and time again.
O'Sullivan may be the most naturally gifted player ever, and Davis was exceptional at safety play, but Hendry's all round game was impeccable and faultless
The blue is the epitome of audaciousness...in that arena...under that pressure...with a rest...as good as any clearance in snooker. Only Hendry could do that. What a player.x
That blue finished Davis' era, great match!
I imagine Davis thinking he's bound to get another chance, it was a brave/insane shot to take on, but the guy has always had bottle...
O'sullivan, Hendry, White, Davis, Higgins...all fantastic players lads.. no real reason to compare one against the other...we all breathed the same air..they were all/are outstanding.
Where’s Williams? White won nothing compared to Williams
@@caaaaz1133 He's Welsh. So he doesn't count...
As Steve said in his interview to Ronnie O’Sullivan that this loss was much worse than 1985 final. In 1985 Steve knew that he was better than Denis Taylor though he lost that match. But here he knew that his opponent was stronger than him.
Who would have thought they “one blue ball” would go in to shape and define the Hendry era. Played with the rest too!! Amazing match and frame of snooker. I will never forget this game!!x
End of an old legend and start of a new legend.
Young Stephen, with a great future ahead, Steve as always classy, rock solid, been watching snooker all my life, wonderful sport.
Smashing video. Without a doubt, Hendry was the greatest predator the game has ever seen. At the tight end of a match, when your opponent starts missing easy pots that tension often spreads to your game. Certainly that is the case for most players, but with Hendry it just sparked him into life. Just the little hint of blood and the meanest baddest biggest bully in snooker put on his steel toecaps and stuck the boot in. Fantastic match player, the greatest ever.
Yeah it's funny how Hendry was actually a come-back-kid player. Down by obscene amounts in some World finals and still came back and won it.
That blue might be the greatest shot under pressure in the history of snooker. Miss it, and you just lost the tournament, make it and you're back in the match. Not only that, it wasn't resting on the cushion, which makes it a much harder shot, plus the rest. A ridiculous shot.
18:42 insane and suicidal blue....
ninman58 the pockets were so big than they are now
A brown Hendry once played in a world final against Jimmy White from near the middle pocket was way more difficult and important than the blue here and if he had of missed it Jimmy White would of probably become world champion he was so far ahead in frames.
Taha Chihab But the tables now are so easy to play on.
anybody who says Davis was boring doesn't know anything about the game at all. Davis had the greatest cue action and killer instinct and greatest safety player the game has ever seen when in his prime.
yes totally agree I think Davis at his best would have been no match for anyone including Hendry & O Sullivan as he had the all round game, his safety place was second to none. Proof is O Sullivan, White & Higgins never won as much as Davis did because they took too many chances.
killer instinct?
like with dennis taylor and joe johnson and in this video here?
pffffft!
Julie davidson
+Julie Davidson Steve Davis was the devil of snooker for road safety
I love snooker. And the remarkle expert proponents of the game which we get to enjoyably watch. I am an observer soomrtman. And snooker is by far my most fascinating favourite game, it puts all else in my eyes to shame.
Osullivan god bless Him.
1st frame is the strategic catalyst between the modern game and the bygone era, the perfect time to go into the reds is when you have loose reds, the old guys used to pick the reds off then go into the pack, problem being if you don't get on a red from the split, modern player's try and finish with one visit, strategic error, steve did have the technique to extend his era by another 10 years i recon he could have seriously dented hendry's titles, if he would have ditched the old mans game.
excellent point..
Stephen he dry is the best ever player of the televised era of snooker to ever play the game
Hendry was the best ever
Still is.
@Daniel B yes
What an absolute classic and a joy to watch. It's not often you get such a close and hard-fought final as this one 😲😃. Hendry and Davis, two of Snookers greatest.
This was 30 years ago!!! and can remember watching it on TV.....
Two totally different types of player; Davis picking off reds and playing the percentage shot, whereas Hendry went into the reds early and played attacking Snooker.
Davis should have won that 16-14 but the new no.1 Hendry was something else, and Davis knew it. This match really was the turning point for both players.
Yes Davis had a cowardly streak but hendry dident .he went for his shots .
In my opinion Davis was trying to keep his crown against a hungry youngster. He wasn't going to take any risks with this one!
I am Scottish and loved in when Hendry was in his golden age. ..
I'm not Scottish & you can GFYM
I'm English and loved watching Hendry in his golden age, especially when he beat Jimmy and all the fanboys started crying!
There is no denying Ronnie's genius on the slate.......but all around Hendry is the greatest snooker player that ever lived hands down.......It's been an honor to have watched so many memorable matches from that era and onwards
STEVE DAVIS IS THE ULTIMATE PLAYER.
Davis' number one strategy was to use his opponent's fear of him. He would often leave them half chances. They would get down on the shot thinking that if they missed it was frame over. It usually was. This match is obviously a 'passing of the torch' event, perfect in the way it was so close.....
To me this match showcased why Hendry is the greatest. Davis still near his prime, win this uk open and your a big fav to retain the world championship. However a near prime davis lost to an approaching peak hendry. Hendry would later go on to be at his best and most unstoppable. Only time anyone could beat him was the naturally gifted jimmy white, the guy could play shots on that thick cloth that none of these new kids can do on these super thin cloths.
I always considered this match as 'The handing of the Torch'
That blue was borderline madness!
Cry with joy when he won noboby could won that match only great Stephen hendry do that was magic how kept is nervous was magic on edge my seat thank s best ever in snooker.never be nough Stephen hendry
that blue down the cushion with the rest has to be one of the best ever shots in snooker history, given the circumstances.
Hendry was amazing at potting in the middle
This video shows why Hendry will always be slightly ahead of Davis in the GOAT debates. Hendry was absolutely clinical under pressure; Davis would occasionally crack, as he did against Higgins in the 83 UK final and here against Hendry, and as he did against Taylor and Johnson in the world finals. There is no way that Hendry would ever have missed all 4 of the chances that Davis had to win the title here in frame 30, when 1 up with 2 to play.
Davis didn't crack against Johnson. Johnson outplayed him in the 86 world final.
Passing of the torch
The greatest pressure player and snooker champion of all time and this is the difference between Hendry and Davis. Hendry can play under extreme pressure and Steve Davis can't when he had 4 clear chances at least to take the title.
Yes Davis is a bit cowardly in his play where as henry goes for the game when he gets any chance.
The changing of the guard.
I had never seen this, only read the Clive Everton article in The Guardian at the time aptly called 'Two Kings produce a feast for the gods'. Hendry signed the article for me, must dig it out. Thanks for the upload, subbed.
Steve Davis still was winning ranking and invitation events in the mid 90s. He met Stephen in a lot of semis and finals, these two to me where similar to Graff vs Navratilova , evenely match, big title winners. Both sets of players from different sport were dedicated and relentless. Great champions Great times
Hendry was much more attacking. As you saw in this footage..Stephen brought a brand new way to snooker. You can't rate Steve Davis amongst Stephen Hendry. Hendry was too talented and because of that too good for Davis. This was really the end of Steve Davis at his very best and the way people remembered him back then.
why would I be pissed off when your quote further cemented my position? After the 2011 WSC, the commentators were all talking about Higgins being the greatest snooker player. It happens often. It's the hype of the moment. Hendry, otoh, has been consistently called the greatest, by commentators and the like, long after his last victories. Dennis, tho I agree is a great commentator, is not immune to the hype of the moment. With a clear mind, he has consistently stated Hendry is the greatest.
Some funny comments here. Hendry played in a weak era, ok then let's take away all the titles that Ronnie won in that weak era. Funny but during that weak era Ronnie won absolutely no World titles. The huge difference between the two greats is that Hendry even below par, which was rare at the time invariably made finals and won finals, Ronnie got knocked out, by so called weak players. The simple truth is that when both players were on form Hendry literally always came out on top, 1997 Charity Challenge, 1999 World Championship Semi, 2002 World Championship Semi, super high standard from both players, Hendry wins. Anyone can win or lose easy, it's those games when we see their best that show us who is the best. Amount of centuries is a silly reason for an argument, but Hendry had 7 in a UK final against Doherty, a record to this day, that was in 1994. Hendry also had 16 centuries in the World Championships, another record, when he retired he was still banging them in quite regular but it's the twitches that began a decade earlier and the broken cue which inevitably brought on his demise. But in around 10 years of absolute dominance from Hendry he managed to beat every record of consequence and take the game to a whole new level. Head to head with Ronnie was close as you would expect up until Hendry losing his game, that's when O Sullivan finally started to dominate, along with many others. Ronnie has been playing at or near the top for an incredible amount of time but when exactly is his era? The Steve Peters factor is vital to Ronnie, without him i'd say Ronnie may well have retired by now, no such help for Stephen, it would have been interesting if he did go down that road though, we may have had a Hendry resurgence. I say well played Stephen, thanks for the memories and you were a gent from start to finish. The greatest.
Totally agree
what about when ronnie demolished hendry wc semi 17-4 or 17-6 or summat. ok your a hendry fan. my personal opinion davis is a better player coz he had the all round game hendry dident.
lol Hendo was washed up by that time .Davis had fuckin' nightmares against Hendry Hendry was far more dangerous. Davis might have had a better all round game. But Hendry's aggression and break building, bravery and temperament were just too strong for him.
@@Geena-tn1pt davis and jimmy was washed up by then you mean, davis still got 15 frames off him lol.
If Davis & Jimmy were washed up then Hendry was washed by around 2003/04. Hendry still beat Davis about 23 times in a row
Steve could and should have beat Stephen there, but he was unlucky. Stephen Henry pulled it out the fire and played well!
I just don't understand what Steve was thinking there (4:25), I bet he wished he could replay that shot,...and the ones at 11:08 + 13:12,...anywhere but there to land those whites, wrong player won this match.
This was basically a changing of the guards as they say.
If Davis had won the 30th frame, he may well have won the World Championship in 1991. Alas, it was not to be.
Lol wat? Calling the current world champion at the time a spent force? Obviously Hendry and other players were about to overtake him, but he was still a threat to the top players.
Hendry was current world champion
That blue he took on along the cushion wouldn't go in on the modern tables nowadays
clean as a whistle would have gone in on any table
on a modern table that blue would never have gone in
Hendry is a hack
John Smith pffffssss you're funny
akan [s a great bloke and a great commentator !! bbc need someone like him !! hes brilliant !!
And it's imposible to ignore your arguments, because you haven't made any. "most people think ronnie is the greatest ever" is not an argument, and is the entirety of what you have presented. Just more projection. Ron is so good, the greatest natural talent ever, that it only took him 16 years from first picking up a cue, to becoming world champion. The greatest ever! Oh wait, it only took Hendry 8 years? Oh golly, I wonder if winning snooker tournaments is about more than just potting balls, hmm
That final blue was tight against the cushion and nearer to the middle pocket than it was the end of the table. The break was outstanding. Legendary clearance up there with any ever made. Alex Higgins against Jimmy White in the 1982 world semi final was special but this frame was a “final” and potentially the last game. Miss the blue and it’s “final over”. Nerves of steel.
Pound for pound my favourite player of all time.
⚪️🔴🟡🟢🟤🔵🟣⚫️.x
Two snooker legends.
18:50 crazy blue he went for but he potted it. Gutsy
Not often you can pinpoint the exact moment in a sport the torch is passed, but this is definitely one such example. Steve quickly faded after this. In the same token, the exact same happened about 10 years later when Stephen faded fast in the 00s and was never very competitive against O'Sullivan.
Ronnie is the greatest snooker player in history. The fact he's won 5 titles while battling his horrific personal demons says a lot.
+HRHooChicken bullshit!!
+HRHooChicken
bullshit. personal demons?? his only demon is knowing he never beat the records these two set
brian marshall ahahahahahaha
Those demons made him the person / where created by the person, that he is now. Without them, there would be no Ronnie O'Sullivan. One has to take those as a part of his development and his whole personality and ability to play like he did and does and to be one of the greatest / maybe the greatest, player(s) of all time.
brian marshall You're stupid aren't you
hendry was a funny player...he would make bad misses and have players think they can take on half chances and when they missed hendry would clear up....just like in this frame....but steve didn't have the bottle to win close ones....he always beat players by several frame leads back in his day.....I love the game of snooker and the biggest crime was jimmy white not getting that world championship....if hendry loved the game he should of let him have it in 94 it would been great for the sport.
No pro would ever do that, Hendry himself said he almost wished he could have missed to let him win that frame in 94, but you can't do that.
+frank kelly why wud u want a ugly bald patch granddad looking white winning the world title over handsome, snooker maestro lol. maybe if white learned to attack more than rely on safety play he would of beat Hendry.
+Hafeez Khan White always left on chances but this was his one and only chance to crack the big one.
jimmy white was good player but Hendry was allrounder, mentally stronger for such young age.
Hendry- the best ever at hitting the pink right on the button when going to split the pack. No one could ever come near him at doing that
would light up an embassy to relax !!!!
Unbelievable clearance by the GOAT
It's a pity Stephen and O'Sullivan weren't in their prime at the same time. That would have made for some exhilarating snooker with two born gunfighters slugging it out for supremacy.
ozdorothyfan, Their prime is not a relevant factor since both players always bought their A game when they played each other. There have been plenty of great matches between these two.
@@SnookerFan-kl1jj agreed,for me the best was the 2002 semi final on The world championship
@@thebestever9920 I think 1999 more so
Steve Davis looked dejected in alot of the later frames. He must of been wondering exactly what he had to do to overcome Stephen hendry in this final. Both played really well.
And within two days of saying this, "I used to say Hendry overtook Davis as the greatest, with Ronnie at number 3. But I would put him top of the list now and say he is the greatest player to ever pick up a cue"
He said this, "There'd be nothing wrong with winning the World Championship every year and playing in nothing else.
And then when he's overtaken Stephen Hendry(in reaching 8 titles) I'll say he's the greatest player that's ever picked a cue up"
Commentators, bastions of logic and sense
For natural ability ronnie eas thr best 147 break in 6 mins. Shame his mental health issues held him back
This is why hendry is the ultimate legend and the king of the game. No one can beat hendry in his prime not even prime o'sullivan. End of story
+Zakariae Z HAVE TO AGREE THERE BUD!!
absolute nonsense.
O'Sullivan beat hendry 17-4 in 2004
hendry isnt fit to chalk O'Sullivan's cue
John Smith remember 17 13 in 2002 when Ronnie was talking shit about Hendry ahahaha
John Smith The year after Ronnie won his first World Title. Should of been well able to beat Hendry then.
well said..
The changing of the guard there.
Ian Williamson so true Davis was still a good player but Stephen broke the strangle hold of the Davis era
@@tonyalder yes henry was just too good a potter for Davis to handle .
Ian Williamson that’s true but in this game the penultimate frame Davis with that 50 break and got out of position he would back in the days of dominance he would of play a safety he got drawn by Hendry into going for the pot he would of won the match if he played a safety shot in my opinion that shot cost him the game but your right a changing of the guard but people don’t realise Davis was still a top player in the nineties it’s that he wasn’t winning that people think he had lost it he was as good as ever just a new comer was taking over
@@tonyalder yeah that's true .he was a very good player all round .as was ray reardon in his day.i still think that henry at his best would beat Davis .and John higgins too I would say but not many others .Ronnie is amazing but plays crazy shots sometimes .
Ian Williamson I agree Hendry was a slightly better player I mean this game was the game where both where at good levels and Hendry was the better player Davis had to win this one to keep the aura on Hendry and he couldn’t do it...to me Reardon,Davis,Hendry and O‘Sullivan are the best because multiple world champions you have to respect...but it’s a shame Hendry and Davis only played two semis in the world championships it would of been good to see them battle it out like this UK open final
have all recently claimed Hendry is the greatest ever. In the last 5 years I've seen Davis cite 3 different players as the greatest ever. Commentators get caught up in the hupe of the occasion, they over-exagerate what is going on because they are trying to sell their sport. Ron is "box-office" as they always say, he draws in the crowds, which helps pay their wages. To further do that, they have to sell Ron to the public as a genius. Almost nothing a commentator says is worth true consideration.
If you watch the 1982 semi finals Ray Reardon vs Eddie Charlton and Alex Higgins vs Jimmy White the standard of play is this high as you can get. I do think they are exaggerating the standard of today compared with other era's. People forget a great player Ray Reardon was the forgotten champion. at his best would give all the top players of today problems his standard was so high. They talk about Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry era's but never talk about Reardon era. And for me is like one of the greatest players of all time. I think Ray Reardon once wiped washed Jimmy White 9-0. Nobody else has ever done that. At his best his standard was above most players even of today. You watch Reardon vs Charlton there's no way players like Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham, Graeme Dott standard is as high. So yeah it is a load of bull.
@Storm Woods Dude watch this full video.
th-cam.com/video/QiRAjiqCzPY/w-d-xo.html
Ray was pure class. And was number one at this time. Won so many events throughout his career much more supreme to Davis. Yeah I remember that he wiped washed him. may not be 9-0... But it wasn't a proper tournament or ranking event or anything... Could've been pot black? Don't think so...
@Storm Woods agree. I'm too young. But I speak to my mate who's older than me who lived through the Ray Reardon domination. He swears Ray Reardon"s level of consistency is still one of the best of all time. That's why he won so many tournaments including 6 world. Lots of those tournaments don't exist anymore
@Storm Woods 👍. True. They're right These people don't get it.
This was a defining match in many ways, if Davis had won as he should have done he might have won another World title or two and while he by no means fell away after this, he still continued winning the odd tournament every now and again and stayed No 2 in the rankings for another five years or so, this match was the end of the dominant Davis and the manner of the defeat must have hurt him badly, he knew he’d let Hendry off the hook, Hendry had won his first World Title a few months earlier and the momentum had swung Hendry s way and if Davis had beaten Hendry here it would have been a big win momentum wise for him but after this I don’t think Davis reached another UK or Masters final for a few years after until he got to the Masters final in 1997 and that was his last tournament win. Hendry s blue in the penultimate frame was maybe the best pressure pot ever and in many ways raised the standard which the other players took years to reach.
i think he Hendry would have still been the 1990s man but Davis would have hanged around more...and picked Stephen off now and again rather than losing all the time to him..
Simplemente dos monstruos jugando una partida extraordinaria, lastima del fallecimiento llevándose a un grupo jugador.
Davis wasn't boring he should have won at least 8 world titles and shouldn't have lost to Taylor or Johnson and that's the only 2 hiccups he suffered badly because should have won that 2 world titles 2. if Davis was Hendry's age Hendry would have got his ass kicked by Davis because he was the greatest all round player the game has ever seen.
+James Gerrie They were both great players but the standard of the opposition got better as the 80s progressed. You had the likes of David Taylor Spencer and Fred Davis ( the latter two great in their days but well past it by 1982) and Perrie Mans in the top 16 in 1982....hardly likely to worry Steve Davis....; Look at the number of century breaks made in major championships in the 80s. Probably about a dozen.... Come the 90s the standard was far higher. One final point Hendry won the world championship 5 out of 6 years at his best.....
Calling him an old man he was only 33 here lol
Very hard to figure out the colors in these old videos
Taylor aslo said(this year 2013) That for Ronnie to overtatke Hendry as the greatest, he will need to win 8 world titles.
I agree with Steve Davis I doubt O Sullivan can even win 8 world titles...……...
"keep it real from now on kid. respect." The irony. It is 2013, you're being schooled on youtube. It is not a cheesy 1970's movie about black kids in the hood. Good to see you finally concede something, instead of blithely ignoring every cogent point I've made. So according to Taylor, Ron needed to win 8 titles to overtake Hendry, and then in the space of three sessions of snooker he only needed to win 5, something must've happened in Taylors mind. Lets pinpoint what that was. A shot Ron played?
davis had somany chances to win this 16-14, really should have won
spleeeen4it Yep i agree i think Davis got a bit nervous and negative he ran out of postion a lot.I think he sensed that Hendry was a serious threat to him and cracked under the pressure.This is basically when Hendry became the dominant force.
@@yamiyugi1238
Definitely.
In late 80s, Hendry was already tipped to be a cat5 hurricane even when it was still 1000 km awayt
Thanks for your life story son. rivetting. Tell me more about you being a little girl who couldn't get past their biases and come to terms with their hwero not being the greatest anymore. You've still presented no argument other than you believe it, so it must be true. Well done. In all sports the greatest is normally decided by how many majors they won, but somehow when it comes to snooker those rules don't apply. I wonder why. Hendry world titles 7, Ron 5. Ranking titles hendry 36, Ron 25.
Hendry, like Selby after him, was the master of consistency and a good all-round player. What he never did was touch the highest realms that only a genius can reach. Snooker has had only two geniuses. Alex Higgins and Ronnie. Don't look for consistency from either though. You can only fly close to the sun so many times. The greatest break every in the game was Higgins' 69 in 1982. Nobody has ever approached the breath-taking audacity of this before or since.
So was Davis in the 80s. 6 world titles is pretty consistent. Cud say same Reardon in 70s tho there was only a handful of really good players inc Spencer, Montjoy and A Higgins
11:00 + 12:44 snooker history might have turned out different if Davis had judged those easy pots better.
Then came that legendary blue to seal his fate 18:38
wow, in the heat of the moment, when a player was about to win a major tournament, a commentator made an overstated comment. We've never seen that before. During last years world championship he also said Ronnie would need to win 8 world titles to overtake Hendry as the greatest. As I've already explained, commentators talk bollocks, we'll see what he thinks when he has time to properly reflect on a tournament that was notedly void of class where Rons win came through no serious challenges
And for posterity sake, my position on commentators opinions: "In the last 5 years I've seen Davis cite 3 different players as the greatest ever. Commentators get caught up in the hype of the occasion, they over-exagerate what is going on because they are trying to sell their sport, which helps pay their wages. Almost nothing a commentator says is worth true consideration."
And your fallacy ridden claim: " no serious commentator on the game today will deny that o'sullivan is the greatest"
it always amazed me, how both these players went down hill as soon as they hit 30.
I think a big factor to be considered is when they start a family/get married.
It's hard to take someone seriously when they claim that titles, records, and win percentages are just stats and don't matter. Claiming that all snooker commentators agree Ronnie is the greatest, and providing no proof for that claim. That Hendry only won in a weak era, an era that Ronnie was also in. That White was better than Reardon even though past his prime and half blind he tied White 5 apiece. That my sexuality is relevant to the topic of who is the greatest snooker player ever.
Davis never played bad shots when he was king!!! Thats why his game fell apart!! Should have won 16-14.
Davis lost his game when the new lighter Aramith balls came out and new faster cloths were fitted to tables ,it never really suited his style of play .
Are you going to provide evidence any time soon.
It is from an interview he gave.
Ronnie has had to play a much better standard of player inhis era he’s the 🐐
If Davies had managed to win here, in fr 30 especially, im sure he coukd have won a couple more Worlds, this was the frame Hendry got into Davies' head and was the end of an era.
18:54-the shot that turned the match.
Contee I'd like to see Ronnie face a real opponent in his next Wsc final
+Ruco 2016
if he ever gets to the final again. not in the same league as these two guys at their best.
not even got 3 in a row like davis never mind 5 in a row like hendry.
age 30 hendry had seven world titles ronnie had 2.
Hendry never won anything important after turning 30.
Hendry 7 world titles in the weakest era of snooker ever, with basically no opposition.
Peak Ronnie will go through peak Hendry like a knife through butter
Bogdan Nistor. I have to say when those two met in 1999 and 2002 it was Hendry that came out on top. But after that it has been almost all Ronnie.
Ruco 2016 Ronnie was not an all-round player back then.
His tactical and safety game were nowhere near as good as nowadays. Plus he wasn't as mentally tough as he is now.
if hes so mentally tough now why hasnt he won world title for last few years and why has selby got two of the last three and been number one for last few years?
or is he not just always been unable to compete at the top level and win consistently?
if hes an all round player now i dont see that his performances are much different than they were in the 90s other than he has no stephen hendry to worry about now.
Poor Steve lost 2 he Never should have lost'
Davis lost this because he did too many positional mistakes in frame 30
AngrierGorilla No doubt about it, I think he started to feel the pressure, he knew his time was ending and Hendry was becoming the best around...
Modern snooker is amazing. All respect to these amazing contributers to our game. But shit the modern guys are good. Williams would hit most of these missed shots straight in. And Osullivan, well let's just all bless His gift of a soul.
No disrespect to Higgins and Williams and these last generation guys. They have all contributed to what we have now. In ways none of us observers could imagine. What a game!
Ps I am in awe of Hendry and all this era right up or down to DRACULA.
Shirley you are deluded in your love for Ronnie, as great as he is I still think Hendry is the greatest ever.
madmoose147 The rest bore you? We just had the most exciting and highest quality world championship ever in 2015... and you know what was missing? Hendry in his prime, he's the only player who could have raised this championship even higher, fair enough you're a Ronnie fan, but when someone's past their best and approaching 40 years old like Davis here and Ronnie this year there's nothing that can be done, this match was passing of the torch, changing of the guard, I admire Davis for putting up such a good fight.
The key thing for me in believing Hendry is slightly better than Ronnie are the 2 semi finals of the world championship in 1999 and 2002, Ronnie was just coming into his prime and Hendry at the end of his best, those 2 matches showed Hendry to be slightly better overall player, sure Hendry beat Ronnie in the early 90's and Ronnie beat Hendry in the mid to late 2000's but that 2002 semi when O'Sullivan was fired up and ready to send Hendry "back to his sad life" but failed to do so even though they were basically trading centuries until Hendry broke him in the 2nd session was telling, who knows what these 2 could have achieved if it wasn't for O'Sullivan's depression and other mental problems or Hendry's lack of motivation and that horrible yips he had from 1998 onwards, maybe both would have won 10 or more titles, just let these 2 greats be what they are, the best of their era along with Davis the best of the 80's, 3 legends in my eyes.
maybe we just have to accept that it doesn't exist "the greatest ever". It's much more complicated than this...
TheChamp 101 HAVE to agree there HENDRYS the GREATEST!
he may be the greatest ever in the record books as John Virgo said but no one cares about Stephen Hendry and sorry to say it's true. I care for Hendry a lot but sorry he's like Davis, they are both two great snooker players both unbelievably talented and very successful but for fucks sake can both be anymore boring
+amarsbarr well your not a true snooker fan then simple as as i love watching hendry and davis they are not boring its all in your head!!
Such a ballsy black at 59 leaving them all for steve if he had missed
Why are you ronnie drones always utterly clueless? Stephen Hendry is barely top 5, somehow below players who have won a lot less tournaments, been to a lot less finals, have lower win % and have lost a lot fewer matches by 1 frame. Oh and ‘It’s still Stephen Hendry for me, he is the greatest player,’ O’Sullivan said. ‘Not just for his game, but for his bottle. There will never be another Hendry.' Claiming that Ronnie is the greatest ever because Hendry admits it, is demonstrably moronic.
Great blue but jeez them pockets are huge, hit the cushion first, how did that drop 😂
Davis should have won the UK in 1990 he led 15-14 and by nearly 50+ in frame for title but ran out of position to get game ball and that's all he wanted and very unlike Davis to throw that title away after leading so much in frame he wanted to win title. When Davis played at his greatest Hendry couldn't beat him as Steve was already past his best when Hendry came good. but yeah Steve should have won this one.
STEPHEN HENDRY GREATEST PLAYER EVER!!!
HANDS DOWN YOU O'SULLIVAN PUPPIES THATS UNDERSTAND SNOOKER AS A PIG ABOUT PINEAPPLES!!!
Boris and Raisa Teplitsky In fact the best perfomance of O'Sullivan is way better than the best perfomance of Stephen Hendry.
+João Francisco Chanoca hendry was better in his prime than scumy osulivan!
Aggressive
Hard to take you seriously when you claim to have read freud, and continue to use words that you don't understand. Which is my personal favourite. When I had to explain to you that ad hominem didn't mean what you think it did, and then you typed it in google to find its definition. You probably went to wikipedia(ha!), and then you tried(but failed), to manipulate your previous comments so that they weren't ad hominem but relevant to the argument. That made me laugh, at you, the most.
I'd love to see a Hollywood blockbuster based on this match. I'm thinking Hendry could be played by Gerard Bulter and Davis could be portrayed by Mickey Rourke.
Hendry was gentleman both winning or losing.O Sullivan was real asshole when Steven took him couple times in a row.Ronnie left the game once...
yes stephen hendry was already much better player than steve davis at this point , although the public were not aware of it , steve was outplayed and outclassed , hendry had tons more bottle and it showed
Its always funny when the crowd clap at the most simple shots, I mean for club players they are even pretty easy but for a pro, its a gimme, clap clap clap. lol
oh, eras overlapped. So if two players didn't become pro in the same year, they are from different eras? David turned pro in 78, and White 80. Different eras? Parrot turned pro in 83, is he a different era from, Davis or White? Hendry turned pro 86, different Era from Parrot? Doherty turned pro in 90, different era from Hendry? Ebdon and Williams turned pro in 91, different era from Hendry? Higgins and Ronnie turned pr in 92, different era from doherty? Why persist in embarrassing yourself?
Steve never appeared in a UK final again.
Nikhil Chandra did 2005 against ding
14.20....a club playr wouldnt play a safety like that anymore...actually not for years
Great though davis was he had a poor record in final frame deciders in finals of UK and World, lost to Higgins, Hendrie and Taylor