r.i.p. the hurricane

Great to see so many messages and tributes here for Alex. I'm sure many of you never had the chance to meet Alex or indeed get to see him play live. Everyone has their own memories of Alex at the table, memories such as that incredible clearance against White in the Worlds, the comeback against Davis to win the UK c'ships, Alex winning the B&H final against Hendry in Goffs whilst his ankle was in plaster! to my personal and I'm sure the majority of fans favourite is of Alex beating Reardon in '82 to win his second world title with a 135 clearance.

Of course there are the off the table memories that Alex will be remembered for probably more so, antics such as headbutting a tournament official, to urinating in a flower display of a certain sponsor to probably his more serious threat of having his fellow Ulsterman Dennis Taylor shot.

Alex should have and I'm sure would have retired a millionaire had he recieved proper guidance and management, he more than likely would have numorous sponsors jumping on board if he was still playing to a high standard.Unfortunatly Alex had more hangers on around him than most sports stars could manage but the sad fact is in the last few years Alex only had a few people around him that he could call friends, sadder still that he died alone in sheltered accomadation in Belfast at the w'end.

I had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions over the last 25 years and I can honestly say not once did he behave anything less than was expected of a top professional snooker player. My personal feeling is that on the occasions he did let his temper get the better of him was when he was provoked, and of course when the instance finally was made public it was exagerated ten fold.

Some people say Alex made the game, I personally dispute that, Alex was playing the game at the same time as other greats such as Reardon Spencer Mountjoy and a young Steve Davis. What made Alex popular was his flamboyant style of play and because he came from a working class background many people identified themselves with him, Alex of course dubbed himself ' the peoples champion' which cemented his popularity.

Many of today's top players such as Hendry Doherty and O Sullivan have said Alex was the reason they took up the game, such as I'm sure young players today state O Sullivan as the reason they play.

He had all the shots, he had the bottle but as with all genius's he was flawed but he'll be remembered in snooker halls just like the recently deceased John Spencer and indeed Paul Hunter as a great player and a great champion.

Twice world snooker champion

rest in peace Hurricane