Gods Of Snooker

FR01 · 09-05-2021 9:44am #1

Gods of snooker a new three part documentary on snookers past greats begins tonight at 9pm on BBC2. I saw a few trailers and it’s looks brilliant including the 1976 world final when a rather inebriated Alex Higgins conceded the final with a session to spare against Ray Reardon.

Enjoy

Muppet Man · 09-05-2021 9:49am

Thx ... series linked...

Also immediately after that at 10pm there is a show called "Alex Higgins: the peoples champion" for an hour.

Skid X · 09-05-2021 10:22pm

I liked Ray Reardon coming out shooting "Why do you always want to talk about Higgins? I won it 6 times, he only won it twice" !

Some nice footage and interviews in that, looking forward to the rest of it.

Gaoth Laidir · 09-05-2021 10:34pm

Shock: Steve Davis used the F word on air!!

Muppet Man · 09-05-2021 11:01pm

A bit depressing that. Poor bastard.

tanko · 09-05-2021 11:22pm

I wonder has anyone successfully recreated that shot on the blue against Jimmy White, it looks an almost impossible shot to pull off.
Has there ever been s better break than that one?

mdwexford · 09-05-2021 11:40pm

Gods of Snooker was great, really enjoyed it.

The Higgins documentary was interesting but sad.

ultrapercy · 10-05-2021 12:08am

mdwexford wrote: »

Gods of Snooker was great, really enjoyed it.

The Higgins documentary was interesting but sad.

Alex Higgins was a horrible little ****. I don't think that fact is appricated enough. Snookers lack of profile at his time welcomed publicity of any type so it put up with him being a horrible little blue nose bully.

volono · 10-05-2021 12:18am

Nothing I didn't already know tbf and the 2nd hour show is years old. Davis next week so I presume Hendry the week after?. They tried to recreate that shot one year in the winter gardens during the crucible from what I remember. Doherry, Parrot, Dennis and a couple of others, with little success. They tried others.....Jimmy's deep deep reverse screw on the pink into the green pocket to land perfect on the black against Kirk Stevens was one.

Snake Plisken · 10-05-2021 7:48am

If you have BBC iplayer all 3 episodes are up there. I watched and enjoyed the second episode more Davis focused and Barry Hearn setting up Matchroom Sport.

War ensemble · 10-05-2021 8:02am

Though it was a great show. Ray Riordan was well pissed off that Higgins was so hammered in the ‘76 final.

Joe_ Public · 10-05-2021 4:49pm

tanko wrote: »

I wonder has anyone successfully recreated that shot on the blue against Jimmy White, it looks an almost impossible shot to pull off.
Has there ever been s better break than that one?

There's a guy with a very good you tube channel that does stuff like this and there are a few Higgins shots he has tried to recreate, mostly without success. His quite interesting observation on the higgins blue, or that i thought anyway, was that higgins achieved the action on the cue ball purely from side alone. Most people trying to recreate it assume you have to play it with loads of bottom, but apparently not so. Makes sense to me anyway.

Gaoth Laidir · 10-05-2021 8:33pm

Here's an interesting video of the 1990 Crucible Last-32 match between Steve James (debut) and Alex Higgins.

Three things:

- It was the first (and only?) 16-red clearance
- Higgins borrowed James' cue after he couldn't unscrew his to put on the extension. Is that allowed?
- Higgins conceded with still enough points on the table for him to win (even though he left James a sitter of a pink).

What a great cue-action James had, and so quick too. What ever happened to him?

zuutroy · 10-05-2021 9:45pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

There's a guy with a very good you tube channel that does stuff like this and there are a few Higgins shots he has tried to recreate, mostly without success. His quite interesting observation on the higgins blue, or that i thought anyway, was that higgins achieved the action on the cue ball purely from side alone. Most people trying to recreate it assume you have to play it with loads of bottom, but apparently not so. Makes sense to me anyway.

Here's the explanation. Timestamp doesn't work, so go to 13:20:

BonnieSituation · 14-05-2021 12:56pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Here's an interesting video of the 1990 Crucible Last-32 match between Steve James (debut) and Alex Higgins.

Three things:

- It was the first (and only?) 16-red clearance
- Higgins borrowed James' cue after he couldn't unscrew his to put on the extension. Is that allowed?
- Higgins conceded with still enough points on the table for him to win (even though he left James a sitter of a pink).

What a great cue-action James had, and so quick too. What ever happened to him?

That red at 6:10 was a thing of beauty.

fran38 · 14-05-2021 7:32pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Here's an interesting video of the 1990 Crucible Last-32 match between Steve James (debut) and Alex Higgins.

Three things:

- It was the first (and only?) 16-red clearance
- Higgins borrowed James' cue after he couldn't unscrew his to put on the extension. Is that allowed?
- Higgins conceded with still enough points on the table for him to win (even though he left James a sitter of a pink).

What a great cue-action James had, and so quick too. What ever happened to him?

According to Wiki, he turned to drink to cope with money issues. Suffered kidney problems as well. I always got the sense that while he was good, he fell short of the stuff you need to win consistently. I wonder will we ever see him on the Seniors circuit?

Skid X · 16-05-2021 9:05pm

Episode 2 starting now

Joe_ Public · 17-05-2021 12:24am

It's a decent enough show in bits but for a show billed as being about snooker in the 80s, it's really been the Alex, Steve and Barry show so far with Dennis getting a brief look in for 85. Maybe the final episode will broaden the scope a bit more.

Near the start they showed some footage from the Davis v Thorburn world semi final in 1981 but neglected to mention there was a major flare up during that match and a bitter rivalry between both camps. Thought that was a bit strange.

Good to see davis looking embarrassed recalling the thatcher stuff anyway.

walshb · 18-05-2021 4:53pm

Not a bad show

That 69 break in the 1982 semi final for Higgins...

Could watch it all day.....

So charismatic........so gutsy and so cool...

Not sure if best break ever, but most interesting and ballsy and all that!

walshb · 21-05-2021 10:52am

fran38 wrote: »

According to Wiki, he turned to drink to cope with money issues. Suffered kidney problems as well. I always got the sense that while he was good, he fell short of the stuff you need to win consistently. I wonder will we ever see him on the Seniors circuit?

The first pot.....belter

AllForIt · 10-09-2021 12:52am

I enjoyed the Doc but it was somewhat ruined by the intermittent input of the likes of Gary Lineker and other celeb snooker fans. All that really took away from the producers spin on they story they were trying to tell. Totally unnecessary and spoiled it as a coherent documentary. I'd hardly watch it again in the long future because of that.

As far as Gods of Snooker is concerned, I think the Doc got it right in who was responsible for making snooker popular in the 80's and those are I think equally Steve Davis, Jimmy White and Alex Higgins. White and Higgins would never have been the 'people's champion' if they didn't have the cold clinical Davis snooker robot to overcome. They didn't mostly.

A bit too much on Higgin's maybe, but on him, I think it's just sad the way he went off the rails. I found him to be an inserting character and even a likeable character off the booze, but on it a total nightmare.

Gods Of Snooker

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