Rolling Back the Years

The ginger hair atop the Nugget’s head may have turned to grey, but seeing as though he’s only 8 years from getting his bus pass we’ll forgive him. The quality of snooker, it seems, remains of the highest order – a fact to which his latest victim will surely testify.

At 52, and making his 30th appearance at the World Championship, it’s almost as if he never left. Saying that Steve Davis was an outside bet (400-1) at the start of the tournament is an understatement, but Romford Slim is now in the quarter final, having disposed of one of the tournament favourites with a frame to spare, after an enthralling
13-11, best of 25 frames victory over John Higgins.

Higgins was only 13 when Davis won his last Crucible World title, way back in 1989, when songs such as Eternal Flame and Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey were rocking the music charts, and movies such as Field of Dreams and Scandal were premiering at cinemas.

As surprising as the outcome was to those who know the game, and even to Davis himself, this wasn’t down to luck. True, Higgins wasn’t playing the greatest snooker of his career, but take nothing away from Davis, whose potting prowess was evident to all watching, never more so than in the 24th frame when he doubled the brown into one of the centre pockets to essentially bring the defending champion’s reign to an end.

The veteran insists that any talk of him winning his 7th world crown is premature, and he’s probably right. As long O’Sullivan, Ding, Murphy, Hendry and Dott remain, this tournament is far from over, plus there’s the small matter of Davis overcoming Aussie youngster Neil Robertson, who’s amazing comeback from the dead in his second round match against Martin Gould makes him a possible contender to go all the way too.

One thing is for sure – gone are the days of the classic Steve Davis encounters with the likes of Jimmy White, Dennis Taylor and John Parrott, only to be replaced by classic matches like Davis vs Higgins and, it seems, whoever else faces the Ginger Magician over the next few rounds in Sheffield, if he carries on winning and playing like that.

Make all your World Championship wagers at Titan Bet. – The best for online snooker betting. With great promotions, bonus offers and a vast number of markets to choose from, be sure to join in the fun at Titan Bet today.

Tags: Crucible, Dennis Taylor, Jimmy White, John Higgins, John Parrott, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Sheffield, Snooker, Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, World Championship

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.