:00:38. > :00:43.Hello, and welcome to another Crucible classic match. Today we're
:00:44. > :00:48.going to feature perhaps the most famous final of them all - the Black
:00:49. > :00:53.Ball final, 1985. The one where it finished way after midnight and was
:00:54. > :00:58.watched by 18.5 million people. Of course, it featured the then-three
:00:59. > :01:02.times champion Steve Davis and 36-year-old Dennis Taylor, he of the
:01:03. > :01:06.upside down glasses. Now, at the time, snooker had never been more
:01:07. > :01:10.popular. Steve Davis was hoovering up titles, he had already won four
:01:11. > :01:13.that season, and there was just no shaking him from the top of the
:01:14. > :01:20.world rankings tree. He was, it appeared, invincible. Playing Dennis
:01:21. > :01:25.Taylor in the final of the World Championship was another day in the
:01:26. > :01:29.office for me. I'd never struggled with Dennis Taylor on a snooker
:01:30. > :01:33.table. In the period of time up until then, I had given him some
:01:34. > :01:37.real battering. Well, I was hoping that Steve Davis would get beaten in
:01:38. > :01:41.the semifinal. But, sure enough, he got through to the final. I was
:01:42. > :01:45.still really looking forward to it, because I had won my quarterfinal
:01:46. > :01:49.match with a session to spare and I'd also won the semifinal with a
:01:50. > :01:54.session to spare. So, without doubt, definitely playing the best snooker
:01:55. > :01:57.I had ever played in my career. He had won the Rothman's Grand Prix the
:01:58. > :02:00.year before and all of a sudden he was getting into some good form.
:02:01. > :02:07.But, of course, in the public's eyes, I was going to slaughter him.
:02:08. > :02:13.The demolition began. Davis was hugely impressive in the first
:02:14. > :02:18.session, rock-solid safety and sure-footed potting and he destroyed
:02:19. > :02:22.Taylor 7/0 in that opening session. In fact, as Taylor sank
:02:23. > :02:33.disconsolately into his chair, one bookie slashed the odds for a
:02:34. > :02:35.whitewash from 300 to one to 100 to one. Surely, it couldn't get any
:02:36. > :05:32.worse for Dennis, could it? Well, that's a perfect strength shot
:05:33. > :05:42.by Steve and he's got another nice one to play. And Dennis has caught
:05:43. > :05:47.that much too thin, which has brought the white back now halfway
:05:48. > :05:48.down the table and given Steve a chance for red into this right-hand
:05:49. > :07:28.corner pocket. Well, just a touch too far on the
:07:29. > :07:31.blue. I think he'll handle it all right, but he would have liked to
:07:32. > :10:15.have been just a little bit straighter.
:10:16. > :10:21.Well, I wonder what Dennis is thinking? Perhaps hoping that it's
:10:22. > :10:54.going to change - his luck certainly isn't in at the moment.
:10:55. > :11:21.For the first time, he got in a little bit of trouble, but can still
:11:22. > :11:23.play the plant, one onto the other one here, leave himself on the
:11:24. > :11:44.black. I think Steve is just checking if
:11:45. > :11:46.that top red will go into the right-hand corner pocket, so he
:11:47. > :12:14.doesn't need to disturb the reds yet.
:12:15. > :12:56.Well, he obviously saw that a couple of shots ago.
:12:57. > :13:06.And how's that for a really beautiful stroke?
:13:07. > :13:26.Obviously trying to make another plant here out of these two reds.
:13:27. > :14:12.And that red is enough to leave Dennis needing snookers once again.
:14:13. > :15:45.So, Steve Davis, 64 ahead. And 59 on the table. Leaving Dennis snookers.
:15:46. > :15:48.Well, Steve Davis, he's real riding on the crest of a wave at the
:15:49. > :16:44.moment. Brimful of confidence. Now, can he clip this one back? Of
:16:45. > :16:50.course he can! And just look at that positional shot there. Colossal
:16:51. > :17:47.check side - really magnificent. Well, a perfect performance by Steve
:17:48. > :17:50.Davis, eight frames to nil. I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the
:17:51. > :17:53.chair watching Steve make break after break and pot ball after ball.
:17:54. > :17:57.He just never looked like missing - and he was like that, Steve, he used
:17:58. > :18:02.to walk around the Crucible as if he owned the theatre. Dennis got off to
:18:03. > :18:05.a diabolical start, and I was absolutely flying T just looked like
:18:06. > :18:09.it was going to be a complete annihilation. And then the wheel
:18:10. > :18:17.fell off. He stretched across the table to pot a green. If the green
:18:18. > :18:22.goes in the corner pocket, it's 9/0. Well, Steve Davis there at full
:18:23. > :18:27.stretch - in fact, overstretched. I potted the green and the pink to win
:18:28. > :18:37.my first frame. At last, one for Taylor. One out of nine. He relaxed.
:18:38. > :18:41.I stalled and overnight it was 9/7. I felt like I had lost that first
:18:42. > :18:46.day's play. I had an awful night's sleep. The fightback was well and
:18:47. > :18:49.truly underway. Taylor was playing like a man possessed and the
:18:50. > :18:56.once-cool world champion was beginning to look like he was losing
:18:57. > :19:00.his exposure. So from 8/0 and 9/1 behind, Dennis found himself 7/9
:19:01. > :19:04.behind and when he won three of the next five framings, remarkably there
:19:05. > :19:08.was only one frame in it - 10/11 now. And in frame 22, Taylor has a
:19:09. > :20:17.very good chance of levelling the scores.
:20:18. > :21:19.Just can't quite reach it so going for that useful extension.
:21:20. > :21:31.APPLAUSE AND CHEERING Terrific applause here from the
:21:32. > :21:35.packed audience at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, all for this
:21:36. > :21:38.man, Dennis Taylor, who has now made the final all square at eleven
:21:39. > :21:42.frames each. Level for the first time in the match. The next frame
:21:43. > :21:48.was understandably very tight - very nervy - and in fact it all came down
:21:49. > :22:15.to the brown. Dennis 14 points ahead here, 22 points on the table.
:22:16. > :23:24.I'm not so sure that Steve can't get through there.
:23:25. > :23:28.He's worried about this one - the two balls not too far apart. Steve
:23:29. > :25:03.14 points behind. The world champion then survives and
:25:04. > :25:08.he is very relieved at that. Leading now 12/111 -- 12/11 he has not been
:25:09. > :25:12.behind in this match so far. But how unlucky was it for Dennis Taylor to
:25:13. > :25:20.take that green and land the cue ball right on the brown . And this
:25:21. > :25:22.is pot-able. In fact, he has not much choice, Dennis, but to go for
:25:23. > :26:04.this, I would think. Well, I'm sure we'll see Dennis here
:26:05. > :26:06.trying to get the black in the middle of the baulk cushion and the
:26:07. > :27:05.white on this back cushion. He has just bounced off the cushion
:27:06. > :27:41.now - we may even see Dennis play this off the back cushion.
:27:42. > :27:47.Oh dear. Dennis walked quickly back to his seat - knew as soon as he
:27:48. > :28:05.struck it, he'd made a mistake. The defending world champion, then,
:28:06. > :28:16.the black at his mercy, to go back two frames ahead.
:28:17. > :28:29.APPLAUSE AND CHEERING A terrific final and Steve Davis
:28:30. > :28:33.leads 13/11. It is amazing to think that after that merciless start from
:28:34. > :28:37.Steve Davis, the two men walked into the an arena for the final session
:28:38. > :28:42.on the final night separated by just two frames. Davis leading 13/11.
:28:43. > :28:45.Most people have reckoned that the match wouldn't even get to a final
:28:46. > :29:24.session. But here we go, in frame 25.
:29:25. > :29:34.After all the build-up, all the ballyhoo, all the tension, Taylor's
:29:35. > :29:58.cue action straight as an arrow for that first red.
:29:59. > :31:46.Sad to say there was a slight snatch in his action for that one, though.
:31:47. > :31:51.As usual, the first few minutes of a session very important. They can do
:31:52. > :31:52.so much for a player's confidence either way, and all the more so in
:31:53. > :32:31.the final session of a world final. 'S what they're playing for, the
:32:32. > :32:46.trophy for the game's first blue riband event, first won by Fred
:32:47. > :32:48.Davis. Stavs stavs, of course, no relation but in contention for the
:32:49. > :33:03.trophy. Joe's younger brother having won it eight times.
:33:04. > :34:33.Taylor absolutely still - just as everything is here at the Crucible.
:34:34. > :34:42.It was a big risk to take but one that he thought would pay off. He
:34:43. > :34:45.was to make the pot, he was hoping to get the white ball at least back
:34:46. > :35:09.into the baulk area and certainly not to bring the red with it.
:35:10. > :39:01.The first to win 18 frames wins the title.
:39:02. > :39:07.Perhaps not quite held the white ball as much as he would have liked,
:39:08. > :40:34.but nevertheless still on his intended red.
:40:35. > :40:36.There's tremendous concentration and self-discipline gone into this
:40:37. > :41:01.break. All this coming from Taylor's first
:41:02. > :41:28.significant mistake. He desperately needed the first
:41:29. > :41:41.frame, I think, tonight. But all he can do is sit and watch.
:41:42. > :41:52.Which means that Taylor now needs snookers.
:41:53. > :43:12.Not that he's going to get much chance to play for them, I think.
:43:13. > :43:19.A century, and Steve Davis will be -- no century, but Steve Davis will
:43:20. > :44:16.be happy with that. A frame-winning 84. -- 86.
:44:17. > :44:24.Well, we thought that Davis would take two reds, two blocks and leave
:44:25. > :44:31.a snooker behind the black. I think that he can get by the black to hit
:44:32. > :44:32.the red, but unless the contact is perfect, there's every chance that
:44:33. > :45:28.he could go in off it. Taylor taking no risk - playing off
:45:29. > :45:44.two cushions, instead. Davis still needing a snooker plus a
:45:45. > :46:17.clearance. To win this 26th frame. Well, he missed a similar shot this
:46:18. > :46:50.afternoon. 39 in front, 27 on the table. And
:46:51. > :47:55.the frame effectively over. Taylor reduces the deficit to two
:47:56. > :47:58.frames Davis still leads by 14 frames to 12. Dennis Taylor was no
:47:59. > :48:04.stranger to the pressure of a Crucible final, he had been to one
:48:05. > :48:09.six years earlier and lost it to grifts Griffiths. But this match was
:48:10. > :48:14.a whole lot closer than he he had experienced back then. They shared
:48:15. > :48:17.the next six frames, with Davis now 17/15 ahead and requiring just one
:48:18. > :48:20.more for victory are forgot world number one and with it a fourth
:48:21. > :48:26.world title. But there were a few more twists and turns to come
:48:27. > :48:33.because in frame 33, Davis opened up with 31, Dennis came straight back
:48:34. > :48:36.at him with a knock of 42 and in fact it's the northern Irishman who
:48:37. > :48:42.leads by 11 points. Well, I wouldn't like to have to play this one, Jim.
:48:43. > :48:47.Approximate No, the difficulty of this shot is that because the red is
:48:48. > :48:50.so hard to pot along the cushion, he's probably going to play the
:48:51. > :48:57.snooker, and that takes the pressure off him.
:48:58. > :49:41.The Irish champion fighting back once again.
:49:42. > :50:03.He really needs to hit the red off the back cushion and hopefully if he
:50:04. > :50:05.can do that he can may be knock it safe and leave the white tight to
:50:06. > :50:33.the baulk cushion. This last red could so easily settle
:50:34. > :51:05.this frame . He will with, he held back a little
:51:06. > :51:09.bit on that shot, even though he was probably stretching a little bit too
:51:10. > :51:13.far. Yes, Jim, he seemed to me to be slightly over-reaching. And what a
:51:14. > :51:34.crucial stage of the frame. Well, they're both feeling it out
:51:35. > :51:41.there. Dennis missed his more difficult red, but Steve, I'm sure,
:51:42. > :51:45.should have got that one. Both looking at the scoreboard. There's
:51:46. > :52:39.11 points in it. Now, he wants the yellow and the
:52:40. > :53:28.green to make the frame safe. Well, he didn't want to cannon into
:53:29. > :53:31.the green, hoping to pass it and perhaps pot the green in the centre
:53:32. > :54:03.pocket, but even though this is difficult, he'll still take it on.
:54:04. > :55:38.And very anxiously, he looked to see if he'd got the snooker.
:55:39. > :55:47.Well, how extraordinary. He's very unfortunate, Ted - that was a brave
:55:48. > :56:58.shot to play. And Dennis has done exactly the
:56:59. > :57:08.same! 22 points ahead, 18 points on the
:57:09. > :57:23.table. If he misses this blue, Steve can
:57:24. > :57:40.win. He'd like to swerve around the pink
:57:41. > :57:42.but unfortunately the white ball is so tight to the black that he can't
:57:43. > :58:33.cue at it. Very unlucky for Dennis Taylor. The
:58:34. > :59:48.world champion still has to take three balls.
:59:49. > :00:07.The whole audience here at the Crucible now in hushed anticipation.
:00:08. > :01:00.And it's there! APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
:01:01. > :01:05.and the audience as thrilled as Dennis Taylor, as he saves the
:01:06. > :01:14.match, now one frame behind at 17/16.
:01:15. > :01:19.There's the setting here at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where
:01:20. > :01:22.once again we bring you the dramas and excitement, the fun and the
:01:23. > :04:10.terrible things that happen on a snooker table.
:04:11. > :04:17.He's going to have to take quite a bit of care and attention here,
:04:18. > :04:18.because the break is not absolutely straightforward. Still got a little
:04:19. > :05:08.bit of work to do to keep it going. And still he hasn't got his hands on
:05:09. > :05:53.the title. Thinking a couple of shots ahead -
:05:54. > :05:54.that's where he wants the cue ball to finish after potting this
:05:55. > :06:22.blackment -- black. The camera angle shows you that the
:06:23. > :07:03.red is pot-able from there. Well, the break goes to 44, and
:07:04. > :07:04.that's Dennis' 20th break in this final of 40 and above. His highest
:07:05. > :07:23.is 98. Needed a slight angle - and appears
:07:24. > :07:26.to be straight on the shot, in which case he's going to have to make
:07:27. > :07:54.certain he doesn't screw back into the centre pocket.
:07:55. > :08:33.Not entirely certain whether that red will pot but, even if it did, it
:08:34. > :09:39.would be very dangerous. He's attempted to play the pot on
:09:40. > :10:12.the pink. -- tempted to play the pot on the pink.
:10:13. > :10:17.It takes him into a 57/0 lead and there's now a possible 75 points on
:10:18. > :10:43.the table. A great effort, then, by the Irish
:10:44. > :12:35.champion. Any one of those five reds will do
:12:36. > :14:46.him after the pink. And Dennis going for safety - he's
:14:47. > :14:50.71 points ahead and there's only 59 points on the table. The world
:14:51. > :15:30.snooker final goes to its last frame.
:15:31. > :15:37.LAUGHTER LAUGHTER
:15:38. > :15:40.All sorts of things very nearly happening - but nothing did - and
:15:41. > :15:59.he's relieved. The world champion, then, keeping
:16:00. > :17:52.that cue arm moving. APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
:17:53. > :18:00.Steve Davis, then, concedes that particular frame and Dennis Taylor,
:18:01. > :18:08.a very satisfied Irishman, sits there with the frames all square,
:18:09. > :18:12.17/17. Every time I got close to him he'd pull away again and when he led
:18:13. > :18:16.17/15 I thought it was all over. Going into the final frame, well,
:18:17. > :18:19.you just don't know what's going to happen. You're just hoping you get
:18:20. > :18:23.one chance. I remember absolutely nothing of it, other than the fact I
:18:24. > :18:26.was petrified, the fact I could lose from that far behind. But I still
:18:27. > :18:28.managed to keep my end of the bargain up and it got all the way to
:18:29. > :20:33.the last frame. Excellent shot from Steve Davis, a
:20:34. > :20:36.very awkward strike for him to cue as well as that and to clip the red
:20:37. > :21:47.so finely deserves full marks. Well, a terrific shot from Dennis
:21:48. > :22:15.Taylor there, from that position, right in the jaws of the pocket.
:22:16. > :22:20.Concentration written all over his face. Looking for his first world
:22:21. > :23:32.title. And the first loose shot there. But
:23:33. > :24:16.I don't think it's done too much damage.
:24:17. > :24:38.Well, this next one's got to be dead right, because he's in big trouble.
:24:39. > :25:34.. He's played it perfect.
:25:35. > :25:40.It really is quite remarkable to think that these two players,
:25:41. > :25:43.despite the normality of this situation, continued to produce
:25:44. > :25:48.high-class snooker and, indeed, high-quality snooker, as witnessed
:25:49. > :25:52.in what seemed like a never-ending safety exchange in this final frame
:25:53. > :25:55.decider and, as the clock ticked way beyond midnight and the television
:25:56. > :26:00.audiences soared, it was Dennis who finally broke the safety deadlock.
:26:01. > :27:13.APPLAUSE AND CHEERING Well, not too certain on the black
:27:14. > :28:37.ball spot. But certainly he's on a red into the corner pocket.
:28:38. > :28:42.Hoping to come down the table a little bit more, to have an easy
:28:43. > :28:44.pink in the centre, but this is going to be awkward cueing over the
:28:45. > :29:37.green. Carried too far with the white ball.
:29:38. > :30:08.He was hoping to be much straighter on this red into the corner.
:30:09. > :30:14.As it turned out, it was quite a tactical last frame and the pressure
:30:15. > :30:15.on both of us was so intense we were missing balls that we wouldn't
:30:16. > :30:39.normally miss. And that can be very upsetting at
:30:40. > :30:58.this stage of the final. Dennis not at all happy about that,
:30:59. > :32:51.either. This 35th and final frame of the
:32:52. > :33:07.world final has now been in progress for just over half an hour.
:33:08. > :33:12.While nobody ever dreamt that it was going to carry on, because I think
:33:13. > :33:16.they were cancelling programmes, there was people tuned in that maybe
:33:17. > :33:36.didn't watch snooker before and it seemed to capture the imagination.
:33:37. > :33:39.And, as the hour reaches midnight, this final frame has been in
:33:40. > :33:50.progress some 45 minutes. Two points in front and two reds to
:33:51. > :36:04.go. I'm not sure if he can see that
:36:05. > :36:49.pink. It appears not. That might help.
:36:50. > :37:25.He's nine points in front. And that's very sad for Dennis
:37:26. > :41:24.Taylor. Well, the brown is on the black spot
:41:25. > :42:06.and... .. The worst place that Steve can finish is straight on the green.
:42:07. > :42:13.Well, amazingly enough, he has got a snooker from that. In fact, he
:42:14. > :42:16.avoided the pot on the green in choice, in preference, to the
:42:17. > :42:19.snooker, hoping to rattle the green in the jaws and leave the white
:42:20. > :42:20.behind the pink. Under the circumstances, that's not finished
:42:21. > :43:47.out too bad. 18 points in it, 22 points on the
:43:48. > :43:51.table. This frame has now been going 55 minutes - the longest frame of
:43:52. > :43:54.the final. When it got down to the last four colours, I remember
:43:55. > :43:55.thinking to myself, no matter where the brown finishes, just have a go
:43:56. > :44:26.at it, don't try a safety shot. Very tense moments here, now, at the
:44:27. > :45:13.Crucible Theatre. Moving the black just might help
:45:14. > :46:44.Dennis - he wants the four balls. This is the shot that Dennis is
:46:45. > :47:04.faced with. I don't think there's any way that he'll play the pot.
:47:05. > :47:10.We are you a now into the longest frame of the championship - this, of
:47:11. > :47:15.course, the final frame of the championship, the final frame of the
:47:16. > :48:43.final. And still we don't know the result.
:48:44. > :49:22.He could afford to go for the pot. If he only wanted the one ball.
:49:23. > :50:38.The Crucible now erupting. REFEREE: Can we just quieten down,
:50:39. > :51:22.please? Thank you. The final frame - the final black.
:51:23. > :51:25.LAUGHTER (APPLAUSE).
:51:26. > :51:29.Here we go - after 17 days it's all down to one black ball and if
:51:30. > :51:33.someone had told us there would be 18.5 million and maybe even more
:51:34. > :51:37.than that - an awful lot of people were in clubs and places that - they
:51:38. > :51:40.stayed there until the final finished. So if they would have said
:51:41. > :51:44.it was going to go to the last black, you would have laughed at it,
:51:45. > :51:48.but that's exactly what happened. And what do you do with this one,
:51:49. > :51:49.Dennis? REFEREE: Thank you, ladies and
:51:50. > :51:58.gentlemen. Certainly going through his mind
:51:59. > :52:20.that he'd certainly like to play the double.
:52:21. > :52:45.I have never known an atmosphere like this. John Williams, our
:52:46. > :53:09.referee, trying to keep the crowd in order.
:53:10. > :54:33.I'm sure Dennis wouldn't mind my saying, he chanced his arm and it's
:54:34. > :54:43.come out lucky. CHEERING
:54:44. > :54:50.. The defending world champion, Steve
:54:51. > :55:27.Davis, looks hard at that black. The first chance I had was to pot
:55:28. > :55:30.the black down past the blue spot, the green spot, into the corner and
:55:31. > :55:35.I gave such a twitch, probably one of the biggest twitches ever seen at
:55:36. > :55:40.the Crucible, I missed the black by so much it came back round and
:55:41. > :55:44.nearly in the pocket it was leaning over and that's when I thought it
:55:45. > :55:45.was all over. REFEREE: Thank you, ladies and
:55:46. > :55:58.gentlemen. No!
:55:59. > :56:41.CHEERING He has done it!
:56:42. > :56:51.CHEERING Dennis Taylor, for the first time,
:56:52. > :57:00.becomes Embassy World Snooker Champion 1985!
:57:01. > :57:21.He is so thrilled! And a sad champion, Steve Davis, looks on. The
:57:22. > :57:31.whole place here at the Crucible erupting for this very popular
:57:32. > :57:35.Irishman. He is so happy - two major titles this season and also the
:57:36. > :57:49.Irish Championship. A fabulous picture of a very happy and popular
:57:50. > :57:52.man. 30 years later, I still meet people and they raise an imaginary
:57:53. > :57:56.cue above their head and wag their figurer and if they happen to have a
:57:57. > :57:59.pair of glasses on they turn them upside down at the same time, so as
:58:00. > :58:03.I said, 30 years on, it's amazing the number of people who still
:58:04. > :58:07.remember that final. To think that nearly a third of the population
:58:08. > :58:16.were tuned in to watch us play a game of snooker, where only, you
:58:17. > :58:21.know, 13 years previously Alex Higgins had won the world
:58:22. > :58:27.championship in 1972 in a working men's club, the game had come so far
:58:28. > :58:32.and it just captured the imagination of the public and moved it on
:58:33. > :58:36.another notch. So, the Black Ball final. It's quite easy to see why
:58:37. > :58:40.it's considered by many the greatest of them all. Steve? Well, he got
:58:41. > :58:46.over it! He went on to win three more world titles. But for Dennis it
:58:47. > :58:53.was just the one - but what a one to win, hey? There's not a day go by,
:58:54. > :58:59.he says, where a person or a few poem wonder up to him and tell him
:59:00. > :59:01.where they were when they watched him kiss that little lady on the top
:59:02. > :59:03.of the world championship trophy.