Stephen Hendry’s victory over Steve Davis at Preston in December 1989 kickstarted his decade of dominance
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog
When Stephen Hendry beat Steve Davis in the UK Championship final at Preston in December 1989, it felt significant for snooker. There was an overwhelming sense that the baton of power was being passed from one great champion to the next. The end of the decade painted a worrying picture for the dominant figure of the sport in the 1980s.
Davis had lost finals before, but this was different. Since turning professional in 1985, Hendry had been considered the future of snooker, the boy who could knock Davis off his perch. He had won trophies, climbed the world rankings and even enjoyed some success in matches against Davis, but he was yet to beat the six-time world champion over a long distance.
Snooker was at a crossroads in late 1989. It was still popular, but there had been an unavoidable drop-off after the glory days earlier in the decade. With some tournaments struggling to attract sponsors, Barry Hearn voiced his concerns. “We are going the wrong way in a one-way street but no one is prepared to admit it,” said Hearns. “We were flying a bi-plane in the Seventies and someone has now given us a jumbo jet. We can still fly, but we haven’t a clue what to do with the controls.”
Hearn had at least managed to obtain a sponsor for the UK Championship, with double glazing company Stormseal on board. And the tournament would be televised by the BBC from the last-16 stage onwards. There were some notable casualties before the cameras arrived in Lancashire. Defending champion Mountjoy lost 9-8 in the opening round to Joe O’Boye; Alex Higgins lost 9-3 to Willie Thorne in the second round; and the Canadian players Cliff Thorburn and Kirk Stevens also departed early.
Hendry breezed through to the last-16 stage, picking up a cheque for £2,000 for the highest break in the pre-television stage along the way. “I’m potting as well as ever,” he warned the rest of the field after his 141 break. “I’m looking forward to the TV stages and it does get me buzzing.”
Hendry suffered a wobble in the last 16, though. Trailing 22-0 in a final-frame decider against Dean Reynolds, the 20-year-old held his nerve and hit a break of 85 to reach the quarter-finals. It was the first time in the match he had been ahead. “I couldn’t believe I was playing that badly,” he said. “I just went out and attacked and it came right at the end.” He was soon back on track. Henry won nine consecutive frames to beat Mark Bennett 9-2 before edging past Terry Griffiths 9-7 to reach the final. Hendry would meet Davis in the match everyone wanted to see, but the dream final very nearly did not happen.
Davis impressed in the early rounds, easily defeating Tony Chappel, Cliff Wilson, Willie Thorne and Mike Hallett before his semi-final against Gary Wilkinson. Wilkinson had impressed on his run to the final four, beating John Parrott and then thrashing Jimmy White 9-0 in the quarter-finals. “I was dazed,” said White. “I got worse and worse and he got better and better.”
Wilkinson came very close to beating Davis in the semi-final too. He was winning 8-7 and Davis needed two snookers to stay in the match. With only two balls left on the table, Davis secured one snooker before Wilkinson dramatically missed the pink completely when attempting a thin clip. “I didn’t realise Steve needed a snooker,” he said later. “I never looked at the scoreboard because I was so involved in the match. I was so screwed up inside that my mind had gone and I was just trying to keep the pink safe. I only found out in the changing rooms afterwards when Eddie Charlton told me Steve needed two snookers. It was £24,000 missed.”
Davis took the frame 60-56 before winning the decider easily to reach the final. “I have had a lot of things happen to me in my career, but this will go down as one of the most memorable,” said Davis. There was plenty of sympathy for Wilkinson, but fans and the BBC now had the showpiece final they wanted.
Hendry started quickly in the best-of-31 final, establishing a 4-0 lead before Davis responded with three frames of his own. Back came Hendry with three consecutive frames to move 7-3 in front, but the pattern continued when Davis narrowed the gap to two. Hendry pushed ahead again, winning the last two frames of the day to secure a 9-5 lead overnight.
When Hendry took the first frame of the second day, he looked set to complete a victory stroll. But Davis would not go down without a fight. He won five of the next six frames to pull it back to 11-10, cranking up the pressure on his young opponent before the evening session.
If Hendry was nervous, he did not show it. Instead, he showed his brilliance, hitting breaks of 123 and 112 to move 14-10 ahead. The end was in sight. Davis replied with a break of 138 – earning £8,000 for the highest break of the TV stages – and then added the next frame to pull it back to 14-12. But he could not catch Hendry.
Hendry dug in and won two frames to secure a 16-12 victory. It was a massive win, both for him and his sport. “It means everything to beat Steve over a distance,” said Hendry after claiming the trophy and £100,000 prize money. “I’ve always felt capable of doing so and have wanted to prove it for so long to the disbelievers who thought he was different class to me in the longer matches. This is without doubt the high point of my career. Steve has been the greatest player the world has ever seen over the last decade. But I like to think I can take over in the 1990s.”
He lived up to his prediction. Hendry won the first of his seven world titles the following April, establishing a decade of dominance. Davis knew he was in trouble. “Stephen is the greatest player I’ve come up against,” said Davis after the final in Preston. “I’ve had challenges from various people in the past 10 years, but he’s the most advanced competitor.”
Hearn was rubbing his hands at the prospect of more tussles in the 1990s, saying: “Davis and Hendry will provide the face of snooker in the 1990s, but we’ll just have to see how Steve counters the threat.” History tells us that Davis simply could not hold back the tide, but there was no disgrace in that. Hendry went on to establish himself as an all-time great. Winning the UK Championship in 1989 was the beginning of a new era.
This is an article by That 1980s Sports Blog
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