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Ssb - masters moments: The man in the white suit
In the 1980s, a triumvirate of Canadians played their part in the snooker boom that put the game front and centre in millions of British living rooms as a constant television presence.
They were three very different men: Cliff Thorburn, a Tom Selleck lookalike and arch grinder, Bill Werbeniuk, a gargantuan beer guzzler, and Kirk Stevens, a heart throb in a white suit.
Stevens was stylish, exciting and a great talent. His Saturday Night Fever attire, good looks and confidence made him a natural crowd favourite.
There had, by the time of the 1984 Masters, been only two televised maximums. Steve Davis made the first at the 1982 Lada Classic; Thorburn compiled the second at the 1983 World Championship.
Among the Wembley audience for the Jimmy White v Stevens semi-final was Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, in town and keen to see what the fuss surrounding snooker amounted to. Needless to say, he found out.
It had been an entertaining semi-final up to that point played in a great spirit between two close friends.
After eight frames, White led 5-3. Early in frame nine Stevens knocked in a mid range red, quickly developed a few more and went about taking reds with blacks until it became apparent the perfect run was on.
Down to the colours and the hard work began. Stevens needed the rest for the yellow and came wrong side of the green, meaning he needed to take the cue ball around the table for the brown.
He played the shot perfectly, or very nearly, but still finished wrong side of the blue, leaving himself the pink to the green pocket.
He potted it, running the cue ball off the baulk cushion the full length of the table before it bounced off the top cushion to leave Stevens nicely on the black.
And then, pandemonium. He hugged the referee, John Smyth, and then White before collapsing in his chair, the cheers of the capacity crowd ringing around Wembley Conference Centre.
He didn’t win the match – White made a century of his own in the next frame – but the break is forever etched into snooker memory and it took 23 years for there to be another 147 at the Masters, courtesy of Ding Junhui in 2007.
Sadly, Stevens would develop a cocaine habit that nearly killed him and brought his career to a premature end.
In terms of titles it was unfulfilled but his maximum is still fondly remembered as one of those great moments in a sport full of great moments.
Stevens was introduced to the Wembley crowd before the 1999 Masters final as the tournament celebrated its 25th anniversary. As he was warmly applauded into the arena he had to wipe away a tear.
No doubt he was thinking of that Saturday in 1984 and perhaps what might have been too.
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They were three very different men: Cliff Thorburn, a Tom Selleck lookalike and arch grinder, Bill Werbeniuk, a gargantuan beer guzzler, and Kirk Stevens, a heart throb in a white suit.
Stevens was stylish, exciting and a great talent. His Saturday Night Fever attire, good looks and confidence made him a natural crowd favourite.
There had, by the time of the 1984 Masters, been only two televised maximums. Steve Davis made the first at the 1982 Lada Classic; Thorburn compiled the second at the 1983 World Championship.
Among the Wembley audience for the Jimmy White v Stevens semi-final was Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, in town and keen to see what the fuss surrounding snooker amounted to. Needless to say, he found out.
It had been an entertaining semi-final up to that point played in a great spirit between two close friends.
After eight frames, White led 5-3. Early in frame nine Stevens knocked in a mid range red, quickly developed a few more and went about taking reds with blacks until it became apparent the perfect run was on.
Down to the colours and the hard work began. Stevens needed the rest for the yellow and came wrong side of the green, meaning he needed to take the cue ball around the table for the brown.
He played the shot perfectly, or very nearly, but still finished wrong side of the blue, leaving himself the pink to the green pocket.
He potted it, running the cue ball off the baulk cushion the full length of the table before it bounced off the top cushion to leave Stevens nicely on the black.
And then, pandemonium. He hugged the referee, John Smyth, and then White before collapsing in his chair, the cheers of the capacity crowd ringing around Wembley Conference Centre.
He didn’t win the match – White made a century of his own in the next frame – but the break is forever etched into snooker memory and it took 23 years for there to be another 147 at the Masters, courtesy of Ding Junhui in 2007.
Sadly, Stevens would develop a cocaine habit that nearly killed him and brought his career to a premature end.
In terms of titles it was unfulfilled but his maximum is still fondly remembered as one of those great moments in a sport full of great moments.
Stevens was introduced to the Wembley crowd before the 1999 Masters final as the tournament celebrated its 25th anniversary. As he was warmly applauded into the arena he had to wipe away a tear.
No doubt he was thinking of that Saturday in 1984 and perhaps what might have been too.
More...