The 1990's dawned with, to paraphase what President John F. Kennedy memorably said in his inaugural address, the torch being passed, in snooker terms, at least, from Steve Davis, now no longer world number one or world champion, to a talented 21-year-old Scot called Stephen Hendry, who was memorably clapped from the arena by the late Willie Thorne after Thorne had defeated Hendry 10-8 when the Scot made his debut at the Crucible in 1986. Facing Hendry in the final, which took place from 28th and 29th April, was Jimmy White, who was now in his second Crucible final, and was hoping to banish the memories of his defeat to Steve Davis back in 1984.
After White had taken two of the first three frames, Hendry responded by winning the next three frames to lead 4-2 before White took the seventh, by the end of the day's play, Hendry lead 9-7 after having made a break of 108 in the 16th frame. Hendry made an excellent start to the third session on the second day of the final, winning the first four frames, which included making a break of 104 in frame 18. Trailing 13-7, White won the 21st frame with a break of 82 and then won the next to reduce Hendry's lead to 13-9. White then led by 63 points in the 23rd frame before Hendry made a break of 72 to take the frame on the black. White then managed to win the last frame of the third session, with Hendry having a comfortable 14-10 lead. The first three frames of the fourth and concluding session saw Hendry establish a 17-11 before White kept his rapidly fading hopes alive by taking the next frame, before breaks of 81 and 71 ensured a first world championship for Hendry, who, at 21 years and 106 days, overtook Alex Higgins to become the youngest-ever world champion. White, always generous in defeat, commented, 'In a way I'm pleased for Stephen. He's a great kid and he puts in enough work to be world champion. He played tremendous snooker. You could count his misses on one hand.'
Hendry wouldn't get the chance to defend his title in the 1991 final, fallen victim to the 'Crucible Curse' following a quarter-final defeat to Steve James, succumbing 13-11, despite at once stage leading 11-9. Jimmy White, however, would be back in the final, and this time he would be up against John Parrott, who was hoping to banish the memories of his 1989 hammering at the hands of Steve Davis. Any chance White had quickly extinguished when Parrott, playing some of the finest snooker of his career, taking a 7-0 lead. In the second session, White won frames eight and nine, before Parrott took the next three to lead by 10-2, White then took the next three frames before Parrott made a break of 112 to establish an 11-5 overnight lead. White took the first two frames of the third session and then Parrott took frame 19, White captured frame 20, while frames 21 and 22 went the way of Parrott. White then cleared with 67 to take the 23rd frame on the black, before Parrott's capture of frame 24 meant that he held an advantage of 15-9 heading into the concluding session. Parrott made a break of 112 to take the first frame of the final session and White then took two of the next three frames before Parrott claimed the title for the first time with a break of 48 securing victory by 18-11.
The final which was held on 3rd and 4th May 1992 saw a resumption of the rivalry between Stephen Hendry, who was looking for his second world title, and Jimmy White, looking to take his first world title after all three previous attempts had ended in defeat. After the two players had shared the opening four frames, they were soon level again at 3-3 before White took the seventh to take a slender lead at the close of the session. White took the first on the resumption to lead 5-3 and by the end of the first day's play, was holding a 10-6 advantage.
White then took the first two frames of the third session to lead 12-6 before Hendry re-established in the final by taking the next two frames before White himself won two frames in a row to lead 14-8 and at this point it seemed as if the Whirlwind was finally about to achieve his lifetime ambition. Things would change, however. In the 24th frame, Hendry potted a brown off the spot from the last read and managed to get perfect position on the yellow before going to clear the table and win the frame, this proved to be a massive turning point and spelt the beginning of the end for White, who would not win another frame, as Hendry won four consecutive frames to run out as a 18-14 winner and claim his second world championship title, while inflcting further heartbreak upon White and his loyal supporters.
The two men met each other once again, on 2nd and 3rd May 1993, but this time it was a far more one-sided encounter as Hendry absolutely hammered White to win by 18-5, after having led 5-1 and then 12-4 after the first two sessions. Hendry's length of victory marked only the third time that the final had been won with a session to spare, following Steve Davis' wins in both 1983 and 1989.
Quite incredibly, at the final held on 1st and 2nd May, the stars aligned to bring both Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White together for a fourth world championship final in five years, and, for White, his fifth final in succession and sixth of his career. For the first time since that memorable and historic night in April 1985, the final went down to the 35th and final frame, and, at 37-24 and in the balls, it finally looked as if White would at last grab his chance and lift the trophy. But, twitching badly, he missed a black off the spot and, Hendry, who was beginning to think that even he wasn't going to get back to the table, almost leapt up from his chair and, with almost a hint of inevitability about it, cleared the table to the pink to deny White and to claim his fourth world title. David Vine, clutching his microphone, almost looked in pain as he spoke to Jimmy, 'Jimmy, what can I say other than Happy Birthday?', to which Jimmy, with a rather rueful smile on his face, instantly responded, 'He's beginning to annoy me'. This would be Jimmy's best, and last, chance to win the one prize in snooker that had always eluded him.
Hendry added a fifth title the following year, when he defeated Nigel Bond 18-9 in the final played on 29th and 30th April. After having ended their opening session all square at 4-4, Hendry eventually took control in the evening session, opening up a 12-5 lead. In the third session, Hendry took six of the nine frames to lead 17-9 and require just one frame in the concluding session which he duly and swiftly achieved with a break of 103.
On 5th and 6th May 1996, Stephen Hendry yet again reached another World Championship final, this time coming up against Peter Ebdon. Again, as in the previous year, the two players shared the first eight frames to level at 4-4, before Hendry again stepped on the gas and took control, establishing a 11-6 lead at the end of the first day's play. At the third session on the second day of the final, Hendry took five of the eight frames to take a 16-10 advantage into the concluding session and after Hendry had won the opening frame of the concluding session, and Ebdon responded well by taking the next two, Hendry claimed his record-equalling sixth world title by making a break of 73 and defeating Ebdon 18-12. Hendry thus became the third man, alongside Ray Reardon and Steve Davis, to claim six world titles in the modern era.
Hendry's search for a record-breaking seventh world crown came to an end in the 1997 World Final, held on 4th and 5th May, where he faced popular Irishman Ken Doherty, who was looking to end Hendry's remarkable run of 29 matches without defeat at the Crucible and claim his first world championship. The first four frames were shared by the two players, with Hendry making successive century breaks (117, 106) in the 2nd and 3rd frames, before Doherty won three frames in a row after the mid-session interval, before Hendry made another century (122) to level the match at 4-4. Hendry took the first of the evening session before Doherty put his stamp on the match by taking five successive frames for a 10-5 lead, Hendry took won the next frame before Doherty closed out the session, taking the 16th frame with a break of 52 for a 11-5 overnight lead. Hendry required a response and he took the first frame of the third session, making a break of 70, before Doherty responded in the next frame with 70; Hendry then took the third frame of the session, before the Dubliner took the fourth and the last before the mid-session interval for a 13-7 lead. Doherty then took the next two to lead 15-7 before Hendry made another century ( 137) and then a 75 in the next frame to keep him in the match at 15-9, his grip on the title slowly slipping away.
Requiring a fast start to ensure that he took the title, Hendry took the first three frames of the fourth and concluding session, breaks of 51, 110, and 61 reducing the defecit to 15-12, however Hendry would not win another frame as Doherty, with breaks of 61, 50, and, finally, 71, took the title 18-12, denying Hendry a record-breaking seventh title and ensuring Doherty his first world title and making him the pride of his homeland. It was said that throughout the final, the local police where Doherty had been raised reported that no crimes had taken place while the match was being played!
On 3rd May and 4th May 1998, it was a case of Scotland vs Ireland, as two good friends, John Higgins, and defending champion Ken Doherty faced off against each other in which Doherty attempted to become the first first-time champion to defend the title and Higgins looking to claim the title for the first time.
After Doherty had made a break of 59 to take the opening frame, Higgins took full control of the opening session, winning six successive frames, making a century break of 130 in the seventh frame, before Doherty made a break of 89 to put some respectability to the scoreline but still trailed 6-2 heading into the evening's session. Doherty started off well, winning the first three frames of the evening, which included a century break of 112, before Higgins then took the next four frames, included scoring a century (103) in the 13th frame and, just as in the opening session, Doherty took the final frame to trail by 10-6 overnight.
Doherty claimed the opening frame of the third session with a break of 69, before Higgins responded with 89, and, after Doherty had claimed the third frame, Higgins struck a break of 130 to move ahead at 12-8 at the mid-session interval. Doherty then won three of the last four frames to reduce the decefit to 13-11 heading into the evening's concluding session.
Higgins started the fourth and concluding session like a house on fire, making breaks of 60, 128, and 71 to go 16-11 in front before Doherty got himself a frame back by making a 78 for 16-12. Higgins, however, then made a break of 66 and completed victory by making a break of 118 to claim the world championship for the first time.
The last final of the twentieth century and of the second millennium took place on 2nd and 3rd May, and was contested between Stephen Hendry, once again looking for his record-breaking seventh title, and Cwm's Mark J. Williams, contesting the final for the first time, looking for his first world championship. Both men had contested three major finals before, including the Masters in 1998, with Williams coming out on top in all three matches. The late Colin Brinded had been selected to take charge as referee for his first, and, sadly, last, world final.
Hendry started the stronger of the two players, taking the first four frames of the final, before Williams took the first after the mid-session interval, before Hendry took the next with a half-century. Williams managed to half the defecit by taking the final two frames of the session, which ended with Hendry leading 5-3. Again, in the second session, Hendry started off quicker than Williams, taking the first two frames following the resumption, before the two players then shared the next two frames. Williams won the next two, but Hendry himself finished the session strongly, winning the final two frames to lead 10-6 overnight.
Williams started the third session of the final taking the first two frames with breaks of 85 and 72, before the next two frames were shared. Hendry then took control and won the last four frames of the session to lead 15-9 and only requiring three frames for the title. Hendry won the first two frames of the evening's concluding session with breaks of 66 and 62 before Williams took the next two frames to ensure the match at least lasted to a mid-session interval. Williams was leading by 40 points in the next frame but he missed a pot on a red and Hendry then cleared up to claim victory and claim his record-breaking seventh title, surpassing both Ray Reardon and Steve Davis. Hendry said at the time, 'This is worth more to me than six other championships put together. This is my finest hour in snooker without a doubt.' No-one realised it at time, but the 'King of the Crucible' would not lift the trophy again.
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