There have been some really great major finals in the time I've been watching snooker...
I don't think any of the tournaments from the 2011-2012 "purple patch" have been mentioned yet.
2011 China Open: Trump's breakthrough tournament. He was probably the underdog in every match he played, but he still hardly dropped a frame until the final. Selby came through after a really good tactical match against Ding the semi-finals, and I expected him to outplay Trump tactically in the final and win reasonably comfortably, but Trump held his own and prevailed in the end. The standard of breakbuilding was superb, 16 breaks over 50 in 18 frames, including six centuries, three for each player.
2011 World Championship: Maybe not up there with the best matches, but compared to other World finals in the last decade this was a very good one. Trump dominated the first day, but didn't really get a great lead, and Higgins came back very strongly on Monday. This was a great tournament in general, remembered also for Trump's very impressive wins over Gould and Dott, as well as the great semi-final between Trump and Ding.
2011 UK Championship: A great end to a very good year for snooker. Once again Trump was involved in a very high-quality final against Mark Allen, with 15 breaks over 50 in 18 frames this time, five centuries between them. Trump hardly missed a ball in getting to an 8-3 lead, but Allen started playing some flawless snooker with his back against the wall and he got back to 9-8, before Trump won the last frame in one visit.
2012 German Masters: Ronnie O'Sullivan's first ranking title in almost three years, and the start of a really strong period for him. He was 4-0 down to Andrew Higginson in the 1st round, on the verge of dropping out of the top16, but the match turned around when Higginson snookered himself on an easy pot with the winning line in sight. O'Sullivan then got himself to the final without any fireworks, and probably started as the underdog, because Stephen Maguire played really well in the other half and had whitewashes over Higgins and Murphy. The final started with four successive centuries, one from O'Sullivan and three from Maguire. It was looking like Maguire was the stronger player at that point, but he "only" got a 5-3 lead out of the first session, and O'Sullivan came back really strong in the evening to win 9-7.
2012 Shanghai Masters: This was another great scoring display from both players, once again featuring Trump. He does seem to get involved in some pretty high-quality finals, doesn't he? He led 5-0 in this match, hardly missing a ball in the first part. Higgins then responded with a 147 break, but still lost the session 7-2. He won the first six frames of the evening, playing pretty much the way Trump had been playing earlier. The match went 10-9 in the end, Trump getting the first chance in the decider, but Higgins then knocking in a crazy long red and clearing up. Again there were 16 breaks over 50 in the match, with four centuries.
Outside of this period I enjoyed the
2006 and
2010 Masters finals, the former being my favourite match of all time. O'Sullivan started with two total clearances in the first three frames to take a 3-0 lead, but then didn't really get another chance for the next five frames, as Higgins played some tremendous safety and took his chances in the balls. This wasn't one of those high-break exchanges, but it still had very few mistakes over 19 frames, and the safety was excellent. It also had one of the most dramatic finishes ever, although I suppose that's not what this thread is about. The 2010 final had higher scoring, five centuries and 16 breaks over 50, but it's also mostly remembered for the drama rather than the standard. O'Sullivan played some of his best snooker up to 9-6, then went for a somewhat ambitious shot that left Selby in the balls (not the infamous green), and Selby found his form and slowly clawed his way back into the match to win 10-9. The century he made in frame 17 in particular was tremendous, and would be called genius if it was made by his opponent.
I also agree with the mention of the
2013 International Championship final. Crazy scoring from both players, with seven centuries between them. At one point it was looking like Hendry's record of seven centuries in a match was under serious threat, and that record has withstood three and four-session matches at the Crucible, but this was only a two-session match and Ding still came pretty close. The amazing thing was he only just led the match after making five centuries, and even went behind later on, because Fu was playing so well himself. In the end Ding won the decider in one visit, as he did so many times last season when it really mattered.
And finally, going back a little further, I really enjoyed the
2004 British Open final between Higgins and Maguire. It was the last time this tournament was held, and it ended on a really high note. Higgins had not won a ranking event for a few years at that point, but he played really well that week, ready to withdraw from the tournament at any point in case his wife went into labour. He made three breaks over 140 in the tournament, which I suspect has never been done before or since. He beat Murphy 6-0 in the semi-finals, Murphy turning to the crowd before the last frame and asking what else he could have done. In the other half Maguire played just as well, at one point making five centuries in a row over two matches, and his 6-1 win over O'Sullivan in the semi-finals was very impressive. The final definitely lived up to expectations, 13 breaks over 50 in 15 frames this time, and hardly a ball missed.
There we are, although I'm sure I must have forgotten a few.
I definitely agree that it's the drama that makes finals most exciting, so there are quite a few others I really loved, but these were all great matches. Hoping for a few more this season.