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Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby Pink Ball

Here's a pointless and shitty Coronavirus-boredom-inspired OP.

1985 World Championship final: Dennis Taylor 18-17 Steve Davis
1954 World Cup final: West Germany 3-2 Hungary
The hot favourites and undisputed best-in-the-worlds had big leads in both matches – but were hauled back at the death by their plucky, inferior opponents.

1982 World Championship semi-final: Alex Higgins 16-15 Jimmy White
1999 Champions League semi-final: Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich
Sensational last-gasp wins from the jaws of defeat.

1994 World Championship final: Stephen Hendry 18-17 Jimmy White
1950 World Cup decider: Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
The great entertainers could taste their first world titles – but both lost their composure in front of a shell-shocked, biased crowd.

1983 UK Championship final: Alex Higgins 16-15 Steve Davis
2004 Champions League quarter final: Deportivo La Coruna 5-4 AC Milan (agg.)
The seemingly unstoppable champions looked to have all the hard work done early on in these ties – only for a plucky underdog to catch fire.

2003 World Championship semi-final: Ken Doherty 17-16 Paul Hunter
2017 Champions League last sixteen: Barcelona 6-5 PSG (agg.)
The eventual winners had taken a battering for most of the tie – only to pull off a scarcely believable comeback at the very end.

2017 World Championship semi-final: Mark Selby 17-15 Ding Junhui
2006 World Cup semi-final: Italy 2-0 Germany (0-0 after 90 minutes)
In terms of excitement, there have been greater matches. But in terms of being absorbed by pure quality, these matches were insanely brilliant.

2006 Masters Final: John Higgins 10-9 Ronnie O’Sullivan
1970 World Cup semi-final: Italy 4-3 Germany (1-1 after 90 minutes)
Matches that swung one way, then the other, and were insanely entertaining right through to their thrilling conclusions.

1999 World Championship semi-final: Stephen Hendry 17-13 Ronnie O’Sullivan
1960 European Cup final: Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Widely considered among the greatest matches ever played in their respective sports, the great champions overcame a hugely spirited effort by their opponents.

2002 World Championship final: Peter Ebdon 18-17 Stephen Hendry
2010 World Cup semi-final: Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (Uruguay won on penalties)
The winners looked to have blown it right at the death. But got a second chance and took it.

2002 World Championship semi-final: Stephen Hendry 17-13 Ronnie O’Sullivan
1994 European Cup final: AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona
The old champions were written off by their cocky opponents, but delivered a devastating counter-punch.

1992 World Championship final: Stephen Hendry 18-14 Jimmy White
2005 Champions League final: Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (Liverpool won on penalties)
It was all going so well for the losers up to about two-thirds of the way through. And then it all went horribly wrong.

2008 World Championship semi-final: Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-6 Stephen Hendry
2014 World Cup semi-final: Germany 7-1 Brazil
The fading men who once ruled the world given merciless thrashings that left us all thinking: did that really just happen?

2019 World Championship final: Judd Trump 18-9 John Higgins
1998 World Cup final: France 3-0 Brazil
The old reliables were devastated by the new kid on the block.

2004 World Championship semi-final: Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-4 Stephen Hendry
1970 World Cup final: Brazil 4-1 Italy
As good as it gets.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby KrazeeEyezKilla

Cloud Strife wrote:1998 UK Championship first round: Stephen Hendry 0-9 Marcus Campbell
2019/20 Premier League season: Southampton 0-9 Leicester City


The Hendry loss could be compared to Man Utd losing 5-0 to Newcastle and 6-3 to Southampton in the same week but going on to win the league that season.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby FoulNMiss

As an OM supporter the one coming in my mind is the following one :

1997 World Championship final : Ken Doherty 18 - 12 Stephen Hendry
1993 Champions League final : Olympique de Marseille 1-0 AC Milan

The superfavourite, impressive offensive machine and biggest dominant power of the last decade defeated for the first time near its prime in final by a confirmed but more defensive/tactical underdog opponent, still in the 90s.
I feel like the correct equivalent would be more the 2014 WSC final, as just like Selby, we already lost in final several years ago, and were known to have the Milan's number in this times, but it hurts me so much to associate these matches which let me in the mouth a diametraly opposed taste. Also unlike Selby, that is still the unique title in the case of both Ken and Marseille.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby TheRocket

mick745 wrote:Leicester City winning the championship i suppose is equivalent to Joe Johnson or Shaun Murphy winning their world titles.


Johnson yes, Murphy not so much. He's proved over the last 15 years that he is a great player. So it doesnt feel like that much of a big shock he won it in 2005.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby chengdufan

Joe Johnson = Blackburn
Shaun Murphy = Leicester

Leicester are a pretty established top 16 team that sometimes overachieves, but you wouldn't expect them to win the premiership more than once. And when they did it was a surprise.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby Cloud Strife

chengdufan wrote:Joe Johnson = Blackburn
Shaun Murphy = Leicester

Leicester are a pretty established top 16 team that sometimes overachieves, but you wouldn't expect them to win the premiership more than once. And when they did it was a surprise.


Blackburn were a top side back in the day with big money behind them. It wasn't that much of a surprise when they won it. Certainly not as big a shock as when Leicester won it.

Re: Iconic snooker matches and their football equivalent

Postby mick745

TheRocket wrote:
mick745 wrote:Leicester City winning the championship i suppose is equivalent to Joe Johnson or Shaun Murphy winning their world titles.


Johnson yes, Murphy not so much. He's proved over the last 15 years that he is a great player. So it doesnt feel like that much of a big shock he won it in 2005.


It was a massive surprise at the time when Murphy came from nowhere to lift the world title, he was world ranked 48. If anyone genuinely picked him for the title before the tournament started i doff my hat to them. At least Johnson was a top 16 player.