Davis and Taylor play to the gallery
Wednesday February 24 2010
IT was a wonderful night of wit and nostalgia in the Cue Club, Killarney on Sunday night as former six time World Champion Steve Davis and the man who overcame him in that memorable final back in 1985, Denis Taylor dropped by to play an exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of that dramatic night in the Crucible. Both players played a number of locals in the club and performed 'trick shots' before going on to re-enact the gripping 35th frame that decided the World Championship all those years ago.
Coming to Killarney last Sunday was especially poignant for Taylor as he visited the town shortly after his triumph in 1985.
"I actually had booked a holiday in the Gleneagle Hotel before the tournament and after I had won the World Championship, I came over and had the best 10 days of my life. The locals were wonderful and I always look forward to coming here," he told The Kerryman.
Although no longer active on the main snooker scene, his commentary work with the BBC allows him a good chance to assess the state of the game at present and while he admits the game is not what it was back in the 1980s, he thinks the initiative started by Connie O'Sullivan just before Christmas in hosting the inaugural Six Red World Championship in the INEC is a step in the right direction.
"I agree with Ken Doherty and the lads in the Cue Club that it is definitely a format that could be developed more. I watched the tournament on TV and I thought it was a great success, and while I don't think 'Six Reds' will ever take away from the traditional game, I definitely think there's a place for it and I hope they keep it in Killarney," Taylor said.
For his own part 'The Nugget' Steve Davis was at his brilliant best in entertaining the crowd in Killarney last Sunday and despite his obvious heartbreak at losing, the sixtime World Champion still says the match was the most memorable moment of his career.
"It's only now you can look back on it and realise you were a part of sporting history. I would rank it above the six world titles I won and I would rate the eight Irish Masters I won at Goffs (in Kildare) as just as special considering how fantastic a crowd it was to play in front of."
- Jason O'Connor
