Alex Higgins v Joe Johnson 1987 Benson and Hedges Masters QF (Best of 9 frames)

Current World Champion Joe Johnson takes on Alex Higgins. The video has been altered slightly to improve the playback and this had an impact on the players faces which is noticeable in places but overall is pretty good.
Presented by David Icke
Referee John Smyth

[@timothywall6477]

The 1982 world semi final against jimmy white was one of the greatest matches ever.

[@mickharrison9004]

And the famous 59 break by Alex to kill jimmy off 👊

[@digeme69]

@@mickharrison9004 10 points more😀69

[@mickharrison9004]

@@digeme69 yeah 🤪

[@dkb276]

That blue into the top right with side was legendary

[@mickharrison9004]

@@dkb276 well said fair play .

[@alanmctavish4802]

Apart from his genius at potting them, he was the greatest safety player i ever saw. Hes safety shots are just brilliant and in a way no other player would think of doing it, let alone just doing it. On form there was no one to match this man. He proved it by beating them all and in some style plus from 7 nil down once to steve davis in the 83 uk final and the year before he ran over reardon to win the world title. He never lost a match he just threw them away really. And in 1982 if you watch every match he plays to win the world title you will see how great this guy was. A thought against doug mountjoy that year was one of hes best displays ever, he does so many incredible pots its unreal. And doug was no slouch btw.

[@ianbanks3016]

Played in a bronchial ward judging by all the coughing in the crowd!

[@alanmctavish4802]

@ian banks yes ian i had forggotten how bad the coughing was in they days. Its like 90% of the audience smoked alot. I knew smoking wasnt for me.

[@darrininverarity4297]

Sounds like a field hospital,maybe they were smoking?

[@davidwainwright2816]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@josefserf1926]

There are snooker players and then there was Alex Higgins who seemed to be playing an entirely different game. As a bonus here you get the genial Joe Johnson after his miraculous WC win and David Icke before he saw the light.

[@duncanbirss8923]

Mad David!

[@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662]

HIS GAME HAS CHANGED HERE FOR THE BETTER, HE`S CALM VERY GOOD FOR HIGGINS I LIKE HIM THIS WAY.

[@jamesbrannigan1667]

I think this might be where Covid originated

[@veloblox]

All those benson & hedges

[@samwh.9611]

"People coughing featuring some snooker in the background" 😂

[@mabbrey]

all them fags they smoked back then

[@monkeh86]

Need a cough counter on screen. Probably be in the tens of thousands by the end of the video.

[@andrewmacleod5826]

Sooo annoying!! 😒

[@christopherfarrington9270]

you could smoke in them days not like now big brother.

[@johnmc3862]

@@christopherfarrington9270😂😂😂

[@gezzaf6912]

Alex is worth the 25 adverts during the match

[@johnmc3862]

John Smyth in the thick of it as usual.

[@johndown99]

Such a great talented player. Loved watching him.

[@gaywest4298]

The sponsors must have handed the audience a packet of cigs each to smoke during play.

[@andrewhagen8445]

Alex Higgins V John Belushi

[@Bloxdio_God]

Superb match

[@shittymusic1445]

I need more Higgins matches plssss!!!!

[@29memyselfandi]

Two legends..... Higgins and Icke!

[@boogalaloopala2738]

'Coughing championship'

[@andymcnab2.0]

That was just classic Alex Higgins at his best.

[@kevinfarrell9434]

Hurricane was some safety player in his day,

[@michaelgaskell2031]

He was crap at times and a magician other times. Loved him. 1 thing never boring.

[@MikeJH82]

How all that coughing in the background didn't put them off I've no idea. I suppose they were used to it in an era when half the audience smoked.

[@digeme69]

I went to the Conference Centre every year from 1984-2006. The seats in there had ashtrays and in the early days I always came out of there smelling of smoke.

[@WhateverUre]

Was he annoying by ghost ?

[@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662]

HE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE HELPED HIM, HE WAS & STILL IS MY IDOL.💗

[@bazzer2828]

he was a grown man, nobody poured the drink down his neck, he was very very selfish.

[@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662]

@@bazzer2828 SO, HE`D STILL BE HERE IF THINGS WERE DIFFERENT IN HIS LIFE.?

[@bazzer2828]

@@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662 he couldn't handle the fact that Davis was a better player than him, had an easy life, money, healthy family and got to do his favourite thing every week. If he had to have done a proper day's work can you imagine how even more unbearable he would have been.

[@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662]

@@bazzer2828 you just don't like him or you were a bit jealous of him or something like that.?

[@johnmc3862]

@@bazzer2828 Do you know him personally, no you didn’t. How do we know your not selfish?

[@danielkarmy4893]

About 12:35 when Alex pots the red...when you know the whole jerky movement stuff was for dramatic effect, you start to realise just how good an actor he was. He knew how to market himself - the 'Hurricane' had to be fast and furious and frantic and erratic, yet Alex Higgins, the snooker player, followed the textbook to the letter...

[@TheMattTempest]

Exactly. There's no way that red even deserves a round of applause - they're all fooled by his jumping up like he's just pulled off some miracle recovery pot.

[@bigjohnvinegar6261]

Not really, why would he risk the opening shot of a break to get back in a frame with showboating? Alex did showboat you’re correct, he lost the 1980 world, final to Thorburn, showboating, admitted it himself, however, Alex timing was finite that’s why one day you could get a genius and the next day very poor. The twitching and movement on the shot were intrinsic to his style. Style honed in The Jam pot on the Donegall Road back in the 60s, if you watch closely, he does not jump off the shot until after he has struck the cue ball, however, following the “textbook” ??? do you mean Joe Davis Bible that taught Steve Davis how important a solid stance and cue action was? I’m afraid no textbook coached Higgins. He uses a loop bridge in a lot of his professional matches,not textbook for snooker,on his cueing arm his index finger pointing towards the ground ,his front foot is way past 45 degree angle on most shots and as we all know the body movement, I’m not sure what to book this is all in ?, I was a fan, saw him playing many times quite an unpleasant character at times and other times quite charming dependent on booze, I guess, and as for marketing himself, he always wanted Barry Hearn to take him under his wing but Barry would never take the risk because of his erraticness and unprofessionalism at times. He went through several managers, including geoff Lomas in the 70s, who definitely had a love hate relationship with Alex. then he went to framework later on with Howard Kruger which was a disaster ended up with a mate of his being his manager. I forget the guys name that was right at the end of his career. Never could really find the right vehicle for Higgins. so acting not really.

[@chrisjohnson4165]

Watch any rock guitarist and it's the same thing.

[@MattBridger]

​@@bigjohnvinegar6261 Doug Perry

[@alanmctavish4802]

@daniel karny his body moves but his cue doesnt wither!

[@colmobrien8904]

Typical of Alex, this was another tournament he should have won but threw it away to Dennis Taylor, he lost more finals than he won

[@mickharrison9004]

Yes your sadly rite .

[@shadowside8433]

Two things - #1 A sane David Icke #2 Did Alex shake Joe's hand at the end? It didn't look like it.

[@digeme69]

It was only the end of the 5th frame shown at the end. That’s why there was no handshake. Icke then gave the result

[@shadowside8433]

@@digeme69 Thanks!

[@Bloxdio_God]

Alex and Joe got on ok

[@quench100]

Can't believe they showed all that then didn't bother with the final frame 😒

[@digeme69]

This happened quite a lot back in the day, especially as there was no live stream in the evenings. As it was a highlights programme they tried to make it as close as possible for the viewers showing both players play. As this was a black ball frame, it was better for the beeb to show this frame and then say Higgins took the next as well, rather than not show this frame and show a one sided final frame.

[@AMC442]

Final frame a fix? Johnson not trying?

[@digeme69]

He struggled most of this season after winning the Worlds. What the public don't realise is that the World Champion (Joe) was in huge demand for 12 months after winning the championship. He had many appearances, exhibitions etc therefore the time to practice properly becomes difficult to do. There is no way he wasn't trying. He did put in 2/3 months of solid practice on the build up to Sheffield in April where he reached the final again.

[@AMC442]

Thanks

[@parksyist]

Funny really Alex was 1/3 but Joe was current world champion

[@mickharrison9004]

Alexes beautifull pots not always given him credit he deserved for ,some of them the biggest cock up i think with his legacy ,it must of pissed him off forever when he had thorburn ,9 5 down for another world championship win ,which would of been about rite for his talent 2 wasnt enough 3 wins would of much better legecy ,thankfully he got that 2 nd .

[@MrWarrenJH]

David Icke before ………

[@franklong1000]

Was that David Icke Before he talked about conspiracy theories

[@user-gr6og9dj7l]

Eighty farkin two.

[@jameswalkden7499]

Just a note. Do you remember how the powers that be used to alienate Alex in general ? One way in which they used to demonstrate this was more than blatantly obvious and consistent. No matter who Alex was playing, the broadcasters used to show as littlle as possible of Alex to his fans. E.G. Show Terry Griffiths winning a boring scrappy frame then cut to the presenter who would say, " Higgins won the next frame with a break of 86. We join it in frame 5, Griffiths leading by 26 and at the table." Then Alex would go through to the next round against, say, the grinder Thorburn. Presenter, "Higgins won the first 2 frames with breaks of 78 and 56. We join it in frame 3, Thorburn at the table leading by 24." This used to happen ALL the time and was predetermined by the WPBSA and the broadcasting companies. Infuriating and highly bigoted and biased. A blatant deprivation of Alex to his millions of adoring fans.ironic really when you consider that snooker most probably would not have survived as a televised sport due to lack of excirement and interest if it were not for the existence of "The Hurricane." Who the hell would have tuned in to watch John Pullman vs Rex Williams or Fred Davis vs Eddie Charlton ? Credit where it's due. Alex Higgins was THE forefather and catalyst for Steve Davis, Hendry, O'sullivan, Higgins, Mark Williams, Selby and all the rest, riding on the coat tails of the GREATEST component (not most prolific winner.) the world of snooker has and will ever know. When this years winner picks up his half a million quid prize money he should pay tribute to Alex Higgins, as should every other ungrateful, over paid, ignorant, self entitled protagonist 9f the current day sport. The World Snooker Championship at the Crucible should be renamed "The Alex Higgins Trophy." If it's worthy for Paul Hunter at the Masters then it should be surely fitting and justifiable for Alex at the Crucible.

[@Happy-mh8xq]

That black at 1 hr 21 was very pottable 😂 amatures would make it

[@user-by2dz4ms2n]

Great natual player todays faster clothes woulg have suited him everyshot in the book wiilie thorne said one of most natural tslents ever

[@rbrb288]

Those pockets seem big

[@alanmctavish4802]

@RB RB yes i always thought those pockets from the early 1980s to even today look bigger especialy the middle pockets than they did on the old tables in the 1960s and 70s and the 50s as well. Well i went to a club when i was a kid that was for kids age between 5 and 11 from 6pm to 8pm then from 8pm to 10pm it was for kids between 12 to 16. In short it was primary kids first then secondary kids next as the hall wasnt big enough to hold both at the same time and they had an old full size table some one gave them in the 1970s, but this table wich us kids all loved in the early 1970s then 80s knew the table was old and maybe from the 1940s or 50s, we were told from some of the staff. And at the same time we played on the new tables at our local snooker hall as the game was huge by then. And we always felt it was harder to pot a ball on the older table at our club. The pockets just seemend smaller by at least half an inch. But i watched a proggrame about snooker players in the late 1990s and i am sure one of them maybe steve davis? That the pockets were bigger on the older tables when started playing. I thought no surely not they were tiny, they looked a big bigger as in height not width, but still smaller? Or we thought, we may be wrong. I stopped watching the game when alex higgins stopped playing.

[@johnmc3862]

The Brown outer finish make them look bigger. The pocket jaws weren’t that big.

[@bonkersbeast]

Mmm they don't look big to me, especially compared to today's pockets. Suppose it could be the camera angles.

[@user-qt6fi6se7s]

อาเล็กฮิกกินร์

[@user-pw2fj2rq3f]

BACKTHEN SMOKING WAS LOOKED AT A BLOODY FASHION. TANX TO NOW ADAYS ITS A MENACE TO OUR OUTLOOK IN GENERAL. SMOKING SINCE I LEFT SCHOOL IN PRIMARY I TOOK TO SMOKING. HAVE NO REASON TO BE SMOKING HAVE NICOTINE PATCHES 😂 ❤❤everytìme 1:16:49 1:16:52 1:16:53 1:16:54

[@alanmctavish4802]

That was great of alex admitting he touched a red. Something that was rarely seen back then. And i have saw alex admitt it another time, i can only recall 3 players ever admitt they fouled a shot all through the 1980s and that was alex higgins, steve davis, and cliff thorburn. A thought the older ones before them like reardon and spencer and all the boring gang had fouled a few times but didnt admit it and never would. Money was more important to them firs then they wanted to be seen as great players. They werent great its just they played against rubbish players till alex came on the scene then every one wanted to watch and play the game!

[@markjones7109]

You talk nonsense with no facts to back up your claims.

[@jasonhall4734]

Alex was better than ronnie, probably greatest of all time. If only his demons didnt destruct him.

[@alanmctavish4802]

I felt sad for alex when steve davis said that one day alex mett my dad and said "steve has got barry hearn behind him i have got no one" steve said so it must have been hard at times traveling all over the world on his own, i dont know if i could do that, or do it and be the player i was! I always thought alex had a manager of some sort. He still made bundles of money though, did alex. He was a millionare 3 times over at his peak, but just couldnt handle that side of it. Like to set up a private pension and other investments to see him set up for life and he should have died a millionare! Its sad as hell to think that the enjoyment this man gave to millions of people for over 25 years and for the last years of his live he lived in a small flat in belfast and had to claim welfare payments to live on. I could just imagine the jobcentre staff seeing alex walking in and saying how do i claim money if your sick. And a bett alot didnt believe he had no money as he was so famous! And was put through the ringer as its known. As in we dont believe you mr higgins? Then they say prove it? And when he did they usually say thats not enough proof as in a bank statement and other stuff. Meaning he cant prove it any more than he did and they know that. But i get the feeling alex wouldnt have got treated like that as he was to well liked plus other friends and family would have been there with him. Frank macavennie the ex celtic and west ham footballer didnt get paid for at least 6 months despite proving he was skint. Becouse they didnt believe how he could have spent all that money? Thats how far gone these people really are, at a time when players where on a thousand pound a week to 2 thousand its alot but most end up skint after they stop playing. Frank provided his last 3 bank statements and more, he did what was asked by him by social security rules and regulations and they still said we dont believe you? So they were breaking there own rules. What did they believe frank had did buried hes money. He took them to court and won it out right just based on the rules alone and the dwp were told this was a simple case just like many others and mr macavennie proved by the state rules he had no income to live on but still some one took it upon themselfs to disbelieve him while knowing he proved it. It does not matter one jot how much money some one may have had at one time, be it alot or nothing, the matter here is that mr macavennie did what was asked of him and that was to prove he had no money through the proper channels that the jobcentre asked him to do and he did that, then he gets told "we dont believe you" its not what yous or jobcentre believes, its what can be proved. So mr macavennie is to be paid. Another load of cash wasted on none stop dwp court hearings based on pure fantasy. But no one has to answer to it, thats the problem. And why they keep happening. And always will. So if its that bad then they must have loads of money to waste. Or it would never happen.

[@osmondjames792]

Give me 2 ounces of that...

[@davidfelix2594]

Nice word salad 🚮

[@shaunigothictv1003]

excellent analysis

[@markjones7109]

So are we supposed to feel sorry for him? Why should we when he was the master of his own destruction? He had it all and blew it.

[@shaunigothictv1003]

@@markjones7109 Ok you make a fair point. Maybe we should feel sorry for his wife and Kids as opposed to Alex himself. I think the British Public saw him as being kind of like the lovable Delboy of snooker! But it depends on your perspective.

[@DoomyMacDoomface]

Great player, Higgins. Terrible sportsman and person, though.

[@JOHN-tk6vl]

I read somewhere that Higgins always had mates with him,because quite a few people wanted to thump him.

[@jameswalkden7499]

Misconstrued perception, with no insight into genius. Yes, some awful traits as a human being, a real Jekyll and Hyde. However, no one, I repeat, NO ONE can demean, diminish or discredit his great sportsmanship. ( hence the self claimed foul, (not spotted b.t.w. by the ref.) Alex was a mercurial genius, judging himself at every juncture by his own unbelievably high skills, ability and standards. The only person he was unsportsman like to (on the snooker table) was himself. The demonstrable frustration, angst and disappointment was reserved solely for himself, dictated purely by the standard, or lack thereof, of his own performance. Never have I seen Alex show disdain or disrespect to an opponent during a match. His professionalism, as a snooker player (perhaps not as a human being, at times.) is beyond reproach.Misconstrued perception, with no insight into genius. Yes, some awful traits as a human being, a real Jekyll and Hyde. However, no one, I repeat, NO ONE can demean, diminish or discredit his great sportsmanship. ( hence the self claimed foul, (not spotted b.t.w. by the ref.) Alex was a mercurial genius, judging himself at every juncture by his own unbelievably high skills, ability and standards. The only person he was unsportsman like to (on the snooker table) was himself. The demonstrable frustration, angst and disappointment was reserved solely for himself, dictated purely by the standard, or lack thereof, of his own performance. Never have I seen Alex show disdain or disrespect to an opponent during a match. His professionalism, as a snooker player (perhaps not as a human being, at times.) is beyond reproach.

[@jameswalkden7499]

Bad sportsman ?? I think not. That comment is a misconstrued perception, with no insight into genius. Yes, some awful traits as a human being, a real Jekyll and Hyde. However, no one, I repeat, NO ONE can demean, diminish or discredit his great sportsmanship. ( hence the self claimed foul, (not spotted b.t.w. by the ref.) Alex was a mercurial genius, judging himself at every juncture by his own unbelievably high skills, ability and standards. The only person he was unsportsman like to (on the snooker table) was himself. Any demonstrable frustration, angst and disappointment was reserved solely for himself, dictated purely by the standard, or lack thereof, of his own performance. Never have I seen Alex show disdain or disrespect to an opponent during a match. His professionalism, as a snooker player (perhaps not as a human being, at times.) was beyond reproach.

[@dkb276]

I am an Alex fan but the Clif Thorburn incident was not great.

[@rbrb288]

Higgins and his fans were absolute kunnts

[@johnmc3862]

What? Higgins was the people’s champion. So you are saying people were cunce.

[@utdkidswifeITO]

they crowd were told off by the ref for saying anything....its all "c'mon ronnie" now when opponent misses!

[@paulofarrell6498]

@@johnmc3862”The people’s champion” is a trite cliche. There’s no doubt he was exciting to watch, but that doesn’t mean everyone supported him. Far from it.

[@markhiggins8315]

Ignorant comment. I wouldn't go around insulting people you don't know if I were you.

[@paulharrison7450]

Higgins really was crap

[@mansellracing8690]

Behave yourself man, Crap. He did a 71 break in the first frame my friend, if your crap you cant score 10 never mind 71. Im'e crap, I can only score 18 at the most. He just wasn't Consistent enough, Sometimes when he was Concentrating he was deadly, But when he was showing off and rushing Yes he could play like a Knob i must admit. But when he was on it By god you knew about it, Well they knew about it anyway. To much booze pall that's what did him mate.

[@Valentina-cl2kn]

Шедевральные мужички! Играют, курят, пьют! И я отдыхаю вместе с ними! Спасибо всем Красота

[@stephenfoster582]

You Bulgaria

[@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662]

@@stephenfoster582 CAN YOU TRANSLATE WHAT SHE`S SAID ATALL, I`M CURIOUS.?

[@Kissmikerotch]

@@therandoms.enoughsaid.1662 Brilliant men! They play, they smoke, they drink! And I'm hanging out with them! Thank you all Beauty