The Greatest Comeback in Snooker History | Hendry vs Hallett | 1991 Masters Final

[@CesarMuroya]

My thanks to @Boutros Boutros Boutros Ghali for recommending this match.

[@castleanthrax1833]

A very diplomatic choice Boutros. 😎🇦🇺

[@EnricoFantini]

@@castleanthrax1833 🕊

[@edwells4769]

Less a comeback and more a complete meltdown by Hallett. Hendry had no business winning this match, he wasn't playing well at all

[@masterxyr]

Jesus, was this filmed during the plague? everyone's coughing! Phenomenal player Hendry is. I wish I had watched more back in the day. Cold as ice. Cheers Cesar!

[@Govanification]

Seriously, watching this in post-covid times makes all the audience coughs stand out even more. Hopefully we've normalized staying home when you're sick more than it has been the last several decades! It's kinda rude to strangers in public and especially to performers when you're hacking up a lung for hours on end.

[@masterxyr]

@@Govanification amen! I'd also add that infecting others who might eventually lose workdays or get sick, is very impolite!

[@flucazade]

This was film back in the day of smoking in venues and smoking snooker venues was brutal, coughers were probably non smokers getting their passive dose

[@Govanification]

@@flucazade Ahhh I didn't even think of that! What a different world. Can you imagine people smoking on airplanes?

[@sevenatenine2441]

I think a lot more people smoked back then, hence coughing was a lot more common in general

[@timg5011]

I remember watching this and being gripped. I went into school the next day and found out my teacher had skipped watching the evening session, in the expectation Hallett would win. The memory of his face when I told him Hendry had won is one of the most cherished of my childhood.

[@AJsVIEW]

Probably the greatest comeback ever in Snooker History! Great upload, Cesar, thank you! I would've died out of sheer tension had I played here!

[@AnilSingh-nl4ok]

The greatest comeback is the 1985 snooker final which was decided on the last black please check historical records

[@WahidKhan-gb6zl]

Thank goodness you didn’t play there then !

[@AnilSingh-nl4ok]

@@WahidKhan-gb6zl yrs

[@pyrrhicvictory6978]

Neil Robertson comeback vs John Higgins from 4-9 down in Tour Championship final, that has to rate up there. Higgins has choked a few finals in recent years, he don't seem to have the temperament he used to have.

[@deneuvejanic5738]

@@pyrrhicvictory6978 , 17.12.2017 neil robertson vs CAO yupeng 2/8 down to win 9/8 ... ok it's not j.higgins but awesome stuff . and now , for me, the semi finale wsc2023 brecel vs SI jiahui 5/14 down for win 17/15 is the most comeback in snooker history

[@graemejack9040]

I’ve genuinely never seen any player from any sport with more bottle than Stephen Hendry. His ability to play his best snooker under the most extreme pressure is unrivalled.

[@JoeBloggz-x2j]

The Iceman,

[@jaberwoky_]

All these years later and knowing the outcome, it's still exciting to watch! I'd like to have seen the last few pots or at least the scores of a few games that weren't shown but this was a great compilation. Thanks!

[@rhysoto90]

Imagine being on the 2 most devastating finals losses in Masters history, but in the most different ways possible. Losing 9-0 to Steve Davis and then blowing a 7-0 lead against Stephen Hendry. Heartbreaking for Mike Hallett.

[@edwells4769]

Hallett blew this one bad too. David just crushed him, don't think his head was straight. Here, he just melted down. Hendry was beatable in almost every match he ended up winning.

[@zardoz8023]

@@edwells4769 Davis not David, and "beatable in every frame", not "match". When did you start watching snooker? A day before you wrote this comment?

[@edmundpower1250]

@@zardoz8023 Now now! Sarcasm isn't healthy. Flog your log, and then after the frustration is gone, say sorry to that innocent comment

[@zardoz8023]

@@edmundpower1250 Maybe you should open a dictionary and learn the true meaning of the word "sarcasm", kid, because there's zero of it in my comment.

[@edmundpower1250]

@@zardoz8023 Your last sentence is pure sarcasm

[@EannaButler]

I'd say Mike Hallett never wanted to see the pink ball again, after a few frame-ball pinks missed here.. Excellent vid. You maintain the flow of commentary thru somehow perfectly, as ever. And you took care and attention to present the scoreboard in a modern fashion, overlaid on the vid - that takes some amount of work - but it would be doubly-cool if you could put a little arrowhead triangle next to the player taking the next shot! Stephen was a real tiger. Probably the best snooker temperament the game has ever seen. Ronnie is raw talent, Stephen is raw belief.

[@rayfinkle2805]

It wasn’t the pink that cost him it was decelerating on the blue . If he’d have struck if right the pink followed by the black would have been in his pocket

[@martinsledge7563]

Remember watching this back in the day left such an impression on me, thanks for the upload!,,

[@tonynaccarato4751]

Its never over until the last frame is won, two fine gentlemen playing a great game of world class snooker, cheers to both of them.

[@ClintWalker-p9c]

I never knew Mike Hallet was such a great player, very fast player with all the shots and great cue power too

[@corallaroc2946]

Reverse pressure at its finest. To an extent this may rather be considered one of the biggest meltdowns in snooker history.

[@steviegbcool]

jimmy loosing 10 in a row against hendry in 1992 wc close 2nd. Shows how important psychology and mental strength is in snooker.

[@haggismuncher4543]

Osulivan getting up and shaking hendrys hand before the match was over was great aswell hendry couldn't believe it 😂

[@ravivarman2020]

Great upload again. Brings back memories. I remember reading about this match in pot black magazine many years ago :) now get to witness.

[@pingpong9656]

Never heard of Mike, but he sure plays a good game!

[@DaveInBridport]

I've always liked Stephen. His attitude. His general demeanour. His play.

[@shidy121]

Prime Stephen Hendry was untouchable and a gentleman 👍

[@deneuvejanic5738]

the perfect class-player

[@freyc1]

Well, I would agree in general, but in this match, he was very "touchable".

[@johnnycashwoody5284]

His highest break in this match was 60 ffs 😆

[@beefchops1400]

His prime was 1992-1999….he was still fairly young and raw here and certainly not at his best, Hallet helped him few times with easy misses!

[@JoeBloggz-x2j]

He won the world championship in 1990, winning it is prime for any player.

[@najinsky]

Great editing Cesar. You have a talent for making great snooker even better.

[@robhendrikx2198]

This match was not broadcast by the BBC, but I followed the score on ceefax, seeing Hendry claw his way back. It wasn't Mike Hallett's day, because when he got home, his house had been burgled.

[@connecttoquran3579]

It was mate. I remember watching it as an 8 year old

[@edmundpower1250]

Are you kidding? His house was burgled? Holy crap

[@Ed30675]

@@connecttoquran3579 likewise...watched it live as it happened...and never forgotten...

[@dannyH84]

Wouldn’t of had anything too nick

[@planetx1595]

Rotten luck

[@irmasil3]

Another masterclass from Stephen, from his era of "I don't give a fuck about positioning,I can pot anything".... :)

[@scottmccabe6071]

Crazy watching this back all these years on. Table is so heavy, both really having to work the cue ball. Hallett hit the balls so hard and how many chances did he have to win. Hendry simply believed and kept at it. Great watch.

[@TheMattTempest]

Hallett is firing them in like bullets. Can't think of any contemporary player who hits every shot so hard. Great to watch but probably not a good idea.

[@JatinderSingh-db3gp]

Hendry the most complete snooker player of all time his mind set was at a different level

[@jedaaa]

I wouldn't say that, I mean even he admits he doesn't have a safety game, I'd have to say Selby and Higgins as the most complete pkayers

[@BillLacy-d5l]

Hendry was never the complete player. His safety was average at best. He was an incredible attacking player, a master break builder. He also managed to play his best snooker under pressure. That’s why he won so much in a relatively short amount of time. But once he lost a little bit of consistency as happens with age, and the general standard improved, he stopped winning.

[@alanadair4893]

@@BillLacy-d5lhe made the standard better

[@VoiceOfThe]

He was the Ice-man. Ice cold.

[@JoeBloggz-x2j]

He has the best dominating record though, even better than Davis. 5 WC, 5 masters and 3 UK is complete enough for me.

[@TheMurderBird]

liked this one a lot thanks!

[@sebastianschwald1625]

The amount of chances he had is unbelievable!

[@DoomyMacDoomface]

What a great venue the Wembley conference centre was. It helped that the tournament format requires only the one table. All 2000 spectators are watching one match. Great atmosphere.

[@darrenmcgowan3932]

Greatest and saddest collapses from a winning lead in snooker history. Mike just fell apart. 😓

[@AnilSingh-nl4ok]

Davis also in 1985 lost from 8-0 lead and on the black ball.

[@edmundpower1250]

​@@AnilSingh-nl4okyes but at 8-0 he was still not even half way there. Hallet was more than three quarters way there

[@Guvna07]

Trivia - Mike returned home to discover he’d been burgled

[@jamesbyrne9312]

Really. Luck is so cruel sometimes to all of us

[@jaberwoky_]

Second time that week.

[@edmundpower1250]

​@@jaberwoky_Holy crap! Burgled twice in a week!!

[@dannyH84]

@@edmundpower1250he was only broken into once stupid

[@neilwilliams4420]

Preferred snooker back then with the older thicker cloths, even more skilful to play well on those than the slick cloths and lighter balls today, also back then the commentators didn’t speak about every single bloody shot like they do today!!! We were left to watch in peace and make up our own minds about what they could do

[@paleshelter4002]

great comment.... 💯

[@steviewonder7495]

I remember watching this live on TV and went crazy. When Stephen won in the end I have never forgotten this game, he only lived around 15 miles from me in South Queensferry and I lived in Baberton Edinburgh where his father stayed for a while.

[@haggismuncher4543]

Neither has hallet 😂

[@ahmedaslam7916]

Glad to see you posted a video not having Ronnie in it

[@johnnybravo9096]

I'd only heard of this Hallet guy maybe once or twice. He was superb!

[@VoiceOfThe]

Reached a career high #6 in the rankings.

[@blehoo1]

Hendry was a beast back then but for me the 1983 Coral UK Championship Final tops the lot - Alex coming back from 7-0 down after the first session to beat Steve Davis in his heyday. It was just so unlikely given the machine that Davis had become. It turned out to be Alex's last great hurrah.

[@faceman1477]

The 1989 Irish Masters was his last hurrah!!

[@keithmac3001]

Was gonna say he fine Hendry in Ireland in the masters final 89

[@ad5038]

every time i watch this i feel mike cannot lose this

[@no-one-in-particular]

The whole crowd has tuberculosis

[@andrewjohnston2850]

a mix of being able to smoke inside and the air conditioning being on

[@brian7193]

I still cant believe mike blew this but apart from the players i believe this was the best time for great refs in the sport for me the top 3 refs in order were john smyth,len ganley and alan chamberlain with john street not far behind these,i cant remember the tournanwnr but i remember alex higgins demanding a rerack during a match with john smyth quickly letting alex know that he was in charge and would decide when it would be a rerack, and the legendary len ganley what a ref what a guy what a character r.i.p len

[@ClintWalker-p9c]

9:02 That red into the is one of the best shots I have ever seen! 😮

[@OliverSG1]

My god the amount of coughing

[@chrisstrayer4323]

(Ex smoker here) I noticed the coughing too. As well as the sponsorship signs for Benson and Hedges cigarettes. 🤔 hehe

[@tesla-spectre]

They were all training for "Who wants to be a millionaire"😂

[@pech3617]

You’d have though Tecwen Whittock was in the audience

[@dannyferguson4827]

Covid must have existed back then as well 😂

[@edwells4769]

Never seen so many players tremble as they contemplate you, coughing till their face turns blue, hacking like they have the flu

[@bonkerbonker5083]

Achieving such a feat places Stephen Hendry as the greatest Snooker player of all time , An absolutely incredible comeback !

[@jamesbyrne9312]

I would say it says more about his opponent cracking under pressure rather than Hendrys brilliance. Still a great comeback though

[@bonkerbonker5083]

@@jamesbyrne9312 , This proves to me beyond any doubt that Stephen Hendry had nerves of steel to succeed in such a turnaround, unheard of and a record that will most likely never be equaled !

[@jamesbyrne9312]

@@bonkerbonker5083 it was great but not unheard of. His opponent did everything possible to lose

[@bonkerbonker5083]

@@jamesbyrne9312 we must remain in good faith and give credit to Stephen Hendry

[@jamesbyrne9312]

@@bonkerbonker5083 oh I do but he was helped by his opponent

[@zamiluddin637]

I remember this Amazing

[@patrickcrowther9195]

"The world's No.1 star..." - God I loved Ted Lowe.

[@ravivarman2020]

@18:47 is Hendry the only player who sights the pocket , then delivers his cue.? Don't recall any other player on the planet who follows that technique, very unique. I have tried his method many times and failed miserably. Why does he do it, is beyond my understanding. Before you deliver your cue the last thing you want to do is to look away from the line of aim.

[@vgamerul4617]

11:42 turning point..

[@wormsnake1]

Incredible. Stephen Hendry did come back but there’s no question that Mike Hallet bottled it.x

[@beatletat]

Mike Hallet never won a ranking tournament apart from the Hong Kong open......such a great player. He was fast but always hit the balls hard and firm! Really unlucky not to win this match

[@TheMattTempest]

Hallet had an unusual action, didn't he? Short and snappy and whiplash - barely any drawback, definitely no pause, real 'crack' on the cueball.

[@TheShocker650]

Ronnie O'Sullivan never won a ranking tournament apart from the 39 ranking tournaments he won.

[@felixy23]

he's just like Jimmy White ... too fast and too confidence. those things become their weaknesses as well

[@DavidDavid-yz2sh]

1, Mike Hallet was an average player in the 90s but look at Mike's level of played here. 2. How many players in the strong Era player could hv survive this ONSLAUGHT and win? Trust me most would thrown in the towel for good. 3. That's the reason why Stephen hendry is the GOAT not becos of 7 world titles but a fighter. RESPECT.

[@chrispayne1824]

25:55 Stephen gave a mention to this bit of commentary in one of his recent videos, laughing at how he was described as the world's number one star, not just snooker's number one star.

[@Steve5277-e4o]

Was Mike Hallet actually this free flowing, or is it just an illusion because of the edits?

[@Littlefire5]

Mike is really dangerous with potting but couldn't remain calm. Stephen is one of the best players but got pretty lucky with this one.

[@mikescorpio13]

9:46 i dont really know why but most of the times i missed in my life something unusual would give me a fluke safety just like that haha that was beautiful

[@ravivarman2020]

@12:28 i notice most players use side spin when potting a thin cut. I wonder why? Giving side spin will throw cue ball off line, i assume. Why risk it, if you can play plain ball.

[@kajisherpa6749]

its hard to pot without side on that ball.U need a lil bit of side to create a thin contact with object ball so that it pots.

[@CesarMuroya]

Sidespin allows "thinner" cuts due to Spin-Induced Throw from the cue-ball to the object ball. In the case of Hendry's shot, it's right-hand side. However, Hendry probably played with the left side to better target the cut. For example, the black would probably hit the near jaw if you play the same shot with right-hand side instead. If you are interested, my Higgins vs Yan - Part 2 video shows how Throw works (by minute 7).

[@gabrielc6252]

10:12 What great referees this sport had. Imagine the refs of today like Marcel Eckardt imposing such respect

[@bazs7669]

I remember watching this as an 11-year old and thinking how did he do it? Felt really bad for Hallett

[@jonsaddler3067]

Hallett got home to Grimsby the next day to find his house had been burgled. Poor guy

[@edmundpower1250]

Holy crap! Really? 😲

[@RandomIndyWrestling]

Always heard this be called a super comeback. It was more of Mike consistently getting to the brink and throwing a bad one in.

[@stephenr8615]

Indeed. In frame #18, at 27:30, ends up straight on the black, so he can't get to either of those 2 easy reds to win the match. Later in the same frame, losing position on green after yellow was inexcusable. And he just seemed so solid 99% of the time. The 1% killed him.

[@stonward]

Sounds like they recorded this in a TB ward - but then it was sponsored by B&H!

[@shauncorless8965]

It finished hallett ,,,,he never got over it 😮

[@alakabaz3]

How good was that brown at 19:24? Hendry misses that, which is very possible being so close to the cushion, Hallett would have surely cleaned up then. No one had bottle like him.

[@wretchlikeme6899]

Imagine all those people coughing in 2022, it would be hilarious!

[@danhanna8610]

Notice who the company is that is advertised behind the table?

[@wretchlikeme5321]

@@danhanna8610 I can't make it out. video is grainy.

[@Govanification]

@@danhanna8610 Benson & Hedges cigarettes lol

[@martinkerrmusic]

Mike just kept hitting crucial shots way too hard. That guy needed to learn how to take a deep breath.

[@GXObserver]

At 7'20", a subtitle states "The spinning cue-ball dragged the red to the left". That should be "dragged the red to the right" because it was Hendry's 'view' of the LEFT side of the red that was restricted, not the right.

[@dvidclapperton]

The commentators always base things on how we look at it on screen, not on how they play it.

[@CasperLCat]

Hendry’s nerve was so impressive, but I always feel bad for the guy who let it slip away, or was match point up in a pro tennis Grand Slam tournament and lost, etc. That heartbreak and self-doubt must last for years.

[@UXB-p5u]

If there was ever a time a player didn't want the 'session' to end it was Mike Hallet probably playing the best match Snooker he ever did against one of the all time great players. MH should never have lost that 8th frame...but he did and the 'rest is history'

[@guitarreilly]

27:54 WHY THE FU*K did he hit it that hard??? someone explain

[@likethecountry8649]

I know. He had sooooo many chances. Even as he was throwing them away, he was lining them up and cueing them pretty well. If he’d taken the pace off just the ones along the cushion, at least one would have gone in, that’s all he needed. It was almost like he didn’t believe they would go in so whacked them to get it over with. Hendry though, clearly a long way from his best, what a mentality to be able to turn it on when on the brink again and again.

[@24magiccarrot]

Mike Hallett and Jimy White probably formed a dealing with Hendry's comeback support group in the 90s

[@TheMrBennito]

No need to ask who kept his cool. Man, Hendry is special.

[@gabrielc6252]

Mike was hitting them all with a hammer

[@Couly]

These two played doubles together back in the day

[@TheTmny876able]

Dennis taylor was 8-0 down in the 1985 world snooker final, and of course went on to win.

[@NewYorkActingCoach]

Perfect commentary, but the title should try to INSIST that people watch it, because it is so extraordinary. Maybe something like "Simply unbelievable" added. I know it may make the title a bit long, but anybody who does NOT watch this needs . . a doctor? Stupendous has become a weak word now.. J.

[@LeeJF1]

Bob Fleming here

[@ClintWalker-p9c]

Hendry must have been so happy to get from 7-0 behind to 8-8 just for someone to lose the deciding frame!

[@graemejack9040]

It’s easy to criticise Hallet saying he crumbled etc. The opening 7 frames showed that he was a decent player! The fundamental difference between Hendry and everyone else though was his composure and ability to play in the absolute highest pressure situations! I’ve never seen anyone with more bottle than Stephen Hendry!

[@ravivarman2020]

@13:06 Mike may have committed a foul , after potting black he places his cue close to cue ball still rolling close by.

[@jaberwoky_]

Nah.

[@abcd9032]

And non of them made big mistakes, so every frame was well deserved won, Including the decider which imho was the most thrilling of them all.

[@roysmart4359]

Snooker was sponsorsed almost exclusively by tobacco purveyors back then. Such was their control of the sport they insisted that all audience members smoked a minimum of 5 cigarettes per frame, hence the occasional cough overheard from the crowd. And u tell kids that today, they wont believe you.

[@AbCat4]

😆

[@paulhiggins1577]

This was more about Hallett bottling it than Hendry coming back. Same with Knowles in 83 v Thorburn.

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

Heh at least thanks to this game, Mike Hallett has become a well known name in snooker.

[@JB-ze3yf]

Poor Mike so much talent but any shot that came under pressure under hit it every time

[@thaihoangcfc]

29:50 sure he needed to hit the yellow that hard

[@ВадимШлычков-ъ6ш]

Талантливый спортсмен! Высокая динамика игры при высокой точности!

[@saqibanwar52]

No offence but it does seem like Hallet threw the match. The shots he missed in frame 14 and 15 and even the selection of the reds, the speed he played the shot at - looks very very dodgy to me. Either way Hendry didnt win this by any great performance, he won it because his opponent suddenly started sucking bad!

[@ZEUSDAZ]

Wasn't the greatest comeback of all time, it was the greatest GIVAWAY of all time, big difference.

[@richardevans3253]

Some snooker players lack the killer instinct to match their talent. There's no way Mike Hallet should have lost this .

[@5wisher5weet]

I didn't know Hallet was this good

[@tesla-spectre]

How Hallett did not win the 16th frame is beyond me, still after all th3se years

[@rorykeegan1895]

Taylor v Davis. Taylor only ever leads the match once, on the black of the last frame after Davis has missed it. How does it get better, or closer than that?

[@tobyharling719]

Not true. Taylor led earlier in the final frame as well.

[@edmundpower1250]

​@@tobyharling719Tylor led in many frames. He means led in frames, not points

[@edmundpower1250]

Technically Taylor never leads the match at all. Because once he pots the final black the game ends. So the game is over. He won but he never led

[@tobyharling719]

@@edmundpower1250 Yes, but when he led in other frames he was still behind in the match. When he led on points in the final frame, he was the nearer to the finish line, therefore he was in the lead in the match.

[@behzadkeyvanjah2618]

Man hearing all those coughs during a shot would be...

[@porkyparry1]

Still got a pair haven't you Ray😁

[@pietropicone6202]

❤steven❤

[@twilh]

Very low level player here but surely he didn't need to come off 2 cushions at 29:45????

[@pyrrhicvictory6978]

That shot baffled me aswell why did he hit it so hard ? Just roll the yellow in and hes perfectly on the green, and the brown is there waiting after for match ball. It's not like Hendry played perfect snooker to comeback, Hallett had a handful of chances and somehow couldn't get over the line.

[@timg5011]

All the people mentioning the coughing: The tournament's sponsored by a cigarette company. What do you expect?!? :)

[@MattBell73]

Mike who? Legendary play Hendry 🙏

[@docsen9777]

Heartbreak Hallett 😢

[@dvidclapperton]

It was shocking that the BBC team were talking as though they were widely sxpecting a complete whitewash ad though Hendry was going to do exactly the same as Davis did vs Hallett in 1988, and talking as though it waa astonishing vs the expected score the other way around sven when it was only 1-0 to Hallett. 1-0 and 2-0 Hallett was not that dramatic. 5-0 to 7-0 Hallett was dramatic but the BBC team talking as though it was the polar opposite to what was expected even at only 3-0 as though Hsllett was there just to make up the numbers and incapable of winning a frame vs Hendry in a Masters final was ridiculous. You can't really expect a complete whitewash in a Masters final. After all Hallett can't have been all that bad if he had made the final as well.

[@matheusgolkecardoso8309]

I am a fan of snooker but I do not play. Anyway, I found the way Hallett plays very similar to Ronnie O’Sullivan, specially the cue delivery.

[@craigmacdonald7764]

The greatest comeback ever

[@Sam-gw5pl]

It’s not like Mike never potted another ball at 8-2. He had loads of chances. Look at him at 8-7 up. He was 55-17 ahead with the balls spread out. Loads of missed chances.

[@Holyeer]

feel like obvious match-fixing, especially at 29:55 the easy green and lots of positional pink before that

[@grayeves3309]

Good come back.Mike crumpled big time

[@Cheekychappy78]

Stephen Henry v Jimmy white 92 world championship final 14-8 up, Hendry comes back to win 18-14.

[@Scottsfc]

Wee sassenach 💩 were all hoping Stephen lost 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣, I love it, get in there Stephen, you rammed it right down there self entitled throats 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿