Steve Davis vs Alex Higgins UK Championship 1980

Closing moments of Davis winning with a session to spare.

[@seltaeb9691]

None of us appreciated Steve Davis at the time as he was a metronome of consistency & style & hoovered up titles. Respect Steve big time.

[@countbasi4680]

Speak for yourself.

[@sexobscura]

Here here

[@linsayspence7070]

I did, I thought he was ace , nobody could touch him back then, except for Alex occasionally.

[@SC-jh9qp]

I know what you mean. I remember the commentators conjecturing in the 1980s whether Steve (Interesting/Romford Robot) Davies was spoiling snooker because he was just too good.

[@mattstevens4192]

Good player that young Davis guy. I reckon he could win a few world titles.

[@davidjatt3251]

A.K.A. worst video in the world to watch if you're a Higgins fan... lol

[@fearlesslegend2073]

Davis smesh him

[@alanchamberlain9902]

Steve was another standard altogether. Alex wasn't in the same league as him.

[@johnmc3862]

He was, but Higgins was on of the best potters the game and ever seen and one of the most innovative players ever. He was far more entertaining than Davis was.

[@ianbanks3016]

@@johnmc3862 Entertaining yes, but also temperamental, erratic and inconsistent.

[@edmundpower1250]

@@johnmc3862 snooker is not about entertaining it's about winning

[@alanchamberlain9902]

@@johnmc3862 Davis was far better all round and more consistent. That’s why he mostly trounced Higgins.

[@prodigalparties]

I think we need to remember that in the 80s Davis didn’t just trounce Higgins but all in the game. Higgins was still two time world champion and remains the peoples champion

[@Atlantianreborn]

Ted lowes best line "For those watching in black and white, the red is next to the black" Priceless..

[@seltaeb9691]

I wasn't a fan of Ted Lowe as he never uttered anything in the slightest of the technicalities of snooker unlike Virgo & Thorne, just "& will he pot the.. can the 1984 champion...". When he finally got the push I was happy. Steve Davis is also hopeless in the commentary seat but great in the studio team.

[@stevenwade7466]

@@seltaeb9691 So if every commentator had the same style/ technical input comments etc ,what a boring world in would be !

[@cruiseylee]

Which is a completely fine comment to make. People know were the black normally sits.

[@alanmctavish4802]

@seltaeb i wasnt his best fan. He always sounded as if it was a late night horror film we were watching.

[@stevesas632]

Alex always played the game like a Pool player, great to watch, but not conducive to becoming a dominant Champ.

[@Tony_Stony]

Check out the 1995 pool match where him and Jimmy White destroy 2 American champs 🤣

[@BradRae188]

Player’s seats don’t even have armrests 😂

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Inhuman!

[@BradRae188]

@@annoyingbstard9407 😂

[@rogeriodasilvabastosbastos2662]

Não sou da época, mais pra mim Alex Higgins foi fenomenal

[@JongleurJ10]

Early warning signs before Davis dominated the 1980s. Although Higgins still got the 82 world title.

[@sexobscura]

Davis is phenomenal I could watch him play all the long live day

[@iancarpenter6298]

its strange how popular steve is now hes retired...than when he played...i like stephen hendry now..but disliked him when he played...is it we dont like a winner. i dont know...but ive always loved ronnie....the greatest...so it dispells my theory.

[@dylandoyle6440]

It’s probably the fact they were like robots and you could hardly get a word also if you love Ronnie that probably means you love white and Alex Higgins unfortunately Davis and hendry stopped them two so that could be why

[@LerafoLuap]

Three big differences between Ronnie on the one hand, and Davis/Hendry on the other: 1. Ronnie was never as utterly dominant as Davis and Hendry were; they seemed to win everything during the 80s and 90s respectively. 2. In doing so they regularly trounced “people’s favourites” like Higgins and White. 3. Davis and Hendry also came across as a bit dour and smug during their years of dominance; it was hard to warm to them. The reality was simply that they were highly focused, self-disciplined and not given to false modesty or crowd-pleasing folksiness. The true greats of most solo sports tend to have those same attributes e.g. Nicklaus, Federer, Woods, Djokovic etc.

[@MrChippiechappie]

No Hendry is the greatest followed by Davis.

[@Ploddingalong67]

If you ever want an insight into Higgins' persona, look at how he couldn't even look Davis in the eye when they shook hands. Crass and classless aspect of Higgins' personality. As for his ability, yes, genius but a massive underachiever too. His 69 break still remains an evolutionary moment in the game but so much of Higgins is what should have been. Having said all that, to gorw up in the 70s and see snooker bloom the way it did, I am a lucky man. Alex was a founding part of snooker's appeal and without him, the modern game would not have happened.

[@McElhinney65]

In fairness Alex approached Steve in order to shake his hand and was looking directly at him. Steve was more interested in looking up into the auditorium. Alex seemed to take exception to this hence his behaviour.

[@Ploddingalong67]

@@McElhinney65aye, it didn't take much for his petulance to surface. Thought Steve could have saved the celebration until after the formalities, seemed unprofessional and lacked a touch of class.

[@laurencemarrison5181]

You forgot to mention the arrogance of Davis here. He potted the pink to win the title. At this point he should have turned to Higgins and shook his hand, not turn to whoever he was looking at and give it a double fist pump and then shake hands after. That was arrogance and very bad manners.

[@stanleyharrison7031]

Tbf davis was a bit of a dunce when he first came on the scene. Didnt really understand snooker etiquette, like when he ate a ham sandwich while playing on live TV. Barry hearn broke him in though and he learned how to behave

[@mickmcdonagh1557]

@@McElhinney65 well said

[@stuartwilliams-fw4vo]

Davis and Hearn were ( and continue to be) the ruination of the game.

[@adamglasgow9268]

Bram stokers Gary oldman

[@paulriggall8370]

The Young Professor of Pot.

[@adamglasgow9268]

Steve davis vs gary oldman

[@christiano8088]

I hated him as my idol was ray reardon, but as a snooker player myself, carne ro appreciate very quickly his genius.

[@p4rf252]

Did u hate steve or alex

[@kevinharrison4909]

Don't mean to be Anal, but wasn't that an undeclared foul on the pink by Davis at 13:54 I heard a snick on the cue ball as it passed the pink that shouldn't have been there???

[@LerafoLuap]

The cue ball goes in a completely straight line past the pink and isn’t even close to it.

[@mtoner1971]

Spot on mate, you can hear it clearly.

[@alanmctavish4802]

I remember it got to the stage that i just knew davis was going to hammer alex every time they played, after about 1984. And alex was my hero in the early 80s. But it started to fade in the mid 1980s. But i still never missesd a match up until 1989, and when he played davis from 84,85 i hardly watched a match. I knew after an hour alex would be 4-0 down. So i got fed up with it as steve was far to good for him. And he was winning 9-2 9-4 and by big margins all the time. Well alex beat steve 5 times in 26 matches? Steve won 21, that says alot.

[@GrrMeister]

5:57 *Most of the REDS Looked like Blacks to me - whatever will be !*

[@stuartbritton7408]

Lots of oversensitive snowflake comments here on body language and suspected arrogance or bad manners..

[@elpadre4202]

Ted Lowe, was the best. Dramatic overtones.

[@reacey]

I don't like how he made Alex wait for the handshake

[@mickmcdonagh1557]

Piss poor sportsmanship

[@egrorian1]

Yeah, Higgins was always ultra sportmanlike, wasn't he??

[@reacey]

@@egrorian1 if higgins had done it I'd have said the same.. Its not "my dads harder than your dad" pal

[@egrorian1]

Yes, Davis really should have shaken Higgins' hand first but seems a fairly minor issue. I just don't think Higgins necessarily deserved better given the sort of stuff he did. There was no love lost between the two even at that stage, so if Davis - consciously or not - was rubbing Higgins' nose in it a little, well so what? Higgins had his turn in the 1983 final when he turned the tables on Davis.

[@geertvankempen3293]

I don't think Steve meant anything bad towards Alex by it. It's just the very first major title for Steve, and I think he's just sharing the moment with his dad in the audience who encouraged him to get this far so much. I love these old snooker videos, although some of the videos of Alex (on better days than this one) have the disadvantage that these make even Ronnie look boring....

[@James-hh1lq]

So slow compared to todays players especially rocket ronnie

[@James-hh1lq]

@SavageArfad lol

[@stanleyharrison7031]

Lol prawn murphy

[@edmundpower1250]

Don't be ridiculous Ronnie didn't play fast all the time when winning titles. And he never dominated like Davis or Hendry did

[@alanchamberlain9902]

@@edmundpower1250 Standard was a lot higher with the other players that’s why.

[@edmundpower1250]

@@alanchamberlain9902 top notch Steve and Stephen would beat top notch Ronnie 7 out of 10

[@SnookerFan-kl1jj]

One of many thrashings Davis handed out to Higgins.

[@darenwilliams5858]

Yeah , like the 1983 Coral UK championship

[@countbasi4680]

@@darenwilliams5858 I think you're confused. 1983 World Championship semi (16-5), 1984 UK Final (16-8), etc, etc, etc. Those are thrashings.

[@darenwilliams5858]

@@countbasi4680 confused about what ? Higgins beat Davis 16-15 in the 1983 coral UK championship , coming from 7- nil down . Point being , Davis didn't thrash/ beat Higgins every time they played

[@McElhinney65]

You listen to Ted Lowe's commentary and realise that he really hadn't much of a clue about the game.

[@thirpalshk]

Yes , he talked alot of rubbish and bluster. Often didn't realise the players intention on shots.

[@dlamiss]

Yes always thought Clive Everton was the best commentator.

[@dlamiss]

@SavageArfad yes liked Jack as well

[@christiano8088]

Its a bit harsh I think he just didn't know how to commentate, snooker evolved as did the commentary.

[@vantheman1238]

Whispering Ted Lowe

[@andyfawcett7060]

WTF was that black that Alex played before the last red? He could have rolled that and left a long red. Whacking it in for the sheer hell of it.

[@fearlesslegend2073]

He lost hope and he just didn't care

[@AlonsoRules]

It was Alex Higgins. He just played exhibition shots for the fans.

[@jmcg7705]

always good to see alec get beat !!!!!

[@darenwilliams5858]

Alex

[@Ownz1982]

Hurricane Best snooker Brian produced Davis Best snooker robot produced I watch higgins over Davis anyday

[@paulrailton1511]

I forgot how much of a prk Davies was.

[@MrChippiechappie]

Not as much of a prk as you.