Exclusive: Six-time world champion Steve Davis was one black ball from adding another title to his Crucible record – but he has no regrets over his iconic loss to Dennis Taylor
Losing is never easy, but Steve Davis has described his iconic defeat in the 1985 World Snooker Championship final as the “best moment” in his career. Or to be more specific, failing to pot the decisive black in what many still consider the greatest Crucible final of all time.
This month’s World Snooker Championship will mark the 40th anniversary of the ‘Black Ball Final’, where Davis and Dennis Taylor warred over 35 frames before going down to the last. And after a record-breaking session lasting 14 hours and 50 minutes, it was Taylor who potted the final ball to end his opponent’s search for a third straight world title.
The nature of that defeat would be enough to drive some mad, but Davis delights in seeing the story as a glass half full. ‘The Nugget’ was an overwhelming favourite after winning three of the previous four Crucible finals before being denied his fourth in agonising fashion.
“If you’re trying to analyse why you want to play snooker and why you want to compete, that’s quite a deep thing to think about,” he told Mirror Sport. “What is it that makes somebody want to play snooker to the Nth degree?
“And okay, they’re good at it, but what is it that drives them forward to play in competitions? And I don’t think it’s necessarily just about winning or losing. It’s about the thrill you get from it. And that thrill – it becomes very addictive. And so any match that is thrilling is actually something that you’ve got to say is entertaining you.”
Davis – who would recover to go on and win an additional three World Championships, taking his final tally to six – is proud of the fact fans still talk about that match four decades on. He describes it as “an honour” to be considered part of such a nostalgic moment for so many snooker fans, something he also finds “hilarious.”
The Black Ball Final came about at a time when snooker was reaching its peak popularity during the 1980s and ’90s, but even then it retains a reputation all of its own. And rightfully so given it still holds the record of BBC Two’s most watched event, attracting a peak audience of 18.5million people, something that only dawned on him later.
He continued: “So that match, for me, whilst I ended up missing one ball that defined that time of my life, the thrill of that final frame and the thrill of that event was incredible. So from that perspective only, it was the best and worst.”
But while Davis has the clarity of hindsight to be able to smile at his contribution today, it wasn’t as easy to be ambivalent at the time. Taylor, after all, was the one who grabbed the glory and was held in the higher esteem for what ended up being his only world title.
There was the usual afterparty in Sheffield, where Davis recalls drinking until the sun came up before “crying into his pillow” – though his memory is hazy. Keeping himself busy through exhibition matches – including one against Taylor just a few days after the Crucible – proved key to maintaining his mental state, but he wasn’t impervious to the lows that often follow such defeats.
“I do remember having moments of reverie,” he said. “Really sort of, not depressed, but just sort of [thinking], ‘Oh, God.’ A bit desolate sometimes when I was on my own when there wasn’t anything happening.
“And I think it took me until the next season, when there was a tournament on the horizon, to sort of get my cue out of my case to start practising and look forward rather than back.”
Davis conceded he might not speak so magnanimously on the matter had his “career plummeted” and he failed to win another World Championship after the 1985 finale. He and Taylor often reminisce about the night they etched their names in the sport’s annals, engaging a fresh wave of snooker fans in the process.
The stars of today can only hope of being part of a moment that recaptures that same grandeur when this year’s tournament gets underway on April 19. And Davis is proof that, contrary to belief, history isn’t solely written by the victors.
Watch the 2025 World Snooker Championships live from Sheffield on BBC and BBC iPlayer from 19 April.
