Can England v Norway's World Cup battle topple snooker's greatest match that saw Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis create sporting history in 1985?
Published 11/07/2026 at 14:39 GMT+1
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In a World Cup bedecked by hydration breaks, Steve Davis against Dennis Taylor in the 1985 world snooker final delivered hydration for a nation; a match that appeared to sprinkle restorative powers over a TV audience of millions, one which matched the two main frazzled protagonists every step of the way for sporting staying power.
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Not that anybody was complaining as a snooker-loopy UK tuned in up and down the land to see if Taylor - the plucky Northern Irish bloke with the funny upside-down specs - could take down his much-vaunted opponent, the outstanding performer of his generation, who looked as sure-fire a winner as France at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Whatever happens between England and Norway in their quarter-final in the boiling heat of Miami on Saturday, it will need to go some distance to match the fabulous farce of the happenings inside the stifling cauldron of the Crucible one night in Sheffield 41 years ago.
Taylor had trailed 8-0 after the first session, but somehow clawed his way back to close to 13-11 behind before the fourth and final session began at 18:45 on Sunday, April 28, finally concluding at 00:25 on Monday, April 29.
"The final frame, the final black," said match commentator 'whispering' Ted Lowe as both men battled to sink the deciding ball set against the backdrop of their own trembling frames.
Taylor almost won the era-defining match on misses as a shredded Davis overcut an eminently pottable cutback black - a glaring error in keeping with the error-strewn, elongated nature of the contest - to a blind pocket before Taylor somehow slotted the match ball.
"No," said a staggered Lowe as Davis, a man with a seemingly unbeatable halo circling him, missed the fateful black amid a remarkable outpouring of national celebration that was only missing the bunting. "This is really unbelievable."
Cue the timeless cue over the head and wag of the finger that has been bathed in blissful vats of gooey nostalgia over the past five decades and has given Taylor another career beyond being merely a former pro.
Yet the sands of time remain kind to the forever final that might have got the sport closed down if it was played in the modern era.
Neither player produced a century break in 35 exacting frames of snooker - the only final since 1977 to fail to witness a ton - in a match which took an agonising 14 hours and 50 minutes to complete.
When Taylor, who top scored with a 98 in completing a comeback special to rival Elvis Presley in 1968, sunk the winning black, a terrestrial TV audience of 18.5m were tuned in, a record post-midnight TV audience for the UK and the biggest all-time audience for BBC2.
"Snooker was the winner that evening. I was just lucky to pot that final black after 17 days. I was 7-0 down after the first session then 8-0 down," Taylor told TNT Sports.
"It just shows what can happen if you persevere. Steve says he will remember that one more than the six he won.
"It was great to be a little part of history."
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Will the Davis v Taylor showdown, a sporting and cultural phenomenon, ever be overtaken?
It was a moment in time that illustrated snooker's popularity at a time when the standard was several levels below what we witness today.
To put this into context, only 14 centuries were made in the 1985 tournament compared to 81 this year.
It is a match that transcends the sport, but it could also be argued that Davis, a pristine perfectionist in his peak years, progressed to play to a higher standard in remaining competitive in the 1990s and 2000s than when he dominated the sport in gobbling up the game's trophies.
It is an argument best illustrated by his 13-11 win over the defending champion John Higgins at the age of 52 in the last 16 of the 2010 World Championship.
But defeat to Taylor must have been a bitter blow when he was far and above the rest of the competition in his decade of superiority.
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"One personal memory was when I lost to Dennis Taylor in the final of 1985. It was one of the most exciting moments in the game's history," said Davis earlier this year when he reflected upon the death of John Virgo, the former UK champion and celebrated commentator.
"When I went back to the dressing room, I was in floods of tears. And the one person who knocked on the door and came in was John. Not that he wanted me to win or lose, but he knew what it meant.
"He was moved by what had happened."
The final frame lasted 68 minutes, but has been discussed from here to eternity since the final black disappeared.
"Anybody playing in the 80s, Steve Davis was the hardest player I have ever played against," Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White, the six-time Crucible finalist, told TNT Sports. .
"He had such great cue action, such a great temperament and his scoring ability, he was so consistent, made so few mistakes.
"I had a style similar to [Alex] Higgins, probably even more attacking than Higgins, I went for my shots, so then the newspapers set up this new rivalry, because Steve Davis kept on winning.
"I quite liked it, me and Steve Davis, I was sort of wasting my time partying and he was practising, so I never had any problems with Steve Davis."
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Having socials in those days involved picking up a cue with your pals for a few frames at your local club, such was the widespread affection snooker enjoyed.
The only genuine threat to such a massive 1980s audience in a vastly more fragmented landscape of viewing habits would surely only come via a royal wedding, a world title fight in boxing or the Three Lions at a major tournament.
England v Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals is expected to attract huge attention as Thomas Tuchel's side chase a semi-final spot in the world game's grandest global competition.
16.3m watched England's 2-1 win over DR Congo in the round of 32, but that was broadcast at 17:00 in the afternoon from Atlanta.
If the contest goes beyond midnight, as it will if extra-time is needed, will there be more eyes on football than snooker's greatest match?
Will Harry Kane v Erling Haaland prove more popular than Davis v Taylor?
Disturbing the ongoing enduring romanticism of such a mythical occasion may prove elusive even if England manage to end 60 years of hurt by emulating Dennis Taylor.
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