Main content

Episode 2

Gods of Snooker Series 1
Episode 2 of 3

As snooker becomes big business, Alex Higgins struggles to keep up with the professionalism of a new rising star 鈥� Steve Davis.

Though snooker was firmly established on our TV screens by the early 80s, the game鈥檚 money-spinning potential had not yet been realised.

One of the first to spot a business opportunity was savvy Essex-based sports promoter Barry Hearn, who had recently taken a young hopeful called Steve Davis under his wing. Davis was the polar opposite of people鈥檚 champion Alex Higgins: slow, precise and intent on grinding out victories rather than entertaining with risky flair shots. Hearn was certain that his young apprentice was a future world champion, and together, the pair plotted world domination. As Higgins鈥檚 career took a downward turn, Davis quickly became a winning machine, bagging trophy after trophy. But his 'robotic' performances failed to win over a crowd who preferred their sporting heroes more flawed and unpredictable.

Capitalising on Davis鈥檚 success, Hearn started to build his own snooker empire - the 'Matchroom鈥�- and recruited a small group of players he could mould and market, creating a soap opera out of sporting rivalry, and in the process, bringing lucrative sponsorships (and even hit pop singles) into the game.

By the mid-80s, snooker was at the peak of its powers, and in 1985 nearly 20 million people tuned in to see Steve Davis play Dennis Taylor in the World Championship final. It was an encounter that became known as the 'black ball final鈥�, widely believed to be the best snooker match of all time. After that, Britain really did go 'snooker loopy', and a select group of cue-wielding sportsmen were suddenly the biggest superstars in the country.

8 months left to watch

59 minutes

Last on

Tue 11 Apr 2023 00:20
主播大秀 Two except Northern Ireland & Northern Ireland HD

More episodes

Previous

Episode 1Series 1

Next

Episode 3Series 1

See all episodes from Gods of Snooker

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:02

    Bob Dylan

    A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

  • 00:02

    Jacques Dutronc

    Cactus

  • 00:03

    New Order

    Blue Monday

  • 00:05

    Fairground Attraction

    Perfect

  • 00:07

    Doug Wood Group

    Drag Racer (主播大秀 Snooker theme)

  • 00:09

    Fleetwood Mac

    The World Keep On Turning

  • 00:10

    The Who

    Who Are You

  • 00:16

    The Cure

    Just Like Heaven

  • 00:18

    The Cure

    Just Like Heaven

  • 00:20

    The Undertones

    You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It?)

  • 00:29

    Yazoo

    Situation

  • 00:33

    Sade

    Smooth Operator

  • 00:34

    Sade

    Smooth Operator

  • 00:40

    Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

    Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)

  • 00:40

    Snowy White & The White Flames

    Blues Is The Road

  • 00:51

    Duran Duran

    Hungry Like The Wolf

  • 00:52

    Spitting Image

    Good Old British Bloke

  • 00:58

    The Human League

    Don't You Want Me

  • 00:59

    The Beat

    Stand Down Margaret

Credits

Director Edward McGown
Producer Laurence Turnbull
Executive Producer Arron Fellows
Executive Producer Louis Theroux
Production Company Mindhouse Productions

Broadcasts

Gods of Tennis

Gods of Tennis

On court, they were legends. Off it, they challenged the world. A golden age of tennis.