I was at this final. I only went to two snooker tournaments in my entire life and one of them turned out to have the first ever streaker and the last ever major title for Davies. I remember the streaker well - I was just 16 and I remember my dad almost jumping up and down in his seat next to me. 😂 Two other abiding memories: 1. Just how light on his feet O'sullivan was. Not only was he lightning quick, but it was almost like he was weightless the way he moved around the table. 2. How tall and thin Davies was. He was like a bean pole.

steve davis is the prime example that you can get cooler with age

Steve Davis always appears so willing to give praise. What a master.

I wonder how powerful history is, I am now in my 50's watching snooker for a long time. 2023/2024 Ronnie winning tournaments so easily, in his prime, and now I watching this back in 1997 - A video from 12 years !!! What the heck is going here, MAKES YOU FEEL THAT RONNIE IS IMMORTAL !!!

Happy retirement Steve. I grow up during your golden years. One of the all time snooker greats and a gentleman of the sport.

Steve Davis is the giant on whose shoulders all great players since stand. He raised the game to a new level that everyone else aspired to. He also owes me 5 quid from a bet on the 1985 final- how in the world did he lose that?

steve davis a complete snooker man.

The thing none of us knew until he'd retired was what a brilliant sense of humour Davis has, an extremely funny guy

I never tire of watching this or indeed anything to do with Steve Davis.

Can't believe this was nearly 20 years ago now, as is Ronnies 5 minutes 20 seconds 147 from the same year. Davis was struggling badly by 1997, with his best game long gone. But he could still turn it on occasionally. Back in the 80s he was just lethal. This was his finest hour of the 1990s.

steve is still my favourite all time player

I fucking cried when steve won this match.... i'd been an o'sullivan fan for years, but davis was a very old hero, I couldn't believe it when an old great passed back the time to beat a new legend (to put it into perspective, Davis won more money for that win than he'd ever done for anything else in his career!)

Absolutely love Steve! A true legend

Steve Davis, What a Champion. A fabulous player in his own right, his Cue Action one of the greatest of all time too. Davis had the complete all round game set the bar for everyone else until Hendry brought it to another level. I do think Steve Davis could have lived with Hendry and would have won more titles in the 90s himself if he had adapted his game at the time because he most certainly had the talent and the game to do so, he was just so stuck in his ways I think. The Greatest Tactician the game has ever had. A true legend.

Blimey 20 years ago. Ronnie in the final tonight and Steve in the Studio. One of my favourite ever matches and not just for the Streaker!

@ amyrockersgcc: I doubt Selby's fans would say he's the best. He's a very good player and never gives up, but there are a handful of players in the modern era for whom the argument can be made and Mark's just not among them (nor Ebdon or Doherty or Fu...) Davis was dominant in his time, as was Hendry in his. Ronnie has been reaching finals and winning major titles in three different decades. But, for me, it's not a question of who won head to head matches, major titles, or world championships. It's the sheer degree of seemingly effortless talent Ronnie brings to the table. When he's ON, it is simple undeniable that no one has ever played with his degree of talent. He makes shots others would never see, or dare attempt, look easy. His positional play - his ability to run the white around the angles, through traffic to a pinpoint is, in my opinion, orders of magnitude above anything the game has ever seen before.

Steve is awesome! Greatest player of all time imo, Hendry was great in the 90's, O'Sullivan and White are really naturally gifted, but Davis took it to another level back in the day. And the older he gets, the cooler he become. Gotta love him!

Remember being a 6 year old boy in 1985, sitting up til after midnight watching the final. All my family was cheering Dennis Taylor because he's from my country Northern Ireland. My parents really hated Steve Davis because he was the man to beat and the best back then. What a brilliant player Davis was.

Ronnie's technique & stance changed a lot since these days.

O’Sullivan, Hendry, Davis, Williams, J Higgins, Reardon, Spencer...all greats of game. This was old versus new

Thanks for the upload : )

4:08 that shot by Ronnie was ridiculous

This was the best match I ever watched

Steve Davis still remains as the greatest snooker player of all time definitely tied with Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan. I remember watching Steve Davis on telly in my childhood and instantly became his fan and ultimately snooker fan.

In 1979 I went to Rhyl holiday camp for a week. They had a snooker exhibition with someone called Steve Davies. He was great and charming..we lined up for autographs as kids.

Both class, both worth watching, both. Gentleman, both legends,

This is to get me in the mood for tomorrow as 2018 Masters starts at Ally Pally

Would love to have seen this match live atmosphere must've been amazing

An innovator a winner a genius.

Old is Gold

I remember watching this with my sister. She usually can't stand snooker but we were both loved this match.

Two of the snooker greats.

I was only 9/10 yrs old and went to bed thinking O'Sullivan was going to ease away. Then delighted to hear Davis came back to win

3:20 "Why did he play that left-handed"? Back in 1997 that seemed like a good question!

Ronnie is always my favourite.

Pity we didn't get to hear the original commentary, which was unintentionally quite funny. When the Rocket was ahead and looked unstoppable, the commentators (can't remember who they were) asked each other "What does Steve have to do to turn this match around? ... He has to get his safety success up to 90%, and ... ". Easy life, being a commentator! O'Sullivan was at the top of his game back then. It sometimes seemed that if there was a clear path from the cue ball to any red, and a clear path from that red to a pocket, Ronnie could pot it. To get a safety success rate greater than 20% against Ronnie in those days required incredible skill. Steve then produced the best safety play, sustained frame after frame after frame, I've ever seen in 35 years of watching snooker. What a match. What players.

Davis is snooker legend forever for me.

one of my fav finals ever

O'Sullivan v Davis in 1997 was like grandson v grandad. Saying this hours after Ronnie became 7x world champion!

Pure class.

STEVE DAVIS MASTER THINKER RESPECT

'80s Davis emerged for that evening session.

Ye now and again Steve started playing great again .I loved him winning this final .

Really Nice Content.... :)

I have learnt playing snooker from steve davis coaching videos and have lots of respect for him..

Ronnie has been in soooo many masters finals

amazing

Steve Davis is my favourite player!! in the 80s, he was untouchable and supreme. In their prime, I would say Ronnie had would lose to Steve cuz Steve had such a talent getting inside pple's head, even when he is not playing well. Ronnie wld win only if he comes out blazing from the start leaving Steve no chance to the table. I would say Ronnie and Jimmy white were the best naturally gifted players. They were only beaten by their own demons. Stephen Henry on the other hand, not my kind of player. Steve Davis in the 80s were like a machine, he was only playing against himself

The Best Clash of these two Greats of the Game but glad steve Came Through! AMAZING!

What a legend .not bothered about having a little fun at he's own expense

I remember him being 64-1 odds and I won a bet that year with bookies against massive odds. Never forget it, a bolt from the blue.

Wow, great match and some steely determination from Davis ! ^oo^

3:59 is just insane, wish i could do that in the pub.

U could see ronnies scoring power in this match but he was an absolute nervous reck under pressure. Much more in control of his emotions nowadays.

Jack Nicklaus had his last hurrah in golf s masters in 1986, this was Davis s equivalent last hurrah in snookers masters, he played great considering how well O Sullivan played. Davis was still actually ranked number two in the world just the season before this, he was still a semi regular winner albeit not in the majors as Hendry was winning virtually every one, but this victory was the final hurrah, he fell away after this, he was out of the top 16 two years later but did get back in and then did come within a whisker of another ranking title against O Sullivan again at the welsh open in 2004 losing the decider frame. He reached the final of the 2005 uk championship at 48 years old which was arguably is greatest achievement in his post winning years but as he admits himself he probably should have stopped after that but played on as his father wanted him to.

Ronnie is the most naturally gifted player ever but Steve Davis is a total snooker legend.

Today’s o Sullivan would’ve never lost this match. He’s glad the elite game but not the elite mentality but now he has both

Reminiscent of the 1985 World final. Early lead by contender. Sessions ends with a neck-and-neck score. Long match that ended with the early trailer winning.

Me and my cousin watched this live when we were teenagers. We were jumping up and down like madman everytime Davis won a frame

His greatest win, in my opinion.

I love Steve !

He's a lovely man, is Steve Davis.

Ronnie o,sullivan is the best ever by far margin he is a genious But davis when you consider his age and the way snooker was and the old style fighting the new style and his age both at same time And although he didn't have anywhere near the centurys and maximums that hendry and o,sullivan has and thats partly because his tactition style of playing He would get a decent break on the board then snooker someone if the oppurtunity came rather than attempt a shot that might goo wrong, he was always clever and careful not taking chances He is more than capable of more centurys under his belt but hasnt because his type of play To be playing against the amazing genious of ronnie o,sullivan the best player who ever lived by far at his age and old against new That's genious in itself i am a long term steve davis fan but also a ronnie o,sullivan fan as well, but my god did davis do so well in this match bloody marvelous take a bow to him incredible The two new and totally different style of play attacking by ronnie o,sullivan and stephen hendry and the way the game has changed and davis style and his age and how long he has been around and achieved His head to head against o,sullivan and hendry although didnt match them but kept up well with a lot of matches didnt get white washed by either that i remember Kept up well with hendry many times score lines where never to far apart with there head to head results So with that said amazing coming from his era already been around for ever and then sullivan and hendry turn up fresh two greats of the game to go up against With the game changed, steve davis style of play and his age and he already been around forever he competed really really well considering all this Totall legend in his own way in my book And a great gentlemen

Nice history

davis talking bout his 130 break...hilarious! gotta love steve

pls anybody knows the backround music ?

Why does John Virgo always sit at an angle during interviews?

That win must have felt so good for Davis.

Anyone know what the music is for this?

ronnie got tired but learnt from it !!

his idle became his rival!!!

At 3.28 Clive the commentator said "why did he play that left - handed " . I am sure he must have found out now !

me too. but when i find out that it is fucking impossible for me to play like that i always give up!

steve davis is true legend....

I was at this final, streaker was funny, I didn't see her at first, it was only. When my dad started jumping up and down that I realised lol.

Watching this in 2022 after Ronnie has just won his 7th World title

whats wrong with john virgos neck?

“that upstart Hendry” 🤣

Ronnie is the supreme, if he’s matured a little earlier he prob would have 10 world titles, there’s deffo time for 2 more maybe 3

Probably Steve Davis finest hour, considering who he beat and for what title.

can someone tell me the name of the beautiful background song ?

Davis played the best in his career to beat Ron

Name on the song?

Stephen Hendry may be the 'greatest' player to pick up a SNOOKER cue...........but Steve Davis is and always will be the 'greatest' player to pick up a cue. There is a difference, as Hendry majored in snooker whereas Davis played snooker, pool, billiards, trick shots etc ALL to a very high level!!!!!!

To beat Ronnie in your last major final is no mean feat.

Alfred Tong. Can you make the music about 3 times louder, so that we can all hear it properly? You crazy Asian.

I noticed that too. I think he has a bad neck though, one of the reasons he just does trick shots now i think. So i'm guessing his neck has something to do with how he sits.

it may have been Steve's last title but not a bad way to bow out against Ronnie the old lion defeating the new

John Virgo really never did like Steve Davis (the player). This one must have hurt. #TheNugget

Love Davis. Who would know he was this funny now compared to his 80s persona lol

I was there and i remember the naked girl running around the table🤣🤣🤣🤣

And how is your professional career going? a year passed...

Hazel Irvine looking fineeee

I wonder if Davis paid for the streaker? It certainly turned the match around

HAZEL😍😍😍😍

Florence and the Machine, Dog Days

Ronnie should've won this final

Salford kid, JV

Steve is always awesome, but these were the days Ronnie would fall to pieces. Was this during the drug and alcohol period?

Steve Davis the greatest for me. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and used to love watching snooker. My favourite players are Davis, Reardon, Higgins, White. I admit there is plenty of mileage in the argument that O Sullivan is the best player, followed by Hendry but for me Davis is the greatest.