Monday May 2, 1994. Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White are locked in a final frame decider in the World Championship final. With White leading 37-24 and the table open, even the usually stoic Hendry is showing signs of concern. White bends down to tackle a black he would normally pot with his eyes closed.
It should have been his crowning glory, the moment White conquered his Everest. Instead it was the day the music died. A gasp echoed around the Crucible as White's attempt at the black failed to threaten the pocket. All he could do was sit, wait and hope that Hendry would give him one more shot.
Perhaps White's miss might not have felt so final had it been against anyone other than Hendry. But here was one man who would gratefully grab any opportunity thrown his way. For those of us who were desperate for White to win, all hope was gone. Commentator Dennis Taylor rightly pointed out that Hendry had nerves of steel. There was still work to be done but secretly we all knew the score.
The story of White and Hendry at the 1994 World Snooker Championship concluded as the 25-year-old Scot made a break of 58, but there were a few chapters written before that moment. The road to a fourth World Championship final between the pair was littered with uncertainty, turmoil and pain.
Both players arrived at the Crucible with doubts surrounding their games. Hendry had enjoyed a good start to the season, yet his form going into Sheffield was a cause for concern. A defeat at the Thailand Open to World Amateur champion Tai Pichet was alarming, and he failed to reach the final at the Irish Masters and British Open.
"My confidence is shot to bits and I'm going through the worst spell of my career," Hendry admitted prior to Sheffield. "The defeat to the guy in Thailand was the lowest point in my career." Even so, Hendry was still very much the man to beat, a point emphasised by his odds of 11/8 as the 17-day tournament started.
Hendry's struggles were nothing in comparison to White. On and off the table, 1994 was a year to forget for the Whirlwind. A three year drink-driving ban and marriage problems hardly helped his snooker, as White had so far failed to reach any final during the 1993/94 season. Realistically, White's odds of 13/2 had more to do with his popularity and past record at the Crucible rather than his current form.
Nevertheless, White was talking a good game. "My game is coming back, there is no doubt about that, and I feel confident about the way I'm playing," White said. "It's all behind me now and I am putting in seven hours of practice every day. I'm buzzing again."
White certainly seemed to justify his words. A 10-6 win over Billy Snaddon in the first round featured two century breaks - one including 14 reds and blacks - as he worked through the gears. "After that performance I've got as much chance as anyone," White bullishly declared. Wins over Neal Foulds and Ken Doherty saw him ease into the last four.
The path to the one-table format was far from smooth for Hendry, however. After thrashing Surinder Gill 10-1, the Scot moved into a comfortable 7-1 lead over Dave Harold in the second round. But that is where the comfort ended. In the week that Brian Lara broke the record for the highest Test match innings, Hendry was about to break something himself.
Slipping in his hotel bathroom, Hendry's participation in the tournament was now in doubt. "I put my left arm down to cushion the fall and that's when the damage occurred. I feared the worst this morning for a couple of hours when I couldn't straighten my arm. But I was relieved when the specialist said the fracture wasn't that bad and that I could play on."
A hairline fracture below his left elbow hampered Hendry in his 13-8 quarter final win over Nigel Bond. "The pain was definitely worse than in my previous match," he explained. "It's ok when I'm bridging normally, but my bridge over balls is weak." Struggling with the pain in his semi-final, there was a real possibility that Hendry would have to withdraw.
Hendry would need all of his ability and determination to win his semi-final clash against a rejuvenated Steve Davis. Enjoying a fine season, the 36-year-old was second favourite at 11/2, and was provisionally ranked as world number one. Cruising past Dene O'Kane and Steve James, Davis' impressive form continued as he defeated rising star James Wattana in the last eight.
Leading Davis 8-7 overnight, Hendry's concern over his injury grew as the pain increased. But when an X-ray confirmed no further damage, and his medication was changed, Hendry returned to end Davis' dream of a seventh world crown. Trailing 9-8, Hendry won eight frames in a row to set up a fourth final against White.
The main obstacles in White's half of the draw appeared to be 18-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan and 1991 champion John Parrott. O'Sullivan had won the UK Championship, British Open, and Benson & Hedges Championship and was 6/1 to win his first world title. But Parrott would end his hopes, winning 13-3 in the second round.
Parrott would then go on to lose 13-11 to Wales' Darren Morgan, although he fared slightly better than three former champions who exited immediately. Cliff Thorburn squandered a 9-2 lead to lose 10-9 to Nigel Bond; Alex Higgins lost 10-6 to Doherty, the Hurricane involved in a disagreement with referee John Williams during the match; Dennis Taylor lost to O'Sullivan. All three would never made it back to the Crucible again.
White's impressive form continued as he defeated Morgan 16-8 to reach his fifth consecutive world final and his sixth in total. "The world and his dog will be rooting for Jimmy, but that's always the way," Hendry noted. When the Scot opened up a 5-1 lead, it appeared that White was once again going to suffer final despair.
But White dug deep, winning eight of the next ten frames to lead 9-7 going into the final day. Bank Holiday Monday, May 2, White's 32nd birthday. The chance to lose the tag of the best player to never have won the world championship.
It seemed inevitable that the final would go to a deciding frame. White led 13-12 before Hendry rallied to win the next three frames, and the two would trade blows until the score reached 17-17. As White returned to the arena he shook Hendry's hand, fitting for a final that both had demonstrated sportsmanship throughout.
This was it. John Williams, who had refereed the classic 1985 final, asked for quiet before White started the decider. Sinking a red and black, White missed a decent chance to open up a healthy lead, before a safety error handed an opportunity to Hendry. However, after a break of 24, Hendry was unable to pot a difficult red. White had his chance.
This was agony for those of us wanting White to win. Every shot was watched through the cracks of our fingers. Yet all was going to plan. White opened up the pack off a black and played a superb shot on the next red with the extended rest as the break reached 29. The hard work was done. The monkey was about to jump from White's back.
Even Hendry thought his race was run. "When he got in, I was delighted for him. Anyone else and I would have hated it. I was ready to shake his hand and really congratulate him because he deserves the title."
But then it happened. The simplest black ball missed and a second chance handed to a player you could ill afford to let back in. "Oh dear me, that was just a little bit of tension," Taylor said in the BBC commentary box, as the crowd exhaled in horror. White, his face etched in anguish, glazed over as Hendry moved in for the kill.
Hendry did have one nervy moment, as a pink wobbled before dropping, but there was a chilling inevitability about a break that was made to look a lot easier than it was. "I'm delighted for Stephen Hendry," Taylor said, after Hendry moved into a decisive lead. "But I could cry for this gentleman sitting in the chair there," he added, as the camera zoomed in on a devastated White. He was not alone.
Tragedy is an overused word in sport. On a weekend that had seen Ayrton Senna die at Imola, White's defeat was put into perspective. "He's beginning to annoy me," White famously said of four-times champion Hendry as he spoke to David Vine, attempting to use humour to cope with his hurt.
"I didn't compose myself on the black," White admitted. "It was a rush of blood and it cost me dearly. I'll keep coming back until I'm 100 if necessary until I win the title. This won't stop me." Hendry backed White to return and finally lift the trophy. But that classic final in 1994 was White's last shot at glory. A missed black that would haunt him forever as Hendry pooped his party once more.
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