1984 Masters: Kirk Stevens' 147

Is it possible for one video on YouTube to sum up a sport at that particular point in time? Something highlighting the key components of a sporting era in one neat package, demonstrating to the uneducated just what it was like to have lived through that time. Yes seems to be the obvious answer. 

Just take football in the 1980s as a case study. Sadly there are numerous clips illustrating the impact of crowd violence on the sport and the lack of safety inside stadiums at the time. Any sporting documentary covering football in this period will inevitably include footage of hooligans, generally accompanied by the Two Tribes soundtrack.

If you wanted a similar experience with snooker then look no further than the Masters semi-final between Jimmy White and Kirk Stevens in 1984. Played at Wembley Conference Centre, here was the sport in a nutshell. A tournament sponsored by a tobacco company; a memorable match covered on BBC television during the glory days of the sport; Stevens in his white suit; two stars who would fill column inches for years to come.

1981 World Snooker Championship

Although Steve Davis was priced as the 7/2 favourite for the 1981 World Snooker Championship, his path to title glory would be littered with obstacles. After facing a future star of the sport in the first round, three world champions then lay in wait. Securing a first world title was going to be earned the hard way.

With seedings at the Crucible based on the last three World Championships, Davis was seeded 13th for the event that started on Tuesday April 7. Yet the 23-year-old was clearly the man to beat after winning the Coral UK Championship, the Wilson's Classic, the Yamaha Organs Trophy, and the John Courage English Professional Championship in the 1980/81 season.

1988 World Snooker Championship

Snooker seemingly stood at a crossroads as the 1988 World Championship tournament neared. With less coverage of the sport on our television screens, and viewing figures declining, the glory days of the sport appeared to be fading into the distance.

It probably didn’t help that a major crisis was hovering over snooker. During the 1987 World Championships, a number of stories had broken in relation to drug usage, both recreational and performance enabling/enhancing. The next year would be dominated with front page news involving snooker players, rehab, drugs tests, and beta-blockers.

1987 World Snooker Championship

Looking back at the 1987 World Snooker Championship, as Steve Davis gains some revenge over Joe Johnson, and the sport is dragged into a debate involving the usage of performance enhancing drugs.

There were a number of players with a few points to prove as the 1987 World Snooker Championship commenced on Saturday April 18. None more so than the reigning champion, and the man he had beaten in the 1986 final. For Joe Johnson and Steve Davis, the next few weeks would go a long way to answering any doubts regarding their current standing in the game.