Alex Higgins v Jimmy White - 1982 World Snooker Championship semi final 

my two favourite players of all time, the best ever.

David Vine was a wonderful presenter who left us far too soon.

This match is the greatest ever Jimmy white what a genius! Just oozing natural talent!! RIP Hurricane Higgins!!

Great to see this classic match again, even though at times it sounded like it was inside a tent and it was pouring down..I'm proud to have met Alex , without him snooker wouldn't have become what it is today.

Becoming a world champion with the cue action of Alex Higgins, just goes to show that practically anyone can do anything.

Fantastic playing from the gifted Alex Higgins & Jimmy White, they were both my two most favourite gifted players, so much so, I named my second born son Alex James Nicholls. :)

Snooker was never better to watch before or since.

Beautiful gesture there at the end of the match. Alex hugging Jimmy. Loving it.Yes it is history but real all the same. Smiles

Possibly the best clearance of all time, especially the blue he whipped in with extreme left hand side an screw. Other pros have tried to recreate this shot but couldn't do it.

why was this more exciting than the entire last 20 years of snooker combined?

I'm no expert but this has to be the best snooker match ever . I remember it so well and not being able to decide who I wanted to win as I was fans of both players . But thankfully Alex won the final , and it meant so much to him .

The 80s was the greatest era in snooker, and this was just a classic match between two of the games most exciting and naturally gifted players that the game as ever seen...both incredible shot makers, and firm favorites with the fans,..mavericks of the game, flawed geniuses , ..but mesmerizing and full of energy on the table ...Jimmy white and Alex Higgins both legends of the baize...

Alex Higgins Jimmy White two legends, who's ever going to replace those men .☘️☘️🍃☘️☘️☘️☘️ From Ireland

The greatest snooker game I've ever seen. Never tire of watching it.

to see these two play is amazing. No matter what the shot by the time theball has stopped they are already getting down to take the shot. they play fast whether they are snookered or not.

Alex was just amazing. Never to be seen again. Not talking about perfect technical skill here but pure talent. Charismatic and brilliant but yet treated like shot by the governing snooker ponces. Despicable behaviour. As for Jimmy, well he should have been world champion a few times and albeit for nerves he surely would have been. In doubles,these 2 were untouchable. The best 2 players ever imo. Modern day snooker,just like F1 is a bore to watch..How i miss Alex Higgins

Jimmy white👌 Alex higgins👌

Great player great behaviour Alex Higgins at the end he just kissed jimmy this was the great gesture of respect and humanity

Alex,my all time favourite. No one went balls out like him

Great match with two attacking players. Also the commentators are just superb. I miss those days.

Aww back in the 80s when there was true sportsmanship, etiquette, manners and respect for one another....

Alex Higgins was one of the greatest ever potters because once he loses fine position, he struggles to get it back and is forced to play the big pots. The 69 break in the penultimate frame is a superb example of the man. Half the break he is battling for position, pulling off multiple top drawer shots to stay in the frame until finally he recovers his position in the last half. Whichever - great entertainment and his unpredictability and skills are missed.

Watching these two dangerous, on the dge players makes me realise how dull snooker is in the present day

Sad that Jimmy never won the World Championship, always my favourite player to watch, changed times indeed, ref says 'thank you gentlemen' when the crowd are getting a bit excited.

2 of the best all time.

I know Jimmy played fast but sometimes played the shot too fast and rushed. Really wish he had won a WC. Still in my all-time top 5 players

What a gift he wasted .never be another,like G Best.Great to have Video.Ill never forget snooker of the 80's,

Jimmy's shot at 05:33 is better than the last 20 'shots of the championship' at the world championships.

The hug Alex gave jimmy at the end said all u need to know what a man

Alex will always be a legend, and what a gentleman as well

Greatest match in history of snooker

For me greatest match of all time

......Reading the comments about the 1980s and the sportsmanship and sheer talent on show.... Agree 100% but even the presenting of sport then had personality too... Not going too far into stats etc... And just reporting on the match in hand.... Great stuff..... ....David Vine, one of the best sports presenters of the day....

Alex was years ahead of anyone in potting! The man could pot literally everything!

I've always been in 2 minds about that 69 break at 14-15. It was a great pressure clearance with some stunning shots but the reason he kept having to pull off these amazing shots was that he was constantly out of position. Still enjoy watching it though and what a match 👍

28:16 missed black off the spot cost Jimmy the title. 12 years later an almost identical miss in the final frame against Hendry cost his that title..

Greatest and best entertainers of the snooker ever

Break of the tournament Best break ever more like

Class player Alex one in a million different class is potting was out of this world sadly missed by many

Commentator John Spencer said after this match “I think Jimmy could be the best player never to win the world championship.” So true. This match defined his career from then on.

The flares.. the cigs.. the flickering camera reel.. whispering Ted.. Jimmys easy misses.. what an era.

Alex's greatest win. That 69 break in the penultimate frame was breathtaking. The shots he took on were crazy and one miss and he'd lost. Guts personified.

Anytime, all other Legends are behind Alex Higgins who is the true and only Legend in the snooker history

This was just fantastic not like the boring crap today

Snookers golden era

I remember watching this and loved Alex Higgins,as the people's champion,then this brilliant young player called Jimmy White emerged on the scene playing brilliant attacking snooker,fast and making shots other players couldn't play. This semi final is one of my favourite matches of all time,it had my two favourite players in it and I didn't want any one to lose, but I was so glad when Higgins went on to win the world championship and the U.K. the following year. I think for older people this semi final is regarded as one of the best, two attacking players at their peak. Now we have Ronnie O'Sullivan who is simply the best. When Ronnie won his first world title,if you remember he said "Jimmy White" as he held the trophy which I thought was a lovely gesture after Jimmy losing in six finals. Two years after this semi Jimmy won the Masters and made the World final where he was defeated 18-14 to Davis,I believe around this time Jimmy was one of the best players in the world, playing all out attack. We've had Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and now the greatest of all time Ronnie O'Sullivan,who next?

What a match!!!

snooker comes alive when these greats play.

Alex has more swagger than jagger

Amazing match

ОБОЖАЮ ОБОИХ!!ШЕДЕВРАЛЬНЫЕ ИГРОКИ

I like Jimmy white more than Jimmy Page but Alex was just 2nd to none,He’s the one and only,When he’s on fire nobody can stop him,That obviously a battle of century between both legends that every true fan must has to watch once in a lifetime....

Just amazing the level of play despite copious amounts of alcohol

Maravillosos A.Higgins y J.White. beautiful match

I felt sorry for Jimmy that night. But higgins was a genius to pull that off the way he did. Without doubt the best break in snooker ever, i mean thats to stay in the match.

Alex higgins, a true working class battler.

Jimmy sits down and lights a ciggy, how x's have changed....

Can't believe Jimmy White never won the World Championship.

Jimmy I love you my dear I am big fan of you from pakistan faisalabad

Legends.

jimmy is clearly the greatest player to ever hold the cue

The 80s, when big bill werbeniuk pouring down those ice cold beer , in tonnes.

Their smoking their heads off I LOVE it

why am I still on tenterhooks 40 years later, I know what happens FFS

nice one a bt of nostalgia

Go on Jim Vine. I miss the old days

Best player never to win a world ,always came so close ,

Tremendous match

Peter Ebdon has taken longer to chalk his cue than this match took to complete.

Great match!! Does anyone know who the commentators were on this match? I think Ted Lowe was maybe one of them? But not sure?

This classic match wasn't included on BBC's Crucible Classics programme. The 69 break alone that Higgins made makes it worthy of inclusion. The Davis v Knowles 1st round match in 82 wasn't a classic, just a big shock. Davis was piss poor in that match. Even an Ebdon match was included.

Time flies like a bullit..

And for those of you watching in black and white, the blue is behind the green.

jimmy was a joy to watch

When you watch Jimmy White play just hard to believe he never won the world championship

Tavy@ when alex higgins played like that he was untouchable and in a class of his own on a snooker table. What kind of angerd me when alex lost was that he was miles ahead in terms of skill, tenacity, brave, was also the greatest safety player in the world, but he was the greatest middle pocket potter any one has seen. Those last two frames alone proved that. And how hard he could pot them and with screw back at an angle into the middle pockets was a joy to watch and at a time when middle pockets were smaller. Am sure alex could pot a red that was tight against the cushion and 8 inches away from the middle pocket, put it this way it wouldnt suprise me if he did. If alex didnt play to and for the audience and just played for himself and disciplined heself more. He would easily have won 6 or 7 world titles alone and all the rest, he was in four world title finals and won 2 out of 4, but against cliff thorburn alex should have hammerd him when he was 9-3 ahead but he started to play to the public gallery and thorburn beat him, and a thinck alex was gutted that he threw it away instead of losing it to a better player, in 1980. Then in 1982 when he won it beating ray reardon alex didnt show off as much in that final and beat ray by at least 4 frames, i thinck alex knew if he did it his way and not the crowd pleasing way then he would run over reardon and am sure he hadent forgott what happend only 2 year before and with a 6 frame lead and he still lost it, he totaly underestimated thorburn and wanted to win it the hurricane way. But my point is would a want him to have changed and missesd out on all those magic long pots and crazy cuts into a pocket that made you thinck it was impossible to pot? And then been as boring as the rest of them? What do you thinck, of course i wouldnt want him to change. Even against jimmy white there to make it 15 each there is 5 or 6 shots i still dont know how he managed to pot them. Who needs position when you can pot like that. Its the greatest sporting moment i have ever seen. And its also becouse of the sheer pressure he was under and still took on those shots. Any other player would have refused to go for at least 6 of those pots becouse it was out of there leauge, thats shots that only a genius could of potted and steve davis said and that was alex higgins theres about 4 shots i wouldnt have went for becouse for one they were some of the hardest pots you will ever see and two if you miss one of them then its all over, alex was the greatest player i have seen on a snooker table!!! Rip alex you are really missesd

Jimmy should have played Freddie Mercury in the Bo Rhap movie,

The Hurricane and Jimmy White were like farther and son there's only one Hurricane and what a fantastic snooker player the Hurricane was simply thee Best Alex hurricane Higgins was the Greatest R I P ALEX HURRICANE HIGGINS

Legendary 😎

During 31th game , Jimmy White still think about 30th game....

That Cut on the red then the blue will never be beaten by anyone ever

Both greatest players

Turn on the captions and see what happens 😁😁

I'm not 100% sure any current referees respot the colours as quickly as this ref!

Rest in peace snooker

Old school still on top :)

Alex Higgins was great person

great characters.

I cried

34:07 THE greatest shot in snooker history

i quite like the colour combo of those pockets and the mahogany

Jimmy always seemed to throw games away like he didn’t want to win! Done it all those finals he was in

I wonder if there's any stats on their shot times in this match? The Hurricane was vastly eclipsed by the Whirlwind here in reckless abandon!

Few play at this speed these days, probably only Ronnie on a good day.

ปี1982ผมยังเด็กมากๆ แต่ร้ว่านักสนุ๊กเกอร์หน่มชื่อจิมมี่ไวส์เค้ามาแรง..และแม่นมากๆครับ

The greatest player to hold a cue pure genius

Pure good like

classic 👌👌👌👌

How good would higgins have been if he hadn't drunk and been a crowd pleaser

Jimmy is always a champion in my mind.