Met him once on Park Lane. Bonfire Night, late 1980s. He was alone, walking ahead of us. My younger brother recognised him. We only talked with him for a few moments but he could not gave been friendlier. Cool guy, GREAT snooker player.
This is brilliant, not all pros have made a 147, Dennis Taylor, Terry Griffiths, Ray Reardon, even Alex Higgins, all of them never hit a 147 in a professional tournament. That green to brown was superb from Kirk, great clearance.
@@allthekingshorses7178 definitely underachived with his skillset and composure. He was the pinup of snooker in them days, i can't say for certain but maybe the lifestyle of being THAT guy was detrimental to his consistency, like George Best I suppose but not as extreme.🤷🏼♂️
Probably because they come along as often as buses in this era-they ceased having the same meaning years ago, because they are made so often due to the ultra fine cloths & attacking style of today.
I remember seeing this when it happened, I was and still am playing snooker myself and as I said then to this day probably the most beautiful 147 break ever seen, not too fast, not too slow, just a wonderful break from the 1st pot to the 36th.
+Zeusdaz - The Unemulated Retro Game Channel Agreed it was a lovely sophisticated break with very few shots "to recover position" also like the commentary of jack karnhem... very understated
I think that was the most difficult 147 in history... Look where the colours were... Simply amazing, you've gotta love Kirk, his hapiness is wonderful!
***** That was a wornderful maximum as well (and again with two great figures involved, Jimmy and Tony) but in my opinion Kirk was more difficult. Two great breaks and players though, gotta love them both.
Completely agree. Very understated in terms of the calculated effort put in. It was a steady and smooth and don't forget this is a Kirk Stevens who in general during this particular point of planet earth was a flamboyant talent. Cheers
Quality! Great to see this after so many years. I remember Kirk but I didn't realize that he was that good. I can't believe I used to have hair like that then.
Kirk was a natural he could always play snooker. He grew up at the Golden Cue in Scarborough, Ontario Canada. He played for free his whole life there thanks to Joe the owner. Kirk never went to school they used to phone from Bendale every morning to make sure he was there at the Golden Cue. Kirk played a lot for money and Joe would back him. He took a guy from America a pool player for 15 thousand when he was only 14 years old.
He used to hustle at Times Square Billiards at Yonge/Dundas in 1979-80. He cleaned everyone out. I saw him a few times at Golden Mile Billiards, and at Cliff Thorburn's pool hall at Yonge and Gould. He was the best player to ever come out of Canada with the possible exception of Thorburn and George Chenier.
parkerbohnn if it was not for crack cocaine he would have been at the top level for another ten years... Shame, was a really good player and character.
@@ihaveatalkingpenisanditsay6699 I saw Wych play at the CNE back in the 80's, and he was good. Kirk was probably the best shooter of those 3, but he was inconsistent.
The ref was John Smyth, who was a driver on the London Underground for many years. When Kirk came over from Canada aged 20 in '78 John used to drive him around to exhibitions - Kirk never passed his driving test while living in the UK, just like Alex Higgins. Both needed chauffeurs in England their whole professional careers.
This is easily the BEST played 147 you'll see. The amount of tough shots he pulled out the bag is mind boggling. Truly deserved. Who else thought he'd missed the last black tho ha ha!
Not the best at all,the mere fact that he had to pull off tough shots just shows how he lost the white and ran out of position. In a real decent break the white is on a string and no tough shots are needed because of the top notch cue ball control
@@davidmellish3295Bet you’re fun at parties. “Actually this isn’t their best song ever, a really good song demonstrates more lyrical variety and tonal distinction”. 🥱
@@duncanholding7636 I've definitely seen better 147s, yes he pulled out some great shots but come on, it's all about cue ball control and so many great breaks look easy ( I know they're not for most of us) because the top pro's don't lose the cue ball, they're that good that they rarely run out of position
@@glxxyz Sorry best of 11. I only wanted to do the Staying Alive joke really but looked up the result online and the first two times they played each other in 1984, the website I used said Jimmy won in the Professional Snooker League 6 (10) 4 and this one in the Masters with Jimmy winning again 6 (11) 4. But between me switching back and forth between browser tabs from the snooker website and here to type my message, I inadvertently looked at the best of 10 match, where because it is a league I think you can have a 5-5 draw, even though Jimmy won 6-4 anyway.
Whatever happened to Canadian snooker? Back in those days Cliff Thorburn (aka The Grinder) was a world champion and a perennial contender, Kirk Stephens was one of the most exciting and talented players on the tour and Big Bill Werbeniuk was...well a big character! But since they all left the scene I haven't been aware of any Canadian players on the world snooker circuit.
I just met Cliff at the Crucible less than a month ago. I had a chance to reminisce about the snooker tournament held every summer at the CNE throughout the 70s. Cliff was surprised to meet some who remembered those matches...
Certainly was, sports like these have been killed by forcing players to be robotically professional at all times. I dont want to see that, i want the dramas of your MacEnroes and Higgins's with characters and humour. These are the very concepts that give the public someone to route for. Who we going to route for if they are all forced to act the same... what a shame.
Brilliant times. Unfortunately the media and society have ruined the future of great sporting moments. In those days we had 4 tv channels available unlike the hundreds we have now. We had great tv shows and great sporting events which were there for everyone to watch. Today you need satellite or cable and then pay for PPV. We have crap reality tv and snowflakes on our screens 24/7. Those glory days from my childhood are gone forever I'm afraid.
Indeed it was. Being able to have a beer or smoke, sponsored by booze and cigs firms etc. The camaraderie while still being professional. Ok, cutting out those vices is probably a good idea and the game has never been to a higher standard and cleaner than today, but at what cost? It is staid and tough to watch some matches as a result. Just look at the 147, for example. Kirk probably got paid £100k for that, 300k today's money? What's it today, 10k, and then you have to split it if there's more than one maxy? Ok, more of the money goes to lesser players, but it's a farce, which is why Ronnie has turned it down on more than one occasion. Get to that level and not be paid properly for it...
@@nuntana2 He only got £11,000 for it. £10,000 for the 147 plus £1000 for the high break prize, which is about £35,000 in today's terms. The winner's share was only £35,000, which is about £110,000 today. The prize for the masters today is £250,000. The money for snooker in the 1980s heyday of the sport was pretty shit.
I liked Kirk Stevens. He was a talented player ruined by drugs but he would sit and cheer with the rest of us if his opponent did something special on the table. Just a bloody shame he dressed like an ice cream man.
My late wife and I also attended, and so did Donald Sutherland who jumped up to congratulate Kirk immediately after he sank the final black -- I think it's Donald (off camera) who shakes Kirk's hand after Kirk hugs the referee and his opponent, and before Kirk went back to his corner.
Watching this you can see the difference concerning the nature of the table compared with todays tables not that i'm complaining, this is still one of my all time fav 147's.
In your opinion maybe, but no, it wasn't/isn't. Kirk was great and the golden era of snooker was a fine time to be around to watch the sport. This was good (I remember watching live) and probably on par with Thorburn's (also watched live), but there were just too many loose shots and faffing for it to be considered 'best' material. There have been so many great 147s over the years but none can be compared to O'Sullivan's maximum in the 1997 World's of just over 5 minutes. Not just because it was so fast, but because of the flow/quick decision making and the pretty much spot on positioning throughout the break. He had the white on a string. As a fan and player of the game of many years, that is about as good as it gets... IMO.
@nuntana2 You're totally right,Ronnie's maximum break in world record time of 5.08 was the best ever. The white on a string ,never goes out of position and does it quicker than most pros make a ton. Just incredible
I remember watching this break of 147 from Kirk, it was enthralling to witness, he seemed so calm, but I’m sure he was trembling inside, also these were the days when there was quite a few Canadians in snooker.
I remember watching this match. Both players were brilliant throughout, and Jimmy White won it 6-4. At the time this was only the 3rd televised 147, and it was a few years before the 4th. Nowadays they happen every month....
@@sphericalempirical9359 , yeah, I remember watching live and calling the max after approx five reds. The standard is much higher generally now, but for entertainment cand tension, these were the golden years of Snooker! Fantastic.
Bought back so many memories.. Was only 11 years old when kirk made that awesome 147... That last green to brown was just a magnificent shot.. Last pink in and out of baulk perfect for the last black..😊😊😊.. What a player...
The most beautiful 147 I have ever seen! Very exiting till the end! You could not follow the green ball going in the cornerpocket because of the color of the cloth 12:00. I hold my breath when Kirk potted the last pink ball! What a fantastic maximum break Kirk! Love it!
seen everey maxi as im 49nthis is by far the best all things considered , that running side green to brown was off the hook , magic thanks Kirk Stevens
I still remember watching this , it was played on a Saturday night , if i remember correctly, this maxi was sandwiched between to tons + from jimmy ,,,,,,,does anyone remember the two commentators on here ? I think it's maybe jack karnhem and rex Williams ?
Brilliant. Some fantastic shots. Back in the day when 147's were rare. He obviously wasn't a fan of the rest. How he didn't rip the arse out of his trousers I'll never know😆
yep, the balls then were terrible, and don't get me started on the cushions ! but the table did seem to be running quick. great to see the old nth american style two piece cue
This is what it’s all about. Sheer class is this. Apparently, seconds before he broke of, a fellow countryman, Donald Sutherland had walked into the arena, having arrived in Britain only to see Kirk Play!!! ...... what a treat.
10k then was the equivalent of about 31k now - however, there is more money in snooker and advertising now than there was then, so really the standard prize money for a 147 in a major tournament now should be notably more than 31k.
Darin Thompson The cloth back then was slower so that the cue ball has had more grip. You can See that when they hit the cue ball with side/spin. And the pockets were a Little bit bigger i guess.
A 147 was as rare as hens teeth in this era. And you can see why here. Kirk loses shape throughout the game, and really was lucky to max out. This is pretty typical of the pros of the "old days". In fact, even centuries were very rare in that era. Even excepting the differing yearly number of tour events then and now, if one simply ranks players by centuries as a percentage of frames played, the BEST old era players are at less than 2%, while "average" modern pros are at like 4-5%, and the top modern players are all close to an incredible 9%.
PointyTailofSatan Cloths in the old days were much heavier and less responsive, imagine what Higgins, White and Stevens in their prime could have done on modern tables.
After watching dings 147 I came back to the first in this competition an I remember watching kirk do it -it was a great moment in snooker history- magnificent 147.by kirk
I had that same ash cue about 30 years ago. Very distinctive design with that brass "joint" in the center. Bought for me as a gift by a family friend. Sorry to say that it didn't "fit" me particularly well...a Riley 2 piece cue I received from a relative about a year or two later was *much* more comfortable. Still have it to this day in fact.
6:16 Jack Karnehm was always too frightened to say IT. "Well, one good pot here and he will be in with a splendid chance of .. er... even a very good break." It was the key pot, too. A superbly worked break. 8:29 (Rex Williams) "And it's £10,000 for a maximum break." Eat your heart out, O'Sullivan. Same prize at 2016 Welsh Open. I see where you are coming from, Ronnie. No change from 32 years ago.
general rule is the square law: the value of the same amount of money halves every decade(or $1 10 years ago is twice as valuable as today). So, now in 2017, 3 decades since 1987, $10k back then would've been equally valuable as $10k multiplies 2^3 = $80k today. But that's just the general idea, housing price today is probably 20-100+ times as they used to be 30 years ago in major cities.
