Snooker:Steve Davis sipped a glass of champagne and claimed his Crucible crusade had made him feel a decade younger after he bowed out against Neil Robertson today. The 52-year-old put plenty of fizz into the World Championship with his run to the quarter-finals.
And although an exit was inevitable after he slipped 12-4 behind against Robertson last night, Davis emerged from his 13-5 defeat with a smile and only good memories of his 30th playing visit to an event he won six times in the 1980s.
Davis had laughed heartily when the master of ceremonies Rob Walker accidentally introduced him into the arena as Dennis Taylor, the 61-year-old who beat him in the 1985 final.
“It was a fun moment in what was a situation where I could stand a bit of fun,” Davis said. “Rob put 10 years on me but I think I feel 10 years younger to be quite honest.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the tournament and I didn’t want it to stop. I’d like more excitement from the game, and while it’s easy to say you could retire, on the odd occasion that it goes right it’s so exciting.”
Davis caused a sensation by beating defending world champion John Higgins in his previous match, and explained how the sudden surge of public interest in his feats had moved him.
He said: “The moments in the room have been very special but after I won against John Higgins I had to go to the BBC studio in the nearby Winter Gardens, and I was taken across the square outside the Crucible and everyone was standing there, and I walked through and everyone cheered.
“They didn’t exactly part, but it was just amazing. It was like walking up the 18th and it was something I won’t ever forget.”
Davis and Taylor will mark the 25th anniversary of their classic final tomorrow, when they play a one-frame exhibition to a full house.
“It’s not necessarily high on my list of priorities,” laughed Davis, “but whatever time it is it’ll be with a hangover!”
Snooker politics will occupy the weeks following the World Championship, and as a board member of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and close associate of chairman Barry Hearn, Davis takes great interest in the proposals for reform.
Hearn is promising more tournaments and more prize money, but there is opposition among some players to his intention to personally take a 51 per cent share in the commercial arm of the WPBSA, World Snooker, and a vote on the plans could bring a close result.
“I can’t really see how it can be turned down but if it is, well so be it,” Davis said. “I’ll be astonished. And I think the game will be the laughing stock outside of snooker. I think the press will laugh at it and I think promoters and sponsors won’t believe they’ve turned down the opportunity of having somebody who’s got a proven track record in the marketplace.”
The 2006 champion Graeme Dott edged through to the last four with a 13-12 victory over Mark Allen. Dott trailed 12-10 but made a superb fightback, and will return to the top 16 next season as a result.
The 32-year-old Scot said: “I’ve got a lot of points, a lot of money and I’m in the semis, so I’ve got a chance to win it.”
Dott had dropped to 48th in the provisional rankings in late 2008, after a period of personal strife which saw him diagnosed with depression. But he is well on the way back to rejoining the top 10, and said: “After the first couple of tournaments this season things picked up.
“It coincided with the announcement of Barry Hearn (as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association). It made me want to be a part of it. I don’t want to just sit there with my career finished. It maybe gave me the kick that I needed.”
Allen was impressed by Dott and the Northern Irish cueman said: “I’d like to see Graeme go all the way, he’s a nice fella too.”
Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter head into their final session this evening tied at 8-8, while Ronnie O’Sullivan made breaks of 92, 89, 86, 117 and 52 as he built up a 9-7 lead against Mark Selby.