1992/93 Snooker Season: Jimmy White’s Night

The latest chapter in a series of articles looking back at each campaign from the Crucible era.

Much of the 1992/93 snooker season continued in the same vein as the campaign before, when that period’s “Big Four” shared the majority of top honours between them.

Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Jimmy White, and John Parrott were again regular winners on the circuit throughout this term.

But there were clear signs that a fresh wave of talent was on the cusp of breaking through.

Ireland’s Ken Doherty and Scotland’s Alan McManus, who each turned professional in 1990, contested the final of the Welsh Open in February.

Doherty, edged the tie 9-7 to claim silverware in a ranking event for the first time in his career, quickly underlining his pedigree after being promoted to the tour on the back of a glittering amateur spell in which he secured a rare IBSF World Championship and World Under-21 Championship double.

Soon after, Dave Harold overcame Darren Morgan to lift the Asian Open title, and while neither player would feature too regularly at the business end of tournaments it did serve to remind the higher echelons that a hungry young breed was beginning to come through.

Still, the seven other ranking event trophies from the 1992/93 snooker season all ended up in the hands of the familiar foursome.

John Parrott, like most, had grown accustomed to losing to Stephen Hendry in the finals of competitions, notably suffering defeats in three out of the previous four Masters title deciders.

But a brace of victories came in quick succession for the Liverpudlian, as he backed up an invitational triumph in China with a 9-8 success over Hendry to defend the Dubai Classic.

Parrott was developing a reputation as being a good traveller, and in fact two-thirds of his career ranking event glories would occur overseas.

The 1991 world champion was seeing the ball clearly and had his sights on another victory when he reached the final of the 1992 UK Championship as well.

Jimmy White was his opponent in what was the very same duel as twelve months previously in Preston when Parrott prevailed 16-13.

The “Whirlwind” was enjoying a terrific 1992 calendar year, but that he couldn’t get over the line in the majors was proving damaging to his reputation – highlighted by his collapse in surrendering the World Championship final that May.

However, White’s recent victory over Doherty in the Grand Prix – a prestigious tournament at the time – meant that he had won three out of the last six ranking events on the circuit either side of the summer break.

And while that showdown ended 10-9, boasting all the usual tension that had smothered the Londoner’s game, White’s triumph at the Guild Hall was relatively straightforward.

A 16-9 defeat of Parrott in the final provided a long overdue second Triple Crown title, eight years after he had announced himself as a budding 21 year-old by capturing the Masters in his hometown.

At the end of 1992, White was at his most consistent best and with nine ranking titles a prolific winner.

It would amazingly be another dozen years before his next success in an event of equal status.

Meanwhile, Hendry and Davis, who had been quiet forces up until now, sprung into life at the turn of the New Year.

Hendry won the Masters, as was customary, beating James Wattana to etch his name onto the trophy for the fifth year in a row.

Davis subsequently pipped both Hendry and Wattana to claim consecutive cups at the European and British Opens respectively.

If Hendry loved the Masters, Davis had the same affinity with the Irish Masters, beating McManus in the final to emerge victorious at Goffs for the seventh time.

Davis’ momentum was building, and another final appearance quickly followed at the International Open just before the World Championship.

Hendry was back on the opposite side of the table, and this time it was the Scot’s turn to enjoy the winner’s spoils from their back-and-forth rivalry.

Davis still harboured hopes of a seventh Crucible crown, but McManus gained revenge of his own with a 13-11 ousting of the “Nugget” in the last 16.

McManus progressed to the semi-finals for the second year in a row, but there was just no stopping Hendry in Sheffield.

He hammered his countryman and dropped only 20 frames in total en route to the final, where an 18-5 annihilation of familiar face White sealed his third world title.

It’s the last time that a World Championship title decider has been settled with a session to spare, and once again Hendry was the “King of the Crucible”.

In Sheffield that year, a 17 year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan made his debut having won 74 out of his first 76 qualifying round matches during the 1992/93 snooker season.

Hendry had a new formidable pretender to his throne, and a monumental showdown was just a few months away.

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