Top 10 snooker matches of 2021: What was year's most dramatic clash? Featuring Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby

Updated 29/12/2021 at 21:38 GMT

Mark Selby lifted a fourth world title, Ronnie O'Sullivan ended his 16-month trophy drought, John Higgins returned to the winner's enclosure after a three-year absence and Mark Allen thrilled his home fans in Belfast, but what were the most memorable matches of 2021? Desmond Kane picks out 10 key battles from another dramatic year on the green baize in a Eurosport exclusive feature.

O'Sullivan, Trump and Selby among the top 10 best shots of 2021

10. Si Jiahui 6-5 Shaun Murphy: UK Championship first round – York Barbican, York (Tuesday 23 November)

World number seven Murphy had made a rousing return to form by rampaging through the field – including memorable Crucible wins over Yan Bingtao, Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson – to reach the World Championship final in May.

He was narrowly edged out 18-15 by his childhood pal Mark Selby in a frantic duel at the Crucible, but a fresh start to the new season did not exactly go according to plan with a 5-4 defeat to Ricky Walden in the Northern Ireland Open quarter-finals his most protruding run so far of an understated campaign.

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It was perhaps understandable then when a shock 6-5 defeat to teenage amateur Si Jiahui in the first round of the UK Championship wound up with Murphy venting his frustration after the loss denied him a place among the 32 qualifiers for the year-ending World Grand Prix.

19-year-old Si was only allowed access to the UK Championship as an amateur having lost his professional status on the main tour last season, but made the most of it with the best result of his short career.

"I feel extremely hard done by that I have lost to someone who shouldn't even be in the building,” said Murphy. "I don't know why we as a sport allow amateurs to compete in professional tournaments. This is our livelihood. This is our living.

We are self-employed individuals and not contracted sportsmen. We don't play for a team.

'That is magnificent!' - Murphy's brilliant black to win frame

Si missed a key blue for a 6-1 victory only for the 2008 UK champion Murphy to agonisingly miss a blue in the death throes of the decider from 5-1 behind to enable his opponent to complete the upset before midnight at the York Barbican.

For a figure of such outstanding attacking intent, it was difficult to accept with fellow world champions Selby and Neil Robertson supporting his argument.

“The other runners and riders in the tournament, it is their livelihood too. It is wrong, in my opinion, to walk into somebody who is not playing with the same pressures and concerns I am," added the nine-times ranking event winner.

“He played like a man who does not have a care in the world because he does not have a care in the world.

“It is not fair, it is not right. Amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments, the end.

This is our livelihood. This is how I put food on the table. This is how I earn money. Since turning professional at 15, I have earned the right to call myself a professional snooker player. He hasn't done that. He shouldn't be on the table.

Murphy was ‘85% wrong’ with rant on amateur players – McManus

Despite dominating the debate in the media for several days, Murphy later admitted he was a bit hasty in failing to praise Si even if the key point he was making still stood.

“I think if I could go back in time I perhaps wouldn’t have said what I said, having just lost to Si Jiahui,” he said. “I think it took the shine off his victory and I regret that, and I’d like to apologise to him for that.

It was a great win, he played really well. He played better than I did and he deserved his victory.

9. Mark Allen 3-2 Reanne Evans: British Open first round – Morningside Arena, Leicester (Tuesday 17 August)

Some tantalising old-school tabloid fodder enveloped the game in August when old flames Reanne Evans and Mark Allen were drawn against each other in an inflamed 'Battle of the Exes' grudge match at the British Open. Perhaps not Billie Jean King v Bobby Riggs of the green baize, but plenty of palpable tension nonetheless.

Having gone their separate ways as a couple 13 years ago, they were reunited on the table in a contest neither player probably desired set against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute over child maintenance relating to their 14-year-old daughter.

The pair apparently split in 2008 after a three-year relationship, but time has obviously not healed their differences with Evans roared on by a partisan crowd at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.

The animosity was not helped by an awkward moment at the World Snooker Championship earlier in the year when Evans – working as a pundit for the host broadcaster – apparently left a practice table in the studio because Allen complained her presence was too much of a distraction.

"It was awful and I wouldn't want to do it again really," said Allen after his 3-2 win over Evans.

"She potted some brilliant balls under pressure. That puts you under pressure because then your safety has to be pinpoint and mine wasn't quite there. She was very unfortunate not to go on and win 3-1 – I just want to play snooker.

That's all it was to me, a snooker match. A win in the first round of the British Open and I move on.

Evans appeared to refuse to shake hands with Allen at the outset of the public tête-à-tête and was clearly inspired to prove a point against the former Masters winner, who has himself battled serious financial problems over the past year. "I was really proud of myself. I settled in, but top players do what they do and you have to respect that," said Evans.

"With Covid and everything, I was told there were no handshakes. My head was blazing, I went straight to the table and that was it at the end of the day."

Allen recovered to pinch the first frame, but the significance of the occasion was obvious as Allen toiled with the fans clearly willing on Evans with the short format perhaps favouring the women's world champion.

Evans restored parity at 1-1 as the Northern Irishman faltered before a 56 break helped her move one frame from arguably the most notable win of her career.

The Dudley player was first among the balls in the frame she needed for victory and rolled in a fine 60 break, but missed a match ball red along the top cushion to leave Allen needing snookers.

Watch clearance from ‘toughest yellow since Thorburn in ‘83’ as Allen shows huge ‘bottle’ in 147 bid

Allen mopped up with a brilliant clearance of 47 to the black to keep alive his hopes at 2-2.

The Antrim man maintained his momentum as he slotted a long early red before pouncing with a brilliant match-winning clearance of 68 to secure his spot in the last-64 draw amid a real sense of relief and the obvious disappointment of a frazzled crowd.

8. Yan Bingtao 10-8 John Higgins: Masters final – Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes (Sunday 18 January)

50-1 outsider Yan Bingtao carted off the coveted Masters trophy with an epic 10-8 victory over former champion John Higgins on his tournament debut.

At the age of 20, Yan endorsed his status as the most promising talent to emerge from China since Ding Junhui lifted the 2005 UK Championship – courtesy of a 10-6 win over six-times world champion Steve Davis – with a performance of remarkable maturity against another grand master of the game.

Higgins produced his most inspired period of form under sustained scrutiny at the Masters since reaching the final of the 2019 World Championship yet ended a highly productive week – he collected £115,000 boosted by 145 for the highest break – nursing a severe sense of regret in a fraught 10-8 defeat to the unperturbed and unflustered youth of Yan, who seems to combine an old-school sense of safety play with an unnerving ability to grind out victories at his own plodding pace.

‘Trademark wizardry!’ – Higgins completes total clearance to edge ahead

If the Scotsman had snaffled up the smorgasbord of opportunities that came his way with more regularity than the roundabouts in Milton Keynes, he would have ran out a comfortable winner in the 47th final of the celebrated invitational event. If only.

Having led 5-3 and 7-5, Higgins will rue the one that got away. Unlike his 18-9 flogging by Judd Trump in the world final two years previously, Higgins held a winning hand at the Marshall Arena yet somehow didn’t go all in.

That he couldn’t lift a third Masters title 15 years after his second should not detract from Yan's triumph at the sport’s second most prestigious tournament only four years after he turned professional.

Despite the six-times Masters champion Stephen Hendry suggesting victory this year should carry an asterisk because it was moved from its traditional home at London’s Alexandra Palace due to the pandemic, an artificial environment in MK replacing 2000 fans salivating over every shot, it remains a remarkable success for the 12th seed of the sport’s top 16.

Watch the moment Yan clinches dramatic Masters triumph

To put it into perspective, Yan was not born when Higgins won his first Masters title in 1999. He became youngest winner of the event since the 19-year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan usurped Higgins 9-3 in the 1995 final. He joins Hendry, John Spencer, Doug Mountjoy, Terry Griffiths and Mark Selby as the only players to win the Masters on their respective debuts.

"We've seen him do it under extreme pressure and you need to be able to perform under pressure to win the Crucible," said O'Sullivan, who lost 6-3 to old foe Higgins in a Masters quarter-final of real substance.

I just think he’s going to get stronger and stronger and it will bring other players through as well. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t win at least one or two world titles.

Top 10 shots from the Scottish Open featuring O'Sullivan, Trump, Brecel

7. Luca Brecel 9-5 John Higgins: Scottish Open final – Venue Cymru, Llandudno (Sunday 12 December)

A rejuvenated and slimmed down Higgins produced arguably the most consistent tournament snooker of the year, but the man dubbed 'The Wizard of Wishaw' could not quite work his magic in turning desire into fulfilment in several finals.

Having lost the Masters final to Yan, the four-times world champion ended a three-year wait to lift his 31st ranking title by drubbing Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-3 at the Players Championship, but he would endure both contentment and frustration in reaching another four finals in 2021. And losing them all.

The 9-8 defeats to Mark Allen (Northern Ireland Open) and Neil Robertson (English Open) respectively were within potting distance for a player of such class having led 8-6 in both finals, but the 10-4 loss to Judd Trump in the Champion of Champions final and 9-5 defeat to Luca Brecel in the Scottish Open were largely lost causes in slipping away early on.

'It doesn't get sweeter than that' Brecel beats Higgins to win Scottish Open

Brecel – winner of the China Championship in 2017 – put the disappointment of his 10-5 defeat to Zhao Xintong at the UK Championship a week earlier to clasp his second ranking title as breaks of 127, 104, 96, 79, 64 and 61 saw him dominate a final held in Wales due to suitable venues in Scotland being unavailable.

The Belgian player led 5-1 and 8-2 and prevailed in fabulous style despite a trademark late rally from his opponent.

Brecel felt his victory was more impressive than lifting the UK title coming only a week after his 10-5 defeat to Zhao Xintong in the final at the York Barbican. Probably more so when one recalls the nature of his 4-3 win over Joe 'The Gentleman' Perry in the first round that saw a profligate Perry squander more chances than a gentleman should.

'He can do no wrong' - Brecel seals Scottish Open victory with no-look shot on black

"Everything is so easy at the moment. You wonder why this game is so hard sometimes. It was a very special boost winning the Scottish Open. Winning the Scottish was a bigger achievement than winning the UK itself," he added.

I was just so happy to show everyone I wasn't going to be flat for the tournament. To win it was absolutely amazing.

6. Mark Selby 17-15 Stuart Bingham: World Championship semi-final – Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (Saturday 1 May)

On his way to finalising a fourth world title, Mark Selby had to endure a ferocious, fascinating and at times bad-natured battle with the 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals that forced both men to return to the main floor at the Crucible after the completion of the second semi-final between Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson.

Bingham accused Selby of gamesmanship after leading 13-11 on Friday night only to suffer dejection a day later in falling to a 17-15 loss that ran for over 12 hours.

The quality of the scoring was immense with Selby rolling in 134, 134, 132, 125, 68, 62, 52, 52 and 51 and Bingham contributing 131, 127, 100, 96, 92, 85, 83, 82, 78, 68, 63, 62, 60, 54, 51 and 51 in a joust that could have gone either way.

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The duo were forced to return to finish off their semi-final after Murphy's 17-12 win over Wilson amid Selby being warned by the match referee to play a stroke after taking close to three minutes before playing into the pack of reds earlier in the day.

“It was gruelling. It’s tough to lose a close game like that,” said Bingham. “Funnily enough, it’s the same sort of player, time in, time out, who plays slow. Does he do it on purpose or what?

“I want a free-flowing game. Everyone knows there was one shot which took three minutes. It’s close to gamesmanship.”

Watch the moment Selby clinches fourth world title at Crucible

Bingham was also unhappy with Selby’s conduct that saw him celebrate before he had slotted the conclusive blue to condemn the qualifier to defeat.

I thought he had more respect but to celebrate before game ball, well I lost a bit of respect. I wouldn’t do that. I don’t expect anyone else to do it. it has put a sour taste in the mouth.

Bingham later apologised for his outburst after Selby refuted the allegations pointing to the average shot time being the same of under 30 seconds.

'You need to consider taking a stroke' - Selby told to speed up by referee Williams

"I have never used gamesmanship in my life," said Selby. "In the final of course you want to play well, but if you’re not playing well, I’ll do whatever it takes to win."

5. Zhao Xintong 10-5 Luca Brecel: UK Championship final – York Barbican, York (Sunday 5 December)

If Yan was the man at the Masters, the year ended with another rising Chinese talent in Zhao Xintong fulfilling his burgeoning talent by bludgeoning his way to the 45th UK Championship with a fearless display of potting in a 10-5 win over 26-year-old 'Belgian Bullet' Brecel.

24-year-old Zhao – whose previous best run was reaching the 2018 China Championship semi-finals when he lost 6-4 to world champion Mark Selby – plays the game properly in the modern era with an instinctive positional sense buttressing a superior attacking strategy in York.

‘Bigger and better things!’ - Zhao seals UK Championship with another flourish

The courteous and serenely cool Zhao compiled runs of 120, 99, 87, 79, 78, 61 and 56 with outrageous ease in lifting his first major trophy in breathtaking style from his maiden final.

"Still cannot believe it, I have won UK Championship,” said Zhao. "Thanks for everyone’s big support. I will keep working hard and keep playing entertaining snooker.”

Zhao's golden run included 6-5 wins over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – settled on the final black of the final frame – and John Higgins from 5-3 behind in the last 32 before dismissing Jack Lisowski (6-2) in the quarter-finals and Barry Hawkins (6-1) in the semi-finals.

‘That is as good as it gets!’ – Zhao wows with ‘sensational’ shot

4. John Higgins 6-0 Mark Selby: Players Championship quarter-final – Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes (Friday 26 February)

“Without doubt this is the best week I’ve had and the way I’ve felt out there has been a brilliant feeling," said Higgins after his 10-3 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the Players Championship.

The way I’ve played and the way I’ve felt in control has made me think I’ve got that monkey off my back and there is no reason why I can’t go on and win more titles.

After destroying Northern Irishman Jordan Brown 6-0, fresh from winning the Welsh Open, Higgins produced one of the greatest performances of his 30-year career as he bamboozled Selby only three months before his opponent became world champion for a fourth time.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins.

Image credit: Eurosport

Higgins compiled breaks of 100, 70, 63, 60 and 60 on his way to a 6-0 whitewash of Selby, who mustered only seven points in six frames with the Scotsman's winning aggregate score of 546-7 one for posterity.

"I felt in control and I couldn't believe Mark's only scored seven points because I'm too busy zoned in the match," said Higgins. "I can't believe I've done that to someone like Mark Selby, it's unreal.

It was as close to perfect that I could ever play so to do it against Mark is a feather in my cap. I'm over the moon.

Selby agreed with such an assertion saying that: "I didn't really do hardly anything wrong.

"The first three frames I didn't have one chance at a pot. John played outstanding and shut me out from start to finish."

Higgins maintained his form with a 6-1 dismissal of Kyren Wilson in the semi-final setting up his triumph against O'Sullivan, who made two centuries in defeat to an opponent playing at the peak of his powers.

Further breaks of 142, 138, 127, 92, 77, 70, 68 and 51 sealed a quite unbelievable success even by Higgins' sublime standards.

3. Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-8 Neil Robertson: World Grand Prix final – Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry (Sunday 19 December)

O'Sullivan had astonishingly gone 16 months since a ranking title with a sixth world triumph his last trophy-lifting moment against Kyren Wilson at the Crucible in August 2020.

He had appeared in five finals without success in the 2020/21 season, but produced a pristine level of form to eclipse English Open champion Robertson 10-8 from 7-5 behind in a breathless final in Coventry.

It enabled O'Sullivan to revel in a record 38th ranking title and put the message out there that the game's GOAT is far from finished as a genuine force of nature when in the mood.

O’Sullivan had produced a break of 90 in the seventh frame and somehow retrieved two snookers to win the eighth frame, but the Melburnian was in control of his faculties and the table with resounding knocks of 72, 62, 51, 59, 128 and 88 justifying his standing as pre-match favourite.

Robertson would score only 47 points in five of the final six frames. He kept the match alive with a run of 78 in the 17th frame, but was largely left admiring the quality of the fare in front of him as O’Sullivan timed his gallop with customary gusto as breaks of 90, 77, 77 and 77 helped him dominate the business end of proceedings.

Having been thumped 10-4 by the technically supreme Robertson in the final of the Tour Championship earlier in the year, it was a measure of revenge and a timely reminder that O’Sullivan’s potting powers remain intact.

Especially if you recall that Stephen Hendry lifted the last of his seven world titles aged 30 in 1999 and Steve Davis was 31 in carrying off his sixth and final Crucible title a decade earlier.

“I’m just appreciative to still be able to play,” said O’Sullivan. “46, it is still good to be playing. Most of the other great players didn’t win much past their early 30s.”

At the age 46, time appears to be as kind to him as his formidable talent.

Ronnie O'Sullivan embraces the fans after his World Grand Prix triumph.

Image credit: Eurosport

2. Mark Allen 9-8 John Higgins: Northern Ireland Open final – Waterfront Hall, Belfast (Sunday 17 October)

Having started out an unforgettable week in Belfast by making a 147 break against Si Jiahui in a 4-1 win, Allen finished it by lifting the trophy, his first success on home soil at a tournament that had limited him to a highlight of one quarter-final appearance in five previous attempts.

“I really wanted to play John because, especially here in front of my home fans, he is one of the all-time greats," said Allen.

It’s just a pleasure to play against him and any win against John is a big win. To do it here is a dream come true for me.

The locals were hooked on every stroke and run of the ball at the Waterfront Hall when all looked lost for their local idol in trailing 8-6 from 6-5 clear and appearing to be down and out after Higgins had bobbed and weaved his way majestically to 4-4 with one of the most splendid 48 clearances you will witness.

Late crowd drama as Allen wins Northern Ireland Open

Allen chipped away at his opponent with some inspired matchplay. He dominated a scrappy 15th frame with Higgins appearing to stumble in his thought process at the key point after making breaks of 59, 64 and 136 to brilliantly assume control in moving two up with a possible three to play.

Two shots probably contributed to his downfall. A missed black off the spot from a tough angle with white close to a side cushion leading 31-0 when a telling safety seemed the more logical shot choice in the 16th frame was key, enabling Allen to contribute 58 on his way to levelling at 8-8.

His decision to roll in a green in the death throes of the decider and go for a longish red that he butchered leading 28-27 was arguably another self-harming error.

A snooker behind the green may have yielded more rewards at such a taut point of the contest with only three reds remaining and adding the pressure of opting against an obvious percentage shot, but for Allen it was a glorious victory under pressure.

‘I started to really panic!’ - Allen on triumph

Allen began his campaign by compiling the 170th 147 maximum in history and finished it with the title. He was 3-0 behind the world number one Judd Trump, but clawed his way back with a 5-3 victory in the quarter-finals.

The Antrim man – nicknamed 'The Pistol' since he turned professional in 2005 – achieved a pioneering moment for Northern Irish snooker even by modern day standards in shooting for the stars.

Despite such moments of sporting folklore, local icon Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins never managed to achieve a ranking tournament success in his home city of Belfast during his 26-year career that saw him lift the Irish Masters with a 9-8 victory over Stephen Hendry at Goffs across the border in 1989.

Neither did the 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, who completed several wins over the Hurricane at the gone but not forgotten Irish Professional Championship in Belfast. Allen revelled in his success.

I have tried to play it down all week, but I know what this means to me, and I know what it means to the people here, so to win this trophy is a special moment that I will never forget.

1. Jordan Brown 9-8 Ronnie O'Sullivan: Welsh Open final – Celtic Manor Resort, Newport (Sunday 21 February)

Snooker has always been a sport prone to some outlandish outcomes. Dennis Taylor recovering from 8-0 behind to prevail 18-17 against top seed and defending champion Steve Davis, then unbeaten in ranking event finals, in the 1985 World Championship final, 150-1 long shot Joe Johnson’s 18-12 win over Davis in the 1986 Crucible final, 22-year old qualifier Shaun Murphy’s run to the trophy in 2005 and 46-year-old Doug Mountjoy usurping a young Stephen Hendry 16-12 to become the oldest UK champion in 1988 are a few memorable occasions when accepted wisdom went out the window.

During the golden days of the 1980s, some TV viewers wondered if the game was set up to provide such dramatic finales such was the nature of comebacks and unlikely victories that peppered the sport, but anybody who has played snooker will know that it is a game that hinges firmly on momentum. When a player gains a surge in confidence, his opponent can be cast adrift in his own chair.

'Get in there!' - The moment Brown shocked O'Sullivan to win Welsh Open title

The faces change, but the plot never deviates over the decades. Six-times world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has seen and done it all in snooker, but there is always time to see a bit more the longer you remain in thrall to the run of the ball. Never more so than at the Welsh Open in February when O'Sullivan seemed certain to win at fifth title in the event.

Occupying 81st spot in the world rankings and fighting for survival on the tour, Northern Irishman Jordan Brown, a 750-1 outsider going by the nickname ‘The Antrim Ferrari’, became the lowest ranked winner of a ranking tournament since world number 93 Dave Harold's 1993 Asia Open triumph with a 9-8 victory over Rocket Ronnie.

Having edged out Mark Selby 5-4 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Maguire 6-4 in the semi-finals in Milton Keynes, Brown played with a reassuring level of self-belief to carry off the £70,000 first prize at Celtic Manor.

"I have really enjoyed it out there tonight, every minute. Jordan is a great guy and I am very happy for him to win," said O'Sullivan. "He is a fantastic player because you don’t beat Selby and Maguire if you aren’t, and I played all right today.”

'I have had some dark days' - Brown on his journey to Welsh Open title

Having led 4-1 and trailed 6-5, Brown prevailed with a closing 74 in a final that witnessed O'Sullivan make breaks of 135, 121, 119, 74, 68, 61 and 58 yet still lose as Brown produced 107, 78, 58, 56 and a closing 74 to claim his maiden ranking title in his first professional meeting with O'Sullivan.

"It was a David and Goliath contest. I was fully aware of the form Ronnie carried into that final," said Brown. "He only dropped two frames and was playing amazing snooker.

"He was playing like he was practising in the club, but I was like a kid on Christmas morning. It was a dream come true."

Desmond Kane

Stream the Masters and other top snooker live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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