Neal could have black balled final

IT was the missed black that might have changed the course of snooker history – but it was not the one followers lamented later by the finger-wagging celebrations of a genial and goggle-eyed Northern Irishman.

- BY MARK STANIFORTH

Sixteen days before Dennis Taylor seized upon an uncharacteristic mistake by Steve Davis to seal the most famous World Championship win, 21-year-old Neal Foulds had his shot at derailing fate’s best-laid plans.

He had fought back to 8-8 in his first-round clash with defending champion Davis and was faced with a relatively simple black to the bottom pocket that would have sent him one frame away from causing a momentous upset.