GARY LINEKER wowed one of the most successful snooker players ever in Stephen Hendry.
The Match of the Day host took to the baize to play a few frames against Hendry, on the seven-time world champion’s YouTube channel.
Lineker played a frame against Stephen Hendry on his Cue Tips show[/caption]
While most footballers love playing a bit of golf on the side, snooker was Lineker‘s go-to pastime in the early stages of his career.
And Hendry was immediately “impressed” by Lineker’s first break, before the ex-footballer revealed that he “can’t really see without his glasses”.
The former England midfielder revealed that he started playing snooker at the age of 16.
He stopped at 24 when he joined Barcelona in 1986 because of a shortage of tables.
Lineker said: “There was one snooker table in the Spanish town but it was in a bar and it was busy.
“And it was in the time they smoked inside and everyone used the pockets of the table as an ashtray.”
With retired Hendry leading 71-0, Lineker potted a long red to get a point on the board.
And a shocked Hendry said: “What a shot”, before Lineker joked: “You never lose it, do you?”
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The King of the Crucible -who is joint first with Ronnie O’Sullivan for most world championships (seven) – won all the frames, but topics of conversation were thrilling.
Lineker, who was a pal of late snooker icon Willie Thorne, also recalled his days playing him and following him around.
He was then persuaded to pick up a set of clubs and learn golf and played off a five handicap, while he loved cricket growing up too.
Hendry then revealed that both of their dad’s had the same job, as fruit and veg merchants.
Hendry was later shocked to learn that Lineker’s highest break clearance is 135 and the ex-Spurs midfielder has made seven centuries.
Lineker then recalled the time he played in a snooker match shown by the BBC in the build-up to 1986 FA Cup final between Everton and Liverpool.
Lineker, then of Everton, took on Liverpool’s Mark Lawrenson in a best-of-three match.
He said: “The first frame was a bit scruffy. I won it easily, I was always going to win.
“But in the second frame, I got into the balls. I was red, black, red, black. I got to about 45 and knocked the black in.
“Then the referee goes, ‘foul shot, Mark Lawrenson, seven’. He said my cuff had touched a ball.
“I was gutted. I was thinking I was going to get a 100 break on tele, at least 70 or 80. I won the frame, that was it.
“But I said to the ref, ‘what was that about?’.
“He said, ‘I thought you were running away with it so I thought I’d try and give Lawrenson a chance’. I’m like, ‘you’ve got to be joking!’.”
Lineker also revealed that Diego Maradona was the best player he shared the pitch with, while Paul McGrath and Des Walker were his toughest opponents.
And the former Leicester star half-joked about being robbed at the 1986 Sport’s Personality of the Year award.
He said: “I was robbed in ’86. I lost to Nigel Mansell, who didn’t even win the world title that year.
“And I won the golden boot at the World Cup!”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins