By Elliott West
Introduction
It’s been a few years since Liverpool has hosted a snooker tournament. So it was fitting last weekend that Snooker Legends set up shop at the magnificent St George’s Hall in this former city of culture whose famous exports have included The Beatles and Cilla Black. The venue chosen is no stranger to this green baize wonder, having already hosted the 1966 World Championship, a tournament where Fred Davis beat John Pulman 3-2 in the final and an exhibition between Fred and Joe Davis in 1952 in its long and illustrious past.
The hall itself houses a breathtaking concert room, originally built in 1854 and one of a number of rooms that are contained in this impressive neoclassical building, situated opposite Lime Street railway station. Described in 1969 by the architectural historian as one of the finest neo-Grecian buildings in the world, it was fitting that so many years later, some of the greats of snooker would travel to play here.
A Moment of Magic
It is not often that get some of the true legends of snooker all in the same building at one time for a whole weekend but this is exactly what happened when Liverpool played host to the Merseyside Masters at the city’s St George’s Hall. Anyone lucky to have had a ticket for this series of matches would have seen the likes of Reanne Evans, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White playing with commentary provided by the legendary Dennis Taylor and John Virgo, all aided by the superb refereeing skills of Michaela Tabb.
In the end, it would be Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White who would slug it out in the final for the title. Ronnie had already set the baize on fire when he almost achieved a 147 break earlier in the competition, sinking 11 reds and blacks, only to miss a vital red on the way. However, it was Jimmy who got out of the blocks first and led his opponent 3-1 but O’Sullivan was not phased by the deficit and came back to claim the match and the title, winning the inaugural Invitational Merseyside Masters 6-5. An enjoyable weekend and hopefully many more will be staged at this great venue that overlooks the Mersey.
