Ken v Hendry in 97

cant tell you sorry, but one thing i recall that match and convinced that something was very wrong with hendry that final, the worst ive ever seen him play ever, missing sitters, black off the spot regularly, easy frame balls etc etc,i dont think anything came to light about his performance, but im certain all was not well in  that match.

Hendry was even-money favourite for the title in 1997, and Ken was 28/1. Ken was 5/2 to win the final.

5/2 Seems very short on Ken

Ken was world number 7, and he won his 2nd round match (v S.Davis) with a session to spare, beat J.Higgins in the QF, and then won his SF with a session to spare. It's a myth that this was a massive shock.

Correct gobe. Maybe some considered hendry unbeatable at the crucible around that time but if someone was to beat him, it wasnt a huge shock that it was ken. People forget how good he was in that period and might have got himself a second world title. Why he fell off the cliff in the mid noughties I've still no idea and suspect he hasnt either.

Hendo was way off it is all I remember.

Looked utterly spent.

As for KenDo the answer is simple, he didn't have a cue action that could stand the test of time.

Did very well to get what he did out of it.

Hendry received a letter through the post on the eve of the 1997 championship, and whoever wrote it threatened to throw acid in his 8 month old child's face if he won the title. Hendry told Ian Doyle, and it was reported to the police, but it wasn't made common knowledge at the time. Hendry has admitted since, that he lost his usual intensity throughout that tournament, and although he did still try to win it, he did have the threat at the back of his mind, particularly at night. I've just read the match report and it seems Hendry was playing far quicker than usual, and missed numerous straight-forward balls. On top of that Ken was at the top of his game, and actually became world number 3 in the revised world rankings.

gj - I'd forgotten about just how quickly Ken fell down the rankings. He went from an established top 16 players to virtually an also-ran in a couple of seasons. Do you know anything more about it, it's probably the most alarming drop down the rankings for any top player?

Interesting stuff, must get around to that hendry biog, been meaning to for a while.

Kens a tough one gobe, because there's no obvious reason why that i could ever gleam.

But you can pinpoint the 2003 world final from whence the decline started. Not just the final which he could have won but the epic battles which he fought to get there against Murphy and Hunter, all that could have just taken the stuffing out of him. Maybe thought inside that it was last chance he'd ever get and he'd blown it.

One article i always remember from around 2007 or 08, ken was saying his wife  - who knew nothing about snooker - remarking to him how negative he came across when she read his interviews. And she's a psychologist by trade. So that'd be my best guess on it. And ken had done well for himself off the table, he was happy and comfortable, ready to start a family so maybe the hunger wore off a bit too. Other than that, you can chalk it down to just one of those strange things that happen in sport from time to time.

Aug 9, 2020 -- 10:19AM, gobelins wrote:

Hendry received a letter through the post on the eve of the 1997 championship, and whoever wrote it threatened to throw acid in his 8 month old child's face if he won the title. Hendry told Ian Doyle, and it was reported to the police, but it wasn't made common knowledge at the time. Hendry has admitted since, that he lost his usual intensity throughout that tournament, and although he did still try to win it, he did have the threat at the back of his mind, particularly at night. I've just read the match report and it seems Hendry was playing far quicker than usual, and missed numerous straight-forward balls. On top of that Ken was at the top of his game, and actually became world number 3 in the revised world rankings.gj - I'd forgotten about just how quickly Ken fell down the rankings. He went from an established top 16 players to virtually an also-ran in a couple of seasons. Do you know anything more about it, it's probably the most alarming drop down the rankings for any top player?

I never knew that, Hendry didn't seem his usual confident self during that final and although I really wanted him to lose because it was getting boring with him winning every year that's not how you want them to lose

Doherty was a damn good player back then though and would have probably won anyway for his form throughout the tournament but you can't say for sure

Aug 9, 2020 -- 11:44AM, gjohn101 wrote:

Interesting stuff, must get around to that hendry biog, been meaning to for a while.Kens a tough one gobe, because there's no obvious reason why that i could ever gleam.But you can pinpoint the 2003 world final from whence the decline started. Not just the final which he could have won but the epic battles which he fought to get there against Murphy and Hunter, all that could have just taken the stuffing out of him. Maybe thought inside that it was last chance he'd ever get and he'd blown it.One article i always remember from around 2007 or 08, ken was saying his wife  - who knew nothing about snooker - remarking to him how negative he came across when she read his interviews. And she's a psychologist by trade. So that'd be my best guess on it. And ken had done well for himself off the table, he was happy and comfortable, ready to start a family so maybe the hunger wore off a bit too. Other than that, you can chalk it down to just one of those strange things that happen in sport from time to time.

I always put his decline down to that 2003 tournament, I mean he was involved in some of the most ridiculous matches, the most memorable matches to be fair but probably the most mentally draining type matches long term

The Hunter match was just utterly mental, 15-9 down and Hunter getting more and more nervous the closer Doherty got to him, at 15-12 Hunter started shaking on his shots and started missing pretty easy balls, he was playing out of his skin up until that point and was a world champion in waiting, sadly he was diagnosed with cancer a bit after the tournament?

I also remember the Higgins match where he was miles clear before falling over the line (Doherty) and the final he was 7-0 down or something like that before leading it