The WPBSA Snooker Podcast

Following the sad news that commentary great Clive Everton - regarded by many as the voice of snooker - passed away last Friday, we are joined on the WPBSA Snooker Podcast by three of the people who knew him best to reflect upon a lifetime of service to cuesports.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by fellow snooker journalists and broadcasters David Hendon and Phil Yates to remember their friend and mentor with a range of stories and anecdotes from down the years.

You can also read Dave's obituary for Clive at the WPBSA website and listen to Dave's own tribute via the Snooker Scene Podcast.

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One of snooker's all-time greats Ray Reardon has sadly passed away at the age of 91 and today we bring you a very special edition of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast to reflect upon his incredible life in our sport.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by a bumper cast including Jimmy White and Neal Foulds - both of whom enjoyed competing with Reardon at the height of their own careers - as well as leading broadcasters David Hendon and Phil Yates to pay tribute.

Among a wide range of topics discussed are Reardon's life before snooker, his coaching relationship with Ronnie O'Sullivan, whether he could have himself become a snooker commentator and many more anecdotes.

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Following the deeply sad news that former ranking event finalist Dene O'Kane has passed away, today we bring you a special edition of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast to remember New Zealand's greatest ever player.

Our regular host Michael McMullan is joined by WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson and leading snooker broadcaster David Hendon to pay tribute to a player who travelled across the globe to pursue his snooker dream.

We reflect on a distinguished career which saw him twice reach the World Championship quarter-finals and career-high world ranking of 18, as well as his character and affable nature away from the baize which endeared him to so many.

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The season one finale of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast is upon us and today we revisit the story of the 1987 World Championship which saw Steve Davis regain the title for the first time in three years to reaffirm his position as the number one player of the era.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by six-time Crucible king Davis himself, alongside former world number three and leading snooker analyst Neal Foulds, who himself memorably reached the semi-finals of the event that year in Sheffield.

A bumper episode sees a wide-range of topics discussed including the season leading up to the World Championship, during which Foulds claimed his maiden ranking title at the International Open, before Davis bested him in the UK Championship final later in the year.

The trio also share their memories of many of the sport’s key figures of the era and how the game shifted with the emergence of Stephen Hendry towards the end of the decade, as well as of course the World Championship itself as Davis reclaimed the title following back-to-back final losses the previous two years.

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For many years Wales has been a hotbed of talent for the World Snooker Tour and in the latest episode of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast we discuss just a few of the stars from the valleys to have made their imprint upon our sport.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by Wayne Griffiths, son of 1979 world champion Terry Griffiths and leading snooker coach in his own right, as well as WPBSA Player Relations Manager and former Tour player Neil Tomkins to recount their own fascinating experiences of growing up in Wales and the snooker scene in the country.

Among the topics discussed are of course Griffiths' memories of his father's world title triumph, as well as stories of iconic names including Ray Reardon, Doug Mountjoy and many more. The pair also discuss the many events that took place regularly throughout the country, from pro-ams and night flyers, to the Welsh Amateur Championship and much more.

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This week sees the annual World Women's Snooker Day staged at the Crucible Theatre and in the latest episode of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast we are joined by cuesports royalty as Allison Fisher MBE recounts the tale of her seventh and final world snooker title.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by Fisher and also compatriot Tessa Davidson, who Fisher bested in the semi-finals of the event and 30 years on remains a force at the top of the women's game.

The pair recall the staging of the spectacular event at the Meridian Hotel and their semi-final showdown, as well as the overall era of women's snooker and the players at the top of the game.

Both Fisher and Davidson also reflect upon the challenges which ultimately led both to step away from snooker during the following years, as well as their continued passion for cuesports which has seen Davidson return to the Tour with renewed passion and success in recent years.

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In the latest episode of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast we recall the story of the 1982 World Snooker Championship - among the best remembered editions of the tournament in its rich and storied history.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by former world number two Tony Knowles - who so memorably dethroned the defending champion Steve Davis 10-1 in the opening round - and John Skilbeck, author of Goody Two Shoes, a fantastic new book which chronicles the story of the event in unparalled detail.

The duo of course revisit that famous first round win for Knowles, one of a number of first round shocks which left the draw wide open, as well as that clearance by Alex Higgins against Jimmy White in the semi-finals and much more from the event.

We reflect on snooker's wider boom period of the 1980s and what it was like for Knowles as one of the key protagonists of the era, whilst he also looks ahead to future opportunities as he continues to battle it out on the baize in 2024.

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The first season of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast continues as we revisit the 1996 British Open and one of the most dramatic finishes to a ranking event final in history at the Plymouth Pavilions.

Host Michael McMullan is joined by Nigel Bond - the player who dramatically potted the final black to lift his maiden crown - as well as Phil Yates who was in the commentary box for Sky Sports.

We take a detailed look back at the tournament itself, as well as the key moments from the surrounding months during a memorable season at the height of the Stephen Hendry era, as new stars including John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams began to make their presence felt.

We also celebrate Nigel's incredible 33-year professional career, a reflecting on his finest moments and looking to the present day as he continues to play an active role in the sport through his role at WPBSA Players and as part of the WPBSA Coaching Delivery Team.

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The WPBSA Snooker Podcast returns for the first of a six-episode opening season and we begin with a big one as we look back at the 1999 World Championship which saw Stephen Hendry claim a magnificent seventh Crucible title!

Host Michael McMullan is joined by leading snooker broadcaster and journalist David Hendon - who was the WPBSA Press Officer at the event - alongside two-time ranking event winner Joe Perry, who secured a memorable victory of his own at the tournament against the legendary Steve Davis.

The trio plot their way through the key moments from the tournament as Hendry rebounded from an infamous 9-0 defeat to Marcus Campbell at the UK Championship just months earlier to make history in Sheffield.

We also reflect more generally upon a landmark season in the sport which saw a significant rise in standard as a new generation made their indelible mark on the World Snooker Tour.

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Welcome to the pilot episode of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast as we revisit the 2001 Masters which saw the late Paul Hunter complete a sensational comeback to win the first of his three Wembley titles!

Host Michael McMullan is joined by Ireland's Fergal O'Brien - the player on the receiving end of Hunter's fightback in the final - as well as former world champion Shaun Murphy, who was making his debut at snooker's most prestigious invitational event that year.

As well as the unforgettable final itself - including the famous 'Plan B' - we take a look at other big talking points from the 2000/2001 season, which would end with Ronnie O'Sullivan claiming the first of his seven world titles so far, as he showed that he could turn his prodigious talent into regular silverware.

We also look at the Nations Cup, Shaun Murphy's debut run and a memorable match between O'Sullivan and Jimmy White and much more.

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