How it unfolded
Steve Davis, world champion three times in the previous four years, was the overwhelming favourite throughout the tournament. The final ran past midnight, and the score stood level at 17-17 after 35 frames, sending the match to a decider. The two players traded several safety shots in what amounted to a sudden-death final frame, and the outcome came down to the last black. At 12:19am, Dennis Taylor, peering carefully through his glasses to line up the shot, potted the black to complete an 18-17 comeback win. He had trailed 8-0 before the final even began and had come back from behind repeatedly on his way to the final, and the dramatic finish to the final was the peak of that whole run. The match was broadcast live on BBC2 past midnight, and an estimated 18.5 million people in Britain watched, still the highest-rated post-midnight broadcast in British television history.
Why it still matters
This final is the moment that proved snooker had become a fully mainstream part of British culture. The fact that 18.5 million people stayed tuned in past midnight reconfirmed the sport's commercial potential to broadcasters, and it became the basis for the World Championship final being scheduled as a flagship BBC event for decades afterward.