Opinion was divided over whether the peak of his game was the 1982 world championship semi-final, when he rescued a deficit of 59-0 with a break of 69 to reverse the match entirely, or the final, when he made a total clearance of 135 in the final frame (his opponent, Ray Reardon, sitting pale with disbelief) and then, in tears, called his wife and baby daughter out of the crowd to hug them.

ECONOMIST: Alex Higgins