Dennis Taylor once received a chilling death threat from a fellow snooker star
A snooker world champion who received a chilling threat from one of his greatest rivals has insisted the whole thing was blown out of proportion.Dennis Taylor is best known for securing Crucible glory in 1985 with a remarkable comeback against reigning champion Steve Davis. He lost the opening eight frames but made a spectacular recovery, eventually winning 18–17 in a duel on the last black ball.Five years later, the man from Northern Ireland represented his country at the World Cup. He teamed up with Alex Higgins, who lost his cool and issued a chilling death threat to his rival in a moment of madness.
Alex Higgins lost his cool and threatened to have Taylor shot at his home
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After losing a frame, Higgins wanted to go back to the table and take Taylor’s turn but this would have broken the rules. The Hurricane was left furious and took his anger out on Taylor, saying: “The next time you go back home I’m going to have you shot.”The exchange was overheard by journalists and became a major news story, but Taylor believes the incident was blown out of proportion by the media.Speaking on the latest episode of Conversations with Gerry Kelly on Belfast channel NVTV, the 75-year-old explained that he was not overly concerned by Higgins’ threat and said they enjoyed a good relationship with each other.”And then I had to play him at the Irish Masters at Goffs in County Wicklow,” said Taylor, who recalled how that fixture attracted an unusually large crowd in addition to hordes of reporters.
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“The atmosphere was incredible. I did manage to beat him but before he passed away, we were okay.”After threatening to have Taylor shot, Higgins continued to berate his rival and offered him out for a fist fight in his post-match press conference.”He doesn’t deserve to wear this badge which shows the red hand of Ulster,” fumed the Hurricane. “If he wants to get into fisticuffs, I have given him my hotel room number.”In spite of their differences, Taylor said he admired Higgins and explained how he went out of his way to offer a helping hand during the early stages of his career.Recalling their first meeting as teenagers, Taylor said: “I thought this fella is a bit special. When he moved over to Blackburn, I fixed him up with a little flat to stay in. I practised with Alex maybe for about 18 months in the local snooker club.”