With snooker fever getting higher and hotter as we get closer to Monday 4 February, the opening day of the fourth edition of the Malta Open, I would like to boost the zeal of the build-up to this star-stubbed twenty-player tournament by featuring some fascinating records I came across. Well, records are part of the glorious moment of snooker highlighting the protagonists whose names have become legends of the green baize.

One particular name which features on this compilation with no less than five records is Malta’s Tony Drago. Tornado Drago might have never attained any ranking title but still enjoys a stunning reputation for his style, talent and charisma which keeps audiences, whether in the playing arena or watching at home on television, in an enthusiastic and entertaining mood.

Besides Drago other names that feature in this prestigious records archive and who will be challenging for this year’s Malta Cup one finds Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon, John Higgins, Dominic Dale and Joe Perry.

So, this is what happened, who the protagonists were and when it took place.

Fastest Frame – 3 MINS. Tony Drago v Danny Fowler 1988 International (R3)

Longest Frame (TV) – 73 MINS and 30 SECS. Steve Davis v Dene O’Kane 1989 World Team Cup final

Longest Frame (Ranking event, TV) – 72 MINS. Mick Price v Chris Small 1995 British Open

Longest Frame (Ranking event, non-TV stage) – 92 MINS 59 SECS. Cliff Thorburn v Stephen O’Connor 1994 Regal Welsh (QRd9)

Fastest 9 Frame Match – 34 MINS. Tony Drago v Sean Lanigan 1993 Strachan Challenge Series 2 (5-0) (R5)

Longest 9 Frame Match – 434 MINS 12 SECS. Ian Williamson v Robby Foldvari 1994 British Open (5-4) (QRd7)

Fastest 11 Frame Match – 72 MINS 58 SECS. Stephen Hendry v Jimmy White 1996 Benson and Hedges Masters (6-0) (QF)

Longest 11 Frame Match – 434 MINS. Paul Tanner v Robby Foldvari 1991 UK Championship (6-5) (R2)

Fastest 17 Frame Match – 81 MINS. Tony Drago v Joe O’Boye 1990 UK Championship (9-0) (R3)

Longest 17 Frame Match – 548 MINS. Jack Fitzmaurice v Mario Morra 1982 Embassy World Championship (9-7) (QRd)

Fastest 19 Frame Match – 105 MINS 32 SECS. Alan Burnett v Doug Mountjoy 1997 Embassy World Championship (10-1) (QRd7)

Longest 19 Frame Match – 660 MINS 56 SECS Chris Shade v Robby Foldvari 1996 Embassy World Championship (10-9) (QRd6)

Fastest 25 Frame Match – 167 MINS 33 SECS Ronnie O’Sullivan v Tony Drago 1996 Embassy World Championship (13-4) (R2)

Longest 25 Frame Match – 799 MINS 40 SECS Dennis Taylor v Terry Griffiths 1993 Embassy World Championship (13-11) (R2)

Longest 35 Frame Match – 890 MINS Dennis Taylor v Steve Davis 1985 Embassy World Championship (18-17) (F)

Latest Finish – 0431 Joe Johnson v Peter Ebdon 1996 Sweater Shop International (5-4) (R1). Match started at 0008; 0351 Cliff Thorburn v Terry Griffiths 1983 Embassy World Championship (13-12) (R2)

Most Number Of Successive Seasons Ranked In Top 16 – 20 Steve Davis; 18 Dennis Taylor; 17 Terry Griffiths

Most Number Of Consecutive Seasons At No 1 On The Rankings – 8 Stephen Hendry (1990 to 1998); 7 Steve Davis (1983 to 1990); 5 Ray Reardon (1976 to 1981) also 1982-83

Crucible Whitewash – John Parrott bt Eddie Charlton 10-0 in 1992 (R1)

Fastest Century – 3 MINS 31 SECS. Tony Drago v John Higgins 1996 UK Championship (R3)

Youngest Player To Win A Ranking Tournament – 17 YEARS 11 MONTHS. Ronnie O’Sullivan 1993 Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship

Youngest World Champion – 21 YEARS 4 MONTHS. Stephen Hendry 1990 Embassy World Championship

Lowest Individual Points Aggregate In World Ranking Event (best of 9) – 8 Graham Bradley (Keighley). He was beaten 5-0 by Paul Smith in the preliminaries of the 1992 Regal Welsh at Aldershot

TV Lowest Individual Points Aggregate In World Ranking Event (best of nine) – 11 Mark King. He lost 5-0 to John Higgins (456 points) in last 16 of 1997 Grand Prix at Bournemouth

Lowest Points Total In One Frame Of A Ranking Event Where Every Ball Up To And Including The Pink Is Potted – 50 Graham Horne (34) v Barry Mapstone (16) in the 1996 British Open at Blackpool (QRd)

Record Points Aggregate In One Frame – 185 Sean Storey (93) v Graham Storey (92) in the 1992 Thai Sky Asian Open at Trentham Gardens, Stoke (R1)

Record Number Of Points Scored By One Player In One Frame – 167 Dominic Dale v Nigel Bond in 1999 Embassy World Championship (R1) (Break122 plus one red and 11 successive misses worth 44)

Record Number Of Points Scored In A World Ranking Event Without Reply – 463 by Joe Perry v Tony Meo in the 1997 Embassy World Championship at Blackpool (QRd5)

Record Number Of Points Scored In Non-Ranking Event Without Reply – 487 Stephen Hendry v Jimmy White 1996 Benson and Hedges Masters (QF)

Record Number Of Successive Matches Won In World Ranking Events – 8 by Ronnie O’Sullivan (June to August 1992)

Most Century Breaks In World Championship History – 80 Stephen Hendry

Most Century Breaks In Any One Tournament – 14 John Higgins 1998 Embassy World Championship

Most Century Breaks In A Season – 53 Stephen Hendry (1994-95)

A real sensation of records indeed! But here I would like to add three more records related to this fourth edition of the Malta Cup. Their corresponding numbers are 18-44-5!

Well, 18 stands for the number of tournaments organised by Snooker Promotions since their very first in 1994; 44 represents the number of Ranking Tournament victories registered by the first three winners of the Malta Cup – Stephen Hendry 36, Ken Doherty 6 and Shaun Murphy 2; and finally 5 stands for the number of leading partners in this Malta Cup, namely, World Snookers, the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta, the Hilton Malta and Allevents Malta, which forms part of the UK based Fraser Eagle Group.