The final frame lasted more than an hour, finishing after midnight Greenwich Mean Time. Davis led 62–44, with just the last four balls to play, Taylor requiring all four to win the match. He difficult shots on the , , and , leaving the black ball to determine the winner of the championship. With the black , both players attempted to the ball. The first real opportunity fell to Taylor, with a long pot to the corner, but he missed the shot; according to commentator Jim Meadowcroft, "That was the biggest shot of his life". Davis was left with a thin cut on the black; he stepped up to the table and again missed the shot, leaving Taylor a mid-range shot. Ted Lowe said, "This is really unbelievable" before Taylor potted the black and won the match. Taylor was not ahead at any point during the match, until the final pot. The final between Davis and Taylor attracted 18.5 million viewers on BBC2, the programme finishing at 12:23 a.m. after Taylor had won the title. The viewership was the highest for any broadcast after midnight in the United Kingdom, and the most-viewed show on BBC2. The match became known as "the black ball final."