| Former Winners; | News; | Timetable & Details; | Results; | Centuries; | Prize |
|---|
|
Monday (8/Mar):
Welshman Mark J Williams is within sight of replacing Stephen Hendry at
number two in the world ranking list. Friday (12/Mar):
Scottish players will comprise all four semi-final places in a world ranking
event for the first time following wins for Alan McManus and John Higgins. Tuesday (16/Mar):
John Higgins has extended his lead over Stephen Hendry at the top of the
Embassy World Rankings. |
| Former Winners; | News; | Timetable & Details; | Results; | Centuries; | Prize |
|---|
| Monday : First Rounds (8/Mar) | ||
| Tony Drago (Mal) | 0-5 | Paul Davis (Wal) |
|---|---|---|
| Mark King (Eng) | 5-0 | Paul Hunter (Eng) |
| Antony Hamilton (Eng) | 5-2 | Jonathan Birch (Eng) |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) | 5-3 | Bradley Jones (Eng) |
|
Ronnie O'Sullivan produced an below-par display en route to a 5-3 first
round victory over Bradley Jones. Afterwards O'Sullivan said: "I'm not really into it to be honest. I'm just going through the motions link I've been doing all seasons." The Chigwell man withdraw from two events earlier this season suffering from mental and physical exhaustion. "I don't really care how I get on. What will be, will be," O'Sullivan added after booking his place in the last 16. | ||
| Stephen Lee (Eng) | 5-1 | Drew Henry (Sco) |
| Tuesday : First Rounds (9/Mar) | ||
| Nigel Bond (Eng) | 5-0 | Joe Swail (NI) |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Davis (Eng) | 5-1 | Quinten Hann (Aus) |
|
Six-times world Champion Steve Davis eased into the last 16 with a 5-1 win
over Quinten Hann. Davis took advantage of the Australian star's reckless approach and Hann managed just 42 points in the closing four frames. Hann had to be woken less than half-an-hour before the match began and Davis said: "I think Quinten has lost a bit of direction within himself." "I was a bit bleary-eyed myself and felt terrible." | ||
| Alain Robidoux (Can) | 0-5 | Matthew Stevens (Wal) |
| John Parrott (Eng) | 5-4 | Dave Finbow (Eng) |
| Steven Hendry (Sco) | 5-2 | Anthony Davis (Wal) |
| John Higgins (Sco) | 5-4 | Jamie Burnett (Sco) |
|
World Champion John Higgins recovered from a perilous position to beat
fellow Scot Jamie Burnett on the final frame. Higgins twice led at 2-1 and 3-2, but world number 31 Burnett moved one ahead with some determined play and should have won frame eight but missed a red. That routine miss seemed to affect his game and Burnett could make little further impact on the proceedings. Higgins levelled at 4-4 with a break of 61, before clinching a second round place in style with a run of 111. | ||
| Ken Doherty (Ire) | 5-0 | Michael Holt (Eng) |
| James Wattana (Thai) | 3-5 | Billy Snaddon (Sco) |
| Peter Bond (Eng) | 5-3 | Pang Wei Guo (Chn) |
| Wednesday : First Rounds (10/Mar) | ||
| Mark Williams (Wal) | 5-0 | Dominic Dale (Wal) |
|---|---|---|
|
In-form Mark Williams kept his winning streak going with a 5-0 drubbing of
fellow Welshman Dominic Dale to reach the second round. Williams, who picked up his third world ranking title this season in Bangkok last week, made breaks of 56, 113 and 56 during a 58-minute demolition. He said: "I don't feel burnt out. I know the run will end at some point but at the moment it's going very well." | ||
| Alan McManus (Sco) | 5-3 | Chris Small (Sco) |
| Wednesday : Second Rounds (10/Mar) | ||
| John Higgins (Sco) | 5-0 | Matthew Stevens (Wal) |
|---|---|---|
| Antony Hamilton (Eng) | 3-5 | Ken Doherty (Ire) |
| Stephen Lee (Eng) | 5-3 | Peter Ebdon (Eng) |
| John Parrott (Eng) | 5-1 | Nigel Bond (Eng) |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) | 5-3 | Billy Snaddon (Sco) |
| Steve Davis (Eng) | 4-5 | Stephen Hendry (Sco) |
|
Stephen Hendry recovered from 4-2 down to beat Steve Davis 5-4 by a single
point on the black. Davis led the seventh frame by 28 points with only the colors left but Hendry earned a snooker on the yellow and cleared the colors to win it. He levelled the match before snatching victory after Davis missed a blue. "The truth is that Steve deserved to win and I know I'm very fortunate to still be in the event," said Hendry. Davis said: "I blew it big time." | ||
| Thursday : Second Rounds (11/Mar) | ||
| Paul Davis (Wal) | 5-2 | Mark Williams (Wal) |
|---|---|---|
|
Mark Williams' hopes of an Asian double were dashed by fellow Welshman Paul
Davis as he lost 5-2 and then slammed playing condition. Williams was forced to play in a small outside arena due to local Chinese TV electing to broadcast the Alan McManus - Mark King match. He said: "The table and the room was a disgrace for professional snooker. I can't wait to get out of this place." | ||
| Alan McManus (Sco) | 5-4 | Mark King (Eng) |
|
McManus was relieved to beat King 5-4 after letting a 4-0 lead slip. | ||
| Thursday : Quater-Finals (11/Mar) | ||
| Billy Snaddon (Sco) | 5-3 | Stephen Lee (Eng) |
|---|---|---|
| 62-28, 71-52, 69-46, 0-71, 66-27, 27-66, 13-84, 101-1 | ||
| John Parrott (Eng) | 2-5 | Stephen Hendry (Sco) |
|
0-75, 0-79, 84-0, 51-87, 73-35, 0-107, 0-77 Stephen Hendry was a happy man after beating John Parrott 5-2 to reach the semi-finals. He said: "That's probably my best performance of the season. It was very encouraging because I can't remember missing an important pot." Hendry squeezed past Steve Davis 5-4 on Wednesday and added: "When you scrape through a match you should by rights have lost it always relaxes you." "Thta's how I felt and I hope I can keep the momentum going." | ||
| Friday : Quater-Finals (12/Mar) | ||
| Alan McManus (Sco) | 5-4 | Ken Doherty (Ire) |
|---|---|---|
|
72-28, 68-50, 51-61, 33-67, 74-0, 48-79, 26, 89, 81-62, 81-0 McManus beat Ken Doherty on the final frame, having recorded three 5-4 victories at the Thailand Masters last week and one earlier in this event. | ||
| John Higgins (Sco) | 5-2 | Paul Davis (Sco) |
|
72-23, 71-47, 38-91, 88-22, 38-65, 116-18, 100-21 Paul Davis was at one stage just 3-2 down to Higgins, but the world number one produced late breaks of 112 and 86. | ||
| Saturday : Semi-Finals (13/Mar) | ||
| Stephen Hendry (Sco) | 2-6 | Billy Snaddon (Sco) |
|---|---|---|
|
16-107, 9-99, 78-1, 0-87, 8-79, 87-15, 19-46, 45-68 Stephen Hendry was sent tumbling to a 6-2 defeat as fellow Scot Billy Snaddon reached the final. Hendry, who turned on the style against John Parrott in the quarters, said: "I am playing two or three good matches then a bad one." "I haven't got the consistency I need because my cue action isn't working well enough. I am getting over some balls and don't fancy potting them." "There's still a lot of work to be done before the World Championship." | ||
| John Higgins (Sco) | 6-4 | A McManus (Sco) |
|
2-62, 73-0, 0-86, 68-1, 128-0, 99-1, 39-69, 27-55, 94-31, 82-51 John Higgins strugged off a stomach upset to reach the final with a 6-4 win over Alan McManus. The world champion thumped home five half century breaks and finally clinched it despite a battling performance by McManus. Higgins said: "Alan always tends to make life very tough and that's especially the case now because he's getting back to his best." He now takes on Billy Snaddon and added: "I'll be quietly confident." | ||
| Sunday : Final (14/Mar) | ||
| John Higgins (Sco) | 9-3 | Billy Snaddon (Sco) |
|---|---|---|
|
56-53, 79-29 (62), 0-93 (93), 62-68 (62 Snaddon), 73-25 (55), 68-3, 76-8 (51), 72-43, 21-55, 64-30, 124-13 (124), 66-42 John Higgins mathematically guaranteed the retention of his world number one status for next season by claiming his fourth title of the current campaign. Higgins beat surprise finalist Billy Snaddon 9-3 to lift the 11th world ranking event trophy of the career. "That's great news. I can go to the British Open confident, relax and in the right frame of mind." he said. Snaddon, who beat Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals, shared the early frames before the world champion forged ahead. | ||
| Former Winners; | News; | Timetable & Details; | Results; | Centuries; | Prize |
|---|
| Second Rround (best of 9 frames) | Quarter Finals (best of 9 frames) | Semi-Finals (best of 11 frames) | Final (best of 17 frames) | ||||||||
| J Higgins (Sco) M Stevens (Wal) |
5 0 |
||||||||||
| J Higgins (Sco) P Davis (Wal) |
5 2 |
||||||||||
| P Davis (Wal) M Williams (Wal) |
5 2 |
||||||||||
| J Higgins (Sco) A McManus (Sco) |
6 4 |
||||||||||
| A McManus (Sco) M King (Eng) |
5 4 |
||||||||||
| A McManus (Sco) K Doherty (Ire) |
5 4 |
||||||||||
| A Hamilton (Eng) K Doherty (Ire) |
3 5 |
||||||||||
| J Higgins (Sco) B Snaddon (Sco) |
9 3 |
||||||||||
| R O'Sullivan (Eng) B Snaddon (Sco) |
3 5 |
||||||||||
| B Snaddon (Sco) S Lee (Eng) |
5 3 |
||||||||||
| S Lee (Eng) P Ebdon (Eng) |
5 3 |
||||||||||
| B Snaddon (Sco) S Hendry (Sco) |
2 6 |
||||||||||
| J Parrott (Eng) N Bond (Eng) |
5 1 |
||||||||||
| J Parrott (Eng) S Hendry (Sco) |
2 5 |
||||||||||
| S Davis (Eng) S Hendry (Sco) |
4 5 |
| Former Winners; | News; | Timetable & Details; | Results; | Centuries; | Prize |
|---|
| Former Winners; | News; | Timetable & Details; | Results; | Centuries; | Prize |
|---|
| Place | Prize (pounds) |
| Winner | 42,000 |
| Runner-up | 21,000 |
| Losing semi-finalists | 11,000 |
| Losing quater-finalists | 6,200 |
| Second round losers | 3,100 |
| First round losers | 2,555 |
| 1 English pound = | 1.61 American Dollars |
| Highest break | 3,000 |