CWY Snooker House

Detail Reports

THIRD ROUNDS

Steve Davis (Eng) 5-1 Dean Reynolds (Eng)

Steve Davis showed he is still capable of producing high-quality snooker as he brushed aside Dean Reynolds 5-1.
He said: "I thought I'd be a lot more nervous than I actually was in the opening match of the first ranking tournament of the season."
"I enjoyed every minute of it. I think there will be plenty of nervous snooker this year."
"The top 16 is a massive cut-off point and it's gettinng harder to stay in each season." Davis now plays Chris Small.

Jimmy White (Eng) 0-5 Nick Walker (Eng)

Jimmy White suffered one of the worst defeats of his 18-year professional career as Nick Walker thrashed him 5-0.
White, British Open Champion in 1987 and 1992, crashed out in less than two hours.
Walker said: "It's a boyhood dream just to play Jimmy, never mind beat him. I felt the same as when I played Alex Higgins a few years ago."
"I was really nervous but I'm proud of how I coped. I've been practising a lot because I'm determined to do well."

Fergal O'Brien (Ire) 5-1 John Read (Sco)

Champion Fergal O'Brien defeated John Read 5-1 to move into the last 32 though as he admitted afterwards, "it wasn't pretty to watch."
O'Brien struggled for almost three hours but can only managed the top breaks of 46 and 38.
"The result was everything, neither of us played very well and John had enough chances to win every frame. I was very nervous before the start either because I was the defending champion or the fact a year ago, I lost three matches here at the start of the season."
"This wasn't a great performance but I'm not complaining," added O'Brien who now faces local hero Andy Hicks for a place in the last 16.

Stephen Hendry (Sco) 5-2 Macro Fu (HK)

This is the first time that world champion Stephen Hendry and new oriental star Macro Fu meet in a ranking tournament.
Both players compiled centuries, Hendry a 111 and Fu a 104 but the Scot who was pegged back to 3-2, rattled in successive breaks of 83 and 63 to ease to the next round.
"I couldn't be happier with my game. I feel very confident and it's a fantastic feeling," said Hendry.
"Marco was a hard draw for me anyway. The way he is going he will be in the top eight in two years time and to play him now in the last 64, was bound to be difficult."
"I don't want to go overboard about in case I lose my next match, but the way I'm playing, I don't mind who my opponent is," add world Number two.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) 5-0 Leigh Griffin (Eng)

Ronnie O'Sullivan only took 53 minutes to beat Leigh Griffin in style at the early stage of his British Open journey. He compiled breaks of 103, 80, 72, 50 and 40.
He said after the game: "I played as well as I had to. If I had been put under anymore pressure, I was ready to raise my game."
One blot on O'Sullivan's act was the black he missed in the last frame. His break at the time was a 103 and the possibility of a 145 was very much on the cards until the black wobbled in the jaws of a top pocket. "I should have taken an easier pink and settled for a 144," he said.

John Higgins (Sco) 5-0 Martin Dziewialtowski (Sco)

World No.1 John Higgins raced into the fourth round completing a 75 minutes whitewash over Glaswegian Dziewialtowski.
Higgins took his career total of centuries to 149 with a 116 which took him into a 3-0 lead. He also had breaks of 72, 60, 56 and 31.
"It was nice to make a start like this. I played quite well though Martin was nowhere near his best," said Higgins.
The East Kilbride based Scot was among the last players to appear in the 12 day event which started last week.
"It was strange hanging about to play my first match when other players were already through to the last 16. But it could work in my favour as I now have to play every day, providing I keep winning," add Higgins.

John Parrott (Eng) 5-1 Nick Pearce (Eng)

Parrott, due to re-arranged commitments on the BBC's Question of Sport programme, arrived in Plymouth at 3.30 am, less than seven hours before his match against Nick Pearce was due to start.
But the lack of sleep didn't stop John Parrott going through to the fourth round stages. The 35 year old Liverpudlian still beat Pearce 5-1 to set up a last 32 contest against Thailand's James Wattana.
"I had to record three shows in Manchester before I came down here. These were supposed to have been in London and on another date but there was nothing I could do about the changes."
"No-one was to blame, it was out of my hands," said Parrott who admitted he even got one of the questions wrong. "They were all good shows but I made a bit of a boob when I was asked which game is played on a playing surface of 72 square feet. I forgot it was snooker."

Steve Davis (Eng)	5-1	Dean Reynolds (Eng)
Steve Davis showed he is still capable of producing high-quality snooker as he brushed aside Dean Reynolds 5-1. He said: "I thought I'd be a lot more nervous than I actually was in the opening match of the first ranking tournament of the season." "I enjoyed every minute of it. I think there will be plenty of nervous snooker this year." "The top 16 is a massive cut-off point and it's gettinng harder to stay in each season." Davis now plays Chris Small.

Jimmy White (Eng)	0-5	Nick Walker (Eng)
Jimmy White suffered one of the worst defeats of his 18-year professional career as Nick Walker thrashed him 5-0. White, British Open Champion in 1987 and 1992, crashed out in less than two hours. Walker said: "It's a boyhood dream just to play Jimmy, never mind beat him. I felt the same as when I played Alex Higgins a few years ago." "I was really nervous but I'm proud of how I coped. I've been practising a lot because I'm determined to do well."

Fergal O'Brien (Ire)	5-1	John Read (Sco)
Champion Fergal O'Brien defeated John Read 5-1 to move into the last 32 though as he admitted afterwards, "it wasn't pretty to watch." O'Brien struggled for almost three hours but can only managed the top breaks of 46 and 38. "The result was everything, neither of us played very well and John had enough chances to win every frame. I was very nervous before the start either because I was the defending champion or the fact a year ago, I lost three matches here at the start of the season." "This wasn't a great performance but I'm not complaining," added O'Brien who now faces local hero Andy Hicks for a place in the last 16.

Stephen Hendry (Sco)	5-2	Macro Fu (HK)
This is the first time that world champion Stephen Hendry and new oriental star Macro Fu meet in a ranking tournament. Both players compiled centuries, Hendry a 111 and Fu a 104 but the Scot who was pegged back to 3-2, rattled in successive breaks of 83 and 63 to ease to the next round. "I couldn't be happier with my game. I feel very confident and it's a fantastic feeling," said Hendry. "Marco was a hard draw for me anyway. The way he is going he will be in the top eight in two years time and to play him now in the last 64, was bound to be difficult." "I don't want to go overboard about in case I lose my next match, but the way I'm playing, I don't mind who my opponent is," add world Number two.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng)	5-0	Leigh Griffin (Eng)
Ronnie O'Sullivan only took 53 minutes to beat Leigh Griffin in style at the early stage of his British Open journey. He compiled breaks of 103, 80, 72, 50 and 40. He said after the game: "I played as well as I had to. If I had been put under anymore pressure, I was ready to raise my game." One blot on O'Sullivan's act was the black he missed in the last frame. His break at the time was a 103 and the possibility of a 145 was very much on the cards until the black wobbled in the jaws of a top pocket. "I should have taken an easier pink and settled for a 144," he said.

John Higgins (Sco)	5-0	Martin Dziewialtowski (Sco)
World No.1 John Higgins raced into the fourth round completing a 75 minutes whitewash over Glaswegian Dziewialtowski. Higgins took his career total of centuries to 149 with a 116 which took him into a 3-0 lead. He also had breaks of 72, 60, 56 and 31. "It was nice to make a start like this. I played quite well though Martin was nowhere near his best," said Higgins. The East Kilbride based Scot was among the last players to appear in the 12 day event which started last week. "It was strange hanging about to play my first match when other players were already through to the last 16. But it could work in my favour as I now have to play every day, providing I keep winning," add Higgins.

John Parrott (Eng)	5-1	Nick Pearce (Eng)
Parrott, due to re-arranged commitments on the BBC's Question of Sport programme, arrived in Plymouth at 3.30 am, less than seven hours before his match against Nick Pearce was due to start. But the lack of sleep didn't stop John Parrott going through to the fourth round stages. The 35 year old Liverpudlian still beat Pearce 5-1 to set up a last 32 contest against Thailand's James Wattana. "I had to record three shows in Manchester before I came down here. These were supposed to have been in London and on another date but there was nothing I could do about the changes." "No-one was to blame, it was out of my hands," said Parrott who admitted he even got one of the questions wrong. "They were all good shows but I made a bit of a boob when I was asked which game is played on a playing surface of 72 square feet. I forgot it was snooker."

FORTH ROUNDS

Steve Davis (Eng) 5-2 Chris Small (Sco)

Six times world champion Steve Davis dubbed Scotland's Chris Small "The Mantis" following a two and half hours battle at the end of which he triumphed 5-2 against the former bank clerk from Leith.
Davis had nothing but admiration for Small as the Scot put together breaks of 92 and 97 to lead 2-0.
"He didn't look like missing a ball and I sat there wondering what I should call him. I came up with The Mantis because he just preyed on me for a couple of frames. He waits for you to make a mistake and then gobbles you up."
But Davis took control after a break of 111 in the third frame. He followed up with a 59, 54, 36 and 51 to leave Small among the also-ran.
"I didn't do much wrong in the first four frames but I did feel a lot more comfortable after making the century. The result was also very pleasing and a character builder for the remainder of the season."

Mark J Williams (Wal) 5-2 Gary Wilkinson (Eng)

Mark Williams set up a last 16 clash with Steve Davis after seeing off Gary Wilkinson 5-2 at the Pavilions.
The Welshman clinched victory with a break of 110 and said: "Apart from missing five blacks off the spot, I played quite well,"
"I look forward to playing Steve again. We've had a bit of banter in the last few weeks."
"I called Steve a 'back door Charlie' because of his wild card entry but in the end I became one as well as I only scraped through to the semi-final play-offs because he lost his last group match."

Steve Davis (Eng)	5-2	Chris Small (Sco)
Six times world champion Steve Davis dubbed Scotland's Chris Small "The Mantis" following a two and half hours battle at the end of which he triumphed 5-2 against the former bank clerk from Leith. Davis had nothing but admiration for Small as the Scot put together breaks of 92 and 97 to lead 2-0. "He didn't look like missing a ball and I sat there wondering what I should call him. I came up with The Mantis because he just preyed on me for a couple of frames. He waits for you to make a mistake and then gobbles you up." But Davis took control after a break of 111 in the third frame. He followed up with a 59, 54, 36 and 51 to leave Small among the also-ran. "I didn't do much wrong in the first four frames but I did feel a lot more comfortable after making the century. The result was also very pleasing and a character builder for the remainder of the season."

Mark J Williams (Wal)	5-2	Gary Wilkinson (Eng)
Mark Williams set up a last 16 clash with Steve Davis after seeing off Gary Wilkinson 5-2 at the Pavilions. The Welshman clinched victory with a break of 110 and said: "Apart from missing five blacks off the spot, I played quite well," "I look forward to playing Steve again. We've had a bit of banter in the last few weeks." "I called Steve a 'back door Charlie' because of his wild card entry but in the end I became one as well as I only scraped through to the semi-final play-offs because he lost his last group match."

FIFTH ROUNDS

Fergal O'Brien (Ire) 1-5 Joe Swail (NI)

Deposed champion Fergal O'Brien came to a controversial end in Plymouth today after beaten 5-1 by Joe Swail only five months after he won the title, the shortest reign of any modern day winner of a major event.
But O'Brien was concerned only with the scheduling which meant he had to face Swail just 12 hours after his 5-2 victory over Andy Hicks.
"It was a disgrace and I have registered a complaint with the tournament director. So far I have not been given an explanation," said the world No.11.
O'Brien, whose highest break was only 33, added, "How can I be expected to concentrate properly so early after playing such a big match the day before? I didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning and was up again at 8 am.
"It was hard to get psyched up so soon after playing Andy. I had chances but couldn't hold my concentration. It was no co-incidence that Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't have to play this morning."
Swail, through to only his third quarter-final in the past three years said, "I made a brilliant start before Fergal started to come back into it. Fortunately he let me off the hook though it was only on the black that I managed to win the last two frames.
"I thought I had missed the last one but when you are under this sort of pressure, everything is blind."

Alan McManus (Sco) 5-2 Ken Doherty (Ire)

Alan McManus moved into the quarter finals when he defeated Ken Doherty 5-2, his ninth victory over the Irishman but only the second in the past four years.
The world No.8 gained the initiative as he opened up a 3-1 interval lead. "I took about 80 per cent of my chances and when you do that, it gives you confidence.
McManus added, "It was always going to be a tough against Ken and it was a nice feeling when I cleared up in the last frame with a break of 67 to win the match on the pink."
"Ken has given me a few beatings in recent seasons so it's about time I got my own back."
Alan had breaks of 104, 73, 67, 64 and 46.

Steve Davis (Eng) 5-2 Mark J Williams (Wal)

Steve Davis, oldest player in the top ranking at 42, rolled back the years as an impressive performance destroyed Mark Williams 5-2.
"I let myself go rather than worry about the result," Davis said after the game.
"Mark is one of four exceptionally good players in the game today but none of them are unbeatable. You have to play to a very high standard to win, when you do, you know you are playing well."
"I don't mind losing, what I don't like is playing average and getting beaten though when I play like I did today, defeat is less of an issue. I have raised my standards and I believe this season will be a good one for me."
"I believe I'm a better player than my ranking might suggest, how much I don't know. We will find out later on," added the world No.15 whose top breaks were a 119, 94, 66 and 57.

John Higgins (Sco) 5-0 Mark King (Eng)

It was the second time in two years that Higgins had whitewashed the world No.14 Mark King, who scored only 11 points last time - the lowest ever aggregate on television.
King this time scored 84 points as Higgins dominated the exchanges after spending over an hour opening up a 2-0 lead.
"The first frame was one of the longest I have ever been involved in. But it was a scrappy start and I suppose I was a bit fortunate to lead 2-0."
"After that Mark seemed to lose interest and didn't put up much resistance", said Higgins whose highest breaks were a 68 and 64.
The World No.1 has now beaten King eight times in a row.

Fergal O'Brien (Ire)	1-5	Joe Swail (NI)
Deposed champion Fergal O'Brien came to a controversial end in Plymouth today after beaten 5-1 by Joe Swail only five months after he won the title, the shortest reign of any modern day winner of a major event. But O'Brien was concerned only with the scheduling which meant he had to face Swail just 12 hours after his 5-2 victory over Andy Hicks. "It was a disgrace and I have registered a complaint with the tournament director. So far I have not been given an explanation," said the world No.11. O'Brien, whose highest break was only 33, added, "How can I be expected to concentrate properly so early after playing such a big match the day before? I didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning and was up again at 8 am. "It was hard to get psyched up so soon after playing Andy. I had chances but couldn't hold my concentration. It was no co-incidence that Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't have to play this morning." Swail, through to only his third quarter-final in the past three years said, "I made a brilliant start before Fergal started to come back into it. Fortunately he let me off the hook though it was only on the black that I managed to win the last two frames. "I thought I had missed the last one but when you are under this sort of pressure, everything is blind."

Alan McManus (Sco)	5-2	Ken Doherty (Ire)
Alan McManus moved into the quarter finals when he defeated Ken Doherty 5-2, his ninth victory over the Irishman but only the second in the past four years. The world No.8 gained the initiative as he opened up a 3-1 interval lead. "I took about 80 per cent of my chances and when you do that, it gives you confidence. McManus added, "It was always going to be a tough against Ken and it was a nice feeling when I cleared up in the last frame with a break of 67 to win the match on the pink." "Ken has given me a few beatings in recent seasons so it's about time I got my own back." Alan had breaks of 104, 73, 67, 64 and 46.

Steve Davis (Eng)	5-2	Mark J Williams (Wal)
Steve Davis, oldest player in the top ranking at 42, rolled back the years as an impressive performance destroyed Mark Williams 5-2. "I let myself go rather than worry about the result," Davis said after the game. "Mark is one of four exceptionally good players in the game today but none of them are unbeatable. You have to play to a very high standard to win, when you do, you know you are playing well." "I don't mind losing, what I don't like is playing average and getting beaten though when I play like I did today, defeat is less of an issue. I have raised my standards and I believe this season will be a good one for me." "I believe I'm a better player than my ranking might suggest, how much I don't know. We will find out later on," added the world No.15 whose top breaks were a 119, 94, 66 and 57.

John Higgins (Sco)	5-0	Mark King (Eng)
It was the second time in two years that Higgins had whitewashed the world No.14 Mark King, who scored only 11 points last time - the lowest ever aggregate on television. King this time scored 84 points as Higgins dominated the exchanges after spending over an hour opening up a 2-0 lead. "The first frame was one of the longest I have ever been involved in. But it was a scrappy start and I suppose I was a bit fortunate to lead 2-0." "After that Mark seemed to lose interest and didn't put up much resistance", said Higgins whose highest breaks were a 68 and 64. The World No.1 has now beaten King eight times in a row.

QUARTER FINALS

Joe Swail (NI) 5-4 Alan McManus (Sco)

Scores: 74-7 (62), 23-70, 0-85, 22-91 (70), 7-95 (57), 74-0 (74), 102-0 (93), 56-18, 57-30 (53)
Joe Swail made a great come back and impressed by his own performance.
He said: "I really enjoyed the match. When I was 4-1 down, I thought I'd just give it a go. I thought I'd been a bit negative, so I thought I'd attack more."
"Then I got two good big breaks and I was right back in it, then the pressure was on Alan. I'm looking forward to playing Peter Ebdon, he's a very tough player, he'll never give up, we've always had good matches."

Peter Ebdon (Eng) 5-2 Steve Davis (Eng)

Scores: 78-51, 36-68 (57), 78-8 (66), 54-16, 104-14, 36-78, 82-16 (52)
Peter Ebdon, ranked 13, compiled breaks of 66 and 52 on his way to a 5-2 victory over Davis to reach his first ranking event semi-final since the Regal Welsh in 1997.
"I'm more professional and more relaxed than I have ever been these days and that means I could be dangerous this season," said Ebdon.
"My mental approach is also as good as it has been for three or four years which is pleasing. I know I've recently experienced some low points in my career but it's only through hard work that I've managed to get going again."
"If anything, I lost the hunger and desire to win. I wanted to win things in my own mind but I couldn't make it happen. As a well known manager recently said to me three or four weeks ago, I needed to refocus and he was probably right."

John Higgins (Sco) 1-5 Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng)

Scores: 87-1 (87), 56-80 (56, 76), 7-84 (68), 20-57, 35-60, 11-104 (103)
O'Sullivan who lost the first frame when Higgins put together a break of 87 and was 56-0 behind in the next, won five on a row in 74 minutes. He had breaks of 76, 68, 48 and 38 before a clearance of 103 carried him to victory.
"I expected a tougher contest than what I got but sometimes matches like this can be an anti-climax. John didn't play as well as he can and I was distracted a bit by some of the shots he missed. I didn't expect it," said O'Sullivan.
"We have had some good matches in the past including Sheffield a few months ago when Stephen beat me in the world championship semi-finals."
"I think there were a couple of sessions when frames were won virtually shot for shot and that's the way we both like to play. It's the buzz that you want so if we both produce our best, it should be some semi-final."
Higgins admitted after the match, "I just haven't been putting the work in down here and haven't felt like it."
"You can get away with this against the lesser players but when you come up against the likes of Ronnie, you'll get beaten."
"I need to change quickly to get into the swing of things again. That means a lot of hard work between now and the Regal Masters at the end of the month. I played OK at the start but once Ronnie got going, I hardly did anything at all."

Stephen Lee (Eng) 2-5 Stephen Hendry (Sco)

Scores: 14-73, 0-141 (141), 15-85 (85), 64-32 (58), 98-21 (77), 25-92 (92), 0-77 (77)

Joe Swail (NI)	5-4	Alan McManus (Sco)
Scores: 74-7 (62), 23-70, 0-85, 22-91 (70), 7-95 (57), 74-0 (74), 102-0 (93), 56-18, 57-30 (53) Joe Swail made a great come back and impressed by his own performance. He said: "I really enjoyed the match. When I was 4-1 down, I thought I'd just give it a go. I thought I'd been a bit negative, so I thought I'd attack more." "Then I got two good big breaks and I was right back in it, then the pressure was on Alan. I'm looking forward to playing Peter Ebdon, he's a very tough player, he'll never give up, we've always had good matches."

Peter Ebdon (Eng)	5-2	Steve Davis (Eng)
Scores: 78-51, 36-68 (57), 78-8 (66), 54-16, 104-14, 36-78, 82-16 (52) Peter Ebdon, ranked 13, compiled breaks of 66 and 52 on his way to a 5-2 victory over Davis to reach his first ranking event semi-final since the Regal Welsh in 1997. "I'm more professional and more relaxed than I have ever been these days and that means I could be dangerous this season," said Ebdon. "My mental approach is also as good as it has been for three or four years which is pleasing. I know I've recently experienced some low points in my career but it's only through hard work that I've managed to get going again." "If anything, I lost the hunger and desire to win. I wanted to win things in my own mind but I couldn't make it happen. As a well known manager recently said to me three or four weeks ago, I needed to refocus and he was probably right."

John Higgins (Sco)	1-5	Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng)
Scores: 87-1 (87), 56-80 (56, 76), 7-84 (68), 20-57, 35-60, 11-104 (103) O'Sullivan who lost the first frame when Higgins put together a break of 87 and was 56-0 behind in the next, won five on a row in 74 minutes. He had breaks of 76, 68, 48 and 38 before a clearance of 103 carried him to victory. "I expected a tougher contest than what I got but sometimes matches like this can be an anti-climax. John didn't play as well as he can and I was distracted a bit by some of the shots he missed. I didn't expect it," said O'Sullivan. "We have had some good matches in the past including Sheffield a few months ago when Stephen beat me in the world championship semi-finals." "I think there were a couple of sessions when frames were won virtually shot for shot and that's the way we both like to play. It's the buzz that you want so if we both produce our best, it should be some semi-final." Higgins admitted after the match, "I just haven't been putting the work in down here and haven't felt like it." "You can get away with this against the lesser players but when you come up against the likes of Ronnie, you'll get beaten." "I need to change quickly to get into the swing of things again. That means a lot of hard work between now and the Regal Masters at the end of the month. I played OK at the start but once Ronnie got going, I hardly did anything at all."

Stephen Lee (Eng)	2-5	Stephen Hendry (Sco)
Scores: 14-73, 0-141 (141), 15-85 (85), 64-32 (58), 98-21 (77), 25-92 (92), 0-77 (77)

SEMI FINALS

Joe Swail (NI) 3-6 Peter Ebdon (Eng)

Scores: 10-109 (78), 70-71 (Swail 70), 22-73 (57), 61-24, 40-85, 9-103 (80), 87-0 (87), 91-36 (50), 0-129 (129)
A sharply focussed Peter Ebdon turned in a solid performance to reach his first final since the 1997 Thailand Open. His win left Swail yet to reach a major final, after six semi final appearances.
He said: "I played well, I've been feeling confident all week. I feel as if I'm growing mentally again."
"I think I can be better than I ever was before. I've got a lot to offer this game. I am determined to make the most of my potential. I'm amongst great players. I want to work hard and see just how good I can be."
"I am really looking forward to Sunday's final." added by world number 13.
In the second frame, when Ebdon 0-70 down to require a snooker, he earned one and took the frame by one points and said: "If you get bits and pieces of luck, you've got to take full advantage."

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) 5-6 Stephen Hendry (Sco)

Scores: 60-32, 12-83 (68), 97-0 (53), 52-65 (Hendry 53, O'Sullivan 52), 1-78 (78), 0-104 (104), 89-15 (50), 69-44 (52), 0-80, 89-23 (66), 21-100 (59)

FINAL

Peter Ebdon (Eng) 5-9 Stephen Hendry (Sco)

Scores: 88-14 (82), 69-40, 77-12 (38), 1-78 (78), 18-88 (88), 7-73 (58), 0-147 (147), 79-32, 23-87 (87), 0-98 (98), 0-132 (132), 43-79 (76), 67-32 (62), 27-72 (48)
Stephen Hendry clinched his 72nd major title by taking The British Open crown with a 9-5 win over Peter Ebdon.
He said, "I am delighted, because I am playing the best snooker ever in my career."
"The only downside to all this, is that it can't possibly get any better. I don't know how to cap this in the months ahead."
Hendry, who was very slow out of the stalls this afternoon said, "From 0-3 down I won 9 out of 11 frames and against a player of Peter's class, that was great, but the first three frames tonight were awesome. I just didn't think I'd miss."
"To win the first two titles of the season is 'brill', and after a day off, I'll be back working hard for the Regal Masters. There's a lot of good players out there. The Regal is very special, it is such a prestigious tournament, with a brilliant atmosphere and, best of all, it's in Scotland!" added world champion.
Hendry's win also took him back to the top of the world rankings.
"To be back at number one again is a great bonus although it is early in the year. But that is my target for the end of the season."
Peter Ebdon was highly praise of his opponent and said, "It's not the first time he's produced something special against me in a final. Stephen has proved time and time again that he's in a different league to the rest of us."
"I think that was a very special performance. I felt good in myself, so I still thought I could bounce back and win. I didn't think I did much wrong, he is just a very special player. There's not many people who could score so heavily and do it consistently, he is exceptional and he's not 7 times World Champion for nothing."
"I fully expected to win today, I was very confident and I'm not that bothered to have lost, my turn will come. It's already coming right for me."
Peter went on to reveal that he and his wife Deborah had confirmation this week that they are expecting their fourth child, due to be born at the end of May next year.
The Scot also made a brilliant maximum 147 clearance in the 7th frame, which was Hendry's sixth and the first-ever maximum made in a ranking final.

Joe Swail (NI)	3-6	Peter Ebdon (Eng)
Scores: 10-109 (78), 70-71 (Swail 70), 22-73 (57), 61-24, 40-85, 9-103 (80), 87-0 (87), 91-36 (50), 0-129 (129) A sharply focussed Peter Ebdon turned in a solid performance to reach his first final since the 1997 Thailand Open. His win left Swail yet to reach a major final, after six semi final appearances. He said: "I played well, I've been feeling confident all week. I feel as if I'm growing mentally again." "I think I can be better than I ever was before. I've got a lot to offer this game. I am determined to make the most of my potential. I'm amongst great players. I want to work hard and see just how good I can be." "I am really looking forward to Sunday's final." added by world number 13. In the second frame, when Ebdon 0-70 down to require a snooker, he earned one and took the frame by one points and said: "If you get bits and pieces of luck, you've got to take full advantage."

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng)	5-6	Stephen Hendry (Sco)
Scores: 60-32, 12-83 (68), 97-0 (53), 52-65 (Hendry 53, O'Sullivan 52), 1-78 (78), 0-104 (104), 89-15 (50), 69-44 (52), 0-80, 89-23 (66), 21-100 (59)

Peter Ebdon (Eng)	5-9	Stephen Hendry (Sco)
Scores: 88-14 (82), 69-40, 77-12 (38), 1-78 (78), 18-88 (88), 7-73 (58), 0-147 (147), 79-32, 23-87 (87), 0-98 (98), 0-132 (132), 43-79 (76), 67-32 (62), 27-72 (48) Stephen Hendry clinched his 72nd major title by taking The British Open crown with a 9-5 win over Peter Ebdon. He said, "I am delighted, because I am playing the best snooker ever in my career." "The only downside to all this, is that it can't possibly get any better. I don't know how to cap this in the months ahead." Hendry, who was very slow out of the stalls this afternoon said, "From 0-3 down I won 9 out of 11 frames and against a player of Peter's class, that was great, but the first three frames tonight were awesome. I just didn't think I'd miss." "To win the first two titles of the season is 'brill', and after a day off, I'll be back working hard for the Regal Masters. There's a lot of good players out there. The Regal is very special, it is such a prestigious tournament, with a brilliant atmosphere and, best of all, it's in Scotland!" added world champion. Hendry's win also took him back to the top of the world rankings. "To be back at number one again is a great bonus although it is early in the year. But that is my target for the end of the season." Peter Ebdon was highly praise of his opponent and said, "It's not the first time he's produced something special against me in a final. Stephen has proved time and time again that he's in a different league to the rest of us." "I think that was a very special performance. I felt good in myself, so I still thought I could bounce back and win. I didn't think I did much wrong, he is just a very special player. There's not many people who could score so heavily and do it consistently, he is exceptional and he's not 7 times World Champion for nothing." "I fully expected to win today, I was very confident and I'm not that bothered to have lost, my turn will come. It's already coming right for me." Peter went on to reveal that he and his wife Deborah had confirmation this week that they are expecting their fourth child, due to be born at the end of May next year. The Scot also made a brilliant maximum 147 clearance in the 7th frame, which was Hendry's sixth and the first-ever maximum made in a ranking final.

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