CWY Snooker House

Detail Reports

FIRST ROUNDS

Alan McManus (Sco) 2-5 Matthew Stevens (Wal)

Scores: 66-44, 8-92 (53), 49-72, 81-30, 0-103 (103), 0-61 (61), 16-107
Matthew Stevens, the world No.9, celebrated his debut in the Regal Masters with a 5-2 victory over Alan McManus in the first round at Motherwell Civic Centre.
Stevens who came through the qualifying rounds to join the 12 strong field, faces the holder, Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals on Friday.
"I've never played Ronnie before so naturally I'm looking forward to our match. It should be quite quick which will give me the chance to flow," said Stevens, a 22 year old from Carmarthen who set a high break target of 103.

Ken Doherty (Ire) 5-4 Jimmy White (Eng)

Scores: 13-77 (72), 81-14 (52), 0-91 (61), 60-51, 71-30 (70), 57-64 (57 Doherty), 0-138 (138), 71-69, 76-43
Jimmy White compiled a clearance of 138 to set a new high break target, but was beaten 5-4 by Ken Doherty, the same score when the two met in the same round last year.
"There were a couple of times when I thought I was going to lose and no doubt Jimmy felt the same," said Doherty whose highest break was a 70.
"It was a great game, one of the best we have ever played and there have been some close contests over the years. I showed a lot of determination and battle which was very pleasing."
White, winner of only one match out of seven so far this season, said "I keep making silly mistakes that are costing me matches which is a bit demoralising."

Stephen Lee (Eng) 5-4 Fergal O'Brien (Ire)

Scores: 1-84, 70-35, 93-11, 53-73 (56), 81-14, 2-82, 126-0 (126), 7-91 (91), 71-66
In the decider, Stephen Lee was heading for defeat as the Irishman set sail for the winning post when Lee left him in on the green. But O'Brien failed to put away what would have been a match winning pink. Lee potted the final pink and black to complete a 5-4 first round victory over Fergal O'Brien.
In frame 7, Lee failed to increase the high break target to 139. He was on 126 but missed the final pink leaving Jimmy White's 138 at the head of the queue.
"It was nip and tuck all the way in the decider but I did think I was going to lose it," said the 23 year old from Trowbridge.
"I went to sleep a bit and switched off half way through but it's hard to stay focussed all the time when you are sitting in your chair."
O'Brien whose break of 91 forced the decider, remarked, "What can I say. I had a good few chances in the last frame and didn't finish it off mainly because my long game wasn't all that clever."
"I battled away to the end which I suppose was something positive to come out of this," he said.

John Parrott (Eng) 5-2 Steve Davis (Eng)

Scores: 105-36, 73-53, 45-74 (52), 5-63, 74-20 (61), 109-9 (54), 88-0 (88)
John Parrott won the last three frames to beat Steve Davis 5-2 and set up a quarter final against Stephen Hendry.
And Parrott, breaks of 88, 61 and 54, didn't hide his admiration for the seven times world champion. He said: "If he plays to the standard he showed against Peter Ebdon in the British Open final three weeks ago, we can all go home. Every credit to him for getting his game back into shape."
"It proves what a great champion he is considering what happened to him when he lost to Marcus Campbell in the UK championship a year ago."
"I'm looking forward to playing Stephen again. The atmosphere will be great, the crowd love him here and quite rightly so. I'll also be the underdog and that suits me fine."
"Two years ago I beat Stephen here 6-5 on the final black and I'll take a result like that again."
Davis whose highest break was a 52, remarked, "I enjoyed a game which just didn't go my way. I don't believe there was that much between us at one stage then it went away from me. Some of the frames hinged on just one ball."

Alan McManus (Sco)	2-5	Matthew Stevens (Wal)
Scores: 66-44, 8-92 (53), 49-72, 81-30, 0-103 (103), 0-61 (61), 16-107 Matthew Stevens, the world No.9, celebrated his debut in the Regal Masters with a 5-2 victory over Alan McManus in the first round at Motherwell Civic Centre. Stevens who came through the qualifying rounds to join the 12 strong field, faces the holder, Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals on Friday. "I've never played Ronnie before so naturally I'm looking forward to our match. It should be quite quick which will give me the chance to flow," said Stevens, a 22 year old from Carmarthen who set a high break target of 103.

Ken Doherty (Ire)	5-4	Jimmy White (Eng)
Scores: 13-77 (72), 81-14 (52), 0-91 (61), 60-51, 71-30 (70), 57-64 (57 Doherty), 0-138 (138), 71-69, 76-43 Jimmy White compiled a clearance of 138 to set a new high break target, but was beaten 5-4 by Ken Doherty, the same score when the two met in the same round last year. "There were a couple of times when I thought I was going to lose and no doubt Jimmy felt the same," said Doherty whose highest break was a 70. "It was a great game, one of the best we have ever played and there have been some close contests over the years. I showed a lot of determination and battle which was very pleasing." White, winner of only one match out of seven so far this season, said "I keep making silly mistakes that are costing me matches which is a bit demoralising."

Stephen Lee (Eng)	5-4	Fergal O'Brien (Ire)
Scores: 1-84, 70-35, 93-11, 53-73 (56), 81-14, 2-82, 126-0 (126), 7-91 (91), 71-66 In the decider, Stephen Lee was heading for defeat as the Irishman set sail for the winning post when Lee left him in on the green. But O'Brien failed to put away what would have been a match winning pink. Lee potted the final pink and black to complete a 5-4 first round victory over Fergal O'Brien. In frame 7, Lee failed to increase the high break target to 139. He was on 126 but missed the final pink leaving Jimmy White's 138 at the head of the queue. "It was nip and tuck all the way in the decider but I did think I was going to lose it," said the 23 year old from Trowbridge. "I went to sleep a bit and switched off half way through but it's hard to stay focussed all the time when you are sitting in your chair." O'Brien whose break of 91 forced the decider, remarked, "What can I say. I had a good few chances in the last frame and didn't finish it off mainly because my long game wasn't all that clever." "I battled away to the end which I suppose was something positive to come out of this," he said.

John Parrott (Eng)	5-2	Steve Davis (Eng)
Scores: 105-36, 73-53, 45-74 (52), 5-63, 74-20 (61), 109-9 (54), 88-0 (88) John Parrott won the last three frames to beat Steve Davis 5-2 and set up a quarter final against Stephen Hendry. And Parrott, breaks of 88, 61 and 54, didn't hide his admiration for the seven times world champion. He said: "If he plays to the standard he showed against Peter Ebdon in the British Open final three weeks ago, we can all go home. Every credit to him for getting his game back into shape." "It proves what a great champion he is considering what happened to him when he lost to Marcus Campbell in the UK championship a year ago." "I'm looking forward to playing Stephen again. The atmosphere will be great, the crowd love him here and quite rightly so. I'll also be the underdog and that suits me fine." "Two years ago I beat Stephen here 6-5 on the final black and I'll take a result like that again." Davis whose highest break was a 52, remarked, "I enjoyed a game which just didn't go my way. I don't believe there was that much between us at one stage then it went away from me. Some of the frames hinged on just one ball."

QUARTER FINALS

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) 4-6 Matthew Stevens (Wal)

Scores: 67-10 (62), 66-13, 17-61, 48-22, 30-68, 75-0, 8-123 (80), 33-103 (103), 20-58, 1-64
Matthew Stevens produced the ammunition which destroyed the Rocket and guaranteed Wales a place in the final.
Stevens beat holder Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4, winning the last four frames to set up a semi-final against Williams.
But many of the crowd watching and a million or more on television couldn't help it if they thought O'Sullivan had taken on the role of a kami kazi pilot at the snooker table.
His shot choice when the pressure was at its most intense bordered on the ridiculous though Stevens put it down to no stronger a word than "frustration."
O'Sullivan, 4-2 ahead, never even hinted at the high standard he showed a year ago when beating Higgins 9-7 in the final.
"I thought I was odds on to get some of the doubles I went for. They have been flying in at the practice table all week. They just didn't come off in the match because the balls were sliding too much on a fast table," said O'Sullivan.
"It's very disappointing to lose my first match back here since winning the title because it's a great venue and a great place to play at. But Matthew was brilliant and I've got no complaints."
"He didn't miss too much in the balls and I did which was probably the big difference between us."
Next event for O'Sullivan is the Grand Prix at Preston later this month but first the 23 year old world No.4 is likely to take a holiday. "I need a nice week away. I've been over practising and sometimes you can overdo things."
"I also feel a little burnt out what with tournaments in Croydon and Plymouth before I cam here. A break will do me the world of good."
"I will take a week off somewhere, play a little golf and then comeback refreshed for the next event."
"I might even head abroad, I'll just see where I fancy going before making my mind up," said O'Sullivan whose highest break of the match was a 62 in the first frame.
Stevens victory followed only minutes after Wales had beaten Argentina in the opening World Cup rugby match in Cardiff and it was the result of that game which the 22 year old from Carmarthen wanted to know as soon as his own had finished.
"My best friend, Stephen Jones, is in the Welsh squad, so he will be pleased about the Welsh win. So am I," said Stevens whose burst of breaks at the end included an 80 and 103.
He continued, "It was a good performance for me to beat Ronnie. I struggled before the interval and I could see he was as well afterwards judging by his choice of shots which did make things easier for me."
"Neither of us were playing well during the first six frames but at least I was able to put some breaks together towards the end. I think Ronnie just got more and more frustrated at the way he was playing."
Stevens has won two of the three matches he has previously played against Williams who beat him 5-4 in the last 16 of the Regal Scottish Open in Aberdeen at the beginning of the year. Runner-up to Higgins in last season's UK championship, Stevens added,"It's going to be tough trying to beat the world No.3 but I'm looking forward to it."
The two friends who helped Wales to victory in the World Team Cup final at Newcastle in January, often play golf together but only occasionally join up for a practice session at snooker.
Williams remarked, "Our semi-final should be quite a match. Obviously I want to win it but if I don't at least a Welshman will be challenging for the first prize of ￡61,000"."

Mark J Williams (Wal) 6-3 Stephen Lee (Eng)

Scores: 42-89 (50), 0-92 (92), 88-0 (55), 61-27, 100-27 (51), 57-60, 71-52 (59 Williams, 52 Lee), 78-15 (66), 77-9 (55)
Welshman Mark Williams, winner of three ranking events last season, isn't convinced he is good enough to overtake Scots John Higgins or Stephen Hendry and become the world's top ranked player.
Williams who beat Lee 6-3 in the quarter-finals said, "My aim this season is to stay in the top four anything else will be a bonus."
"I have a good chance now of holding on to any one of those positions and while I'll give the No.1 slot my best go, the way I'm playing at the moment, I don't think I'm good enough just yet."
The world No.3 who won last season's Regal Welsh and Irish Opens and the Thailand Masters, won six of the last seven frames to beat Lee for the second time this season.
"I missed a sitter of a red to lead 4-2 and I thought then I had it all to do . But I had a nice clearance of 59 to win frame seven and grab the lead again before going on to win the match as well."
"I played well enough except for missing a few easy balls which I always will do the way I play."
"The last two tournaments I felt I wasn't playing as fluently as I had done last season. I turned down a few shots I would normally go for which isn't my style at all."
"I decided here to go on the attack again, to go for everything within reason. If I'm going to get beaten I would rather lose this way than get caught in a safety battle," added Williams who faces Ronnie O'Sullivan or Matthew Stevens for a place in Sunday's final.
Lee who felt he also went to sleep during a 5-4 black ball victory over Fergal O'Brien in the first round, continued, "I don't know why this is happening, perhaps I'm not getting enough sleep."
"If my concentration had been right I might have been able to put Mark under a bit more pressure. But it wasn't and my safety game let me down as well."
"I played in Blackpool at the weekend and didn't feel right at all. It's the same here so hopefully when I go back to Preston after a couple of week's practice at home, I'll be in the right frame of mind again."
"The concentration problem isn't too much of a worry but I could have fallen asleep a couple of times out there. Mark though looked good at the end and you can't take anything away from him."

John Higgins (Sco) 6-1 Ken Doherty (Ire)

Scores: 69-15 (69), 80-0 (80), 79-9 (66), 74-0 (74), 78-49 (67), 50-60, 65-15 (52)
John Higgins completed a 91 minutes demolition job over Doherty to storm into the semi-finals.
Such was Higgins' performance that Doherty who scored only 24 points in the first four frames remarked, "He was certainly on fire tonight."
The Scot said after his brilliant match, "I'm always happy to beat Ken by any score let alone 6-1. Obviously it has been a bit of surprise to win so emphatically because we have had some great battles over the years many of them quite close contests."
Higgins, critical of his early season form even though he reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup and the last eight of the British Open, admitted he hadn't put the work in during pre-season. "I wouldn't say I have been practising seven hours a day but I've put in four to four and a half instead of the 90 minutes I started off with. That might be enough to beat the lower ranked players but it wasn't good enough when I had to play the top guys like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan."
"Now all the extra work I've put in has paid off in this match." While talking about his next opponent, he said: "Stephen is the form player at the moment. He is on the crest of a wave and John will have his work cut out to contain him."
Doherty, twice winner of the Regal Masters, produced a break of 36 in frame six. "John played very well from the word go. He didn't need many chances and when I gave him a couple early on, he took them."
"In most of the frames I didn't have much of a look in. It was a different kettle of fish in my previous match against Jimmy White. He gave me chances and I took them."
"There wasn't much I could do this time and that's the story of the night," added Doherty."

Stephen Hendry (Sco) 6-2 John Parrott (Eng)

Scores: 134-0 (134), 8-66, 94-0 (64), 101-23 (70), 94-25 (62), 65-3 (49), 54-60, 63-45
World champion Stephen Hendry received a rousing ovation before the start of his Regal Masters quarter final against John Parrott.
It was Hendry's first appearance in front of his home fans since he won a record breaking seventh Embassy world crown at Sheffield five months ago.
And snooker's world No.2 produced a performance to match the reception when he went on to beat Parrott 6-2, opening the curtain call with a clearance of 134, the second highest break so far.
Maximum man Hendry also recorded breaks of 70, 64, 62, 44 and 41 to set up the semi-final everyone wants to see against world No.1 John Higgins.
Hendry, whose 147 in the British Open final against Peter Ebdon, was his sixth in major competition, said, "I played superbly though I was just a little tense towards the end."
"But that was only because this is a Scottish event and I wanted so much to play John for a place in the final."
"It made me nervous to get over the winning line but otherwise this was a carry on from where I left off in Plymouth."
Of his semi-final with Higgins, Hendry leads the head to head count 9-3, he said, "Sometimes these matches don't live up to reputations. It didn't when I played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the British semis last month."
"Hopefully John and myself can put on a good show for the crowd. I'm looking forward to it."
Hendry, in the seventh frame, enjoyed what he called the "most outrageous fluke I've ever seen," when the brown bounced out of the jaws of the green pocket and hurdled across the table into a middle pocket."
As the brown fell in, Parrott, "in fun" took out a white handkerchief and waved it in mock surrender though a clearance from yellow to black earned him the frame on the black. He also looked set to win the eighth as well but missed the yellow clearing up."
"The difference between us was that I was fiddling to win frames and Stephen was winning them on one visit to the table. That puts enormous pressure on you when you do get chances."
"I had a lot of those and didn't take them. I'm just not playing top eight snooker at the moment."
"I don't know who my money would be on when Stephen and John play. I think 6-4 or 6-5 is on the cards."
"Stephen though is the one to beat. His long game is terrific and on top of that he looks like making 60 to 70 plus breaks every time he gets in."

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng)	4-6	Matthew Stevens (Wal)
Scores: 67-10 (62), 66-13, 17-61, 48-22, 30-68, 75-0, 8-123 (80), 33-103 (103), 20-58, 1-64 Matthew Stevens produced the ammunition which destroyed the Rocket and guaranteed Wales a place in the final. Stevens beat holder Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4, winning the last four frames to set up a semi-final against Williams. But many of the crowd watching and a million or more on television couldn't help it if they thought O'Sullivan had taken on the role of a kami kazi pilot at the snooker table. His shot choice when the pressure was at its most intense bordered on the ridiculous though Stevens put it down to no stronger a word than "frustration." O'Sullivan, 4-2 ahead, never even hinted at the high standard he showed a year ago when beating Higgins 9-7 in the final. "I thought I was odds on to get some of the doubles I went for. They have been flying in at the practice table all week. They just didn't come off in the match because the balls were sliding too much on a fast table," said O'Sullivan. "It's very disappointing to lose my first match back here since winning the title because it's a great venue and a great place to play at. But Matthew was brilliant and I've got no complaints." "He didn't miss too much in the balls and I did which was probably the big difference between us." Next event for O'Sullivan is the Grand Prix at Preston later this month but first the 23 year old world No.4 is likely to take a holiday. "I need a nice week away. I've been over practising and sometimes you can overdo things." "I also feel a little burnt out what with tournaments in Croydon and Plymouth before I cam here. A break will do me the world of good." "I will take a week off somewhere, play a little golf and then comeback refreshed for the next event." "I might even head abroad, I'll just see where I fancy going before making my mind up," said O'Sullivan whose highest break of the match was a 62 in the first frame. Stevens victory followed only minutes after Wales had beaten Argentina in the opening World Cup rugby match in Cardiff and it was the result of that game which the 22 year old from Carmarthen wanted to know as soon as his own had finished. "My best friend, Stephen Jones, is in the Welsh squad, so he will be pleased about the Welsh win. So am I," said Stevens whose burst of breaks at the end included an 80 and 103. He continued, "It was a good performance for me to beat Ronnie. I struggled before the interval and I could see he was as well afterwards judging by his choice of shots which did make things easier for me." "Neither of us were playing well during the first six frames but at least I was able to put some breaks together towards the end. I think Ronnie just got more and more frustrated at the way he was playing." Stevens has won two of the three matches he has previously played against Williams who beat him 5-4 in the last 16 of the Regal Scottish Open in Aberdeen at the beginning of the year. Runner-up to Higgins in last season's UK championship, Stevens added,"It's going to be tough trying to beat the world No.3 but I'm looking forward to it." The two friends who helped Wales to victory in the World Team Cup final at Newcastle in January, often play golf together but only occasionally join up for a practice session at snooker. Williams remarked, "Our semi-final should be quite a match. Obviously I want to win it but if I don't at least a Welshman will be challenging for the first prize of ￡61,000"."

Mark J Williams (Wal)	6-3	Stephen Lee (Eng)
Scores: 42-89 (50), 0-92 (92), 88-0 (55), 61-27, 100-27 (51), 57-60, 71-52 (59 Williams, 52 Lee), 78-15 (66), 77-9 (55) Welshman Mark Williams, winner of three ranking events last season, isn't convinced he is good enough to overtake Scots John Higgins or Stephen Hendry and become the world's top ranked player. Williams who beat Lee 6-3 in the quarter-finals said, "My aim this season is to stay in the top four anything else will be a bonus." "I have a good chance now of holding on to any one of those positions and while I'll give the No.1 slot my best go, the way I'm playing at the moment, I don't think I'm good enough just yet." The world No.3 who won last season's Regal Welsh and Irish Opens and the Thailand Masters, won six of the last seven frames to beat Lee for the second time this season. "I missed a sitter of a red to lead 4-2 and I thought then I had it all to do . But I had a nice clearance of 59 to win frame seven and grab the lead again before going on to win the match as well." "I played well enough except for missing a few easy balls which I always will do the way I play." "The last two tournaments I felt I wasn't playing as fluently as I had done last season. I turned down a few shots I would normally go for which isn't my style at all." "I decided here to go on the attack again, to go for everything within reason. If I'm going to get beaten I would rather lose this way than get caught in a safety battle," added Williams who faces Ronnie O'Sullivan or Matthew Stevens for a place in Sunday's final. Lee who felt he also went to sleep during a 5-4 black ball victory over Fergal O'Brien in the first round, continued, "I don't know why this is happening, perhaps I'm not getting enough sleep." "If my concentration had been right I might have been able to put Mark under a bit more pressure. But it wasn't and my safety game let me down as well." "I played in Blackpool at the weekend and didn't feel right at all. It's the same here so hopefully when I go back to Preston after a couple of week's practice at home, I'll be in the right frame of mind again." "The concentration problem isn't too much of a worry but I could have fallen asleep a couple of times out there. Mark though looked good at the end and you can't take anything away from him."

John Higgins (Sco)	6-1	Ken Doherty (Ire)
Scores: 69-15 (69), 80-0 (80), 79-9 (66), 74-0 (74), 78-49 (67), 50-60, 65-15 (52) John Higgins completed a 91 minutes demolition job over Doherty to storm into the semi-finals. Such was Higgins' performance that Doherty who scored only 24 points in the first four frames remarked, "He was certainly on fire tonight." The Scot said after his brilliant match, "I'm always happy to beat Ken by any score let alone 6-1. Obviously it has been a bit of surprise to win so emphatically because we have had some great battles over the years many of them quite close contests." Higgins, critical of his early season form even though he reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup and the last eight of the British Open, admitted he hadn't put the work in during pre-season. "I wouldn't say I have been practising seven hours a day but I've put in four to four and a half instead of the 90 minutes I started off with. That might be enough to beat the lower ranked players but it wasn't good enough when I had to play the top guys like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan." "Now all the extra work I've put in has paid off in this match." While talking about his next opponent, he said: "Stephen is the form player at the moment. He is on the crest of a wave and John will have his work cut out to contain him." Doherty, twice winner of the Regal Masters, produced a break of 36 in frame six. "John played very well from the word go. He didn't need many chances and when I gave him a couple early on, he took them." "In most of the frames I didn't have much of a look in. It was a different kettle of fish in my previous match against Jimmy White. He gave me chances and I took them." "There wasn't much I could do this time and that's the story of the night," added Doherty."

Stephen Hendry (Sco)	6-2	John Parrott (Eng)
Scores: 134-0 (134), 8-66, 94-0 (64), 101-23 (70), 94-25 (62), 65-3 (49), 54-60, 63-45 World champion Stephen Hendry received a rousing ovation before the start of his Regal Masters quarter final against John Parrott. It was Hendry's first appearance in front of his home fans since he won a record breaking seventh Embassy world crown at Sheffield five months ago. And snooker's world No.2 produced a performance to match the reception when he went on to beat Parrott 6-2, opening the curtain call with a clearance of 134, the second highest break so far. Maximum man Hendry also recorded breaks of 70, 64, 62, 44 and 41 to set up the semi-final everyone wants to see against world No.1 John Higgins. Hendry, whose 147 in the British Open final against Peter Ebdon, was his sixth in major competition, said, "I played superbly though I was just a little tense towards the end." "But that was only because this is a Scottish event and I wanted so much to play John for a place in the final." "It made me nervous to get over the winning line but otherwise this was a carry on from where I left off in Plymouth." Of his semi-final with Higgins, Hendry leads the head to head count 9-3, he said, "Sometimes these matches don't live up to reputations. It didn't when I played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the British semis last month." "Hopefully John and myself can put on a good show for the crowd. I'm looking forward to it." Hendry, in the seventh frame, enjoyed what he called the "most outrageous fluke I've ever seen," when the brown bounced out of the jaws of the green pocket and hurdled across the table into a middle pocket." As the brown fell in, Parrott, "in fun" took out a white handkerchief and waved it in mock surrender though a clearance from yellow to black earned him the frame on the black. He also looked set to win the eighth as well but missed the yellow clearing up." "The difference between us was that I was fiddling to win frames and Stephen was winning them on one visit to the table. That puts enormous pressure on you when you do get chances." "I had a lot of those and didn't take them. I'm just not playing top eight snooker at the moment." "I don't know who my money would be on when Stephen and John play. I think 6-4 or 6-5 is on the cards." "Stephen though is the one to beat. His long game is terrific and on top of that he looks like making 60 to 70 plus breaks every time he gets in."

SEMI FINALS

Matthew Stevens (Wal) 6-2 Mark J Williams (Wal)

Scores: 91-0 (91), 76-51, 63-53, 28-69 (56), 103-11 (103), 10-75, 68-13 (58), 53-33
Matthew Stevens etched out a 6-2 victory over Williams to reach the final and become the first Welshman to do so since Terry Griffiths in 1990.
The winner of the qualifying event which earned him a wild card entry, Stevens doesn't mind which of the two Scots he has to play in the final. "It would be great to win here but I just want to enjoy the match and the atmosphere. I have no preference at all between John and Stephen."
Since Stevens, ranked nine, turned professional in 1994, he has lost his three previous matches against Higgins and beaten Hendry once in four attempts.
But having won the first three frames of the semi-final, he never looked back and Williams hardly looked like closing the gap.
Stevens kicked off with a break of 91 and added his third century of the week, a 103, to lead 4-1. By a strange co-incidence all three tons were the same.
"The balls ran well for me and Mark struggled quite a bit. The century gave me a lot of confidence though every time I played a bad shot, I seemed to get away with it."
Williams had no complaints over the verdict. "Matthew deserved to win because he played better than I did. I had my chances and just didn't take them. I hope now he can go on and win the title."
"To be fair, I'm not playing like a top four player should. I'll have to try and put things right before the Grand Prix starts in Preston later this month."
There is nothing wrong with my practice game, perhaps it's just a bit of confidence I'm lacking at the match table."

John Higgins (Sco) 6-1 Stephen Hendry (Sco)

Scores: 61-15, 65-50 (52), 83-29, 86-31 (48), 31-71 (66), 111-0 (69), 90-0 (90)
Higgins proved more than a point or two when he thrashed Stephen Hendry 6-1 in the second semi-final.
Higgins beaten 5-2 by Hendry in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup last month gained his first victory over the world champion for a year having lost four in a row since he last beat his great rival 6-5 at the same stage of the 1998 Masters.
"I've no complaints, John played better than I did and deserved to win," said Hendry whose only frame victory, the fifth frame, included a break of 66.
But as Higgins went into a 4-0 lead he did so with breaks of 52, 49 and 48 before wrapping up the proceedings with runs of 69 and 90.
"The standard wasn't what it was built up to be but Stephen has been the player in form and I'm delighted to have beaten him like this.
"He is also the only Scot to have won this event and I want to be the next. After all the venue is on my own doorstep."
Higgins and Stevens face a 17 frames shoot out for the first prize.

Matthew Stevens (Wal)	6-2	Mark J Williams (Wal)
Scores: 91-0 (91), 76-51, 63-53, 28-69 (56), 103-11 (103), 10-75, 68-13 (58), 53-33 Matthew Stevens etched out a 6-2 victory over Williams to reach the final and become the first Welshman to do so since Terry Griffiths in 1990. The winner of the qualifying event which earned him a wild card entry, Stevens doesn't mind which of the two Scots he has to play in the final. "It would be great to win here but I just want to enjoy the match and the atmosphere. I have no preference at all between John and Stephen." Since Stevens, ranked nine, turned professional in 1994, he has lost his three previous matches against Higgins and beaten Hendry once in four attempts. But having won the first three frames of the semi-final, he never looked back and Williams hardly looked like closing the gap. Stevens kicked off with a break of 91 and added his third century of the week, a 103, to lead 4-1. By a strange co-incidence all three tons were the same. "The balls ran well for me and Mark struggled quite a bit. The century gave me a lot of confidence though every time I played a bad shot, I seemed to get away with it." Williams had no complaints over the verdict. "Matthew deserved to win because he played better than I did. I had my chances and just didn't take them. I hope now he can go on and win the title." "To be fair, I'm not playing like a top four player should. I'll have to try and put things right before the Grand Prix starts in Preston later this month." There is nothing wrong with my practice game, perhaps it's just a bit of confidence I'm lacking at the match table."

John Higgins (Sco)	6-1	Stephen Hendry (Sco)
Scores: 61-15, 65-50 (52), 83-29, 86-31 (48), 31-71 (66), 111-0 (69), 90-0 (90) Higgins proved more than a point or two when he thrashed Stephen Hendry 6-1 in the second semi-final. Higgins beaten 5-2 by Hendry in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup last month gained his first victory over the world champion for a year having lost four in a row since he last beat his great rival 6-5 at the same stage of the 1998 Masters. "I've no complaints, John played better than I did and deserved to win," said Hendry whose only frame victory, the fifth frame, included a break of 66. But as Higgins went into a 4-0 lead he did so with breaks of 52, 49 and 48 before wrapping up the proceedings with runs of 69 and 90. "The standard wasn't what it was built up to be but Stephen has been the player in form and I'm delighted to have beaten him like this. "He is also the only Scot to have won this event and I want to be the next. After all the venue is on my own doorstep." Higgins and Stevens face a 17 frames shoot out for the first prize.

FINAL

Matthew Stevens (Wal) 9-7 John Higgins (Sco)

Scores: 38-83 (57), 0-128 (128), 4-126 (126), 62-33, 6-88 (88), 66-61, 90-40 (90), 78-42, 89-23, 30-99, 4-62, 73-43, 16-116 (111), 77-11 (53), 74-0 (74), 91-1 (68)
Welshman Matthew Stevens denied world No.1 John Higgins his first title on home soil.
In doing so he also became the only player in the 10 year history of the event, to come through the qualifying rounds and scoop a jackpot first prize of ￡61,000, his biggest pay day.
World No.9 Stevens beat Higgins 9-7 though the ￡29,700 which went to the Scot enabled him to become only the fifth player in the game's history whose career earnings exceeded more than ￡1 million.
Stevens, 2-1 to beat the 11-4 on favourite and 22-1 in the pre-tournament betting, captured nine of the last 13 frames to win his first title in what was only his second major final.
The first was almost a year ago when Higgins beat Stevens 10-6 in the UK championship at Bournemouth.
This time Stevens who becomes the first Welshman to win the Regal Masters following Terry Griffiths' failures in the finals of 1989 and 1990, produced a performance full of fire as he overturned Higgins 3-0, 4-1, 6-5 and 7-6 lead.
He led for the first time after nine frames, picked up the scent of victory when leading 8-7 with a break of 74 while a 68 virtually sealed the proceedings. His break of the match, a 90, came in frame seven.
Defeat was a massive disappointment for Higgins who was desperate to win the title, particularly with the event taking place virtually on his own doorstep.
It was his 29th major final and for the 13th time he crash to defeat.
But in the early frames Higgins looked unbeatable as breaks of 128, 126, 88 and 57 carried him into a 4-1 lead.
Stevens though showed he has a mean temperament as well and once he had drawn level at 4-4, Higgins knew what he was up against.
"It means everything to win my first major. They say the first one is always the hardest," said Stevens who in earlier rounds had beaten Alan McManus, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams.
"The draw doesn't come much harder than that, three of the top four is incredible. But at 4-1 down I was just trying to make the score more resepctable before the evening play to give myself half a chance.
"It was a bonus to get to 4-4 but that gave me a lot of confidence. I might have been a bit lucky to still be level at 6-6 but I was delighted at the way I dug in. I wasn't nervous towards the end but I did get a bit anxious in the last frame."
"That just showed how much I wanted to win and I can only hope this is the start of better things to come."
A dejected Higgins said, "I keep giving away stupid finals. I was three clear and 50 odd points up in the next frame when I missed a red."
"It should have been 5-1 but Matthew took the frame on the black and the balls never forgave me afterwards."
"Matthew held himself together very well. I knew he would as he has always promised to be a top player. I think he proved that here."
"I felt great, I had a couple of centuries but I knew I was playing that red wrong in frame six but still went for it believing I would pot it. But if you don't give a shot the care it deserves you'll miss it and a chain reaction set in afterwards."
"I would have loved to win here in front of my own supporters but that's two in a row I've lost. It's quite painful."
"I have been playing well in practice the past two weeks and sorted out a cueing problem I had. My confidence also started to come back."
"But things went wrong again and apart from the chance I missed in the sixth frame, there were others as well. I just didn't perform towards the end."

Matthew Stevens (Wal)	9-7	John Higgins (Sco)
Scores: 38-83 (57), 0-128 (128), 4-126 (126), 62-33, 6-88 (88), 66-61, 90-40 (90), 78-42, 89-23, 30-99, 4-62, 73-43, 16-116 (111), 77-11 (53), 74-0 (74), 91-1 (68) Welshman Matthew Stevens denied world No.1 John Higgins his first title on home soil. In doing so he also became the only player in the 10 year history of the event, to come through the qualifying rounds and scoop a jackpot first prize of ￡61,000, his biggest pay day. World No.9 Stevens beat Higgins 9-7 though the ￡29,700 which went to the Scot enabled him to become only the fifth player in the game's history whose career earnings exceeded more than ￡1 million. Stevens, 2-1 to beat the 11-4 on favourite and 22-1 in the pre-tournament betting, captured nine of the last 13 frames to win his first title in what was only his second major final. The first was almost a year ago when Higgins beat Stevens 10-6 in the UK championship at Bournemouth. This time Stevens who becomes the first Welshman to win the Regal Masters following Terry Griffiths' failures in the finals of 1989 and 1990, produced a performance full of fire as he overturned Higgins 3-0, 4-1, 6-5 and 7-6 lead. He led for the first time after nine frames, picked up the scent of victory when leading 8-7 with a break of 74 while a 68 virtually sealed the proceedings. His break of the match, a 90, came in frame seven. Defeat was a massive disappointment for Higgins who was desperate to win the title, particularly with the event taking place virtually on his own doorstep. It was his 29th major final and for the 13th time he crash to defeat. But in the early frames Higgins looked unbeatable as breaks of 128, 126, 88 and 57 carried him into a 4-1 lead. Stevens though showed he has a mean temperament as well and once he had drawn level at 4-4, Higgins knew what he was up against. "It means everything to win my first major. They say the first one is always the hardest," said Stevens who in earlier rounds had beaten Alan McManus, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams. "The draw doesn't come much harder than that, three of the top four is incredible. But at 4-1 down I was just trying to make the score more resepctable before the evening play to give myself half a chance. "It was a bonus to get to 4-4 but that gave me a lot of confidence. I might have been a bit lucky to still be level at 6-6 but I was delighted at the way I dug in. I wasn't nervous towards the end but I did get a bit anxious in the last frame." "That just showed how much I wanted to win and I can only hope this is the start of better things to come." A dejected Higgins said, "I keep giving away stupid finals. I was three clear and 50 odd points up in the next frame when I missed a red." "It should have been 5-1 but Matthew took the frame on the black and the balls never forgave me afterwards." "Matthew held himself together very well. I knew he would as he has always promised to be a top player. I think he proved that here." "I felt great, I had a couple of centuries but I knew I was playing that red wrong in frame six but still went for it believing I would pot it. But if you don't give a shot the care it deserves you'll miss it and a chain reaction set in afterwards." "I would have loved to win here in front of my own supporters but that's two in a row I've lost. It's quite painful." "I have been playing well in practice the past two weeks and sorted out a cueing problem I had. My confidence also started to come back." "But things went wrong again and apart from the chance I missed in the sixth frame, there were others as well. I just didn't perform towards the end."

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