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2002 World Snooker Championship

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2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates20 April – 6 May 2002 (2002-04-20 – 2002-05-06)
VenueCrucible Theatre
CitySheffield
CountryEngland
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£1,615,770
Winner's share£260,000
Highest break Matthew Stevens (WAL) (145)
Final
Champion Peter Ebdon (ENG)
Runner-up Stephen Hendry (SCO)
Score18–17
2001
2003

The 2002 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the final ranking event of the 2001–02 snooker season. This was the 26th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, marking the 25th anniversary of the first staging of the event at this venue. The championship was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.

Peter Ebdon won his only world title by defeating seven-time winner Stephen Hendry 18–17 in the final. Ebdon defeated Matthew Stevens 17–16 in the semi-finals, and Hendry defeated the defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 17–13 to reach the final. This was Hendry's ninth and last appearance in a World Championship final. There were 65 century breaks during the tournament. The highest break of the tournament was by Stevens, who achieved 145 in his quarter-final match. Hendry made 16 centuries during the event, a record for any individual tournament, equalled by Mark Williams in 2022. A total prize fund of £1,615,770 was awarded at the event, the winner receiving £260,000

Overview

[edit]

The World Snooker Championship is the official world championship of the game of professional snooker, organised by World Snooker.[1] Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[2] the sport was popular in the British Isles.[3] In the modern era it has become increasingly popular worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.[a][3][5][6]

The championship featured 32 professional players competing in one-on-one snooker matches in a single elimination format, each played over several frames. The 32 competitors in the main tournament were selected using a combination of the top players in the world snooker rankings and a pre-tournament qualification stage.[7] Joe Davis won the first World Championship in 1927, the final match being held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England.[8] Since 1977, the event has been held in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.[9][10] The championship was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.[11]

Format

[edit]

The championship was held from 20 April and 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre, the 26th consecutive year that the tournament was held at the venue.[10] It was the ninth and last ranking event of the 2001–02 snooker season on the World Snooker Tour.[12][13][14] There were 120 entrants from the tour, and the competition's main draw had 32 participants.[15] Following a seven-round amateur qualifying tournament, a six-round knockout qualifying competition was held at the Manhattan Club, Harrogate, the Telford International Centre and the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. This qualifying tournament produced the 16 qualifying players who progressed into the main draw to play the top 16 seeds.[16]

The top 16 players in the latest world rankings automatically qualified for the main draw as seeded players. As defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan was seeded first for the event with world number one Mark Williams seeded second; the remaining seeds were allocated based on the players' world ranking positions.[17] Matches in the first round of the main draw were played as best-of-19-frames. The number of frames needed to win a match increased to being the best-of-25 in the second round and quarter-finals, and best-of-33 in the semi-finals; the final match was played as best-of-35-frames.[15]

Prize fund

[edit]

The tournament featured a prize fund of £1,615,770 with the winner receiving £260,000 and bonuses for completing a maximum break. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[18]

  • Winner: £260,000
  • Runner-up: £152,000
  • Semi-final: £76,000
  • Quarter-final: £38,000
  • Last 16: £21,000
  • Last 32: £14,500
  • Last 48: £11,000
  • Last 64: £6,825
  • Last 80: £5,500
  • Last 96: £4,150
  • Last 128: £1,185
  • Qualification highest break: £2,250
  • Main stage highest break: £20,000
  • Qualification maximum break: £5,000
  • Main stage maximum break: £147,000
  • Total: £1,615,770

Tournament summary

[edit]

First round

[edit]
Dominic Dale playing a shot with a rest
Dominic Dale snapped his cue after his loss to Jimmy White.

The first round was played as the best-of-19 frames matches, held over two sessions. The defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan's opening match against Drew Henry was delayed for 25 minutes due to a problem with the scoreboard. The first six frames were shared, but from 3–3 O'Sullivan won six in a row to lead 9–3, and won the match at 10–5.[19] Quinten Hann became the first Australian player to reach the second round since Eddie Charlton in 1989. Hann, a WEPF World Eightball Championship winner, had smashed the pack of reds open when breaking off in the sixth frame, from which Paul Hunter made a 77 break and took the frame. An uncommon shot, commentator Dennis Taylor described it as "bordering on ungentlemanly conduct".[20] Hunter was 6–3 ahead after their first session, but Hann won the match 10–9.[20] Seven-time winner Stephen Hendry recorded a break of 130 in frame three of his match with Shaun Murphy and led 6–3 at the end of their first session. He won the last frame with a break of 111 as he completed a 10–4 victory.[21][22][23] Stuart Bingham narrowly missed out on a maximum break during his match against Ken Doherty, failing to pot the pink ball. Doherty later won the match 10–8.[24][25]

James Wattana won only one frame of his match against John Higgins. Higgins made breaks of 109, 136 and 116 in winning 10–1.[26] Peter Ebdon led Michael Judge 5–4 at the end of their first session then took five frames in a row to win 10–4.[27] Dominic Dale, who had been ill with food poisoning in the days before his match with Jimmy White, accused White of making a push shot,[28] pretended to go to sleep in his chair during the final frame, and after losing 2–10, snapped his own cue stick and threw it out of his dressing-room window.[29][30] This match and the contest between Hunter and Hann which were being played simultaneously, were interrupted by a streaker wearing a Sven-Göran Eriksson mask.[21][23][31]

Second round

[edit]
Ronnie O'Sullivan chalking a cue stick
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan won his second round match with a session to spare.

The second round featured matches played as the best-of-25 frames held over up to three sessions. O'Sullivan defeated Robert Milkins 13–2 in only two sessions. When the third session was scheduled to be played O'Sullivan visited a chiropractor.[32] O'Sullivan said "I've got an imbalance in my body and I find it hard to walk, among other things."[32] Hann smashed the pack of reds on the break-off shot four times during his 3–13 loss to Stephen Lee.[33] Lee commented after the match "I don't know why Quinten [Hann] plays like that... perhaps he actually wants to go home early?"[33] Qualifier Anthony Davies trailed 2–6 after the first session, and won just one frame in the second session as he was defeated 3–13 by Hendry.[34] Doherty won eight frames in a row to go from 3–7 behind to 11–7 ahead against Mark King. King forced the match to a decider, which was won by Doherty 13–12.[35] Higgins notched up five century breaks and defeated Dott 13–2.[36] Ebdon and Joe Perry shared the frames in their first session and tied 4–4. Ebdon won seven of the next eight frames to lead 11–5 after the second session, and later won 13–7.[23][37]

White played Matthew Stevens and lost 3–13 with a session to spare.[38] In the eighth and final frame in the first session, White had missed a pot on the black ball, and as the cue ball returned towards him, hit it with such force that both balls were both forced off the table.[38] He issued an apology before resuming play the following day.[23][39] World number one Mark Williams was defeated 9–13 by world number 19 Anthony Hamilton.[40] Hamilton had been defeated by Williams in the final of the China Open earlier in the season, despite being ahead by three frames. He commented that he had been "shaking like a leaf" in making his match winning break but that the previous match spurred him to victory.[41] Williams commented that, despite being ranked number one in the world, his performances were not good enough: "I'm sick with the way I performed. I don't enjoy playing that bad but I seem to play like that fairly often. I don't know what it is."[42]

Quarter-finals

[edit]
Matthew Stevens playing a shot
Matthew Stevens reached his third semi-final in a row with a 13–7 win over John Higgins.

The quarter-finals were played as best-of-25 frames matches, held over three sessions. During his second session match again Lee, O'Sullivan missed a shot on the blue ball, throwing his cue stick in the air in frustration. He was unable to catch it, damaging the table, which had to be fixed before the next session. With the scores tied at 10-10, O'Sullivan made breaks of 83, 102 and 113 to win the match 13–10.[43] Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty were tied after the first session, Hendry winning four frames in a row to lead 8–4, but Doherty won the next four to tie at 8–8.[44] With the match also tied at 12-12, Hendry made a break of 91 to win 13–12.[44] Post-match, Hendry commented: "Ken and I always have brilliant matches, but this one was special".[44]

John Higgins, who had only conceded three frames in his previous two matches, trailed 0–3 to Stevens in the quarter-finals.[45] Higgins won four frames in a row, before Stevens tied the match at 4–4 in the first session. Stevens made the highest break of the championship, a 145 in frame 11, and held a four frame lead after the second session.[46] Stevens won three of the next four frames to win 13–7 and reach his third successive semi-final.[45] Ebdon reached the semi-finals for the second time, as he beat Hamilton 13–6.[23][47] Ebdon commented that he preferred the longer frame matches and cited his physical condition as having prepared him well for the match.[48]

Semi-finals

[edit]
Stephen Hendry playing a shot
Stephen Hendry defeated the defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach his ninth final.

The semi-finals were played as best-of-33 frames matches, held over four sessions between 3 and 4 May.[15] Before the match between O'Sullivan and Hendry, O'Sullivan made comments due to a dispute from their last meeting at the tournament, where Hendry accused O'Sullivan of playing a deliberate miss.[49] He commented "the most satisfying thing for me to send Stephen Hendry back home to Scotland",[43] and that "there is not a lot of respect there at all".[49] He also made comments about Hendry's manager Ian Doyle, who was a previous manager to O'Sullivan.[50] John Dee for the Daily Telegraph commented that O'Sullivan had "blown hot and cold" during interviews, and the comments surprised him.[51] O'Sullivan experienced the Crucible curse as he lost 13–17 to Hendry. O'Sullivan had started the match with a break of 115 in the opening frame and led 5–3 at the end of the first session. In the second session, Hendry moved into a 9–7 lead, with breaks of 125, 122 and 124. The third session ended with the players tied at 12–12. In the final session Hendry took a 16–12 lead and went on to win 17–13.[23]

In the other semi-final, Ebdon led Stevens 5–3 after the first session and then 9–7 after the second. It was all square after the third, at 12–12. Stevens moved within one frame of victory at 16–14. In frame 31, leading by 33 points, with 35 points remaining, Stevens lost position, and Ebdon cleared the table to win the frame.[52] Ebdon made a 138 in the penultimate frame and won a deciding frame with a break of 55 to win the match 17–16.[23][53] After the match, Ebdon commented that he "can't believe he won", and that he felt "sorry" for Stevens, because he knew "how he feels right now".[52]

Final

[edit]
Peter Ebdon playing a shot
Peter Ebdon won his only world championship, defeating Hendry 18–17.

The final held between Ebdon and Hendry was played as a best-of-35 frames match over four sessions on 5 and 6 May. Ebdon (seeded seventh) and Hendry (fifth) had also competed in the 1996 final, Hendry winning 18–12 to gain his sixth world title.[54] Over eight million viewers watched the 2002 final in the expectation of Hendry winning his eighth world title; many commentators also favoured Hendry to win the event again.[40][55][56] The final was refereed by John Williams, his tenth final.[57] Ebdon took the first four frames of the match to lead 4–0 at the first mid-session interval, but Hendry pulled back the next four frames to end the first session tied at 4–4. By the end of the second session, Ebdon was again four frames ahead at 10–6, and then took the first frame of the third session to lead 11–6, but Hendry fought back and levelled the score at 12–12 by the end of the third session.[55][56]

Hendry made a strong start to the final session, taking the lead for the first time with breaks of 63, 55 and 38, to put him 14–12 ahead. Ebdon won the next two frames to draw level at 14–14, after Hendry missed a relatively simple red in the 28th frame. Hendry then compiled a break of 58 in frame 29, to lead 15–14, but Ebdon took three of the next four frames with breaks of 73, 111 and 85 to move ahead 17–16.[56][55] Poised to win the championship, Ebdon was 52–27 up in frame 34 when he missed a straight pot on the black on its spot, allowing Hendry to clear the colours and level the match at 17–17.[40][58]

This was the second time that Hendry had been taken to a deciding frame in the World Championship final,[56] having also done so in 1994 when he defeated White 18–17.[59] Hendry was the first to score in the decider, just seven points, before Ebdon compiled a break of 59.[40][56] Then, with just three reds remaining on the table,[58] Hendry potted the cue ball while attempting to play a snooker, giving Ebdon his chance to take the frame and win the match 18–17.[40][59]

With his win, Ebdon received a cheque for £260,000 and moved up to third place in the end-of-season world rankings (behind O'Sullivan and Williams).[58][59] In a post-match interview, he said "It's what I have been working for and dreaming about for the last 17 years... I wasn't ready to win it six years ago, but I've improved as a player and as a person".[58] Hendry ultimately blamed his defeat on nerves and poor concentration, but also conceded that Ebdon was a stronger player than he had been in their previous world final encounter in 1996.[59] This was Hendry's last appearance in a World Championship final, and he reached his last ranking final four years later at the 2006 UK Championship, where he again lost to Ebdon.[60] The Guardian's Sean Ingle described the final as "one of the sporting highlights of the year."[55]

Main draw

[edit]

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks.[15][17] Players in bold denote match winners:

First round
Best of 19 frames
Second round
Best of 25 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 25 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 33 frames
Final
Best of 35 frames
20 April[61]
England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)10
25 & 26 April[77]
Scotland Drew Henry5
England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)13
24 April[62]
England Robert Milkins2
Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien (16)8
30 April & 1 May[85]
England Robert Milkins10
England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)13
23 April[63]
England Stephen Lee (8)10
England Paul Hunter (9)9
28 & 29 April[78]
Australia Quinten Hann10
Australia Quinten Hann3
22 & 23 April[64]
England Stephen Lee (8)13
England Stephen Lee (8)10
2, 3 & 4 May[87]
Scotland Chris Small7
England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)13
21 & 22 April[65]
Scotland Stephen Hendry (5)17
Scotland Stephen Hendry (5)10
27 & 28 April[79]
England Shaun Murphy4
Scotland Stephen Hendry (5)13
24 & 25 April[66]
Wales Anthony Davies3
Scotland Alan McManus (12)7
30 April & 1 May[44]
Wales Anthony Davies 10
Scotland Stephen Hendry (5)13
20 & 21 April[67]
Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty (4)12
England Mark King (13)10
26 & 27 April[80]
England David Gray5
England Mark King (13)12
21 & 22 April[68]
Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty (4)13
Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty (4)10
5 & 6 May
England Stuart Bingham8
Scotland Stephen Hendry (5)17
24 & 25 April[69]
England Peter Ebdon (7)18
Scotland John Higgins (3)10
28 & 29 April[81]
Thailand James Wattana1
Scotland John Higgins (3)13
20 & 21 April[70]
Scotland Graeme Dott (14)2
Scotland Graeme Dott (14)10
30 April & 1 May[45]
Finland Robin Hull6
Scotland John Higgins (3)7
22 & 23 April[71]
Wales Matthew Stevens (6)13
England Jimmy White (11)10
25 & 26 April[82]
Wales Dominic Dale2
England Jimmy White (11)3
20 & 21 April[72]
Wales Matthew Stevens (6)13
Wales Matthew Stevens (6)10
2, 3 & 4 May[88]
England Mike Dunn6
Wales Matthew Stevens (6)16
22 April[73]
England Peter Ebdon (7)17
England Peter Ebdon (7)10
26 & 27 April[83]
Republic of Ireland Michael Judge4
England Peter Ebdon (7)13
20 & 21 April[74]
England Joe Perry7
Northern Ireland Joe Swail (10)6
30 April & 1 May[86]
England Joe Perry10
England Peter Ebdon (7)13
23 & 24 April[75]
England Anthony Hamilton6
England Dave Harold (15)6
27, 28 & 29 April[84]
England Anthony Hamilton 10
England Anthony Hamilton13
23 & 24 April[76]
Wales Mark Williams (2)9
Wales Mark Williams (2)10
England John Parrott7
Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. 5 & 6 May.[89] Referee: John Williams.[90]
Stephen Hendry (5)
 Scotland
17–18 Peter Ebdon (7)
 England
0–94, 0–140, 13–73, 16–71, 126–0, 73–40, 119–4, 65–36, 0–134, 67–56, 9–68, 68–70, 14–77, 13–69, 70–4, 33–89, 32–69, 126–0, 108–0, 66–21, 89–36, 43–67, 110–0, 97–0, 127–1, 65–58, 22–103, 26–62, 74–30, 21–73, 0–111, 78–39, 4–85, 62–52, 14–72 Century breaks: 8
(Hendry 4, Ebdon 4)

Highest break by Hendry: 126
Highest break by Ebdon: 134

0–94, 0–140, 13–73, 16–71, 126–0, 73–40, 119–4, 65–36, 0–134, 67–56, 9–68, 68–70, 14–77, 13–69, 70–4, 33–89, 32–69, 126–0, 108–0, 66–21, 89–36, 43–67, 110–0, 97–0, 127–1, 65–58, 22–103, 26–62, 74–30, 21–73, 0–111, 78–39, 4–85, 62–52, 14–72
England Peter Ebdon wins the 2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Qualifying

[edit]

Following amateur pre-qualifying, seven rounds of qualifying were played at the Manhattan Club, Harrogate. After Harrogate there were a further five rounds of qualifying at Telford International Centre. The final qualifying round was held at Newport on 16 and 17 March 2002.[16] Willie Thorne, in his 27th world championship, lost in the seventh round of amateur pre-qualifying to Stephen Croft.[91] Thorne was the only entrant in the qualifiers to have played at the first Crucible finals in 1977.[16] Three-times semi-finalist Tony Knowles lost 3–5 to Rob James in the third round. During her fifth-round defeat, Kelly Fisher became the first female player to compile a century break at the World Championship, making a 106.[91]

Amateur pre-qualifying

[edit]
Round 7 (Best of 9 frames)[16]
England Darren Clarke 5–2 England Craig Harrison
Wales Ryan Day 5–3 England Karl Broughton
England Shailesh Jogia 5–0 England Shaun Mellish
Wales James Reynolds 5–1 England Malcolm Bilclough
England Jason Weston 5–1 Wales Tony Chappel
England Lee Spick 5–2 England John Whitty
England Martin Gould 5–2 England David Gilbert
England Stephen Croft 5–3 England Willie Thorne

Round 1

[edit]

The first round of qualifying took place in Telford as best-of-19 frames matches.[92]

Best of 19 frames
England Darren Clarke 10–9 England Brian Salmon
Wales Ryan Day 10–5 England Ryan Michael
England Shailesh Jogia 10–3 England Wayne Cooper
Wales James Reynolds 10–9 Australia Neil Robertson
England Jason Weston 10–1 Wales Edward Davies
England Lee Spick 10–5 Thailand Atthasit Mahitthi
England Craig Butler 10–7 England Martin Gould
England Stephen Croft 10–9 England Sunit Vaswani

Round 2

[edit]

There were 32 players eliminated in the second round of qualifying. 1986 Champion Joe Johnson was 4–1 ahead of Ricky Walden but then lost a contact lens and, with impaired vision, ended the first session 4–5 behind. He went on to win 10–5.[92]

Last 128 (best of 19 frames)
England Paul Wykes 10–4 England Darren Clarke England Matthew Street 10–9 England Troy Shaw
England Barry Hawkins 10–8 England Luke Fisher England Nick Pearce 10–8 Thailand Noppadol Sangnil
Wales Ryan Day 10–3 Thailand Phaitoon Phonbun England Joe Johnson 10–5 England Ricky Walden
England Andrew Higginson 10–5 England Adrian Rosa England Nick Walker 10–0 Canada Levi Meiller
Northern Ireland Jason Prince 10–7 England Chris Melling England Wayne Brown 10–6 England Shailesh Jogia
Wales James Reynolds 10–9 England Tony Jones England Jeff Cundy 10–7 Norway Kurt Maflin
England Paul Davison 10–6 Scotland Hugh Abernethy England Antony Bolsover w/o–w/d Belgium Steve Lemmens
Scotland Martin Dziewialtowski 10–9 Thailand Kwan Poomjang England Andrew Norman 10–5 Thailand Noppadon Noppachorn
England Jason Wallace 10–6 Canada Alain Robidoux England Jason Weston 10–8 England Mark Gray
England Stephen Kershaw 10–8 England Sean Storey England Lee Spick 10–7 Wales Philip Williams
England Matthew Couch 10–1 New Zealand Chris McBreen Iceland Kristjan Helgason 10–7 England Surinder Gill
Finland Robin Hull 10–2 England Craig Butler England Neal Foulds 10–4 Malta Alex Borg
England Mike Dunn 10–2 England Stephen Croft Republic of Ireland David McDonnell 10–4 England Ian Hurdman
England Mark Selby 10–9 England Tom Ford Belgium Bjorn Haneveer 10–5 Wales Ian Sargeant
England Shaun Murphy 10–5 Scotland Euan Henderson England Adrian Gunnell 10–6 England Rory McLeod
England Barry Pinches 10–3 England Eddie Barker England Luke Simmonds 10–6 England John Read

Round 3–6

[edit]

There were 16 players eliminated in each of rounds 3 to 6 of qualifying. Johnson experienced problems with his vision, as he had in the previous round, and retired from his third round match against Ryan Day when 1–5 behind.[93] The final qualifying round saw John Parrott progress to the Crucible stage for the 19th consecutive year; six-times former champion Steve Davis failed to reach the Crucible for only the second time in 24 seasons. Murphy, ranked 169th and aged 19, was both the lowest-ranked and youngest player to reach the final stages in 2002.[94]

Round 3 (last 96)[93]
(Best of 19 frames)
Round 4 (last 80)[93]
(Best of 19 frames)
Round 5 (last 64)[95]
(Best of 19 frames)
Final qualifying round (last 48)[94]
(Best of 19 frames)
Iceland Kristján Helgason 10–9 England Matthew Couch Iceland Kristján Helgason 10–5 England Rod Lawler England Stuart Bingham 10–7 Iceland Kristján Helgason England Stuart Bingham 10–6 England Nigel Bond
England Paul Wykes 10–5 England Matthew Street England Paul Wykes 10–4 England Peter Lines England Paul Wykes 10–8 England Bradley Jones Wales Dominic Dale 10–5 England Paul Wykes
Wales Ryan Day 5–1 England Joe Johnson (Johnson retired) Wales Ryan Day 10–8 England Mark Davis Scotland Marcus Campbell 10–9 Wales Ryan Day Wales Anthony Davies 10–9 Scotland Marcus Campbell
England Mike Dunn 10–8 Republic of Ireland David McDonnell England Mike Dunn 10–2 Wales Lee Walker England Mike Dunn 10–5 England David Finbow England Mike Dunn 10–9 Scotland Billy Snaddon
England Mark Selby 10–8 Belgium Bjorn Haneveer England Mark Selby 10–6 England Jason Ferguson England Mark Selby 10–6 England Alfie Burden England David Gray 10–7 England Mark Selby
England Jason Weston 10–2 England Jason Wallace England Ali Carter 10–4 England Jason Weston Wales Darren Morgan 10–7 England Ali Carter England Anthony Hamilton 10–7 Wales Darren Morgan
Wales James Reynolds 10–6 England Jeff Cundy Northern Ireland Gerard Greene 10–7 Wales James Reynolds England Michael Holt 10–7 Northern Ireland Gerard Greene Australia Quinten Hann 10–6 England Michael Holt
Northern Ireland Jason Prince 10–9 England Wayne Brown England David Roe 10–2 Northern Ireland Jason Prince England David Roe 10–3 England Jimmy Michie Scotland Drew Henry 10–5 England David Roe
Finland Robin Hull 10–1 England Neal Foulds Finland Robin Hull 10–5 England Gary Ponting Finland Robin Hull 10–6 England Gary Wilkinson Finland Robin Hull 10–8 England Steve Davis
England Barry Hawkins 10–5 England Nick Pearce England Stuart Pettman 10–6 England Barry Hawkins England Stuart Pettman 10–5 England Brian Morgan Republic of Ireland Michael Judge 10–9 England Stuart Pettman
England Anthony Bolsover 10–3 England Paul Davison England Robert Milkins 10–7 England Anthony Bolsover England Robert Milkins 10–3 England Andy Hicks England Robert Milkins 10–8 Malta Tony Drago
England Shaun Murphy 10–5 England Adrian Gunnell England Shaun Murphy 10–7 England Nick Dyson England Shaun Murphy 10–5 Scotland Jamie Burnett England Shaun Murphy 10–4 Hong Kong Marco Fu
England Nick Walker 10–6 England Andrew Higginson England Jonathan Birch 10–7 England Nick Walker Pakistan Shokat Ali 10–6 England Jonathan Birch England John Parrott 10–9 Pakistan Shokat Ali
England Barry Pinches 10–5 Luke Simmonds England Barry Pinches 10–7 Scotland Stephen Maguire Northern Ireland Terry Murphy 10–9 England Barry Pinches England Joe Perry 10–9 Northern Ireland Terry Murphy
England Stephen Kershaw 10–7 England Lee Spick Wales Paul Davies 10–5 England Stephen Kershaw Wales Paul Davies 10–5 Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace Scotland Chris Small 10–7 Wales Paul Davies
England Andrew Norman 10–7 Scotland Martin Dziewialtowski England Andrew Norman 10–6 England Steve James England Ian McCulloch 10–3 England Andrew Norman Thailand James Wattana 10–7 England Ian McCulloch

Century breaks

[edit]

There were 68 century breaks in the main stages of the event, which was at the time a record total. It was equalled in 2007 and superseded in 2009.[46][96] The highest break of the tournament was 145, made by Matthew Stevens during his quarter-final match against Higgins.[46] Hendry's 16 century breaks made during the tournament bettered the previous record total of 14 set by John Higgins in 1998.[97][98]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The "modern era" of snooker is understood to have started in 1969, when the World Championship reverted to a knockout format.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "World Snooker Championship to stay in UK". Matchroom Sport. 19 January 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. ^ Clare, Peter (2008). "Origins of Snooker". Billiard and Snooker Heritage Collection. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The Rise Of China". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  4. ^ "John Higgins eyes more crucible titles". The Daily Telegraph. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2020. the modern era, which began in 1969 when the World Championship became a knockout event.
  5. ^ Wilson, Bill (24 April 2015). "Snooker looks to cue up more big breaks in China". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Snooker world champion, Hongkonger Ng On-yee aims to change image of male-dominated game". Hong Kong Free Press. Agence France-Presse. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Crucible Draw And Format". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 9 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  8. ^ "History of Snooker – a Timeline". wpbsa. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. ^ Historic England. "The Crucible Theatre (1392311)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  10. ^ a b "History of the World Snooker Championship". worldsnooker.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  11. ^ "Snooker: World championship finds new sponsors". the Guardian. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  12. ^ "The 2001/2002 Season". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Embassy World Championship 2002". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Calendar". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d "World Snooker results and reports". BBC Sport. 6 May 2002. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  16. ^ a b c d "To Sheffield via Harrogate, Telford and Newport". Snooker Scene. Everton's News Agency. March 2002. p. 31.
  17. ^ a b Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 54–55.
  18. ^ Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 130.
  19. ^ "O'Sullivan eases through". BBC. 20 April 2002. Archived from the original on 4 April 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
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