the fighting fool's famous final frame thriller (World Championship)

Member Name: pje

Product:	World Championship
Date:	22/04/02 (2056 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb skill.

Disadvantages: A load of balls.

 
THE EMBASSY WORLD PROFESSIONAL SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
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(01)   Ronnie O'SULLIVAN 10     
(18)             Drew HENRY    5    (01)   Ronnie O'SULLIVAN 13
(16)         Fergal O'BRIEN    8    (54)         Robert MILKINS   2
(54)        Robert MILKINS  10                                                      (01) Ronnie O'SULLIVAN  13
(09)             Paul HUNTER   9                                                     (08 )            Stephen LEE  10
(25)           Quinten HANN 10     (25)           Quinten HANN   2
(08)             Stephen LEE 10     (08)             Stephen LEE 13
(24)              Chris SMALL   7                                                                                                    (01)  Ronnie O'SULLIVAN  13
(05)      Stephen HENDRY 10                                                                                                    (05)      Stephen HENDRY  17 
(169)       Shaun MURPHY   4     (05)       Stephen HENDRY 13
(12)          Alan McMANUS   7     (31)        Anthony DAVIES   3
(31)       Anthony DAVIES  10                                                     (05)      Stephen HENDRY 13
(13)                Mark KING  10                                                     (04)           Ken DOHERTY  12
(30)               David GRAY   5     (13)                 Mark KING  12
(04)            Ken DOHERTY 10    (04)            Ken DOHERTY  13
(44)        Stuart BINGHAM   8                                                                                                                                                    (05)      Stephen HENDRY 17
(03)           John HIGGINS 10                                                                                                                                                     (07)            Peter EBDON 18
(32)       James WATTANA   1    
 (03)           John HIGGINS  13
(14)           Graeme DOTT 10     (14)           Graeme DOTT    2
(86)               Robin HULL   6                                                    (03)           John HIGGINS  7
(11)            Jimmy WHITE 10                                                    (06)     Matthew STEVENS 13
(20)            Dominic DALE   2     (11)            Jimmy WHITE   3
(06)    Matthew STEVENS 10     (06)    Matthew STEVENS  13
(72)               Mike DUNN    6                                                                                                   (06)    Matthew STEVENS  16
(07)            Peter EBDON 10                                                                                                    (07)            Peter EBDON  17
(28)          Michael JUDGE   4     (07)            Peter EBDON   13
(10)                Joe SWAIL   6     (27)                Joe PERRY     7
(27)                Joe PERRY  10                                                      (07)           Peter EBDON  13
(15)           Dave HAROLD   6                                                      (19)  Anthony HAMILTON   6
(19)   Anthony HAMILTON 10     (19)  Anthony HAMILTON   13
(02)         Mark WILLIAMS 10     (02)       Mark WILLIAMS     9
(22)           John PARROTT   7     

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Century Breaks (68) [HENDRY 16, EBDON 10, O'SULLIVAN 8, STEVENS 7]
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145 Matthew STEVENS
141 Stephen HENDRY
138 Peter EBDON
136 John HIGGINS, Stephen LEE
135 Matthew STEVENS, Dave HAROLD
134 Joe PERRY, Alan McMANUS, Stephen HENDRY (x2), Stuart BINGHAM†
132 Ronnie O'SULLIVAN, Stephen HENDRY
130 Stephen HENDRY
129 Ronnie O'SULLIVAN
127 Peter EBDON
126 Stephen HENDRY (x2)
125 Stephen HENDRY
124 John HIGGINS, Stephen
HENDRY
122 Stephen HENDRY
120 Ken DOHERTY
119 Stephen LEE
117 Ken DOHERTY
116 John HIGGINS, Stephen HENDRY
115 Ronnie O'SULLIVAN (x2)
113 Matthew STEVENS, Ronnie O'SULLIVAN, Stephen HENDRY (x2‡)
112 John HIGGINS
111 Stephen HENDRY, Peter EBDON
110 Ronnie O'SULLIVAN (x2)
109 Stuart BINGHAM, John HIGGINS, Joe PERRY, Anthony HAMILTON
108 Peter EBDON, Stephen HENDRY
107 Drew HENRY, John HIGGINS
106 Ken DOHERTY, Anthony HAMILTON
105 Matthew STEVENS(x3), Ken DOHERTY, John HIGGINS
104 Stephen HENDRY
103 Peter EBDON
102 Michael JUDGE, Peter EBDON, Ronnie O'SULLIVAN
101 Peter EBDON, Dave HAROLD, Paul HUNTER, John HIGGINS, Matthew STEVENS
100 Joe PERRY, Peter EBDON (x2), Stephen HENDRY

† missed the pink when on course for a maximum break.
‡ missed the 15th black when on for a maximum both times.

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PRIZE MONEY
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CHAMPION               £ 260,000
Runner-Up               £ 152,000
Semi-Finalists          £   76,000
Quarter-Finalists     £   38,500
Last Sixteen            £   21,000
Last Thirty-Two        £  14,500

Highest Break          £   20,000
147 Maximum Break £ 147,000

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Previous World Snooker Finals at The Crucible
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1977         John SPENCER 25-12 Cliff Thorburn
1978          Ray REARDON 25-18 Perrie Mans
1979       Terry GRIFFITHS 24-16 Dennis Taylor
1980        Cliff THORBURN 18-16 Alex Higgins
1981             Steve DAVIS 18-12 Doug Mountjoy
1982           Alex HIGGINS 18-15 Ray Reardon
1983             Steve DAVIS 18-06 Cliff Thorburn
1984             Steve DAV
IS 18-16 Jimmy White
1985         Dennis TAYLOR 18-17 Steve DAVIS
1986           Joe JOHNSON 18-12 Steve DAVIS
1987             Steve DAVIS 18-14 Joe Johnson
1988             Steve DAVIS 18-11 Terry Griffiths
1989             Steve DAVIS 18-03 John Parrott
1990      Stephen HENDRY 18-12 Jimmy White
1991          John PARROTT 18-11 Jimmy White
1992      Stephen HENDRY 18-14 Jimmy White
1993      Stephen HENDRY 18-05 Jimmy White
1994      Stephen HENDRY 18-17 Jimmy White
1995      Stephen HENDRY 18-09 Nigel Bond
1996      Stephen HENDRY 18-12 Peter Ebdon
1997           Ken DOHERTY 18-12 Stephen Hendry
1998           John HIGGINS 18-12 Ken Doherty
1999      Stephen HENDRY 18-11 Mark Williams
2000         Mark WILLIAMS 18-16 Matthew Stevens
2001   Ronnie O'SULLIVAN 18-14 John Higgins
2002             Peter EBDON 18-17 Stephen Hendry

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Number of Century Breaks
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1985 - 14 - Highest: 143 - Bill Werbeniuk
1986 - 20 - Highest: 134 - Steve Davis
1987 - 18 - Highest: 127 - Steve Davis
1988 - 18 - Highest: 140 - Steve James
1989 - 19 - Highest: 141 - Stephen Hendry
1990 - 18 - Highest: 140 - John Parrott
1991 - 31 - Highest: 140 - Jimmy White
1992 - 25 - Highest: 147 *Jimmy White
1993 - 35 - Highest: 144 - Steve Davis
1994 - 35 - Highest: 143 - Alan McManus
1995 - 30 - Highest: 147 *Stephen Hendry
1996 - 49 - Highest: 144 - Peter Ebdon/Tony Drago
1997 - 39 - Highest: 147 *Ronnie O'Sullivan
1998 - 59 - Highest: 143 - Jimmy White/John Higgins
1999 - 53 - Highest: 142 - John Higgins
2000 - 54 - Highest: 143 - Matthew Stevens
2001 - 55 - Highest: 140 - Joe Swail
2002 - 68 - Highest: 145 - Matthew Stevens

[* = A Maximum Break]

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Highlights of previous World Snooker Championships
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1977
The first time the tournament was held in Sheffield, John Spencer put paid
to Ray Reardon's five-year reign as Champion, pocketing £6,000.

1979
Terry Griffiths was a surprise winner in his first year as a professional.

1980
Cliff Thorburn took the trophy overseas for the first, and so far, only time,
when he beat Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins in a final best remembered for being
interrupted by British TV's longest ever newsflash - coverage
of the storming of the Iranian embassy by the S.A.S.

1981
Steve Davis won the first of his six world titles,
and so began his interesting domination of snooker in the 1980's.

1982
The year of the Hurricane: ten years after becoming the then youngest champion,
Alex Higgins triumphed again. Who can forget him tearfully calling his wife Lynn
and baby daughter Lauren down onto the stage? And his incredible clearance
in the deciding frame of the semi-final against Jimmy White is one of the most
memorable breaks in snooker history.

1983
Cliff Thorburn compiled the first 147 maximum break in the tournament's history,
in his second round match against Terry Griffiths. Famously, the break started
with a fluked red. Thorburn eventually won the match 13-12 at 3:51am -
the latest ever finish to a match at The Crucible.

1985
Eighteen and a half million people were tuned to BBC2 at 12:23am
when Dennis Taylor made an amazing comeback (from 8-0 down the day before)
to beat Steve Davis on that final black ball.

1986
The year of the underdog: Joe Johnson and those shoes...

1987, 1988, 1989
Steve Davis steamrollered all opposition as he racked up titles 4, 5
and 6.

1990
Jimmy White finally beat bogeyman Steve Davis at The Crucible...
only to meet a new bogeyman in the final: Stephen Hendry -
who became the youngest ever World Champion, at the age of 21.

1992
John Parrott notched up the only whitewash at the Crucible when he beat
Eddie Charlton 10-0 in the first round, but the man of the tournament was
(almost) Jimmy White. Having recorded the second maximum break seen
at the Crucible in his first round match against Tony Drago, he led Hendry
12-6 and 14-8 in the final, only to lose ten frames in a row!

1994
Yet again it was so near, yet so far, for Jimmy White when the final
went to a deciding frame for the second time in Crucible history.
He could only sit and watch as Hendry - playing with a fractured elbow -
cleared up with a break of 58.

1995
Stephen Hendry recorded a maximum break in his semi-final match
against Jimmy White (who else?) en route to another title.
He won again the following year to make it five-in-a-row.

1997
Ronnie O'Sullivan rolled in the fourth 147 to be made at The Crucible
in just five minutes and twenty seconds of snooker perfection.

1999
Stephen Hendry won his seventh world title, a record in the modern era.

2000
By winning the first ever all-Welsh final, Mark Williams became only the 17th
man to get his name on the World Championship trophy first won by Joe Davis
in 1927, when the prize was six pounds and ten shillings.

2001
The Rocket Man finally came good -
Ronnie O'Sullivan winning his first world title.
Surely he must be the most talented player of all time,
he makes the game look so ridiculously simple.

2002 - preview
Steve Davis failed to qualify for the second year running, beaten by Robin Hull,
who's Finnish and doesn't have an emu, but Jimmy White is back to lose agai
n
after failing to qualify last year.

If you're thinking of having a punt on the tournament, bear in mind that outsiders
almost never win. Since Terry Griffiths won when unseeded in 1979, no-one from
outside the Top 16 seeds (who qualify automatically for the Crucible stage)
has reached the final. Between then, and 4th seed Ronnie O'Sullivan winning last year,
18 of the 21 world championships, have been won by one of the top three seeds.
The exceptions being:- Dennis Taylor (11), Joe Johnson (16) and Ken Doherty (7).

So if you're not backing O'Sullivan, Williams or Higgins, you're
probably a mug. Williams and Higgins look strong favourites
to reach one semi-final, with O'Sullivan likely to meet Stephen Lee,
Ken Doherty or Stephen Hendry (aiming for his eighth title) in the other.
For O'Sullivan to win he will have to overcome the Crucible curse
of course (no first time champion has successfully defended the title).
My money is on John Higgins - he's a very good all round player. I've always
thought he would win the world crown several times, and he's consistent -
he has reached the semi-finals every year since he won in 1998.
And, naturally, I'd like to see Nottingham's Anthony Hamilton do well,
but I won't be holding my breath...

2002 - review:
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What a memorable tournament!
From the streaker in the Sven Goran Eriksson mask, right down to the unbearably tense
finish, with Ebdon missing an easy black off it's spot when he was on the verge of victory.
The tension was almost unbearable as 7.5 million viewers (1.2 million more than watched
the FA Cup Final) saw Hendry force the match into a final frame decider. But in the end
it had to be Ebdon, surely no-one has ever fought so hard at the Crucible.

There were very few upsets in the first round, and the only
close match
was the battle of the pin-up boys Paul Hunter and Quinten Hann. Hann's
habit of smashing into the pack on the break was heavily criticised, but
more power to his elbow I say - snooker needs a bit more individualism.
Besides, he reckons he has a 50% chance of potting one, and I believe him.
I remember seeing Ray Reardon do the same thing in an exhibition
match once, a red went in, and he went on to make a century break,
winning the frame without his opponent (poor John Virgo) getting a shot!

The only interesting thing to happen in the second round was Anthony Hamilton
beating Mark Williams. By the Quarter-Finals I was feeling quite smug. because
my tip, John Higgins seemed to be in brilliant form...until he was stopped
in his tracks by Matthew Stevens. It looked for all the world like Stevens
and O'Sullivan, the form horses, were heading for the final, but they were
overcome by two tremendous competitors in the semis...

The way Ebdon came back from the brink of defeat in the semi-final,
hardly giving Matthew Stevens a chance in the last few frames was
absolutely magnificent. The incredibly brave shots (some would say foolhardy -
but who's the fool now?) he played then, and in the final, were sport at its best.
And more than that he deserved to become champion for the way he battled away -
not even giving up frames when he needed snookers, in sharp contrast
to Jimmy White's fit of petulance, where he conceded a frame he could still win.
That is why, in my opinion, Jimmy has never won the world title and never will.
He is one of those players that always seem to be playing against themselves
rather than their opponent. They have completely the wrong mindset.
Players like Ebdon and Cliff Thorburn become world champion because
they will always try to win regardless of how well (or badly) they play,
whereas p
layers like White and O'Sullivan go into sulk mode when they're off-form.

Credit too to Stephen Hendry for getting to another final. I think many people,
including myself, had begun to think he was a busted flush, yesterday's man -
but his record contribution of 16 century breaks suggests otherwise. Although
the match did remind me of the final twenty years ago, where another battler -
(Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins) saw off the dominant player of the previous decade
(Ray Reardon). Was 2002 a last hurrah for Hendry, like 1982 was for Reardon,
or is he still the man to beat? Time will tell. All in all it was a terrific tournament.
(I'm glad I missed the streaker though!)

As for 2003 onwards...
John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are surely too good not to win the title again,
and now that Peter Ebdon has won the title, no-one deserves to win it more than
Matthew Stevens. In five visits to the Crucible he has lost two quarter-finals,
two semi-finals and a final - and four of those matches were very close.

The draw for the 2003 World Championship will look like this:

(01)           Peter EBDON v Qualifier
(16)               Joe SWAIL v Qualifier
(09)           Paul HUNTER v Qualifier
(08)   Matthew STEVENS v Qualifier

(05)          Ken DOHERTY v Qualifier
(12)          Graeme DOTT v Qualifier
(13)               Joe PERRY v Qualifier
(04)         John HIGGINS v Qualifier

(03)       Mark WILLIAMS v Qualifier
(14)         Quinten HANN v Qualifier
(11)               Mark KING v Qualifier
(06)    Stephen HENDRY v Qualifier

(07)           Stephen LEE v Qualifier
(10)          Jimmy WHITE v Qualifier
(15)        Alan McMANUS v Qualifier
(02) Ronnie O'SULLIVAN v Qualifier

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¯¯¯¯¯¯ Official web-sites:-

http://www.worldsnooker.com/

http://www.embassysnooker.com/


Bored snooker players might like to try The German Sausage Game:

http://www.snookergames.co.uk/hisgame1.html
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Summary: