Sunday, 11 September 2011

Paul Hunter


Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snookerplayer. His media profile developed swiftly and he became known as the "Beckham of the Baize" because of his good looks and flamboyant style.
Hunter was a three-time Masters Champion, winning the title on the deciding frame on all three occasions. Hunter compiled 114 competitive century breaks in the course of his professional career, including a personal record break of 146 compiled at the 2004 Premier League. Hunter also won three ranking titles, the British Open and the Welsh Open (twice).
In March 2005 Hunter was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours, and died from the disease in 2006 just before his 28th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Lindsey and their daughter.
He was fined £4,550 and docked 1,440 ranking points after testing positive for cannabis during an event in 1997.[8] His first ranking tournament victory came at the 1998 Welsh Open, where he defeated seven players to lift the title and claim the £60,000 winner's cheque: Paul Wykes (5–3), Neal Foulds (5–2), Steve Davis (5–3), Nigel Bond (5–4), Alan McManus (5–3) and Peter Ebdon (6–1), before defeatingJohn Higgins 9–5 in the final. During the final, Hunter made three century breaks (108, 116 and 127). He was 2–4 down at one time, but won seven of the last eight frames to clinch the title. He followed up that success by reaching the semi-finals of the 1998 UK Championship in Bournemouth and was named the Snooker Writers Association's "Young Player of the Year".
Hunter's first appearance at the Crucible came in 1999 World Championship, where he lost 8–10 in the first round to the eventual championStephen Hendry.[14] His form that season elevated him to no. 12 in the 1999/2000 world rankings resulting in automatic qualification into the final stages of ranking tournaments for the first time.
After the 1999/2000 season, demoting him to no. 14 in the 2000/2001 world rankings, he reached the quarter-final stage or better in six tournaments the following season. He was a runner-up at the Welsh Open, a semi-finalist at the British Open and Scottish Open and a quarter-finalist at the Grand Prix and China Open.
In the 2001 Masters, Hunter beat his close friend and defending champion Matthew Stevens 6–5 in the last 16, Peter Ebdon 6–3 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Hendry 6–4 in the semi-finals. In the final Hunter recovered from a 3–7 deficit against Fergal O'Brien to win 10–9. Hunter compiled four centuries in six frames,and earned the £175,000 first prize. In his post-match interview, Hunter caused a media sensation by admitting he resorted to "Plan B" with Lindsey, then his girlfriend, during the interval while 2–6 down. The 'B' in "Plan B" purportedly refers to the word "bonk", a British slang term for sexual intercourse. Hunter and Fell retired to their hotel room and he recalled: "Sex was the last thing on my mind. I just wasn't in the mood. But I had to do something to break the tension. It was a quick session – around 10 minutes or so – but I felt great afterwards. She jumped in the bath, I had a kip and then played like a dream. I reeled off four centuries in six frames. I won easily."
In 2002, Hunter retained his title. He defeated Stephen Lee 6–3 in the first round, Peter Ebdon 6–5 in the quarter-finals and Alan McManus 6–5 in the semi-finals to reach the final, where defeated Mark Williams 10–9, despite at one point of the match trailing 0–5. In doing so, he became only the third player in history of the Masters to retain the trophy along with Cliff Thorburn and Stephen Hendry, and in doing so he won the £190,000 prize money. Hunter also won his second Welsh Open title, defeating Ken Doherty 9–2 in the final, but was defeated 9–10 in the first round of the 2002 World Championship by Quinten Hann.
His success was to continue at the 2002 British Open, staged in Telford, where he captured his third ranking title by beating Ian McCulloch9–4 in the final. Hunter couldn't win the Masters for the third time in row in 2003, as he lost 3–6 in the semi-finals to the previous year's runner-up and eventual champion Mark Williams. His greatest success that campaign, though, was only a few months away.
In the 2003 World Championship, he beat Allister Carter 10–5, Matthew Stevens 13–6 and defending champion Peter Ebdon 13–12 to reach the semi-finals. In his semi-final, Hunter established a 15–9 overnight lead over Ken Doherty, however he only could win one of the remaining nine frames, and lost the match 16–17. As a result of his performances Hunter earned a place in the world's top eight in the2003/2004 world rankings for the first time in his career, having been ranked number nine for the previous two seasons.
In 2003/2004, Hunter won the Masters for the third time in four years, yet again by the score of 10–9. Hunter trailed Ronnie O'Sullivanthroughout the entire match before pipping him to the trophy in the final frame. In fact, Hunter trailed 1–6, 2–7, 6–8 and 7–9 before reeling off the final three frames to seal the sixth title of his professional career. He made five century breaks in the match. Hunter also reached the final of the Players Championship, but lost 7–9 against Jimmy White. Hunter reached the second round of the 2004 World Championship, where he lost 12–13 against Matthew Stevens, despite leading 10–6 and 12–10 at some points of the match.
Hunter began the 2004/2005 season, by reaching the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, where he lost 3–6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He then reached the quarter-finals of the China Open, just days after discovering that he was suffering from cancer. His career-high ranking was number four in the world during the 2004/2005 season, which dropped to number five in 2005/2006.
On 6 April 2005, Hunter announced that he was suffering from malignant neuroendocrine tumours, the causes of which are unknown. A spokesman for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association said at the time: "Paul will undergo treatment to cure himself of this illness. He would like to reassure his fans and supporters that, as with his snooker career, he is tenacious and positive in his fight against the disease." Hunter had been receiving chemotherapy for his illness.
Hunter returned to the circuit for the start of the 2005/2006 season, but lost to Rory McLeod in the first round of the Grand Prix. Hunter's next match of the season was at the UK Championship against Jamie Burnett, in which Hunter dramatically came back from 6–8 down to win the match 9–8 Despite this Hunter lost in the next round 2–9 against eventual champion Ding Junhui. He lost in the first round of theWorld Championship 5–10 to Neil Robertson, his last ever match.

Shaun Murphy


Shaun Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player, who won the2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cueaction and his long potting. He is known for his dedication and for being a devout Christian.
Born in Harlow, England, Murphy turned professional in 1998. His victory at the World Championship was considered a major surprise as he was only the second qualifier to lift the title. His other ranking tournament victories came in the 2007 Malta Cup and the 2008 UK Championship, while he reached a second World Championship final in 2009. He also has won six non-ranking tournaments.
Murphy has won over £1 million in prize money and has compiled over 190 century breaks in his professional career. His highest world ranking was number three, which he maintained for three seasons following 2007/2008, while his ranking for the 2010/2011 season is seventh. Murphy also became engaged in a public rivalry with fellow player Stephen Maguire, while his separation from his wife in 2008, after three years of marriage, made the headlines.
For the new season, he improved his ranking to number 21, which would not usually guarantee qualification for ranking events. However, as world champion he qualified automatically for every tournament in the season as the number two seed (and number one seed for the 2006 World Championship). He was invited to play in the Premier League Snooker, a non-ranking tournament with a 25-a-second shot clock, but he went out in the round-robin stage.
In the inaugural, non ranking Northern Ireland Trophy, he reached the quarter-finals before he was defeated 4–5 by Neil Robertson. In the first three ranking events of the season—the Grand Prix, the UK Championship, and the Malta Cup—he reached the last 16, losing final-frame matches to Bingham, Robertson, and Graeme Dott, respectively. After his loss to Bingham, he complained about having to play his match on an outside table, given his world champion status. In the revival of Pot Black, a single-frame knockout tournament not staged since 1991, Murphy was defeated in the final by Stevens. He was awarded Sportsman Of The Year at the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards in December 2005.
In the Masters, Murphy lost 4–6 to Higgins in the quarter-finals, but reached his second ranking final in the Welsh Open, losing 4–9 to Stephen Lee. In the World Championship, he reached the quarter-finals, but fell victim to the "Crucible Curse"—no first-time champion has successfully defended the title at the Crucible Theater — when he was defeated 7–13 by Ebdon.
For the next season, Murphy moved to number five in the world rankings, entering the elite top 16 for the first time, and thereby automatically qualifying for the final stages of ranking tournaments and receiving an automatic invitation to the Masters.

In the Northern Ireland Trophy (a ranking event in this season), he lost 4–5 to Lee in the quarter-finals,[56] and in the UK Championship, he lost 3–9 to Alan McManus in the second round. A 3–6 defeat by Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals of the Masters was followed by his second ranking title, when he defeated Ryan Day 9–4 in the final of the Malta Cup. After the victory, he said it was a relief to get rid of the one-hit wonder label. In his next match, a victory over Jamie Cope in the Welsh Open, he scored centuries in four consecutive frames, becoming only the second player to do this (after Higgins in the 2005 Grand Prix final) and the only person to do so in a best-of-nine match. He went on to lose 3–5 to Maguire in the quarter-finals.In the World Championship, Murphy defeated Stevens 13–12 in the quarter-finals—recovering from 5–11 down and knocking the latter out of the top 16—before losing 16–17 against Mark Selby in the semi-finals.
Murphy maintained his number three ranking for a third year in the 2009/2010 season.He successfully defended his Paul Hunter Classic title, defeating White 4–0 in the final. He won the Premier League Snooker with a 7–3 win against O'Sullivan in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins in the tournament.
He reached the semi-finals of the first ranking tournament, the Shanghai Masters, before losing 5–6 against Liang Wenbo. This would be his only run to the semi-finals or better in a ranking tournament that season. In the UK Championship, as the defending champion, he lost 5–9 to eventual winner Ding Junhui in the second round. After the match, Murphy complained about Ding leaving the arena too often after frames, saying "I can't believe anyone needs to go to the toilet after every single frame." He reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, where he lost 4–6 against Williams.[98] In the Welsh Open and the China Open, he lost his first-round matches to Stevens[99] and Nigel Bond,[100] respectively. In the World Championship, he defeated Gerard Greene and Ding, but lost 12–13 against Carter in the quarter-finals, despite leading 8–4.This was the first season in which he did not reach a final or better of a ranking tournament since the 2003/2004 season.`


After three seasons ranked number three, he dropped to number seven for the 2010/2011 season. He won the Wuxi Classic, a non-ranking tournament held in China, defeating Ding 9–8, having recovered from 2–8 down. Murphy reached the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic, now part of the Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series, but lost 2–4 against eventual winner Judd Trump. Murphy won the Brugge Open, the second European event of the Players Tour Championship, with defeating Matthew Couch 4–2 in the final. He reached the final of the Ruhr Championship, but lost 2–4 against John Higgins. Murphy finished 1st on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.Murphy failed to defend his Premier League Snooker title, as he lost 1–7 against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.He than reached the semi-finals of the 2010 UK Championship, where he lost to eventuel runner-up Mark Williams 8–9.
Murphy lost in the first round of the Masters 3–6 against Jamie Cope, in the second round of the German Masters 2–5 against Joe Swail and in the first round of the Welsh Open 0–4 against Matthew Stevens.[113] Murphy then won the finals of the Players Tour Championship with a 4–0 victory over Martin Gould, winning his fourth ranking title.The next week Murphy also reached the final of the Championship League, but lost 1–3 against Matthew Stevens.Murphy reached the semi-final of the China Open, where he lost 1–6 against Judd Trump. Murphy's last tournament of the season was the World Championship, where he lost in the second round 10–13 against O'Sullivan.

Mark Williams


Mark James Williams, MBE (born 21 March 1975, CwmEbbw ValeWales) is a Welshprofessional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003.[2] Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine. He has been ranked the world number 1 for a total of three seasons in his career.
The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 18 ranking tournaments (fifth on the all-time list), including the UK Championship twice, in 1999 and 2002. He has also won the Masters on two occasions, in 1998 and 2003. Williams' most successful season in his career to date was the 2002/2003 season, when he won the acclaimed treble of tournaments (known as the Triple Crown): the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. He is only the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win all three majors in one season. Following his second World Championship his form declined, and he dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007/2008 season, but regained his place for 2009/2010. He is one of only several players who have compiled over 200 centuries, as he has compiled over 250 century breaks, 8th on the all-time list.
The 1999/2000 season was a very successful one for Williams, winning both the UK Championship and the World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title and three runner-up positions, allowed him to capture the world number 1 position for the first time. In the World Championship final he came from 7–13 behind his fellow countryman, Matthew Stevens to eventually win 18–16. He also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against John Higgins, coming from 10–14 down to win 17–15.Williams won only one ranking event in the following season, the Grand Prix, with a 9–5 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, but he was a runner-up in two other ranking events, the UK Championship and the China Open. This was enough to retain his number 1 ranking, although his title defence at the World Championship fell in the second round with a 12–13 defeat to Joe Swail.
In the 2001/2002 season Williams also only won one ranking tournament, as he struggled to find the form from the previous season, winning the China Open, where he defeated Anthony Hamilton 9–8 from 5–8 down in the final. However, he lost to the same player 9–13 in the second round of the World Championship and the number 1 ranking to Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Another strong performance came in 2002/2003 season when he won the UK ChampionshipMasters and World Championship titles. This made him the only the fourth player after Hendry, Davis and John Higgins to hold these titles simultaneously, and only the third player after Davis and Hendry to have won them all in one year. These results enabled him to reclaim the number 1 spot at the of the season. In the UK Championship final he beat Ken Doherty 10–9, and in the Masters he beat Hendry 10–4, Before the 2003 World Championship he had a scare with his cue when it was damaged and badly bent on his flight with Ryanair to play in the Irish Masters, but he had it repaired before the tournament.
On his way to winning the 2003 World title he had a relatively untroubled route to the final with wins over Stuart Pettman 10–2, Quinten Hann13–2, Hendry 13–7 and Stephen Lee 17–8 before facing Doherty in the final. He led 10–2, and looked to be heading for and easy victory, before Doherty fought back to 16–16. Williams regained his composure under intense pressure to win the last two frames and lift the trophy for the second time.
The following season he lost in the first round of the UK Championship to Fergal O'Brien, a match which ended his record run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match, His defence at the 2004 World Championship started with a 10–7 win over Dominic Dale, but he lost 11–13 in the second round to Joe Perry, and saw him endure a run of poor form over the 2004/2005 season where he slid to 9th in the world rankings for 2005/2006.
Williams opened the season by winning the first event of the Players Tour Championship by defeating Stephen Maguire 4–0 in the final, a new addition to the snooker calendar introduced by Barry Hearn, a series of events that Williams has supported. Williams finished 6th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.
In the Shanghai Masters Williams won his first round match against Ricky Walden 5–3, but lost narrowly in the second round againstGraeme Dott 4–5. He than reached the semi-finals of the World Open, where he lost 2–3 against eventual winner Neil Robertson.
He was selected to compete in the 2010 Premier League, due to his success from the previous season, the first time he has competed in the event for five years,but failed to reach the semi-finals. At the UK Championship he reached the final, his run including a 9–8 victory overShaun Murphy after trailing 6–8,but lost against John Higgins 9–10 in the final, after leading 7–2 and 9–5 at some points of the match.Williams' next tournament was the Masters, where he lost 4–6 in the first round against Ding Junhui. Williams won the first ranking event of 2011, the German Masters, by defeating Mark Selby 9–7 in the final. At the China Open Williams couldn't defend his title, as he lost in the first round 4–5 against Stephen Lee, despite making four centuries.
At the 2011 World Snooker Championship, Williams defeated Ryan Day 10–5 in the first round, and Jamie Cope 13–5 in the second round. He then won his quarter-final against Mark Allen by the same scoreline, and in doing so he reached the semi-final stage for the first time since 2003, but lost 14–17 against John Higgins. As a result of Selby's exit from the tournament Williams became the new world number one after the event.

Jimmy White


James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snookerplayer. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.
White's extensive list of achievements, however, also include victory in the World Amateur Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters. He is also a former World Doubles champion with Alex Higgins, won the World Cup twice and Nations Cup once with England and is the reigning World Seniors Champion. In 1992, he became the first left-handed player, and second overall, to record a maximum break at the World Championship.
White established himself as a top professional in 1981. After losing 8–10 to eventual champion Steve Davis in the first-round of World Championship, White went on to win his first professional titles – the Scottish Masters (defeating Cliff Thorburn in the final) and the Northern Ireland Classic (defeating Davis).
The World Championship has provided the theatre for White's greatest disappointments. In 1982, he led Alex Higgins 15–14 in their semi-final, was up 59–0 in the penultimate frame and was a red and colour away from the final. After missing a red with the rest, however, he could only watch as Higgins compiled frame-winning 69 break. Higgins won the deciding frame that followed to reach the final.
In 1984 White won the Masters for the only time to date, beating Terry Griffiths 9–5 in the final. He followed this success by reaching his firstWorld Championship final. Trailing Steve Davis 4–12 after the first two sessions, White responded by reducing the deficit to 15–16. He then made an aggressive clearance of 65 to take the score to 16–17, but was unable to build upon a 40-point lead in the following frame, and lost 16–18. White did, however, become a World Doubles Champion later that year when he and Alex Higgins defeated Willie Thorne and Cliff Thorburn 10–2 in the final of the World Doubles Championship.
In 1986 White reached his second Masters final, but was defeated by Cliff Thorburn. However he won the Classic and also retained the Irish Masters title he won in 1985. White won the Classic when he beat Thorburn in the final frame after needing a snooker. Later in the year he overcame veteran Rex Williams 10–6 to win his first Grand Prix title.
White's third ranking win – the 1987 British Open – helped him to end the 1986/1987 season as World number 2, behind Steve Davis who defeated him 16–11 in the semi-finals of the 1987 World Championship. Later that year White and Davis contested a memorable UK Championship final which Davis won 16–14.
In 1988 he defeated John Campbell, Stephen Hendry and Tony Knowles to reach his fourth World Championship semi-final. He played Terry Griffiths and, trailing 11–13, lost a tied frame on a respotted black. Griffiths went on to reach the final courtesy of a 16–11 win. White did at least manage to consolidate his number-2 world ranking. However the 1988/1989 season was less successful, and White's ranking slipped. He trailed John Virgo 11–12 in the second-round of the 1989 World Championship and looked beaten when his opponent was on a break of 26 in the following frame. Virgo, however, called a foul on himself and White was able to win 13–12. The reprieve was short-lived as White was soundly beaten 7–13 by eventual finalist John Parrott in the quarter-finals. White avenged this defeat later in the year by beating Parrott 18–9 in the final of the invitational World Matchplay.
In 1990 White recorded an 16–14 victory over Steve Davis in the semi-finals of the World Championship. It was Davis's first defeat in the event in 4 years. White subsequently lost his second World Championship final 12–18 to Stephen Hendry. However White beat Hendry 18–9 to retain his World Matchplay title later in the year and this win was followed by a 10–4 victory over Hendry (after leading 9–0) in the final of the 1991 Classic. White continued his run of success with victory in the short-lived World Masters, beating Tony Drago 10–6 in the final.
Steve James ended Hendry's reign as World Champion in the 1991 World Championship and White in turn defeated James to reach the final. He played John Parrott and was whitewashed in the first session 0–7. Although White managed to close the gap to 7–11, Parrott was able to seal a convincing 18–11 victory. Parrott then overcame White 16–13 to win the UK Championship later in 1991.
At the beginning of the 2009/10 season White reached the final of the Champion of Champions Challenge in Killarney, eventually losing 1–5 to Shaun Murphy.
Provisionally No. 47 for the season it has seen White have a surprising return of form. His 2nd tournament of the season was the Sangsom 6-red World Grand Prix in Bangkok Thailand. White won the tournament, putting an end to his drought of titles by winning his first since 2004. On his way to the final he beat Shaun Murphy, defending champion Ricky WaldenMark King and Mark Williams, eventually beating Barry Hawkins in the final 8–6.
Only 1 month later in the Paul Hunter Classic he again reached the final, however this time lost to Shaun Murphy 0–4. Two months later on 18 October White reached the final of the World Series of Snooker in Prague, his fourth final of the season. This time he was victorious, claiming his 2nd title of the season by defeating Graeme Dott 5–3.
On 17 December 2009 it was confirmed that White received a wild card for the Wembley Masters. White played against Mark King in the wild card round, but lost the match 2–6.
Prior to the world championship White won only 2 of his 6 qualifying matches. he defeated Bjorn Haneveer 5–0 at the Shanghai Masters]and Jordan Brown 5–1 at the Welsh Open. Thanks to this and skipping the UK Championship for I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! he was in danger to losing his Main Tour spot for the following season.
However he secured his place on the Main Tour for another season with a 10–8 victory over Mark Boyle at the World Championship Qualifiers. He then lost 3–10 against Ken Doherty in the next round.
White started the 2010/2011 season by entering the Players Tour Championship, his best performance coming in the first European eventand at the sixth event in Sheffield, where he reached the quarter-finals each time. After 10 out of 12 events White was ranked 35th in the Order of Merit.
White also reached the quarter-finals of the Six-red World Championship, topping his qualifying group along the way. He failed to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, losing his first qualifying match 3–5 against Liam Highfield. He won his two qualification matches for theWorld Open; but lost in the last 32 1–3 against Ronnie O'Sullivan.
White won the World Seniors Championship, defeating Steve Davis 4-1 in the final. At the UK Championship in December White lost 8-9 to Stephen Hendry in the first-round after he had came through three qualifying rounds to get to Telford. It was only the fifth time in 24 years that White and Hendry had taken each other to the final frame and 16 years since Hendry's 18-17 win over White in the 1994 World Championship final.He participated at qualifying stages of the German Masters, but lost in the second round 1–5 against Jimmy Robertson, White reached the last qualifying round of the Welsh Open, but was whitewashed by Ryan Day, and has qualified for the final stages of the China Open, by defeating Liu ChuangPeter Lines and Dominic Dale. but had to withdraw from the tournament due to visa problems. White lost his first qualifying match for the World Championship 9-10 against Jimmy Robertson.