2001 World Snooker Championship


The 2001 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 21 April to 7 May 2001 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 24th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was staged at the venue. Sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy, the tournament was the eighth and final List of [snooker ranking tournaments|ranking event] of the 2000–01 season. The winner received £250,000 from a total prize pool of £1,532,000.
The top 16 players from the snooker world rankings were seeded through to the main stage at the Crucible. They were joined by the 16 successful players from qualifying rounds, which took place from 20 February to 4 March at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. Mark Williams was the defending champion, having defeated Matthew Stevens 1816 in the final of the 2000 World Snooker Championship. He lost in a in his second-round match against Joe Swail, becoming the 10th player to experience the so-called Crucible curse, referring to the fact that no first-time champion had retained the title since the tournament moved to the Crucible in 1977. Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated John Higgins 1814 in the final to claim his maiden world title. The main stage of the tournament produced 53 century breaks, of which the highest was a 140 compiled by Swail.

Background

The inaugural 1927 World Snooker Championship, then known as the Professional Championship of Snooker, took place at various venues in England between November 1926 and May 1927. Joe Davis won the final—held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham from 9 to 12 May 1927—and went on to win the tournament 15 consecutive times before retiring undefeated after the 1946 edition. The tournament went into abeyance after only two players contested the 1952 edition. The six editions of the World Professional Championship held between 1952 and 1957 are retroactively regarded as legitimate continuations of the World Snooker Championship, but that tournament was discontinued due to waning public interest in snooker in the post-war era. The world title was uncontested between 1958 and 1963.
Then-professional player Rex Williams was instrumental in reviving the World Snooker Championship on a challenge basis in 1964. John Pulman, winner of the 1957 World Professional Championship, defended the world title across seven challenge matches between 1964 and 1968. The World Snooker Championship reverted to an annual knockout tournament for the 1969 edition, marking the beginning of the championship's "modern era". The 1977 edition was the first staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where it has remained since. The most successful player in the modern era was Stephen Hendry, having won the title seven times. Hendry was also the tournament's youngest winner, having captured his first title at the 1990 event, aged. Ray Reardon became the oldest winner when he secured his sixth title at the 1978 event, aged.

Overview

The 2001 World Snooker Championship was the eighth and last ranking tournament of the 2000–01 snooker season, held after the Scottish Open. It took place from 21 April to 7 May. It was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. The 2001 edition marked the 24th consecutive year that the tournament was held at the Crucible and the 32nd successive year that the World Championship was contested through the modern knockout format. The defending champion was Mark Williams, who had defeated Matthew Stevens 1816 in the final of the 2000 World Championship to win his first world title.

Format

The top 16 players in the snooker world rankings were seeded through to the main stage at the Crucible Theatre. They faced 16 players who progressed through the qualifying rounds, which took place from 20 February to 4 March at the Newport Centre in Wales. First-round matches were played as the best of 19, held over two. Second-round and quarter-final matches were played as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions. The semi-final matches were played as the best of 33 frames, held over four sessions. The final was the best of 35 frames, also held over four sessions.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money is shown below:
  • Winner: £250,000
  • Runner-up: £147,000
  • Semi-final: £73,000
  • Quarter-final: £36,500
  • Last 16: £20,000
  • Last 32: £14,000
  • Last 48: £10,500
  • Last 64: £6,600
  • Last 96: £4,000
  • Last 128: £1,100
  • Highest break: £20,000
  • Highest pre-TV break: £2,200
  • Highest pre-qualifying break: £2,200
  • Maximum break: £147,000
  • Total: £1,532,000

Summary

First round

The first round was played between 21 and 26 April as the best of 19 held over two. The defending champion, Mark Williams, defeated Billy Snaddon 104. The of the match was a 69 by Williams in the last frame. Paul Hunter fell 14 behind David Roe, but produced breaks of 130, 55, 60, 52, 100, 55, 108, 87 and 61 to win 106. Dave Harold and Quinten Hann shared the first ten frames of their match, but Harold made two as he won five frames on the trot to clinch victory. Anthony Hamilton won 104 over Marcus Campbell. Tony Drago scored in every frame save one of his match against Matthew Stevens, runner-up in the previous edition of the tournament, but lost 110. Peter Ebdon compiled breaks of 54, 55, 110, 55, 83, 99 and 67 as he defeated James Wattana 108. Andy Hicks only won two frames in his match against Ronnie O'Sullivan. Ken Doherty eliminated Nick Dyson with a 107 result in a duel that featured three century breaks.
Patrick Wallace produced breaks of 64, 135, 55, 69 and 52 for a 102 defeat of Alan McManus. Mark King manufactured a 137 break to go 86 in front of Fergal O'Brien. O'Brien tied the scores again at 88, but King won the match with two half-centuries. John Higgins established a 52 lead against Graeme Dott and secured a 104 victory making breaks of 139, 67, 136 and 80 in the process. Joe Swail took back-to-back frames against Sean Storey to force a, which he won. Chris Small made a century break in his 108 defeat of Marco Fu. Nigel Bond only won three frames in his duel with Stephen Lee. Breaks of 53, 78, 60 and 80 aided Stephen Hendry to a 105 win against Mark Davis.

Second round

The second round was played as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions, between 26 and 30 April. Stevens made a century break as he raced into a 40 lead against Hamilton, who stopped the rot with a 114 break. Stevens made three more centuries, including a 139, to clinch a 135 victory. Swail made a 91 break to force a decider against Williams and won the match with another half-century. This made Williams the 10th first-time champion who failed to defend his title since the tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre in 1977, succumbing to what has been called the 'Crucible curse'. O'Sullivan made breaks of 100, 92 and 73 for a 31 lead against Harold. O'Sullivan went on to win 136, with two more centuries. Doherty won 137 over Judge.
Higgins made breaks of 64, 67 and 103 as he took a 62 lead against Small. Higgins clinched a 138 victory with a half-century in the last frame. Despite compiling two centuries, King lost 513 to Wallace, who won two long frames that lasted 49 and 42 minutes and two consecutive frames on the final. Hendry eliminated Hunter by the same margin, making breaks of 71, 129, 51, 100, 95, 54, 60, 65 and 54 in the process. Writing for The Guardian, Clive Everton praised Hendry, stating that "he hardly made a mistake in the tactical exchanges and still scored heavily enough." Lee took an early lead against Ebdon with breaks of 121 and 66. At 36 seconds per shot, Ebdon was said by Everton to have used "attritional tactics". The match went to a decider, which Ebdon won.

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played as the best of 25 frames, held over three sessions, between 1 and 2 May. Stevens and Hendry shared the first two frames of their match, but Stevens then made breaks of 87, 56 and 65 to go 51 in front. Hendry replied with a century break, but Stevens, who recorded a 134 break, went on to win 135. "I was just outplayed. Matthew was outstanding. If his isn't the best in snooker, it's very close," Hendry said. Breaks of 69 and 101 for Ebdon and of 57 and 82 for O'Sullivan meant that the first four frames of their encounter were shared. Ebdon then built a two-frame cushion, but O'Sullivan won nine consecutive frames, making breaks of 108, 67, 89, 54, 65, 50, 72, 57 and 54 in the process. O'Sullivan claimed victory with a 136 result. "He's the game's equivalent to Mozart—the snooker he produced was nothing short of sensational," Ebdon said of O'Sullivan.
Doherty made breaks of 114 and 91 as he took a 31 lead against Higgins. Higgins, who was 53 ahead at the end of the first session, went on to win the match, with breaks including 72, 98, 110, 139, 56, 113 and 105. In his match against Swail, Wallace built a 31 lead and then extended it to 62. Swail halved the deficit, making a 93 break along the way, and went in front for the first time at 87. Wallace was within one frame at 89, 910, 1011 and 1112, but Swail advanced into the semi-finals for a second consecutive year. "We've been practising together for about 12 years. Joe invariably wins," Wallace said.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played as the best of 33 frames, held over four sessions, between 3 and 5 May. Swail faced O'Sullivan in the first semi-final. A 107 gave Swail the first frame, but O'Sullivan replied with a 73 break in the second to tie. Swail won the third frame, but O'Sullivan then took seven on the trot, featuring breaks of 62, 58, 70, 108 and 119, for an 82 lead. Swail reduced the deficit by winning two frames before the. O'Sullivan won frame thirteen. In the next, he played a on the and for the to win the frame and go 104 ahead. The BBC praised the as a "contender for shot of the championship". Swail replied with a 92 and also took the last of the session to edge closer at 610. At the resumption, Swail missed a that was, allowing O'Sullivan to pot both pink and and steal the frame. He followed it with a 133 break in the next for a 126 advantage. Had he also potted the last black, he would have tied his rival for the highest break of the tournament, but he ran out of. Swail won frame nineteen by only two points and also had a chance in the next, but O'Sullivan took it by only three points, securing a 137 going into the mid-session interval, four away from a place in the final. O'Sullivan made a 79 break to win frame 21 by only two points, but Swail produced breaks of 52 and 138 to go 914. O'Sullivan won the last frame of the session with an 84 break. On the next day, Swail followed a on a with a 114 break. O'Sullivan, despite on his first break, took frame 26. Swail reduced the deficit to five frames on the next, but O'Sullivan got a and a in frame 28 that allowed him to clinch victory and secure a place in the final for the first time. "I'm surprised I haven't been in the final before. When I was younger I thought I'd have won it once or twice by now," O'Sullivan said.
In the other semi-final, Stevens met Higgins, who had been eliminated at this stage both in 1999 and 2000. Higgins had a 53 lead at the end of the first session. Stevens won the first frame of the second session and made a 133 clearance in the next, becoming the 14th player to reach a hundred career centuries. A further half-century put him in front at 65. Higgins then equalised and won two more frames, making a 126 break in the process. Stevens was ahead at 108, but Higgins won back-to-back frames, making a 121 break in the process, to tie the scores. Stevens was 1311 in front going into the final session, but Higgins won the first two frames to tie. Higgins followed with a 75 break that put him ahead, but, aided by a break of 59, Stevens tied the match once again. After the mid-session interval, Stevens took the lead in frame 29 with a 71 break, but then went after potting a black, allowing Higgins a chance. A on the helped Stevens secure the frame. Higgins then tied the match at 1515 and made a break of 73 to go one in front and one away from victory. Frame 32 lasted more than an hour, with a long exchange, but Higgins won it 7044 to book a place in the final with a 1715 result.

Final

The final was played as the best of 35 frames, held over four sessions, on 6 and 7 May, between O'Sullivan and Higgins. O'Sullivan was competing in his first World Championship final, while it was the second for Higgins, having won the title in 1998. Referee Eirian Williams officiated his first World Championship final. In the first frame of the match, Higgins went in-off when he was on a break of 37 and allowed O'Sullivan to get in the scoreboard with an 88 break. Higgins replied by winning the second frame, but O'Sullivan then took three in a row for a 41 lead, making a break of 81 in the process. Higgins produced a century break of 135, but O'Sullivan won two more frames to end the first session with a four-frame advantage. Higgins started the second session with a break of 60. O'Sullivan took the next. Higgins then won two in a row, but O'Sullivan compiled breaks of 99 and 100 to go again four clear at 59. Higgins replied with a century break, but O'Sullivan made a 99 break in the last of the session, which he ended 106 in front.
O'Sullivan made breaks including 81, 139, 85 and 86 as he took four of the first five frames of the third session for a 147 lead. Higgins replied by making breaks of 65 and 98 to take the remaining three and reduce the arrears to four frames. A break of 50 gave Higgins the first frame of the fourth and final session. O'Sullivan then won two in a row, but Higgins compiled breaks of 62 and 87 to also win back-to-back frames. Higgins was 1316 behind at this point, with O'Sullivan only two frames away from victory. In frame 30, Higgins was 60 points ahead, but missed a red and O'Sullivan took the frame in the end with a 68-point clearance. In the next frame, O'Sullivan could have left Higgins, but missed a red instead and allowed Higgins to make a 65 break to come closer at 1417. O'Sullivan took advantage of a mistake by Higgins in frame 32 and went on to compile a break of 80 to win the match 1814.
O'Sullivan claimed his maiden world title and a prize of £250,000. He dedicated the win to his father, who was serving a life sentence in prison. "It will probably mean more to my dad than it does to me," he said. Higgins's defeat meant that he fell below O'Sullivan in the snooker world rankings. "Usually you rate a player on what they have won but Ronnie has so much natural ability it is unbelievable. He just makes the game look so easy—he is a worthy champion," Higgins acknowledged.

Main draw

The draw for the main tournament is shown below. The numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the seedings for the 16 seeded players. The match winners are shown in bold.

Qualifying

The qualifying matches were held between 20 February and 4 March at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. All the matches were played as the best of 19 frames.

Century breaks

A total of 53 century breaks were made during the main stage of the tournament. The highest break was a 140 compiled by Joe Swail.