Embassy World Championship
Crucible Theatre
, Sheffield, England
(Apr 20 - May 6, 1996)
Ranking tournament (No.10 of 10)
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Players are English unless stated
Final
Stephen Hendry (Scot) def. Peter Ebdon (England) 18-12
2-121 (79), 75-42, 34-78 (59), 34-61, 65-51, 18-57, 103-4 (83),
74-39, 60-58, 125-0 (125), 22-81 (68), 70-31 (60),
70-77 (70, 51), 134-0 (55 & 79), 74-0, 82-0, 85-14, 1-75,
86-21 (56), 83-23 (83), 34-89, 0-77 (77), 60-66 (51),
96-0 (57), 54-27, 78-23, 77-25, 1-71, 39-83, 73-16
Hendry won his sixth world title and fifth
in a row by beating Peter Ebdon 18-12 in the final. This means he has equalled
Steve Davis' Crucible record for number of
wins. He has now won 25 Crucible matches in a row. Steve James was the last man to beat him, in
the quarter-finals of the 1991 tournament.
The first prize was 200,000 pounds. Ebdon
got 120,000 for his runner-up position plus 8,500 for the highest break of 144.
Tony Drago also made a 144 and received the
same amount.
This win assures Stephen a pretty big lead in next season's world rankings. John Higgins will
be in second and Peter Ebdon, today's loser,
takes third.
Hendry almost made a maximum in the 10th
frame. At 125 with only the four last colors remaining, he missed a difficult brown along the
cushion. A 147 was worth 147,000 pounds in these championships, but I guess Stephen can manage
without that bonus ...
This final was still probably the least memorable in recent years, even worse than
Parrott v
White in 1991, as neither player reached any
great heights. Ebdon had his chances,
particularly in the first session, where he should have been 5-2 up, not 4-3, but missed
crucial shots. As he admitted himself, his previous three, tough matches probably took more out of
him than he imagined, and the occasion seemed to get to him a bit, as he failed to register a break
higher than 79, achieved in the very first frame.
Hendry wasn't much hotter, with only one
century, thereby failing to equal the record of twelve he set last year.
Semi-finals
Stephen Hendry (Scot) 16-7 Nigel Bond
98-14 (98), 30-62 (55), 47-70, 7-77 (77), 61-32 (56), 83-0, 67-13
77-21 (77), 89-0 (52), 64-62 (H64,B61), 126-7 (121), 18-71, 85-0 (76)
108-10 (71), 78- 7 (55), 24-59, 1-83, 23-110, 114-13 (113), 82-30, 45-27
82-49, 67-23
Hendry: "I'm still not completely happy with my safety game and I'm still
making a few unforced errors. But I gave myself a comfortable overnight
lead going into Saturday's morning session. I'm looking forward to the final,
it's going to be a great battle."
Hendry will be hoping to land his sixth
world title at the Crucible. This would equal
Steve Davis' record and certainly put him up
amongst the biggest names in snooker history.
Peter Ebdon 16-14 Ronnie O'Sullivan
25-65, 77-50 (E76,O50), 70-53, 45-62, 65-54 (E64,O53), 42-60, 109-0 (109)
0-134 (85), 106-34 (93), 26-70 (53), 98-51, 88-0 (57), 95-1 (58)
112-0 (107), 57-8, 0-101 (101), 91-0 (86), 42-71 (63), 0-152 (139)
7-103 (103), 35-94 (94), 19-80 (66), 81-55, 105-4 (100), 7-104 (77), 8-71
74-52 (55), 0-89 (85), 88-4 (56), 68-51 (O51)
Ebdon: "At the end of the match I told Ronnie he had extraordinary talent
and was an absolute genius. The snooker he played last night was some of the
best I have ever seen - it was a joy to watch! I'm pleased with the way I
held myself together at the end, I'm on cloud nine. I'm going to enjoy the
win because it was hard-fought."
O'Sullivan: "It was never meant to be. I was never worried and was never
under pressure. I came back at Peter but I was never ahead in the game.
It's just one of those things. My long potting is out of sorts at the moment.
I feel I have to improve my game as I've had a bad season. However, playing
at the Crucible with one table was good experience for me. It's a great place
to play snooker."
Peter Ebdon will be hoping to revenge his
10-3 defeat in the UK final. That was one of the two ranking finals
he has reached this season. He also finished runner-up to
John Parrott in the
European Open.
This is Ebdon's first world final. He has
previously reached two quarter-finals (1992 and
1995). In 1992 he was beaten by Terry Griffiths and last year
Andy Hicks was the man to send him out.
Quarter-finals
Stephen Hendry (Scot) 13-5 Darren Morgan (Wales)
24-80 (58), 68-17, 1-107 (107), 33-87 (53), (55) 79-40, (82) 86-17, (92)
92-8, (63) 76-24, 43-62, 68-9, 86-18, (55) 68-60, (110) 110-24,
(108) 130-0, 70-59, 71-52, 1-100 (96), (52) 80-8
Nigel Bond 13-7 Dave Harold
61-47, 63-61, 90-23, 41-64, (81) 81-51 (51), 27-71, 82-8, 0-91 (91),
(65) 79-0, 73-55 (55), (66) 78-45, (70) 74-41, 0-96 (96), 60-20,
0-80 (68), 0-88 (82), 42-75 (75), 99-6, 56-24, 65-24
Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-12 John Higgins (Scot)
7-81, 69-58, (52) 65-0, (51) 82-33, 12-64, 0-137 (137), 32-67, 36-67,
(102) 102-0, 0-94 (94), (68) 68-69, (54) 54-65, 63-9, 0-129 (104),
(54) 60-70 (70c), 61-15, (59) 100-38, (106) 106-0, 58-45, 69-61, 8-96 (51),
12-84 (80), 75-38, (57) 70-53, 69-21.
This was probably O'Sullivan's most
significant victory since his defeat of
Hendry in the UK final a couple of years ago.
Higgins, who missed a chance to clinch the match in frame 24, was philosophical in defeat but
must be devastated, having led 10-6 overnight. This defeat also means that
Hendry will hold on to his No.1 ranking.
Peter Ebdon 13-10 Steve Davis
78-14, 58-50, (59) 65-72, 73-38, (137)137-0, 66-28, 10-114 (104), 78-25,
56-55, 50-73 (73), 21-83 (75), 0-116 (116), 1-114 (54), 60-73, 26-97,
(52c) 67-66, 9-67 (66), 77-15, 17-109 (82), 74-33, 84-24, 77-49, 68-16
This match was a ding-dong struggle, as Davis
rallied from his overnight deficit to win 6 frames in a row at one stage.
Ebdon enjoyed some very good running in the
later stages, especially in frame 20 where he lived dangerously before fluking a hard pot on one
of the last reds and winning the frame.
Davis had a chance in frame 23 but missed a
green of its spot when looking favourite to prolong the battle.
The match was halted two frames early in the first session when the cloth, which had earlier
been repaired, ripped again, forcing the organisers to call in the contractors to recover the
table.
The Championships have now seen 39 centuries, an improvement of previous record. Heading the
list is world champ Stephen Hendry, with 8
tons, followed by O'Sullivan with 6.
Second Round
Darren Morgan (Wales) 13-5 Ken Doherty (Ire)
25-61 75-69 66-63 62-19 33-75 74-29 25-58 121 (110)-8 66-24 91-7 94-13
89-55 63-38, 78-50 80-0 0-109 (109) 37-71 79-0
Nigel Bond 13-4 James Wattana (Thai)
31-76, 64-0, 0-72 (72), 79-23, 63-62, 19-83, 0-77 (62), 70 (70)-42,
62-40, 69-51, 71 (71)-57 (52), 67 (64)-9, 56-32, 63-37, 59-4, 104-0, 68-54
John Higgins (Scot) 13-5 Alan McManus (Scot)
90 (80)-38, 54-63 (55), 76 (62)-14, 59-26, 84 (84)-0, 0-84 (84),
71 (54)-0, 73 (73)-71 (63), 126 (61, 59)-8, 0-111 (94), 57 (51)-16, 65-17,
0-123 (83), 67-8, 92-0, 130 (130)-0, 24-70, 77-30
Peter Ebdon 13-12 Jimmy White
70-23, 80-7, 20-70 (64), 16-121 (70,51), 0-106, 77-31 (68), 75-36, 57-46,
65-41 (51), 59-66, 0-122 (100), 60-67, 8-83 (58), 67-68 (E59), 62-47,
18-93 (61), 104-16 (100), 8-88 (88), 53-45, 72-45 (57), 80-22, 0-98 (90),
60-50 (59), 10-63 (55), 123-0 (123)
Ebdon had a 123 break in the decider. What a
way to clinch the match!
O'Sullivan's Escape
Ronnie O'Sullivan escaped being thrown
out of the WC, and giving John Higgins a walk-over in their quarter-final, when a WPBSA
disciplinary hearing, convened to investigate a charge of throwing a punch at an official, threw
him a two-year tournament ban, suspended for two years, plus a 20K fine and another 10K to be
given to charity.
O'Sullivan's "exemplary record" as a
professional, plus, no doubt, a profuse apology for what happened, saved his bacon.
Following this incident, the second controversy he has been involved in this week, many people
will now be hoping that Higgins will ensure that justice, in the form of
O'Sullivan's swift dismissal from the
championships, is done.
Stephen Hendry (Scot) 13-7 Gary Wilkinson
(85) 85-0, 74-73, (68) 69-49, (135) 135-0, 51-65, 11-81 (64), (52) 66-22,
(74) 74-0, 9-62, 22-67, 39-73, 53-39, (76) 77-0, 58-56, (76) 80-35, 88-43,
(105) 105-32 0-88 (53), 72-2
Dave Harold 13-6 Rod Lawler
33-89 (57), 58-2, 77-1, 26-66, 1-69, 96-0 (96), 61-15, 16-63,
90-54, 59-43, 64-61, 58-45, 63-35, 67-7 (67), 79-7 (79), 8-79 (57),
58-70 (58,70), 71-0 (58), 72-22
Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-4 Tony Drago (Malta)
58-69 (Drago 58), 68-55, 78-28 (57), 0-144 (144), 67-49,
68-57 (O'S. 62, Drago 57), 104-4 (100), 120-1 (120), 78-29, 24-70, 48-56,
112-17 (78), 81-0 (73), 83-1 (61), 72-28 (72), 72-0 (56), 71-38
Drago equalled
Peter Ebdon's c'ship highest break with a
lifetime best of 144, but still lost 13-4 to
O'Sullivan, who had consecutive tons in
building up a useful early lead.
O'Sullivan faces a possible ban for an assault on a tournament official on
Sunday night.
Steve Davis 13-8 Terry Griffiths (Wales)
55-59, (105) 105-25, 33-75, 71-8, 9-82 (55), (67) 67-65 (65), 13-67,
66-28, 24-79 (59), 53-48, 6-67, 68-61 (61), 39-85 (66), 81-25, 18-67,
66-38, (64) 82-0, (52) 72-23, 75-32, 64-51, (72) 72-0
This was a marathon match, lasting almost 11 hours. At one stage Griffiths quipped to a somnolent
audience, "And you paid to come in here!"
First Round
James Wattana (Thai) 10-8 Jimmy Michie
4-77, 26-88, (53) 61-17, (71) 101-17, 57-54, 40-65, (51) 88-9, 0-111 (55,56),
20-68 (51), 65-42, 86-9, 61-20, 74-37, 37-80, (60) 83-7, 23-61, 44-64, 82-34
Jimmy White 10-9 Euan Henderson (Scot)
(61) 67-59 (59), 1-104 (103), 77-70, 1-70, 44-74, 73-53, 41-55,
(58) 69-8, 15-63, (66) 76-38, 62-50, (92) 92-0, 0-93 (74), 70-38,
(67) 97-36, 38-72 (66), 0-80 (50), 24-72 (58), (56) 81-13
John Higgins (Scot) 10-5 Martin Clark
(87) 88-37, 34-69, 64-40, 69-47, (55) 95-19, 15-62, (63) 63-19,
1-96 (81), 65-20, (72,57) 129-6, 4-82, 43-77, (52,50) 106-16,
(91) 103-24, (101) 101-30
Terry Griffiths (Wal) 10-9 Jamie Burnett (Scot)
36-84, 24-70 (61), 27-58, 15-69, 5-84 (54), 36-64, (70) 76-4,
62-48, 76-45, 49-65, 2-78, (55) 128-0, 106-1, 1-131 (89), (67)
68-8, (50) 109-5, 63-42, 68-36, 72-61
Griffiths won this match on the final black, to set up a meeting with old foe
Steve Davis, who has won all six of their m
atches at the Crucible, though Terry has won their last three meetings.
Darren Morgan (Wal) 10-8 Drew Henry (Scot)
67-53 (53), 30-75 (50), 54-65, 10-82, (51) 95-35, 72-27, 22-75,
12-61 (54), (55) 91-38, (53) 90-16, 16-87 (61), 39-49, (78) 78-2,
75-12, 63-66, (57) 98-17, 53-29, 78-0
Alan McManus (Scot) 10-5 Mick Price
33-57, (67) 123-4, 86-0, 11-81, 81-22, 46-64, 0-78 (59), 49-80 (80),
74-38, 68-6, (55) 104-3, 71-33, (125) 125-0, 68-5, (64) 81-1
Nigel Bond 10-9 Anthony Hamilton
63-16, (63) 93-6, 76-10, 108-36, (97) 102-16, 8-71 (70), 9-77 (69),
57-71, 12-62, 53-68, (84) 84-12, 33-98 (76), 0-115 (115), (63) 80-52,
59-18, 50-69, (83) 84-0, (59) 59-68, 66-34
Ken Doherty (Ire) 10-5 Nick Terry
2-65 (56), 21-68, (71) 79-34, 0-89 (76), 74-23, 48-68 (50), 23-70,
70-50, 58-41, 78-1, 72-26, 91-0, (75) 75-8, 68-16, (57) 76-1
John Parrott 6-10 Rod Lawler
20-80, 38-57 (56), 14-81, 72-0, 4-91 (79), 64-54 (53), 25-106 (76),
75-12, 0-82, 99 (99)-0, 69 (60)-31, 91 (87)-13, 54-69, 33-74, 1-76, 0-98 (51)
David Roe 9-10 Gary Wilkinson
0-125 (69), 74-32, 80 (72)-8, 70-0, 40-64 (53), 66-59, 50-64,
85 (54)-21, 73-34, 41-58, 59-68, 90-16, 66-33, 30-79 (62), 29-90,
28-66, 33-64, 83 (74)-9, 15-76 (60)
Steve Davis 10-8 Willie Thorne
31-69, 65-31, 37-63, 103 (103)-0, 12-64 (60), 77-25, 35-83, 73 (52)-44,
30-82 (60), 55-59, 28-107 (74), 64-5, 59 (51)-66, 84-32, 57-55, 86-24,
71 (64)-47, 63-51
This was a match Thorne will be kicking himself for letting slip away. Even at 8-8 he was 47 up
and missed a black off the spot, while in the last frame he led 44-2 before
Davis came back at him. Still, Willie missed a
dodgy double on the last red and Davis, only a
shadow of the dominant player of the 1980s, held his nerve to clear to the black to win.
Stephen Hendry (Scot) 10-8 Jason Ferguson
9-69, 104-0 (104), 46-74, 0-71, 118-1 (118), 0-67 (60), 51-75, 133-0 (91),
0-129 (129), 71-6, 106-0 (106), 79-17, 131-0 (88), 45-67, 86-1 (86),
2-122 (62,55), 67-2, 104-0 (104)
Hendry had 4 century breaks but was 6-3 down at one stage
Peter Ebdon 10-1 Dene O' Kane (Nzl)
7-73 (54), 79-54 (54), 144-0 (144), 82 (82)-51, 138 (138)-0, 106 (62)-14,
108 (67)-0, 81 (81)-48, 96 (92)-31, 111-15, 73-23
Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-3 Alain Robidoux (Can)
58-56, 75-25, 5-89 (66), 81-23, 102-0 (102), 71-6 (67), 68-47 (62)
75-32 (67), 42-73 (59), 126-0 (126), 90-41 (56), 49-68, 107-0 (76)
This match was marred by controversy when Robidoux accused
O'Sullivan of not showing him due respect
by playing left handed towards the end of the 12th frame. The Canadian did not offer to shake
hands at the end of the match, prompting an outburst from O'Sullivan in which he called Robidoux a
baby and saying that he was better left handed than Robidoux was right handed. The WPBSA look sure
to haul the Londoner over the coals, both for his behaviour and his words.
Tony Drago (Malta) 10-2 Steve James
22-73, 57-29, 78-6 (60), 67-60, 74-23, 67-64, 72-16 (72), 123-14 (115)
63-1, 69-25, 42-64, 68-48
Dave Harold 10-4 Neal Foulds
67-72 (H67,F68), 131-1 (123), 61-43 (50), 17-69, 81-0, 66-52 (66)
98-0 (66), 79-24, 87-15 (68), 105-34 (101), 95-0 (95), 64-71 (71), 26-76
120-2 (120)
Centuries
144 Ebdon, Drago
139 O'Sullivan
138 Ebdon
137 Ebdon, Higgins
135 Hendry
130 Higgins
129 Ferguson
126 O'Sullivan
125 Hendry, McManus
123 Ebdon, Harold
121 Hendry
120 O'Sullivan, Harold
118 Hendry
116 Davis
115 Drago, Hamilton
113 Hendry
110 Hendry, Morgan
109 Doherty. Ebdon
108 Hendry
106 Hendry, O'Sullivan
105 Davis, Hendry
104 Hendry (2), Higgins, Davis
103 O'Sullivan, Davis, Henderson
102 O'Sullivan (2)
101 Harold, Higgins
100 Ebdon (2), O'Sullivan, White
Prize Money
| Winner |
� |
200,000 |
| Runner-Up |
� |
120,000 |
| Semi-finalists |
� |
60,000 |
| Quarter-finalists |
� |
30,000 |
| Round Two |
� |
16,000 |
| Round One |
� |
9,000 |
| Highest TV Break |
� |
17,000 |
| Total |
� |
1,200,000 |
|
| Maximum TV Break |
� |
147,000 |
Related Pages
[ Final |
Semis |
Quarters |
Second |
First |
Centuries |
Prizes |
Related Pages ]
|
