2005 World Snooker Championship

Overview

The World Snooker Championship is an annual cue sport tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker. Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India, the sport was popular in Great Britain. In modern times it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand. The event was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy. This was the last event to be sponsored by Embassy, after cigarette advertising was banned within the United Kingdom. The following season was sponsored by 888.com.

In the 2005 tournament, 32 professional players competed in one-on-one snooker matches played over several , using a single elimination format. The 32 players were selected for the event using the snooker world rankings and a pre-tournament qualification competition. In 1927, the first world championship was won by Joe Davis. The event's final took place in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England. Since 1977, the event has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Ronnie O'Sullivan had won the 2004 championship by defeating Scotland's Graeme Dott in the final 18–8. This was the second time O'Sullivan had won the world championship, the first being in 2001. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC.

Format

The 2005 World Snooker Championship took place from 16 April to 2 May 2005 in Sheffield, England. It featured a 32-player main draw that was held at the Crucible Theatre, as well as a 70-player qualifying draw that was played at the Pontin's, Prestatyn Sands, from 6 February to 24 March. This was the 29th consecutive year that the tournament had been staged at the Crucible. The draw for the championships was held after qualifying on 28 March.

The top 16 players in the latest world rankings automatically qualified for the main draw as seeded players. Ronnie O'Sullivan was seeded first overall as the defending champion, and the remaining 15 seeds were allocated based on the latest world rankings. The number of frames required to win a match increased throughout the tournament. The first round consisted of best-of-19-frames matches, with the final match being played over a maximum of 35 frames. All 16 non-seeded spots in the main draw were filled with players from the qualifying rounds. The draw for the qualifying competition consisted of 70 players from the World Snooker Tour. Players were seeded by their world ranking, with 16 players added in rounds 2–5. Players who won round five qualified for the main draw.

Prize fund

There was a total prize fund of £1,121,800, with the winner receiving £250,000. In making a maximum break, Mark Williams earned a bonus of £147,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:

• Winner: £250,000
• Runner-up: £125,000
• Semi-finalists: £51,000
• Quarter-finalists: £26,000
• Last 16: £15,850
• Last 32: £12,000
• Last 48: £8,000
• Last 64: £5,000
• Televised stage highest break: £14,000
• Televised stage maximum break: £147,000
• Total: £1,121,800

Summary

First round

The first round was played 16–21 April as best-of-19-frames matches played over two . O'Sullivan lead the match after the first session, 5–4, but in the second session Maguire won five straight frames to go one frame from victory. Trailing 7–9, O'Sullivan won the next three frames with a break of 68 in the 19th frame to win 10–9. Mark Williams made his first career maximum break of 147 in a ranking tournament during his 10–1 first round win over Robert Milkins. Williams made the break in frame 11 to win the match. It was the sixth maximum break in all at the world championships.

Three players made their debut at the world championship through the qualifiers. The first debutant, Michael Holt, played eighth seed Paul Hunter. Hunter had recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer; the match against Holt being his first since the diagnosis. Hunter led the match at 5–4 after the first session but lost the first three frames of the second session. Later, trailing at 6–9 behind, he made a break of 120 in frame 16 and also won the next to trail 8–9. Holt, however, won frame 18 to win the match. The second debutant, Neil Robertson, lost to Stephen Hendry. Hendry held a 7–2 lead after the first session, but Robertson won four frames in a row, including a break of 110. Hendry, however, won the match 10–7 but commented his "attitude wasn't great" going into the second session, as he had a five frame lead. The final debutant, Mark Selby, lost to John Higgins. Higgins edged the first session of the match 5–4, but won five of the next six frames to win 10–5, including breaks of 138 and 136.

Sixteenth seed Marco Fu played Ali Carter in the first round, but was defeated 4–10. Stephen Lee defeated Maltese player Tony Drago 10–5 by capitalising on a 6–3 lead after the first session. Quinten Hann won only one frame in the opening session against Peter Ebdon. On the resumption of play, Ebdon won the second frame of the second session to win the match. Hann turned up to the event with a hangover and using a friend's . Chris Small had been struggling with the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis all season. He played against qualifier Shaun Murphy. Murphy took a 5–4 lead after the first session and won five of the next six to win the match 10–5. After the match, Small commented that he "may not be back" due to the spinal condition. Small retired from professional snooker shortly after the match.

World number six Matthew Stevens held a three frame lead over Andy Hicks after the first session. He increased his lead to 8–3 with a break of 105. Stevens won two additional frames to win the match 10–5. Alan McManus was ahead of Drew Henry 5–4 after the first session, but a 128 by Henry levelled the scores at 5–5. The pair were even for the remainder of the match, going to a at 9–9. McManus won frame 19 with a break of 63 to win the match 10–9. The previous year's runner up Graeme Dott played world number 17 Ian McCulloch. McCulloch lead 6–3 after the first session before a 111 break put him four frames ahead. McCulloch lead at 8–5, but Dott then won four frames to take the lead. McCulloch managed won the next two frames to win the match. He celebrated his victory wildly, even dancing a jig. Also in the first round, six-time winner Steve Davis defeated Gerard Greene, David Gray defeated by Anthony Hamilton, Jimmy White defeated Fergal O'Brien, and Ken Doherty defeated Barry Pinches.

Second round

The second round was played 21–25 April as best-of-25-frames matches held over three sessions. O'Sullivan led Carter 9–7 after the first two sessions, before winning all four frames of the final session to win 13–7. Despite the win, he stated he was "frustrated with [his] own game". Peter Ebdon trailed by four frames after the first session and lost two of the next three to trail 3–8. However, Ebdon won 10 of the next 11 frames to win the match 13–9. Shaun Murphy led 1998 champion John Higgins 9–7 after two sessions, then won the match 13–8 after a break of 108.

Steve Davis trailed debutant Michael Holt 2–6 and 8–10, but won five frames in a row to win 13–10. Seven-time winner Stephen Hendry took only two of the three available sessions to defeat world number 25 Anthony Hamilton 13–3. Hendry led 6–2 after the first session, then won seven of the eight frames in the second. Matthew Stevens held a 12–4 lead after two sessions against Jimmy White. Stevens won frame 18 in a 30-minute session to win 13–5. Alan McManus and Ken Doherty were tied 8–8 after two sessions. Doherty won the next two frames in session three, before McManus leveled the score at 10–10. Doherty lead again after winning frame 21, but McManus won the next two frames to lead 12–11. In frame 24, Doherty missed a , allowing McManus to win the match with a break of 81. Two-time champion Mark Williams led Ian McCulloch 5–3 after the first session. McCulloch won six frames in the next session, including two century breaks, to lead 9–7. At the start of the final session, Williams won four straight frames, then McCulloch equalled the scores at 11–11. McCulloch won frame 23, then Williams made a break of 84 to tie the match at 12–12. McCulloch won the .

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played on 26 and 27 April as best-of-25-frames matches over three sessions. O'Sullivan made two century breaks in the opening session to lead 6–2, then won the first two frames of the second session to lead 8–2. Ebdon won four of the next six frames to trail 6–10 going into the final session. Ebdon's slow, deliberate play in the final session made O'Sullivan lose concentration, leaving Ebdon to win 13–11. At one point during the match, Ebdon took five and a half minutes to make a break of 12, significantly longer than O'Sullivan's maximum break in 1997. During the match, Ebdon took over three minutes on one shot, with O'Sullivan asking an audience member what time it was.

Steve Davis reached his first quarter-final since 1996. He played qualifier Shaun Murphy. Murphy won seven of the first eight frames of the match, then led 12–4 after two sessions. He won the opening frame of the final session to win 13–4. After two sessions, the match was tied at 9–9, then Hendry won the next two frames before Stevens won four in a row to progress to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played 28–30 April as best-of-33-frames matches over four sessions. Ebdon made two century breaks in the first session to take a 6–2 lead in just 80 minutes, but Murphy levelled the match at 12–12 after three sessions. In the final session, Murphy won all five frames with breaks of 62, 47, 72, 60, and 123 to win the match 17–12. By winning, Murphy was only the fourth qualifier to reach the final.

Ian McCulloch and Matthew Stevens played the second semi-final. Stevens trailed 2–6 after the first session, but he leveled the match at 8–8 after the second session. The match was still tied at the end of the third session. In the final session, Stevens won frame 25 with a break of 50, but McCulloch won the next to tie the match at 13–13. Stevens won the next three frames, making a maximum break attempt in frame 27. McCulloch won the next frame, but Stevens won frame 31 to complete a 17–14 victory.

Final

The final between Shaun Murphy and Matthew Stevens was held 1–2 May 2005. and won the 2003 UK Championship. Before this event, Murphy had not reached a ranking event final. His best was reaching the semi-finals at the 2004 British Open, before losing 6–0 to John Higgins. Stevens led 10–6 after the second session and 12–11 at the end of the third session. However, Murphy defeated Stevens 18–16.

Murphy had 150–1 odds to win at the start of the tournament and became the first qualifier to win the tournament since Terry Griffiths in 1979. In winning the event he was the second youngest world champion after Stephen Hendry in 1990. Murphy made three century breaks during the final to Stevens' one, the highest of which was a 137.

Main draw

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks, while players in bold denote match winners. | team-width=175 Best of 19 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 33 frames Best of 35 frames |16 April|Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)|10|Stephen Maguire|9 |19 April|Marco Fu (16)|4|Ali Carter|10 |20 & 21 April|Stephen Lee (9)|10|Tony Drago|5 |20 April|Peter Ebdon (8)|10|Quinten Hann|2 |18 & 19 April|John Higgins (5)|10|Mark Selby|5 |17 & 18 April|Chris Small (12)|5|Shaun Murphy|10 |16 & 17 April|Steve Davis (13)|10|Gerard Greene|9 |17 & 18 April|Paul Hunter (4)|8|Michael Holt|10 |19 & 20 April|Stephen Hendry (3)|10|Neil Robertson|7 |16 & 17 April|David Gray (14)|8|Anthony Hamilton|10 |18 & 19 April|Jimmy White (11)|10|Fergal O'Brien|5 |16 & 17 April|Matthew Stevens (6)|10|Andy Hicks|5 |18 April|Ken Doherty (7)|10|Barry Pinches|5 |16 & 17 April|Alan McManus (10)|10|Drew Henry|9 |20 & 21 April|Graeme Dott (15)|9|Ian McCulloch|10 |19 & 20 April|Mark Williams (2)|10|Robert Milkins|1 |21, 22 & 23 April|England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)|13|England Ali Carter|7 |24 & 25 April|England Stephen Lee (9)|9|England Peter Ebdon (8)|13 |23, 24 & 25 April|Scotland John Higgins (5)|8|England Shaun Murphy|13 |22 & 23 April|England Steve Davis (13)|13|England Michael Holt|10 |21 & 22 April|Scotland Stephen Hendry (3)|13|England Anthony Hamilton|3 |23, 24 & 25 April|England Jimmy White (11)|5|Wales Matthew Stevens (6)|13 |22 & 23 April|Ireland Ken Doherty (7)|11|Scotland Alan McManus (10)|13 |24 & 25 April|England Ian McCulloch|13|Wales Mark Williams (2)|12 |26 & 27 April|England Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)|11|England Peter Ebdon (8)|13 |26 & 27 April|England Shaun Murphy|13|England Steve Davis (13)|4 |26 & 27 April|Scotland Stephen Hendry (3)|11|Wales Matthew Stevens (6)|13 |26 & 27 April|Scotland Alan McManus (10)|8|England Ian McCulloch|13 |28, 29 & 30 April|England Peter Ebdon (8)|12|England Shaun Murphy|17 |28, 29 & 30 April|Wales Matthew Stevens (6)|17|England Ian McCulloch|14

|1 & 2 May|England Shaun Murphy|18|Wales Matthew Stevens (6) | 16

|(Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 1 & 2 May 2005. Referee: Eirian Williams. |Shaun Murphy

|18–16 |Matthew Stevens (6)

|67–30, 0–98, 20–103, 68–55, 29–65, 22–61, 76–34, 46–56, 53–58, 38–70, 125–0, 79–6, 24–105, 5–86, 103–9, 58–68, 78–22, 84–11, 5–64, 80–60, 137–0, 64–57, 20–88, 131–1, 72–35, 0–95, 81–4, 68–37, 1–83, 85–35, 0–124, 1–71, 97–0, 83–28 |Century breaks: 4 (Murphy 3, Stevens 1)

Highest break by Murphy: 137

Highest break by Stevens: 124 |67–30, 0–98, 20–103, 68–55, 29–61, 22–65, 76–34, 46–56, 53–58, 38–70, 125–0, 79–6, 24–105, 5–86, 103–9, 58–68, 78–22, 84–11, 5–64, 80–60, 137–0, 64–57, 20–88, 131–1, 72–35, 0–95, 81–4, 68–37, 1–83, 85–35, 0–124, 1–71, 97–0, 83–28 |England Shaun Murphy wins the 2005 Embassy World Snooker Championship

Qualifying

The qualifying tournament featured 70 participants and was played from 23 February to 24 March 2005. The qualifiers consisted of five rounds, which were played at Pontin's, Prestatyn Sands, Wales. The first four qualifying rounds were played from 23 February to 1 March 2005, while the final round was played 23–24 March 2005. Of the 70 participants, 16 players qualified for the main draw, with players seeded by their world rankings. The 1991 champion John Parrott failed to qualify for the first time in his career, losing to Fergal O'Brien 8–10 in the final qualifying round.

Round 1

Stuart Mann 10–8 Liu Song

Justin Astley 10–9 Steve James

Hugh Abernethy 10–6 Matthew Selt

Ben Woollaston 10–6 Mark Joyce

Lee Spick 10–5 David Gilbert

Craig Steadman 10–9 Kurt Maflin

Rounds 2–5 (Best of 19 frames) (Best of 19 frames) (Best of 19 frames) (Best of 19 frames)

| RD1-team01= IRL Joe Delaney| RD1-score01= 10 | RD1-team02= IRL David McDonnell | RD1-score02= 8 | RD2-team01= ENG Sean Storey | RD2-score01= 2 | RD2-team02= IRL Joe Delaney | RD2-score02= 10 | RD3-team01= IRL Fergal O'Brien | RD3-score01= 10 | RD3-team02= IRL Joe Delaney | RD3-score02= 3 | RD4-team01= ENG John Parrott | RD4-score01= 8 | RD4-team02= IRL Fergal O'Brien | RD4-score02= 10 | RD1-team03= ENG Adam Davies | RD1-score03= 10 | RD1-team04= ENG Mike Hallett | RD1-score04= 5 | RD2-team03= ENG Rod Lawler | RD2-score03= 10 | RD2-team04= ENG Adam Davies | RD2-score04= 5 | RD3-team03= ENG Nigel Bond | RD3-score03= 10 | RD3-team04= ENG Rod Lawler | RD3-score04= 7 | RD4-team03= MLT Tony Drago | RD4-score03= 10 | RD4-team04= ENG Nigel Bond | RD4-score04= 4 | RD1-team05= ENG Stuart Mann | RD1-score05= w/o | RD1-team06= ENG Craig Butler | RD1-score06= | RD2-team05= AUS Neil Robertson | RD2-score05= 10 | RD2-team06= ENG Stuart Mann | RD2-score06= 6 | RD3-team05= ENG Nick Dyson | RD3-score05= 8 | RD3-team06= AUS Neil Robertson | RD3-score06= 10 | RD4-team05= ENG Mark King | RD4-score05= 9 | RD4-team06= AUS Neil Robertson | RD4-score06= 10 | RD1-team07= ENG Alfie Burden | RD1-score07= 10 | RD1-team08= CHN Jin Long | RD1-score08= 3 | RD2-team07= ENG Jimmy Michie | RD2-score07= 3 | RD2-team08= ENG Alfie Burden | RD2-score08= 10 | RD3-team07= ENG Dave Harold | RD3-score07= 10 | RD3-team08= ENG Alfie Burden | RD3-score08= 5 | RD4-team07= ENG Barry Pinches | RD4-score07= 10 | RD4-team08= ENG Dave Harold | RD4-score08= 6 | RD1-team09= ENG Paul Wykes | RD1-score09= 10 | RD1-team10= NED Stefan Mazrocis | RD1-score10= 9 | RD2-team09= ENG Gary Wilkinson | RD2-score09= 9 | RD2-team10= ENG Paul Wykes | RD2-score10= 10 | RD3-team09= FIN Robin Hull | RD3-score09= 9 | RD3-team10= ENG Paul Wykes | RD3-score10= 10 | RD4-team09= SCO Drew Henry | RD4-score09= 10 | RD4-team10= ENG Paul Wykes | RD4-score10= 6 | RD1-team11= ENG Tom Ford | RD1-score11= 10 | RD1-team12= ENG Justin Astley | RD1-score12= 6 | RD2-team11= ENG Mike Dunn | RD2-score11= 10 | RD2-team12= ENG Tom Ford | RD2-score12= 6 | RD3-team11= ENG Mark Selby | RD3-score11= 10 | RD3-team12= ENG Mike Dunn | RD3-score12= 2 | RD4-team11= ENG Joe Perry | RD4-score11= 2 | RD4-team12= ENG Mark Selby | RD4-score12= 10 | RD1-team13= PAK Shokat Ali | RD1-score13= 10 | RD1-team14= SCO Hugh Abernethy | RD1-score14= 6 | RD2-team13= ENG David Roe | RD2-score13= 6 | RD2-team14= PAK Shokat Ali | RD2-score14= 10 | RD3-team13= IRL Michael Judge | RD3-score13= 7 | RD3-team14= PAK Shokat Ali | RD3-score14= 10 | RD4-team13= AUS Quinten Hann | RD4-score13= 10 | RD4-team14= PAK Shokat Ali | RD4-score14= 5 | RD1-team15= SCO Scott MacKenzie | RD1-score15= 10 | RD1-team16= ENG Joe Jogia | RD1-score16= 3 | RD2-team15= WAL Anthony Davies | RD2-score15= 7 | RD2-team16= SCO Scott MacKenzie | RD2-score16= 10 | RD3-team15= WAL Ryan Day | RD3-score15= 10 | RD3-team16= SCO Scott MacKenzie | RD3-score16= 5 | RD4-team15= SCO Stephen Maguire | RD4-score15= 10 | RD4-team16= WAL Ryan Day | RD4-score16= 5 | RD1-team17= IRL Leo Fernandez | RD1-score17= 10 | RD1-team18= ENG Paul Davison | RD1-score18= 7 | RD2-team17= ENG Rory McLeod | RD2-score17= 10 | RD2-team18= IRL Leo Fernandez | RD2-score18= 7 | RD3-team17= THA James Wattana | RD3-score17= 10 | RD3-team18= ENG Rory McLeod | RD3-score18= 8 | RD4-team17= ENG Ali Carter | RD4-score17= 10 | RD4-team18= THA James Wattana | RD4-score18= 0 | RD1-team19= WAL Darren Morgan | RD1-score19= 10 | RD1-team20= ENG Ben Woollaston | RD1-score20= 9 | RD2-team19= SCO Jamie Burnett | RD2-score19= 5 | RD2-team20= WAL Darren Morgan | RD2-score20= 10 | RD3-team19= NIR Patrick Wallace | RD3-score19= 6 | RD3-team20= WAL Darren Morgan | RD3-score20= 10 | RD4-team19= ENG Anthony Hamilton | RD4-score19= 10 | RD4-team20= WAL Darren Morgan | RD4-score20= 2 | RD1-team21= ENG Lee Spick | RD1-score21= 10 | RD1-team22= CHN Ding Junhui | RD1-score22= 7 | RD2-team21= BEL Bjorn Haneveer | RD2-score21= 7 | RD2-team22= ENG Lee Spick | RD2-score22= 10 | RD3-team21= ENG Stuart Bingham | RD3-score21= 10 | RD3-team22= ENG Lee Spick | RD3-score22= 2 | RD4-team21= ENG Michael Holt | RD4-score21= 10 | RD4-team22= ENG Stuart Bingham | RD4-score22= 8 | RD1-team23= ENG Paul Davies | RD1-score23= 10 | RD1-team24= NIR Sean O'Neill | RD1-score24= 1 | RD2-team23= ENG Nick Walker | RD2-score23= 5 | RD2-team24= ENG Paul Davies | RD2-score24= 10 | RD3-team23= ENG Brian Morgan | RD3-score23= 8 | RD3-team24= ENG Paul Davies | RD3-score24= 10 | RD4-team23= NIR Gerard Greene | RD4-score23= 10 | RD4-team24= ENG Paul Davies | RD4-score24= 5 | RD1-team25= ENG Andrew Norman | RD1-score25= 10 | RD1-team26= ENG Craig Steadman | RD1-score26= 4 | RD2-team25= SCO Marcus Campbell | RD2-score25= 10 | RD2-team26= ENG Andrew Norman | RD2-score26= 7 | RD3-team25= ENG Shaun Murphy | RD3-score25= 10 | RD3-team26= SCO Marcus Campbell | RD3-score26= 3 | RD4-team25= NIR Joe Swail | RD4-score25= 8 | RD4-team26= ENG Shaun Murphy | RD4-score26= 10 | RD1-team27= ENG Brian Salmon | RD1-score27 = w/o | RD1-team28= ENG David Hall | RD1-score28= | RD2-team27= ENG Adrian Gunnell | RD2-score27= 10 | RD2-team28= ENG Brian Salmon | RD2-score28= 3 | RD3-team27= ENG Stuart Pettman | RD3-score27= 4 | RD3-team28= ENG Adrian Gunnell | RD3-score28= 10 | RD4-team27= ENG Robert Milkins | RD4-score27= 10 | RD4-team28= ENG Adrian Gunnell | RD4-score28= 3 | RD1-team29= ENGSimon Bedford | RD1-score29= 10 | RD1-team30= IRL Rodney Goggins | RD1-score30= 2 | RD2-team29= ENG Andy Hicks | RD2-score29= 10 | RD2-team30= ENG Simon Bedford | RD2-score30= 7 | RD3-team29= ENG Mark Davis | RD3-score29= 5 | RD3-team30= ENG Andy Hicks | RD3-score30= 10 | RD4-team29= WAL Dominic Dale | RD4-score29= 5 | RD4-team30= ENG Andy Hicks | RD4-score30= 10 | RD1-team31= ENG Ricky Walden | RD1-score31= 10 | RD1-team32= ENG Gary Wilson | RD1-score32= 7 | RD2-team31= WAL Lee Walker | RD2-score31= 0 | RD2-team32= ENG Ricky Walden | RD2-score32= 10 | RD3-team31= ENG Barry Hawkins | RD3-score31= 9 | RD3-team32= ENG Ricky Walden | RD3-score32= 10 | RD4-team31= ENG Ian McCulloch | RD4-score31= 10 | RD4-team32= ENG Ricky Walden | RD4-score32= 9

Century breaks

There were 63 centuries in the 2005 World Snooker Championship. The highest was a maximum break made by Williams in the 11th frame in his first round win over Robert Milkins.

• 147, 133, 102 Mark Williams
• 138, 114, 108, 103 Stephen Hendry
• 138, 136, 106 John Higgins
• 138, 137, 132, 129, 125, 123, 121, 111, 108, 107, 100 Shaun Murphy
• 137, 125, 115, 101 Ronnie O'Sullivan
• 135 Mark Selby
• 129, 124, 121, 106, 105 Matthew Stevens
• 128 Drew Henry
• 127, 124, 122, 111, 108, 108, 100 Ian McCulloch
• 126, 108, 103 Stephen Lee
• 124 Chris Small
• 120 Graeme Dott
• 120, 115 Paul Hunter
• 118, 114, 110 Steve Davis
• 115, 105 Peter Ebdon
• 114, 103 Michael Holt
• 110 Neil Robertson
• 109, 101 Ken Doherty
• 107, 104, 103 Alan McManus
• 105 Andy Hicks
• 102 Stephen Maguire
• 102 Barry Pinches
• 101 Anthony Hamilton

References

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