Friday 2 January 2009

Davis and Hendry through in Grand Prix

Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis both made the second round of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Glasgow after surviving final frame deciders.

Hendry began well against England's Dave Gilbert with breaks of 69 and 70 to grab a 2-0 lead, but it was level at the interval after a 123 Gilbert break.

A 98 from the Scot and a break of 88 from Gilbert took it to the ninth, with Hendry just edging it to win 5-4.

Davis, three-times Grand Prix winner, overcame Australia's Neil Robertson.

The Englishman needed just over four hours to progress, with neither player in top form at the start.

Robertson's 75 was the only break over 50 before the players finished 2-2 at the interval level.

Davis showed nerves of steel in the fifth to clear the colours and win the frame after a re-spotted black.

They traded frames before Robertson forced it to a final frame decider with a break of 80 in the eighth.

Davis claimed a nervy last frame to make the random draw that takes place on Tuesday.

"That's a big scalp for me", Davis said. "I was like granite out there, I had to be because neither of us played great.

"It was a tough one. I found the table to be very quick, I found it hard to control the cue ball.

"It was like skating on ice. Neil wasn't at his best, but I had to keep it tight. It's a very good win for me."

Hendry was also delighted to come through a desperately close encounter.

"I'm very relieved to get my first win of the season," he said. "I've had a slow start to the season and, when you're not getting the wins, panic starts to set in a little bit.

"I was just thankful David gave me the chance in the last frame - he left me a pot on a blue ball over a corner pocket. I was delighted to get through."

In the first match of the evening, Marco Fu saw off England's Jimmy Michie 5-2.

Fu, who is defending his title, fought back from being 2-0 down and continued to play magnificently after the interval.

The Hong Kong star made breaks of 139, 77 and 94 to knock off the final three frames.

England's Michael Holt had little trouble seeing off Mark Allen of Northern Ireland, 5-1, and Ryan Day beat Ricky Walden 5-4 in Sunday's final match.

Walden beat Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the Shanghai Masters earlier this month but could not repeat that form.

"I've tried my best to prepare the last few days, but it's been hard because I've still been buzzing from winning in Shanghai," said Walden.

"I had a chance in the last frame, but I didn't take it. Fair play to Ryan, he played well and deserved to win. He's a top player."

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Snooker History

The game is generally regarded to have originated in the latter half of the 19th century. Billiards had been a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India, and variations on the more traditional billiard games were devised.

One variation, devised in the officers' mess in Jabalpur during 1874 or 1875, was to add coloured balls in addition to the reds and black which were used for pyramid pool and life pool. The word snooker also has military origins, being a slang term for first-year cadets or inexperienced personnel.

One version of events states that Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain of the Devonshire regiment was playing this new game when his opponent failed to pot a ball and Chamberlain called him a snooker. It thus became attached to the billiards game now bearing its name as inexperienced players were labelled as snookers.

The game of snooker grew in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. By 1927, the first World Snooker Championship had been organised by Joe Davis. As a professional English billiards and snooker player, he moved the game from a pastime activity into a more professional sphere.

Joe Davis won every world championship until 1946 when he retired. The game went into a decline through the 1950s and 1960s with little interest generated outside of those who played. Things saw some improvement when in 1969, when

David Attenborough who was then a top official of the BBC, commissioned the snooker tournament Pot Black to demonstrate the potential of colour television, with the green table and multi-coloured balls being ideal for showing off the advantages of colour broadcasting.

The TV series became a ratings success and was for a time the second most popular show on BBC Two. Interest in the game increased and the 1978 World Championship was the first to be fully televised. The game quickly became a mainstream sport in the UK, Ireland and much of the Commonwealth and has enjoyed much success in the last 30 years, with most of the ranking tournaments being televised.

In 1985 a total of 18.5 million viewers watched the concluding frame of the world championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.

Ronnie O'Sullivan wins The Masters 2009.

World Snooker Champions

World Snooker Champion 1977 - John Spencer
World Snooker Champion 1978 - Ray Reardon
World Snooker Champion 1979 - Terry Griffiths
World Snooker Champion 1980 - Cliff Thorburn
World Snooker Champion 1981 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1982 - Alex Higgins
World Snooker Champion 1983 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1984 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1985 - Dennis Taylor
World Snooker Champion 1986 - Joe Johnson
World Snooker Champion 1987 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1988 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1989 - Steve Davis
World Snooker Champion 1990 - Stephen Hendry
World Snooker Champion 1991 - John Parrott
World Snooker Champion 1992 to 1996 - Stephen Hendry
World Snooker Champion 1997 - Ken Doherty
World Snooker Champion 1998 - John Higgins
World Snooker Champion 1999 - Stephen Hendry
World Snooker Champion 2000 - Mark Williams
World Snooker Champion 2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
World Snooker Champion 2002 - Peter Ebdon
World Snooker Champion 2003 - Mark Williams
World Snooker Champion 2004 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
World Snooker Champion 2005 - Shaun Murphy
World Snooker Champion 2006 - Graeme Dott
World Snooker Champion 2007 - John Higgins
World Snooker Champion 2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
World Snooker Champion 2009 - John Higgins
World Snooker Champion 2010 - Neil Robertson
World Snooker Champion 2011 - John Higgins
World Snooker Champion 2012 - Ronnie O'Sullivan