|
1997 Masters (snooker)
The 1997 Masters (officially the 1997 Benson & Hedges Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 9 February 1997 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. Steve Davis won his third Masters title, nine years after his last win in 1988, by defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. O'Sullivan, who was playing in his third consecutive Masters final, took an 8–4 lead before Davis came back to win six successive frames and clinch the title with a 10–8 victory. The final was notable for featuring snooker's first ever streaker, 22-year-old secretary Lianne Crofts, who invaded the playing area at the beginning of the third frame. After stewards removed her from the arena, O'Sullivan amused the crowd by comically wiping the brow of veteran referee John Street, who was refereeing his final match of his career. The wild-card players included Paul Hunter, who would later go on to win 3 Masters titles in 4 years between 2001 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benson & Hedges
Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the ''Benson & Hedges'' name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British American Tobacco, or Japan Tobacco, depending on the region. In the UK, they are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and were manufactured in Lisnafillan, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, before production was moved to Eastern Europe in 2017. They are predominantly made from Virginia tobacco. In some countries where Philip Morris does not hold the Benson & Hedges trademark, such as the Philippines, a variant of the North American Benson & Hedges cigarette brand is sold under the "Philip Morris" brand using similar packaging. History Benson & Hedges was founded in London in 1873 by Richard Benson and William Hedges as Benson and Hedges Ltd. Alfred Paget Hedges succeeded his father in the business in 1885, the same year which Richard Ben ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990 aged 21 years and 106 days, superseding Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. From 1990 to 1999, he won seven world titles, setting a modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. Hendry also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 21. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 39, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darren Morgan
Darren Morgan (born 3 May 1966) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who now competes as an amateur. Morgan won the World Amateur Championship in 1987 and played on the professional main tour from 1988 until 2006. He earned just over £1 million in prize money, reached a high ranking of eight, and was ranked within the top 16 for six years despite never winning a ranking event. He compiled 111 in his career. Career Morgan was born in Newport, South Wales. His best achievements as a professional were to win the Irish Masters in 1996, beating Steve Davis 9–8 in the final, and he captained Wales to victory in the 1999 Nations Cup. He was also a semi-finalist in the 1994 World Championship, beating Mark King 10–5, Willie Thorne 13–12 and John Parrott 13–11 before losing to Jimmy White 9–16. He was also a quarter-finalist on three occasions, beating Ken Doherty and Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1996 and 1997 respectively at the Crucible. When he beat O'Sull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addition to his world snooker championship, Ebdon won a second Triple Crown event at the 2006 UK Championship. After winning the 1990 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship, Ebdon turned professional, making his debut at the World Snooker Championship the following year. He won his first professional event at the 1993 Grand Prix and reached the elite top 16 players in the world rankings in 1995. He reached his first World Championship final in 1996, where he lost to Stephen Hendry, however, he reached the final again in 2002 World Snooker Championship, defeating Hendry 18–17. He reached a third World Championship final in 2006, losing to Graeme Dott. Ebdon continued in the top 16 until 2011, reaching the last of his 18 ranking event fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy White
James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 Six-red World champion, 3 time World Seniors Champion ( 2010, 2019, 2020), 2019 Seniors 6-Red World Champion and 1984 World Doubles champion with Alex Higgins. White has won two of snooker's three majors: the UK Championship (in 1992) and the Masters (in 1984) and a total of ten ranking events. He is currently tenth on the all-time list of ranking event winners. He reached six World Championship finals but never won the event; the closest he came was in 1994 when he lost in a final frame decider against Stephen Hendry. He spent 21 seasons ranked in snooker's elite top 16. In team events, he won the Nations Cup and the World Cup with England. He is one of a select number of players to have made over 300 century breaks in professio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Parrott
John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for fourteen consecutive seasons. He reached the final of the 1989 World Championship, where he lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest defeat in a world championship final in modern times. He won the title two years later, defeating Jimmy White in the final of the 1991 World Championship. He repeated his win against White later the same year, to take the 1991 UK Championship title, becoming only the third player to win both championships in the same calendar year (after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry); he is still one of only six players to have achieved this feat. He spent three seasons at number 2 in the world rankings ( 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94), and he is one of several players to have ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Wattana
James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm'', then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm'' in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker player. A professional between 1989 and 2008, and from 2009 to 2020, Wattana reached his highest ranking position – world number 3 – for the 1994–95 season. He has won three ranking tournaments, the 1992 Strachan Open and the Thailand Open in 1994 and 1995, and has finished as the runner-up in a further five ranking events. He twice reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, in 1993 and 1997. When he was defeated in the semi-finals in 1993 by Jimmy White, it was only Wattana's second appearance in the final televised stages at the Crucible Theatre, his first being the previous year when he lost in the second round to the eventual winner Stephen Hendry. Having received two year invitational tour cards in 2014, 2016 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 season. He reached the final of the World Championship in 1995, where he lost 9–18 to Stephen Hendry. He won the 1996 British Open, defeating John Higgins 9–8. Having reached three other ranking tournament finals, Bond won the 2011 Snooker Shoot-Out and, in 2012, defeated Tony Chappel to win the World Seniors Championship. He fell off the tour following his loss to Lukas Kleckers in the first qualifying round for the World Championship in 2022, and subsequently announced his retirement. Career Bond was born in Darley Dale, Derbyshire. After a strong amateur career, Bond turned professional for the 1989–1990 season. He reached his first ranking semi-final in his first season, and his first final in his second season, but his career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Harold
David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of potting snooker balls). He was also the first player on the television circuit to sport a plaster on his chin as a guide for his cue, which is a practice now adopted by Graeme Dott. As an amateur he played as David Harold, but after turning professional in 1991 he was registered as Dave Harold. He won one ranking title, reached two further finals and several semi-finals, and spent four seasons ranked among the top 16. Harold was renowned for both his very strong defensive play and his unusual cue-action, with which he is able to unleash a great deal of power on a shot without using backswing on the cue. Despite safety play ultimately being considered his strong point, he compiled 143 century breaks. Steve Davis has commented that he is no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Williams (snooker Player)
Mark James Williams (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003 and 2018. Often noted for his single-ball long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname "The Welsh Potting Machine". Williams turned professional in 1992 and has been ranked the world number one player three times ( 1999–00, 2000–01 and 2002–03). His most successful season to date was 2002–03, when he won the Triple Crown: the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. In doing so, he became only the third player, after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. He is the first player (and to date, the only player) to win all three versions of the professional World Championship: the World Snooker Championship, the Six-red World Championship and the World Seniors Championship. The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 24 ranking to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Drago
Tony Drago (born 22 September 1965) is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player. Known for his speed around the table, during his snooker career he won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 Guangzhou Masters. He later switched his focus to pool and won the 2003 World Pool Masters beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and the 2008 Predator International 10-ball Championship beating Francisco Bustamante 13–10. Snooker career Drago's highest snooker world rankings position was number ten (in 1998). He has reached two major finals – the 1991 World Masters (losing to Jimmy White), and the 1997 International Open (beaten by Stephen Hendry—Drago's only ranking event final, and his first run past the quarter-finals of any ranking event). He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship in 1988. He has appeared in the tournament 11 further times, most recently in 2004/2005, with five further last-sixteen runs. He lost to Matthew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Morgan (snooker Player)
Brian Morgan (born 16 July 1968) is an English professional snooker player and coach. He is a former World Under-21 champion, and was among the top 32 players in the professional world rankings for several years. Career He reached the last 16 of the 1994 World Championship. He also qualified for the tournament in 1993, 1995 and 1997. In 1996 he reached the final of the Asian Classic, beating Stephen Hendry before suffering a narrow 9–8 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He made a 146 break in this tournament. In the same year he won the Benson & Hedges Championship, which entitled its winner to a wild card place in the Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj .... He beat Hendry again in the 2000 Grand Prix, in which he reached the quarter-finals, and reached the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_2013-01-30_04.jpg "Click for more on -> Nigel Bond")
_2013-01-31_02.jpg "Click for more on -> Dave Harold")
