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1998 Grand Prix (snooker)
The 1998 Skoda Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 14–25 October 1998 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. Dominic Dale was the defending champion, but he lost his last 64 match against Robin Hull. Stephen Lee and Marco Fu both contested a ranking tournament final for the first time in their careers, Fu in his first tournament as a professional being ranked 377 at the time of his final appearance; the lowest ranked finalist at any ranking event. Lee prevailed 9–2 to claim his first ranking title. Tournament summary Defending champion Dominic Dale was the number 1 seed with World Champion John Higgins seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: *Winner: £60,000 *Runner-up: £32,000 *Semi-final: £16,000 *Quarter-final: £9,100 *Last 16: £4,600 *Last 32: £2,600 *Last 64: £2,225 *Stage one highest break: � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto a.s. (), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1925 as the successor to Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Škoda Works became state owned in 1948. After 1991, it was gradually privatized to the German Volkswagen Group, becoming a subsidiary in 1994 and since 2000 a wholly owned subsidiary. Škoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries and in 2018, total global sales reached 1.25 million units, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year. The operating profit was €1.6 billion in 2017, an increase of 34.6% over the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second highest of all Volkswagen AG brands after Porsche. History The Škoda Works were established as an arms manufacturer in 1859. ŠKODA AUTO (and its predecessor Laurin & Klement) is the fifth-oldest company producing cars, and has an unbroken history alongside Daimler, Opel, Peugeot, and Tatra. Laurin & K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 World Snooker Championship
The 1998 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1998 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1998 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. John Higgins won his first World title by defeating defending champion Ken Doherty 18–12 in the final. Doherty became another World Champion who fell to the Crucible curse and could not defend his first World title. However, Doherty has come closer than any other first-time champion bar Joe Johnson to retaining his championship. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy. Tournament summary * Stephen Hendry lost in the first round 4–10 to Jimmy White. It was the first time since his debut in 1986 that he lost in the last 32 and it was also the first quarter-final stage not to feature Hendry since 1988. * Simon Bedford, David Gray, Quinten Hann, Matthew Stevens, Terry Murph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Small
Christopher Small (born 26 September 1973) is a retired Scottish professional snooker player and now a qualified snooker coach. His playing career was ended by the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis. Career At age 15, Small was the number 1 under-19 player in Scotland. He turned professional the following year. In 1992, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship, defeating Alan McManus in the final, and in 1995 he reached the Semi-finals of the Welsh Open, and was again a semi-finalist at the 1998 Grand Prix event. His greatest achievement was winning the 2002 LG Cup, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins, before a 9–5 win over Alan McManus in the final. This followed a season in which he won only three matches, owing to the severity of his medical condition. He reached the quarter-finals of the LG Cup in the following season. The 2003/2004 season ended with him having to pull out of a World Championship match against Alan McManus while trailing 1–7, as the regu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Michie
Jimmy Michie (pronounced "Mickey"; born 4 August 1971) is an English former professional snooker player from Pontefract, Yorkshire, and a two-time WPBSA ranking tournament semi-finalist, who has also reached the World Snooker Championship. Michie has been described as "charismatic" by the snooker press. Career In the 2006/2007 season Michie was ranked only 61, for the first of two successive seasons, having failed to do better than the last-48 (third round) in ranking tournaments, although he did get that far twice that season. In the Northern Ireland Trophy, after having beaten Ben Woollaston and six-time World Champion runner-up Jimmy White, he lost 4–5 to James Wattana, and he fell in the Malta Cup to Stuart Bingham, 3–5. Michie has placed as high as no. 55 twice, in both the 2002/2003 and 2004/2005 seasons. His first ranking semi-final (fifth-round) performance was earned, at the 1999 British Open by defeating Tony Drago, Marcus Campbell, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hunter
Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on all three occasions. He also won three ranking events: the Welsh Open in 1998 and 2002, and the British Open in 2002. During the 2004–05 snooker season, he attained a career-high ranking of number four in the world. In March 2005, Hunter was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours, but continued to play for several months afterwards. He died shortly before his 28th birthday in October 2006. In his memory, a tournament in Fürth, Germany, was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic and, in April 2016, the Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy. A prolific break-builder, he made 114 century breaks, the highest being a 146 in the 2004 Premier League. Early life Hunter was born on 14 October 1978 in Leeds, England, and was educated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leigh Griffin
Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffordshire * Leigh, Surrey * Leigh, Wiltshire * Leigh, Worcestershire * Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset (also known as Leigh upon Mendip) * Leigh Delamere, Wiltshire * Leigh Green, Kent * Leigh Park, Hampshire * Leigh Sinton, Worcestershire * Leigh Woods, Somerset * Abbots Leigh, Somerset * East Leigh, Devon * Little Leigh, Cheshire * Little Leighs, Essex * North Leigh, Oxfordshire Elsewhere * Leigh, County Tipperary, Ireland * Leigh, Nebraska, United States * Leigh, New South Wales, in Bellingen Shire, Australia * Leigh, New Zealand * Leigh, Texas, United States, the location of historic site Mimosa Hall * Leigh Canyon and Leigh Lake, Wyoming, United States * Leigh River (Victoria), Australia Other uses * Leigh (name), a surname a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Hamilton (snooker Player)
Anthony Stephen Hamilton (born 29 June 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's elite Top 16 and fifteen in the Top 32, reaching a career-high of number ten in the world in the 1999/2000 season. Hamilton is a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist, a Masters semi-finalist and compiler of more than 300 competitive century breaks during his long career. He won his first ranking title in 2017, beating Ali Carter 9–6 in the final of the German Masters, doing so at the age of 45. Career 1991–2000 Hamilton turned professional in 1991, entering the world's top 32 in 1995/1996. Hamilton has reached two ranking tournament finals. In the British Open in 1999, where he lost to Fergal O'Brien, Hamilton opened with two centuries, but O'Brien won five frames on the final black to defeat the Nottingham man. The other was the 2001 China Open. Mark Williams beat him 9–8, despite Hamilton having led 8–5. He made the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Wallace
Patrick Wallace (born 20 September 1969) is a former professional snooker player from Dungannon in Northern Ireland. During his career, which lasted seventeen years from 1994 to 2011, he won two non-ranking titles, and notably was a quarter-finalist in the 2001 World Championship. He attained his highest world ranking, 34th, for the 2001–02 season, but dropped off the main tour several times, latterly in 2011; thereafter, he retired from professional snooker and resumed his career at amateur level, where he remains one of Northern Ireland's top players. Career Professional Wallace turned professional in 1994, and in his first season reached the last 32 of the Benson & Hedges Championship, where he lost 1–5 to Rod Lawler. He won four qualifying round matches to appear in the last 128 at the 1995 International Open, but there his progress was halted by a 2–5 defeat to Yasin Merchant of India. In his second season on the main tour, he improved his personal best perfo ... [...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 ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve James (snooker Player)
Stephen James (born 2 May 1961)White, Jason (2002) "Steve James: Crucible or bust for James; Last act beckons in great entertainer's compelling snooker tale", '' Sports Argus'', 26 January 2002, (confirms May 1961) is an English retired professional snooker player. Career A former postman, the high point of his career was his sole ranking title – the Classic in 1990, beating Australian Warren King 10–6 in the final. His world ranking peaked at number seven the following season, the best of his five seasons in the top sixteen."Booze nightmare for snooker star who blew fortune", ''Sunday Mercury'', 28 June 1998 On 14 April 1990, in his match against Alex Higgins at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, James became the first player to produce a 16-red total clearance in competitive play. In other words, he potted 16 reds and 16 colours consecutively, followed by all the coloured balls in order: a situation that was only possible because he was awarded a free ball bef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reaching his career best ranking, 27th, in 1999. He appeared in one major final, at the 2010 Shanghai Masters, where he lost 10–7 to Ali Carter, and reached the final of one minor-ranking event, the 2012 Gdynia Open, where Neil Robertson beat him 4–3. Career Burnett made his mark in the 1997 German Open by reaching the quarter finals and equalled his best run the following year in the 1998 Grand Prix. In a 1997–98 season dominated by Stephen Hendry, Burnett claimed two victories over the world number one as well as recorded victories over Stephen Lee and Mark Williams. He made his first appearance in the final stages of the World Championship in 1996, when he led Terry Griffiths 5–0 and 9–5 before losing 9–10. His second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Couch
Matthew Couch (born 30 June 1974) is an English former professional snooker player. Career During a professional career lasting from 1992 to 2012, Couch had little success in ranking events, although he reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in 1998, and his highest break is 141 from 2002. He returned to the Main Tour for the 2008/2009 season, and survived due to a fine run in the World Championship qualifiers, including a 10–3 victory over former champion John Parrott. In October 2010, Couch had one of his best results to date, reaching the final of the 2010 Brugge Open, where he lost 4–2 against former World Champion Shaun Murphy. He dropped off the snooker tour at the end of the 2011–12 season. Personal life Couch is also an official World Snooker coach, and currently resides in Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main adm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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