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2006 Masters (snooker)
The 2006 Masters (officially the 2006 SAGA Insurance Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 15 to 22 January 2006 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. It was the 32nd edition of the tournament, and the last time that the tournament was held at this venue. The tournament was part of the 2005/2006 season. John Higgins won his 2nd Masters title by defeating defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–9 in a reverse of last year's final. Field Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion Shaun Murphy seeded 2. Places were allocated to the leading players in the world rankings. With Murphy having a ranking of 21, Ian McCulloch, ranked 16, was not an automatic invitation. Players seeded 15 and 16 played in the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event, Stuart Bingham (ranked 37), and McCulloch, who was the wild-card selection. Stuart Bingham and Ian McCulloch were making their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga Plc
Saga is a British company focused on serving the needs of those aged 50 and over. It has 2.7 million customers. The company operates sites on the Kent and Sussex coast: Enbrook Park and Priory Square. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The business was founded by Sidney De Haan in 1951 and was passed to his son Roger De Haan who took over in 1984 after his father's retirement. Saga was acquired by staff (20%) backed by the private equity firm Charterhouse in October 2004. Saga merged with The AA (owned by CVC and Permira) to form Acromas Holdings. In July 2011, Saga acquired Allied Healthcare. On 31 January 2015, it wrote it down to zero, and then sold it, at a small net profit, to Aurelius Group in December 2015. In May 2014, Saga Group Ltd was successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange as Saga PLC. Also in 2014, Saga acquired Bolton based luxury holiday company, Destinology. In January 2020, Saga appointed Euan Sutherland as CEO of the Saga Group. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian McCulloch (snooker Player)
Ian McCulloch (born 28 July 1971) is an English former professional snooker player from Walton-Le-Dale, Preston, Lancashire. He is known for his ability to grind opponents down through protracted safety exchanges and disjointed breakbuilding. He compiled 105 century breaks in his career. Career McCulloch turned professional in 1992, and after steadily climbing up the rankings for many years, he reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time in the 1999 Welsh Open. He also made his debut in the Crucible stages of the 1999 World Championship. Like Barry Pinches he entered his best form in his early 30s. He reached two ranking event finals – the 2002 British Open (losing to Paul Hunter) and the 2004 Grand Prix in his home town (losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan). He beat David Gray to qualify for the 2003 World Championship in a clash between players who share their names with musicians, and went on to reach the quarter finals in 2004. He went one stage fur ... [...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] |
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Dubai Classic and the 1996 Thailand Open, and competed in the World Championship semi-finals in 1992, 1993 and 2016. He also won the 1994 Masters, ending Stephen Hendry's five-year, 23-match unbeaten streak at the tournament with a 9–8 victory in the final. McManus announced his retirement on 9 April 2021 after losing 6–3 to Bai Langning in the second qualifying round of the 2021 World Snooker Championship. Career Top 16 career and Masters winner McManus has long been considered a consistently good player, having a record of fourteen consecutive seasons in the Top 16, but never managed to achieve the success of his contemporaries Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams. He was ranked in the Top 1 ... [...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] |
Stephen Lee (snooker Player)
Stephen Lee (born 12 October 1974) is an English former professional snooker player who is currently serving a 12-year ban from the sport. He turned professional in 1992, reached a career-high of fifth in the snooker world rankings for the 2000–01 season, and won five ranking titles. His best performances in Triple Crown events were reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Championship, where he lost to eventual champion Mark Williams, and reaching the final of the 2008 Masters, where he was runner-up to Mark Selby. He compiled 184 century breaks in professional competition and was noted for his smooth cue action. West Midlands police arrested Lee in February 2010, following an investigation into suspicious betting patterns at the 2009 UK Championship, but no further action was taken against him at that time. Following reports of irregular betting patterns on a 2012 Premier League match between Lee and John Higgins on 11 October 2012, the World Professional Billiards a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in 1998 after winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship. He was in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings for 11 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2016, twice reaching world no. 2. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled more than 450 century breaks, including three maximums. Career Early career Maguire turned professional as a snooker player in 1998. He qualified for the 1999 UK Championship, where he was defeated 2–9 by Mark King in the first round. He played in qualifying for the 2000 World Championship, defeating Wayne Brown, Nick Walker and Bradley Jones to reach the final qualifying round, where he lost 9–10 to Joe Swail. Maguire qualified again for the 2002 UK Championship, going on to defeat Fergal O'Brien 9–4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship and the 2007 China Open, and was runner-up in the World Championships of 2004 and 2010. He reached number 2 in the world rankings in 2007, but a subsequent episode of clinical depression seriously affected his form, causing him to drop to number 28 for the 2009–10 season. He then recovered his form, regained his top-16 ranking, and reached a third World Championship final. In 2011, he published his autobiography, ''Frame of Mind: The Autobiography of the World Snooker Champion.'' Career Early career After winning the UK Under-19 Championship in 1992 and Scottish Amateur Championship in 1993, Dott turned professional in 1994. He slowly climbed the rankings, reaching the top sixteen in 2001, where he remained until 2009. Early success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple crown event, the World Snooker Championship, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of No. 4 for the 2005/2006 season. Stevens has compiled more than 300 century breaks during his career. Career Early career Stevens became a professional snooker player in 1994; in his second season, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the Masters, where he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 5–6 to Alan McManus. He also showed potential the following season by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997–98 season, he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and the UK Championship, achieving the highest break of the tournament at the latter. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at ... [...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] |
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles, and held the List of world number one snooker players, world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons. He was runner-up to Dennis Taylor in one of snooker's most famous matches, the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, 1985 world final, whose dramatic black-ball conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK records for any broadcast after midnight and any broadcast on BBC Two that stand to this day. In addition to his six world titles, Davis won the UK Championship six times and the Masters (snooker), Masters three times for a total of 15 Triple Crown (snooker), Triple Crown titles, placing him third on the all-time list behind Ronnie O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Perry (snooker Player)
Joe Perry (born 13 August 1974) is an English professional snooker player from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Often referred to as "the Fen Potter" and also nicknamed "the Gentleman", Perry climbed the rankings steadily after turning professional in 1992 and reached the Top 16 for the first time in 2002. His first ranking final came at the 2001 European Open and he had to wait another 13 years for a second which came at the 2014 Wuxi Classic. Perry won his first ranking title at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final, at the age of 40 and in his 23rd season as a professional. He also won the minor-ranking 2013 Yixing Open and 2015 Xuzhou Open. Perry reached the final of a Triple Crown tournament for the first time at the Masters in 2017, losing 7–10 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Perry previously reached the UK Championship semi-finals in 2004 and 2005, and the semi-finals of the World Championship in 2008. Perry claimed his second ranking title at the 2022 Welsh Open by defeatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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