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2018 European Masters
The 2018 D88.com European Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 1 to 7 October 2018 in Lommel, Belgium. It was the fifth ranking event of the 2018/2019 season. Qualifying took place on 17 and 18 August 2018 in Preston, England. Judd Trump was the defending champion after winning the previous two events, but he lost 2–4 to Tian Pengfei in the second round. Jimmy Robertson reached his first ever ranking event semi-final, which he converted into his first professional ranking event title, beating Joe Perry 9–6 in the final. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: * Winner: £75,000 * Runner-up: £35,000 * Semi-final: £17,500 * Quarter-final: £11,000 * Last 16: £6,000 * Last 32: £4,000 * Last 64: £3,000 * Televised highest break: £1,500 * Total: £398,500 The "rolling 147 prize" for a maximum break: £10,000 Main draw Final Qualifying These matches were held between 17 and 18 August 2018 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Open (snooker)
The European Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been staged periodically since 1989 as the European Open. Between 2005 and 2008 it was known as the Malta Cup and was the sole ranking tournament in Europe outside the British Isles, before being discontinued. In 2016, the event was resurrected and rebranded the European Masters. History Before the 1988/89 season, there were no ranking events outside the United Kingdom. There were, however, many successful invitation events, so the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association decided to extend the tour with some overseas events. The first two were held in Canada and mainland Europe. The first European event was the European Open in 1988 in Deauville, France, with the sponsorship of ICI. The event then was held at the Palais des Sports in Lyon, France, for 1992 and at the Imax Centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the sponsorship of Tulip Computers. The event was then moved to Belgium. It was h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston, Lancashire
Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding district obtained city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Preston has a population of 114,300, the City of Preston district 132,000 and the Preston Built-up Area 313,322. The Preston Travel To Work Area, in 2011, had a population of 420,661, compared with 354,000 in the previous census. Preston and its surrounding area have provided evidence of ancient Roman activity, largely in the form of a Roman road that led to a camp at Walton-le-Dale. The Angles established Preston; its name is derived from the Old English meaning "priest's settlement" and in the ''Domesday Book'' is recorded as "Prestune". In the Middle Ages, Preston was a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United Kingdom to have completed snooker's Triple Crown, having won the World Championship in 2010, the Masters in 2012 and 2022, and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He has claimed a career total of 23 ranking titles, having won at least one professional tournament every year since 2006. A prolific break-builder, Robertson has compiled more than 850 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. He is the fourth player in professional snooker history to reach the 800-century mark, after Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump. In the 2013–14 season, he became the first player to make 100 centuries in a single season, finishing with a record 103 centuries. Life and career Early career Robert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open. Career Early years After some success in amateur tournaments, Higginson turned professional for the 2000/2001 season after finishing third on the Challenge Tour. He remained there for five seasons before dropping off, after encountering limited success. He won a place back on the tour for 2006/2007 after finishing second on the Pontins' International Open Series. Breakthrough Higginson reached the televised stages of a ranking tournament for the first time at the 2007 Malta Cup, where he beat Steve Davis 5–4 before losing 2–5 to Ken Doherty at the last 16. At the very next tournament, the 2007 Welsh Open, Higginson hit an extraordinary run of form, defeating Marco Fu 5–2, John Higgins 5–3 (from 0–3 down), Michael Judge 5–1, Ali Carter 5–1 (making his first professional 147 bre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Lines
Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snooker at aged 14. His progression continued by entering into the Players Tour Championship events in 2011, but made little impact in the 2011/2012 season. 2012/2013 saw major improvement and a notable 4–3 over Joe Perry in 2012 UKPTC 3. He also entered Q School for the first time in May 2013 in the hope of qualifying on the main but failed to do after securing four wins in the three events. Despite not qualifying for the main tour, Lines’ performances in Q School were enough to earn him a top up place in the qualifying round of the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open, his first senior ranking event. He won in the opening round, beating fellow Leeds-based player David Grace 5–4, but suffered a 5–4 reverse in the second round last-96 sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfie Burden
Alfred Burden (born 14 December 1976) is an English professional snooker player from London. Career Burden originally had his eyes set on making a career as a professional footballer, but a badly broken leg curtailed this ambition. He spent a couple of seasons at Arsenal F.C. as a schoolboy apprentice, but was with Swindon Town F.C. at the time of the injury. Burden soon showed he was well above average at snooker and qualified for the World Championship in 1998. He gave Tony Drago a run for his money before losing 8–10. In the 2006–07 season, Burden qualified for the China Open. He defeated Shokat Ali, Rod Lawler and former top-16 player David Gray to qualify for the tournament but lost in the Wild Card round to Chinese player Mei Xiwen, 2–5. He dropped off the main tour after the 2007/08 season. On 25 November 2009 he won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Hyderabad, India, beating Brazilian Igor Figueiredo 10–8 in the final. With this he earned a place on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liang Wenbo
Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and won one ranking title at the inaugural English Open in 2016. He twice won the World Cup for China along with teammate Ding Junhui. Liang has made three maximum breaks in his career, and reached an all-time high of 11th in the world rankings. Liang was suspended from professional competition from 2 April until 1 August 2022 for bringing the sport into disrepute, following a domestic assault conviction. He was suspended again on 27 October 2022, and the WPBSA subsequently disclosed that he is among seven Chinese players currently being investigated for match-fixing. Career Amateur years As an amateur, Liang's major feats were as follows: * 2003 IBSF World Snooker Championship, men's division, quarter-finalist * 2004 IBSF World Snooker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fergal O'Brien
Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000–01 season. He has won one ranking title, the 1999 British Open, defeating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final. He has reached two other major finals, notably the 2001 Masters, where he lost 9–10 to Paul Hunter. O'Brien was relegated from the professional tour after losing to 15-year-old Welsh amateur Liam Davies in the 2022 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds. However, he regained his professional status immediately by coming through Event 1 of Q School. Career O'Brien is, along with Yan Bingtao, one of only two players to score a century in their first frame at the World Championships in the Crucible, which he achieved against Alan McManus in 1994 (though he lost the match 10–7 and did not qualify again until 1998). Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He has been a runner-up at two Triple Crown events, at the 2008 UK Championship and the 2011 Masters. In addition, Fu has reached the semi-finals of the World Championship twice—in 2006 and in 2016. Fu reached a career-high ranking of fifth in the world in 2017. He turned professional in 1998 and has remained on the World Snooker Tour to-date. Despite not competing in events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fu was given an invitational place to remain on the tour during the 2021–22 snooker season. As a prolific break-builder, Fu has compiled over 500 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. A cultural icon in Hong Kong, Fu presented a 10-episode chat show called ' on ViuTV. Career Early career Marco Fu wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Hang (snooker Player)
Li Hang (, born 4 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2008–09 season. He reached his first final in a professional event in 2012 at the Asian Players Tour Championship Event 3, where he lost 3–4 to Stuart Bingham. Li is one of eight Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Early years Li was entered into the wildcard round of the China Open as an amateur player for three consecutive years from 2006. He lost at this stage in 2006 and 2008, but in 2007 he beat Ian Preece 5–4 to reach the first round of a ranking event for the first time, where he lost 1–5 to 1997 world champion Ken Doherty. In April 2008, Li won the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship with a 6–1 success over Li Yuan in the final. The title earned him a place on the 2008–09 snooker tour. Professional debut His first tournament as a professional was the 2008 Jiangsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liam Highfield
Liam Highfield (born 1 December 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He plays left-handed. Career Amateur years In the 2007/2008 season, Highfield won the last event of International Open Series, and finished 12th in the rankings. The following season he finished as number 33. In the 2009/2010 season, he won the second event and was runner-up in the first and sixth event of the International Open Series and finished second in the rankings. Thus, Highfield received a place on the 2010/2011 professional Main Tour. 2011/2012 season At the beginning of this season, Highfield was ranked number 68 in the world, meaning he was required to win four qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the ranking events. He did not manage this throughout the season, coming closest in the first event of the year, the Australian Goldfields Open. He beat Simon Bedford and Xiao Guodong both by decid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maximum Break
A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 points. Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a particularly significant achievement in the game of snooker, and may be compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling. The first officially recognised maximum break was made by Joe Davis in a 1955 exhibition match in London. At the Classic in January 1982, Steve Davis achieved the first recognised maximum in professional competition, which was also the first maximum to occur during a televised match. The following year, Cliff Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum at the World Snooker Championship. At the UK Championship in December 2013, Mark Selby compiled the 100th recognised maximum break in professional competition. Ronnie O'Sullivan holds th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
