2004 Grand Prix (snooker)
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The 2004 Snooker Grand Prix (known as the 2004 Totesport Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons) was the 2004 edition of the
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
and was held from 2 to 10 October 2004 at the
Guild Hall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
in Preston, England. World number one
Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
won the tournament defeating Ian McCulloch by nine frames to five (9–5) in the final. In the semi-finals O'Sullivan defeated
Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 â€“ 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 a ...
6–3 and McCulloch beat
Michael Judge Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
6–1. Mark Williams, who won the same event under the name LG Cup the year before, lost in the first round.
John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
made the highest break with a
147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...
. The 64-man tournament was the first of eight
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...
(WPBSA) ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season and the next event following last season's
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, which was won by O'Sullivan. It preceded the second ranking event of the season, the
British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
.


Tournament summary

The tournament was created as the Professional Players Tournament in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
by the
snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
governing body, the
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...
(WPBSA), to provide another
ranking event The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. The ranking lists are maintained by the sport's governing body, ...
. It was renamed the Grand Prix for the 1984 event until
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, when it was called the LG Cup, before reverting to the Grand Prix this year. The tournament was the first of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season, and the next event following last season's
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, which was won by
Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
, now a two-time
world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
and the world number one. Mark Williams won the same event under the name LG Cup last year. The tournament preceded the second ranking event of the season, the
British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
. Sponsored by
totesport The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the U ...
for the first time after signing a one-year contract announced the day before the event started, it had a prize fund of £400,000 and was broadcast on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
and
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
.


Qualifying

The qualifying rounds were played between players on the main tour ranked 33 and lower for one of 32 places in the final stage at
Pontin's Snooker Centre Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...
in
Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...
, Wales. The matches were best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals. Highly regarded 17-year-old Chinese player
Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...
narrowly missed out in qualifying. The other successful qualifiers included the likes of
Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...
,
Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championsh ...
,
Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Snooker Championship, 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight Cue stick, cue action and his lo ...
and
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 ...
.


Round one

In round one the 32 qualifiers faced members of the top 32, including the top 16 seeds. In this round O'Sullivan defeated
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
5–2, compiling a century break of 114. After the match O'Sullivan praised his mentor
Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...
. World number 51
Andy Hicks Andrew Hicks (born 10 August 1973) is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ranking ...
won against the UK champion
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 c ...
5–1, compiling two century breaks and three half-centuries in the 72-minute match. After struggling early on, 1997 world champion
Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...
went through by beating
Anthony Davies Anthony Davies (born 2 December 1969) is a former Welsh professional snooker player. Davies started playing snooker aged 12. He made his first century break made aged 15 and his first maximum break aged 17. After winning a number of titles in ...
5–1.
Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
, the 1997 winner, made breaks of 108, 68, 61 and 58 in defeating Scott MacKenzie 5–1. David Gray whitewashed
Lee Walker Lee Walker (born 11 February 1976) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who is the reigning World Seniors Champion. He is both an official WPBSA and SightRight coach. Career After turning professional in 1994 at the age of 18, Walker r ...
5–0, while Joe Perry beat Pakistan's
Shokat Ali Shokat Ali (born 4 March 1970) is an English snooker player of Pakistani descent, who represents Pakistan in international tournaments.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 pl ...
lost a frame after three consecutive misses from an position, but still defeated
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 ...
5–2, a match in which Parrott's highest break was 32. Six-time world champion
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 rea ...
, at 47 the oldest player on the tour, defeated
Sean Storey Sean Storey (born 19 August 1971 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England) is a former English professional snooker player. His best ranking performance to date came in the World Championship in 2003, where he defeated Joe Perry before bowing o ...
5–1, after which he said "At the start I couldn't hit the side of a bus station, but Sean let me off and in the end I didn't play badly." Seven-time world champion
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 ...
prevailed 5–4 over
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, reachin ...
in a narrowly fought contest. Burnett, the world number 49, was 4–3 ahead and had potted the final red, but he missed the black, however, and Hendry forced a deciding frame which he won. After the match, Hendry said "I got out of jail". Breaks of 75, 61 and 56 enabled 2002 world champion
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 addit ...
to claim a 5–2 victory over
Simon Bedford Simon Bedford (born 8 February 1976) is an English former professional snooker player. Career Bedford's best performance in a professional ranking event was to qualify for the 1998 World Championship; he beat Gary Wilkinson 10–9, before l ...
. Chinese player Jin Long, in his first appearance in the final stage of a ranking event, led
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 G ...
3–0 before Drago won five consecutive frames.
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 s ...
defeated
Gerard Greene Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast. Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...
5–2, while Anthony Hamilton overcame
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. Mich ...
by the same scoreline.
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 ...
, a former Grand Prix runner-up, claimed a 5–2 victory over
David Roe David Roe (born 11 September 1965) is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist. Career Roe was born on 11 September 1965 in Derby. He began his professional career for the 1986–87 sno ...
. After coming back from 3–4 down to beat
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-snooker world rankings, ranking titles, and ...
5–4,
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 ...
revealed he nearly withdrew from the tournament because of a back injury he sustained in a charity
pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...
match the week before the tournament. Williams, the world number two, was the highest ranked player to lose in the round when he lost 2–5 against
Michael Judge Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
. In the fifth frame, at 2–2, Williams was 64–0 ahead but a black ball clearance of 70 gave Judge the lead, who went on to win the match. After the match, Williams said that he was nowhere near the player he was a year ago. World number four and Masters champion
Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 â€“ 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 a ...
made breaks of 108 and 127 in defeating
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 ov ...
5–3. European Open winner
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 i ...
defeated Murphy 5–2, a match in which Maguire had a frame docked. As the match was about to begin and after they had shaken hands, Maguire realised he had not brought his with him. He asked for permission to retrieve it from referee Johan Oomen, which was granted. As Maguire was away, Murphy spoke to the referee and questioned whether Maguire should be docked a frame, as he was technically not ready to play at the scheduled time. Mike Ganley, the tournament director, was called and docked a frame from Maguire, a ruling which angered Maguire. Of the incident Maguire said "Rules are rules but I've never heard of anything like that happening before." The incident was said to be a key point in the rivalry between Maguire and Murphy.
John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
made the highest break in the tournament with a
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 ...
in his 3–5 loss to
Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...
. It was his fifth maximum and the 49th in snooker history. It also earned him a bonus of £20,000. For Walden it was the second time he reached the second round of a ranking event. In a match in which the deciding frame lasted 64 minutes and ended past midnight,
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 Du ...
overcame
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 2000â ...
5–4.
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 a ...
, the surprise runner-up at the World Championship, emerged a 5–4 winner over Ryan Day. Of the other seeded players,
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 numbe ...
lost 4–5 to Selby, Stephen Lee beat Hugh Abernethy 5–2 and
Quinten Hann Quinten may refer to: People Surname * Christopher Quinten (born 1957), British actor Given name * Quinten Burg (born 1948), American politician * Quinten Hann (born 1977), Australian snooker player * Quinten Hermans (born 1995), Belgian cyclist ...
lost 3–5 against
Marcus Campbell Marcus Campbell (born 22 September 1972) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. He was ranked within the world's top 64 for 15 consecutive seasons. Career Campbell is most famous for whitewashing Stephen Hendry 9–0 in the 1998 ...
.


Round two

Davis became the first player through to the last 16 when he defeated Drago 5–1, after which he expressed his surprise he was still in the tournament. O'Sullivan overcame a chest infection to beat
Joe Swail Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Cha ...
5–1, but missed his post-match press conference. Hunter came from 2–4 down with a score of 0–39 in the seventh to beat
Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...
, compiling a century break in the decider. Preston's Ian McCulloch beat White 5–4 with a break of 73 in the deciding frame. After beating
Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...
5–3, Hendry expressed dissatisfaction with his performance. Maguire, the Snooker Writers' Association Young Player of the Year, saw off Walden 5–3 and said of the chalk incident "I made sure I had it this time." In the match between Fu and Hawkins Fu led 4–2, before Hawkins forced a deciding frame, which Fu won. Judge continued his run by defeating Campbell 5–4 with breaks of 76, 61, and 52, and said his victory over Williams had given him confidence. Although he fluked the final brown from a snooker, Wattana potted the blue and pink balls in the final frame of his match against Doherty to win 5–3. Doherty said "It was a cruel blow. ... I had James in a really good snooker and from where I was sat it did not even look as though he could hit it." Of the other seeds, Lee enjoyed a 5–1 victory over Hamilton, Dott defeated Dale 5–2, Ebdon beat Joe Jogia 5–4, Perry beat David Gray 5–3 and McManus lost 4–5 against
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 s ...
. The other non-seeded victors were Selby and Australian Robertson.


Round three

In the third round Dott failed to comeback from his loss in the final of the World Championship, as he was defeated 3–5 by O'Sullivan. After beating Davis 5–1, Hunter said he wished Davis would speed up his play. In the match Hunter made his fourth century break of the tournament and had breaks of 71, 66, 43, and 53. Hendry was defeated 3–5 by McCulloch by losing five of the last six frames, and said he was not the player he was. His break of 67 in the last frame was eclipsed by McCulloch's 72, who also made a break of 105 in the match. Breaks of 133 and 103 plus further runs of 41, 70, and 87 enabled Perry to beat Robertson 5–3 from 1–3 down. Selby saw off Ebdon 5–3 and said "Hopefully there's more to come." Maguire defeated Bond 5–1, while Wattana beat Lee and Judge beat Fu by the same scoreline.


Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals O'Sullivan took 71 minutes to whitewash Selby 5–0, compiling two breaks of 135 and outscoring Selby 522–46. After the match O'Sullivan said "My safety was good, so was my thinking, and so was my break-building. It's as well as I have played in the tournament." Another whitewash occurred when Wattana was defeated 0–5 by Hunter, a match eight minutes longer than O'Sullivan's, whom he would face in the semi-finals. After the match Hunter said "I was racing Ronnie. I could see from the scoreboard that he was 3–0 up when I was leading 2–0." In the other quarter-finals McCulloch defeated Maguire 5–2 after an error from Maguire, when he missed the pink for a probable 2–0 lead. The match included a 137 clearance from McCulloch. After the match Maguire said "I went for a crazy one and paid the price but I think today I was just a bit too cocky. I didn't believe I was going to lose." Judge beat Perry 5–1 to face McCulloch in his first ranking event semi-final, and became the fourth Irish player to achieve this feat after Eugene Hughes, Doherty and
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 2000â ...
.


Semi-finals

In the semi-final, now best-of-11 frames, O'Sullivan defeated Hunter 6–3. O'Sullivan started strongly and opened up a lead of 3–1 at the mid-session interval. Hunter closed the gap to 2–3, before O'Sullivan won the sixth frame. A break of 80 from Hunter followed, before O'Sullivan won the next two for the match, compiling a 107 in the final frame. The other semi-final saw McCulloch beat Judge 6–1, a match in which Judge's highest break was 44 early in the game. McCulloch achieved runs of 132 and 89 after Judge hit a kick shot on a red ball that went away from its projected path on his way to victory. After his defeat Judge said he was happy with his form during the tournament.


Final

In the best-of-17 frame final O'Sullivan defeated McCulloch 9–5 to win his second consecutive ranking title. It was his 21st ranking final and 16th ranking title, which meant he was now third on the list ahead of Williams and Higgins. The victory earned him £60,000 and meant he had won all the ranking events on the calendar at least once. After the match O'Sullivan said he could still improve: "I have set myself high standards and I don't think I was firing on any cylinders." McCulloch said he was sure he would win a ranking title: "I have lost two finals now but I will win one—it is just a matter of when." In the first session of the final O'Sullivan won the first frame with a break of 86. The next two frames were shared, before O'Sullivan made a century, which he followed with a 72 in the frame after. The sixth frame lasted 36 minutes, when O’Sullivan struck in the pink to a distant pocket before clipping in a tricky black for a 5–1 lead. McCulloch won the next to bring the score to 5–2 in O'Sullivan's favour at the end of the first session. In the second session O'Sullivan took the first two frames with breaks of 66 and 104. O'Sullivan won two of the next three frames to bring the score to 8–4, before missing a relatively straightforward pot in the 13th, which allowed McCulloch to take the frame. A break of 71 in the next gave O'Sullivan the victory.


Main draw

Numbers to the left of the players' names are the tournament seedings. Players in bold indicate match winners.


Final

Scores in bold denote winning frame scores and the winning participant.


Qualifying

The qualifying for the tournament took place between 8 and 9 September 2004 at
Pontin's Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...
in
Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. All matches were best of 9 frames. Players in bold denote match winners.


Century breaks


Qualifying stage centuries

The qualifying stage of the 2004 Grand Prix yielded a total of eight century breaks compiled by eight different players. The highest was a 142 made by Rory McLeod. * 142 Rory McLeod * 140
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 s ...
* 140
Michael Judge Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
* 114
Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...
* 100
Robin Hull Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player. For some time, he was the sole Nordic countries, Nordic player on the game's Snooker world rankings, main tour. He is known as a solid -builder, having compiled ov ...
* 100
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-snooker world rankings, ranking titles, and ...
* 100
Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...
* 100
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 ...


Televised stage centuries

A total of 34 century breaks were made by 16 different players during the main stages of the 2004 Grand Prix. The highest break was a maximum break which was made by Higgins in his first round 3–5 loss to Walden. *
147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...
John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
* 137, 134, 132, 105 Ian McCulloch * 135, 135, 115, 107, 104, 104
Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
* 133, 103, 100 Joe Perry * 133
Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...
* 132, 118
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 Du ...
* 129, 127, 106
Andy Hicks Andrew Hicks (born 10 August 1973) is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ranking ...
* 127, 114, 108, 102
Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 â€“ 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 a ...
* 119, 113
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 a ...
* 117
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 addit ...
* 114, 108
Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
* 112
Michael Judge Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
* 103
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 ...
* 102
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 i ...
* 101
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 ...
* 100
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...


References


Bibliography


"Grand Prix results/draw"
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
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"totesport Grand Prix 2004"
snooker.org.
"Embassy World Rankings 2004/2005"
snooker.org. {{Snooker season 2004/2005 World Open (snooker)
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...