2004 European Open (snooker)
Encyclopedia
The 2004 European Open was the 2004 edition of the European Open
snooker
tournament, held from 1 to 6 March 2004, at the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso
, Malta
. It was the final year the event was known as European Open, as the event was renamed to Malta Cup in next year. Stephen Maguire
defeated Jimmy White
by nine to three (9–3) in the final to claim his first ranking-event title
, transforming him from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner", according to The Times
. In the semi-finals Maguire defeated Stephen Lee
and White beat Tony Drago
. The tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA
ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters.
had been continuously staged outside of the United Kingdom (although the World Championship
had been held twice in Australia). The snooker
governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
(WPBSA), decided to include overseas events and the first two locations chosen were Canada and Europe. The European Open was first held in 1989 in Deauville, France, and was suspended for 1997/1998 and 2000/2001. It moved to the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso
, Malta
for the first time in 2004 and was renamed the Malta Cup
the following season.
The 2004 tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters. Held in January, the Welsh Open was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan
, who defeated Steve Davis
by nine to eight (9–8) in the final. The defending European Open champion was also O'Sullivan, who defeated Stephen Hendry
9–6 in last year's final. Paul Hunter
, who had defeated O'Sullivan in the final of the non-ranking Masters in February, entered the tournament "playing the best snooker of his career", according to Phil Yates of The Times
.
defeated Adrian Gunnell
5–2 in a match held over from the qualifying stages in November.
5–4, in a match where both players missed chances. In the deciding frame, Davis won on the pink ball after Swail had missed the brown. After the match, Davis said it was a historic day as he had never won a match in the country. Stephen Lee
received a walkover to the next round after his opponent Robin Hull
withdrew due to medical reasons. World number 41 Stephen Maguire
made a of 89 in the final frame of his match against Peter Ebdon
to win 5–4, and world number three O'Sullivan opened his match against Marco Fu
with a century break
of 110 and went on to win 5–1. Chris Small
, who suffers from the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis
, whitewashed UK champion
Matthew Stevens
5–0, in a match lasting almost three hours and which saw Stevens lose two frames on the black ball. Neil Robertson
defeated Ken Doherty
5–3, and Joe Perry
beat David Roe
by the same scoreline. In the last match of the day, David Gray beat Fergal O'Brien
5–3.
World number one Mark Williams
was defeated 1–5 by Anthony Hamilton
, who made a break of 133. Williams refused to answer questions at the post-match press conference, explaining: "I'm not saying anything because if I do I could be in trouble so I'm keeping my mouth shut." Hunter and Hendry made high breaks of 49 and 55 in defeating Brian Morgan and Jimmy Michie
5–1, respectively. After the match Hendry—the world number two and a seven-time world champion
said "I feel like going to apologise to each fan one by one because it was such a bad match". John Higgins whitewashed Barry Pinches
5–0, compiling a 132 break in the last frame in a match where Pinches made a high break of 33. Jimmy White
overcame James Wattana
5–4 having trailed 2–3. Graeme Dott
defeated Drew Henry
5-3 and Quinten Hann
beat Simon Bedford
5–0. In the last game of the day, Drago beat Alan McManus
5–4.
In the other semi-final Maguire beat Lee 6–4 in an error-strewn match which lasted four hours. After winning the first two frames Maguire lost the next three, but "kept his cool" to seal the victory. Maguire said the match was a "battle" and that he was surprised at how badly his opponents had played in the tournament, while Lee said he "just blew up" and that, "When you’re as poor as that you get into such a state of mind that you can’t think straight".
, transformed Maguire from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner";
according to BBC Sport
his victory was a surprise.
In the afternoon session Maguire made two sizeable breaks and one of 137 to lead 3–0. He won the next frame and compiled a century in the fifth. The sixth frame was awarded to Maguire, when White violated the three-miss rule. in the jaws of a corner pocket, White twice attempted to hit the pack of five reds off a side cushion and missed. On his third attempt he adopted a slow roll to the pack and again missed. In the evening session, trailing 0–6, White won his first frame before the next four were shared, the last of which included a break of 125 by White. At 8–2 a break of 57 gave Maguire the victory.
After his victory Maguire acknowledged the influence of Terry Griffiths
who had been working with him on the mental side of the game: "He's been on the phone just telling me to keep calm and that I can do it if I believe in myself". Maguire said he always knew he was good enough to win a tournament and that he would aim for a top-16 finish for the season. White said, "Stephen outplayed me in safety, potting and position so he deserved to win" and, "He gave me a good bashing. I'm pleased for him because he's a nice lad but I'm disappointed because I didn't compete".
w/o = walkover
w/d = withdrew
Malta Cup
The Malta Cup was a professional snooker tournament that has been on the World Snooker calendar since the 1988/89 season. It was previously known as the European Open as the sole ranking tournament in Europe, outside the British Isles.- History :Prior to the 1988/89 season, there were no ranking...
snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
tournament, held from 1 to 6 March 2004, at the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso
Portomaso
Portomaso in Paceville, St. Julian's, Malta, is a waterfront residential development covering an area of 128,000 square metres . Portomaso also encompasses one of Malta’s Marinas.-General:...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It was the final year the event was known as European Open, as the event was renamed to Malta Cup in next year. Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
defeated Jimmy White
Jimmy White
James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
by nine to three (9–3) in the final to claim his first ranking-event title
Snooker world rankings
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. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
, transforming him from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner", according to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. In the semi-finals Maguire defeated Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, whose smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural in the game. He has won four ranking titles, and spent 10 seasons in the Top 16 of the world rankings before dropping out for the snooker...
and White beat Tony Drago
Tony Drago
Tony Drago is a professional snooker and pool player from Malta. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship...
. The tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...
ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters.
Review
Prior to the 1988/1989 season no ranking tournamentSnooker world rankings
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. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
had been continuously staged outside of the United Kingdom (although the World Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
had been held twice in Australia). The snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...
(WPBSA), decided to include overseas events and the first two locations chosen were Canada and Europe. The European Open was first held in 1989 in Deauville, France, and was suspended for 1997/1998 and 2000/2001. It moved to the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso
Portomaso
Portomaso in Paceville, St. Julian's, Malta, is a waterfront residential development covering an area of 128,000 square metres . Portomaso also encompasses one of Malta’s Marinas.-General:...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
for the first time in 2004 and was renamed the Malta Cup
Malta Cup
The Malta Cup was a professional snooker tournament that has been on the World Snooker calendar since the 1988/89 season. It was previously known as the European Open as the sole ranking tournament in Europe, outside the British Isles.- History :Prior to the 1988/89 season, there were no ranking...
the following season.
The 2004 tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters. Held in January, the Welsh Open was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
, who defeated Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
by nine to eight (9–8) in the final. The defending European Open champion was also O'Sullivan, who defeated Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
9–6 in last year's final. Paul Hunter
Paul Hunter
Paul Alan Hunter was an English professional snooker player. His media profile developed swiftly and he became known as the "Beckham of the Baize" because of his good looks and flamboyant style....
, who had defeated O'Sullivan in the final of the non-ranking Masters in February, entered the tournament "playing the best snooker of his career", according to Phil Yates of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
.
Qualifying
The qualifying stages were played between players ranked 17 and those ranked lower for one of 16 places in the final stages. The matches were best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals. In March 2004 Maltese player Tony DragoTony Drago
Tony Drago is a professional snooker and pool player from Malta. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship...
defeated Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell is an English professional snooker player from Telford. He has reached the last-16 in four world ranking events , but has yet to progress beyond that stage...
5–2 in a match held over from the qualifying stages in November.
Round 1
The qualifiers went through to face members of the top 16. In this round, Davis came from 2–4 down to beat Joe SwailJoe Swail
-External links:*...
5–4, in a match where both players missed chances. In the deciding frame, Davis won on the pink ball after Swail had missed the brown. After the match, Davis said it was a historic day as he had never won a match in the country. Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, whose smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural in the game. He has won four ranking titles, and spent 10 seasons in the Top 16 of the world rankings before dropping out for the snooker...
received a walkover to the next round after his opponent Robin Hull
Robin Hull
Robin Hull is a Finnish professional snooker player. For some time he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour, although his accent reflects the fact that he was largely raised in London, and his father is English....
withdrew due to medical reasons. World number 41 Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
made a of 89 in the final frame of his match against Peter Ebdon
Peter Ebdon
Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
to win 5–4, and world number three O'Sullivan opened his match against Marco Fu
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun , commonly known as Marco Fu, is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley. He is best known for winning the 2007 Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, and for being runner-up in the 2008 UK Championship...
with a century break
Century break
In snooker a century break refers to scoring 100 points or more within one at the table, without missing a shot. The player does this by potting and alternately. Scoring 100 points over the course of a whole frame is not a century, as it must be done during one turn at the table...
of 110 and went on to win 5–1. Chris Small
Chris Small
Christopher "Chris" Small is a retired Scottish professional snooker player. His career was ended by the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis.-Career:...
, who suffers from the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
, whitewashed UK champion
UK Championship (snooker)
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
5–0, in a match lasting almost three hours and which saw Stevens lose two frames on the black ball. Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
defeated Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...
5–3, and Joe Perry
Joe Perry (snooker player)
-External links:*...
beat David Roe
David Roe
David Roe is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist.Roe began his professional career for the 1986/1987 season...
by the same scoreline. In the last match of the day, David Gray beat Fergal O'Brien
Fergal O'Brien
Fergal O'Brien is an Irish professional snooker player. He has won one ranking title and reached two other major finals, and spent three seasons as a top 16 player.-Career:...
5–3.
World number one Mark Williams
Mark Williams (snooker player)
Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine...
was defeated 1–5 by Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton (snooker player)
Anthony Hamilton is an English professional snooker player noted for his strong break-building technique and distinctive appearance. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's top 16, and fifteen in the top 32, reaching a career-high at number #10 in the world in the 1999/2000 season...
, who made a break of 133. Williams refused to answer questions at the post-match press conference, explaining: "I'm not saying anything because if I do I could be in trouble so I'm keeping my mouth shut." Hunter and Hendry made high breaks of 49 and 55 in defeating Brian Morgan and Jimmy Michie
Jimmy Michie
-External links:***...
5–1, respectively. After the match Hendry—the world number two and a seven-time world champion
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
said "I feel like going to apologise to each fan one by one because it was such a bad match". John Higgins whitewashed Barry Pinches
Barry Pinches
-External links:**...
5–0, compiling a 132 break in the last frame in a match where Pinches made a high break of 33. Jimmy White
Jimmy White
James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
overcame James Wattana
James Wattana
James Wattana is a Thai professional snooker player.-Career:...
5–4 having trailed 2–3. Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the 2006 World Championship, which was his first ranking title after four previous runner-up spots...
defeated Drew Henry
Drew Henry
Drew Henry is a former Scottish professional snooker player, who spent five seasons in the top 32 in the rankings in his career, peaking at #18.-Career:...
5-3 and Quinten Hann
Quinten Hann
Quinten Hann is an Australian former professional snooker player who now plays professional pool. He was the 1999 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion and 1994 world under 21 champion. His highest break is 143...
beat Simon Bedford
Simon Bedford
Simon Bedford is an English professional snooker player. His best run to date in a professional ranking event was to qualify for the 1998 World Championship beating Gary Wilkinson 10–9, before losing 10–6 to Steve Davis. He also reached the last 32 of the European Open in 2004 and the Grand Prix in...
5–0. In the last game of the day, Drago beat Alan McManus
Alan McManus
Alan McManus is a Scottish professional snooker player, known for his tactical play and safety shots, giving rise to his nickname "Angles" McManus.-Career:...
5–4.
Round 2
In round two O'Sullivan defeated Small 5–1, coming from behind to win in each of the first three frames with breaks of 58, 81, and 46. A break of 112 completed the victory, after which O'Sullivan said his opponent had made him work. In the fifth frame O'Sullivan continued playing despite needing snookers, later explaining, "I wanted to keep playing because I was enjoying it so much". White made breaks of 72, 52, 69, 51, and 65 in defeating Hendry 5–3, after which Hendry said his performance was "horrendous", and White said his refusal to go out the night before contributed to his performance. In the sixth frame White led by 41 points before missing an easy red, allowing Hendry to win on the black with a 55 break to level at 3–3. White dominated the next two frames for the victory. Higgins, without a tournament victory for over two years, whitewashed Dott 5–0 with breaks of 82, 81, 57, and 52, and said it was the "best [he had] felt for ages". Drago defeated Hunter 5–2 to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking events for the first time since 1998, in a low-quality match where Drago made one break over 50. Lee defeated Davis 5–3 in a four-hour match, and Higgins completed a second whitewash when he beat Dott 5–0, bringing his career record against Dott to 9–1. Maguire defeated Perry 5–4 to reach his first ranking quarter-final, and Hann beat Hamilton 5–1 to claim the final place in the next round.Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals Lee defeated O'Sullivan 5–4 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes. O'Sullivan came from 2–3 down to lead 4–3 before Lee leveled the match. In the final frame O'Sullivan led 36–0, before Lee made a 46 break and fluked a snooker that enabled him to claim victory. O'Sullivan said his performance was very poor, while Lee said he was quietly confident. White defeated Robertson 5–3 to reach his third semi-final of the season. White led 4–1 and was 56 points ahead in the sixth but missed a straightforward green, allowing Robertson to win on the black with a 67 break. Robertson took the next frame before a risky long pot in the eighth allowed White to win the match. White—who last won a ranking title 12 years ago prior at this event—said, "Everyone knows I've been in front so many times in the past and tossed it away so I was having nightmares out there". Drago quickly won the first four frames of his match against Hann, conceding the fifth, before completing a 5–1 victory, after which he said the crowd support helped him. Maguire caused an upset when he beat Higgins 5–3, a match that saw Maguire lose the first two frames before winning the next four. After the match Maguire he said he had "starting to think about winning it now".Semi-finals
In the best-of-11 semi-finals White reached his first final in four years when he defeated Drago 6–4. Leading 4–1 White made a break of 104 to win the sixth frame before missing a straightforward red to allow his opponent to win the seventh with a 84 break. Drago won the next two in 15 minutes with breaks of 44 and 109—completing the latter in four minutes—before an 86 break gave White the victory, after which White said, "Playing Tony here, I got a taste of what players have against me at the Masters when the crowd are all on my side but they were fair and I enjoyed every minute of it."In the other semi-final Maguire beat Lee 6–4 in an error-strewn match which lasted four hours. After winning the first two frames Maguire lost the next three, but "kept his cool" to seal the victory. Maguire said the match was a "battle" and that he was surprised at how badly his opponents had played in the tournament, while Lee said he "just blew up" and that, "When you’re as poor as that you get into such a state of mind that you can’t think straight".
Final
The match was White's 23rd appearance in a final and his first since the 2000 British Open. In the best-of-17 final Maguire defeated White 9–3 to win his first ranking title at the age of 22, earning £48,000 in prize money. The victory, according to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, transformed Maguire from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner";
according to BBC Sport
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...
his victory was a surprise.
In the afternoon session Maguire made two sizeable breaks and one of 137 to lead 3–0. He won the next frame and compiled a century in the fifth. The sixth frame was awarded to Maguire, when White violated the three-miss rule. in the jaws of a corner pocket, White twice attempted to hit the pack of five reds off a side cushion and missed. On his third attempt he adopted a slow roll to the pack and again missed. In the evening session, trailing 0–6, White won his first frame before the next four were shared, the last of which included a break of 125 by White. At 8–2 a break of 57 gave Maguire the victory.
After his victory Maguire acknowledged the influence of Terry Griffiths
Terry Griffiths
Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...
who had been working with him on the mental side of the game: "He's been on the phone just telling me to keep calm and that I can do it if I believe in myself". Maguire said he always knew he was good enough to win a tournament and that he would aim for a top-16 finish for the season. White said, "Stephen outplayed me in safety, potting and position so he deserved to win" and, "He gave me a good bashing. I'm pleased for him because he's a nice lad but I'm disappointed because I didn't compete".
Main draw
Keyw/o = walkover
w/d = withdrew
Final
| Final: Best of 17 frames. Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso Portomaso Portomaso in Paceville, St. Julian's, Malta, is a waterfront residential development covering an area of 128,000 square metres . Portomaso also encompasses one of Malta’s Marinas.-General:... , Malta Malta Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in... . 6 March 2004 |
||
| Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen... |
9–3 | Jimmy White Jimmy White James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,... (15) |
| Afternoon: 121–2 (96), 79–44 (72), 137–0 (137), 81–23, 113–8 (103), 58–6 Evening: 63–67, 62–60 (62), 18–91 (78), 77–1, 0–125 (125), 86–6 (57) |
||
| 137 | Highest break | 125 |
| 2 | Century breaks | 1 |
| 6 | 50+ breaks | 2 |
Sources
- European Open 2004. snooker.org (WWW Snooker).
- Embassy World Rankings 2003/2004. snooker.org (WWW Snooker).
- European Open. German Open. German Masters. Irish Open. cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk (Chris Turner's Snooker Archive).
- Malta Grand Prix. Malta cup. cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk (Chris Turner's Snooker Archive).