The Final Wow....... What a close match! After 32 frames, 3 and a half sessions and nearly two full days play it was all square at 16 all, and was now best of three. The players were both playing amazingly, making few mistakes, considering it was the final of the Embassy World Championships! In the end Murphy was the better of the two, wrapping it up with a brilliant 83 break to come from behind to be the second youngest World Champion! Matthew Stevens | 16 - 18 | Shaun Murphy 30-67 98-0 (54) 103-20 (60) 55-68 65-29 65-22 34-76 (56) 56-46 58-53 (52 Murphy) 70-38 0-125 (125) 6-79 (66) 105-24 (80) 86-5 (86) 9-103 (84) 68-56 (41) 22-78 (51) 11-84 (56) 64-5 60-80 (60 Stevens, 80 Murphy) 0-137 (137) 57-64 88-20 (52) 0-131 (107) 35-72 (55) 95-0 (95) 4-81 (64) 37-68 (68) 83-1 (68) 35-85 (64) 124-0 (124) 71-1 (52) 0-97 (97) 28-83 (83)       Day Twelve Ian McCulloch Started really well in his match against Matthew Stevens. He raced to a 4-0 lead, then the two shared the final four frames to bring it to 6-2, McCulloch making two great centuries in the process. Stevens was careless at points, missing two important yellows while using his left hand in the early frames. Peter Ebdon produced his best form of the tournament so far today and now leads Shaum Murphy 6-2. He seems to have found the accelerator pedal at last, showing none of the agonisingly slow play we saw yesterday.       Day Eleven This was the strangest match I have ever seen...... Ronnie had played fairly well, leading 8-2 at one point in the match, and starting the final session 10-6 in front. Ebdon decided to try and un-nerve Ronnie by slowing the game down. Infact he slowed it down so much that at one point it took him about 5 minutes to compile a break of only 12! O'Sullivan was clearly getting very annoyed by this, at one point asking a spectator what the time was to taunt the slow playing Ebdon, and laughing when he missed a simple shot. In the end it was clear that Ronnie had lost it, as chance after chance was missed. Ebdon wasn't playing well either as he failed to capitalise time and time again. In the end Ebdon was the least bad of the two, crawling over the line in a match match that was full of tension and high profile for all the wrong reasons. Ronnie O'Sullivan | 11 - 13 | Peter Ebdon 79-1 (71) 137-0 (137) 63-68 101-0 (101) 98-0 (79) 86-8 48-71 110-14 (71) 60-34 (60) 69-17 (54) 47-61 51-63 16-97 (59) 76-26 0-62 (55) 62-56 (O'Sullivan 54) 35-92 39-74 (60) 33-69 36-66 36-67 14-60 67-18 36-64 Alan McManus | 8 - 13 | Ian McCulloch 31-101 (73) 0-125 (124) 0-119 (74) 64-24 67-13 (55) 72-29 (71) 66-42 66-59 43-67 0-98 (52) 0-76 (76) 41-50 0-64 9-61 75-1 (63) 62-24 44-73 91-0 (79) 0-75 (75) 0-74 (73) 18-70 Stephen Hendry | 11 - 13 | Matthew Stevens 31-70 (64) 8-74 4-63 (55) 84-7 0-114 (94) 47-70 71-40 (56) 77-18 (54) 138-0 (138) 86-54 (86,54) 114-20 (114) 68-21 (59) 5-78 0-75 (70) 81-32 (54) 21-68 0-93 85-30 73-17 106-20 (56) 54-65 31-71 (66) 49-77 0-93 (67) Shaun Murphy | 13 - 4 | Steve Davis 72-5 47-43 62-73 73-51 (58,41) 82-1 (82) 50-28 107-4 (72) 70-66 (58,51) 0-111 (110) 67-5 74-30 (73) 92-30 31-86 121-4 (121) 60-54 18-64 86-30       Day Ten Stephen Hendry and Matthew Stevens are having a close match so far! Its all square at 8-8 so far, Hendry seeming to find it hard to get into it. Ronnie O'Sullivan is ahead in his match against Peter Ebdon and playing solid at 6-2, could the rocket go on to make a successful defense of his title? The McCulloch/McManus match has been fairly even with both playing very well. The scot was 5-3 up at the end of the day. Steve Davis is all but out of the tournament, trailing Shaun Murphy 12-4.       Day Nine Peter Ebdon | 13 - 9 | Stephen Lee 43-76 63-0 7-111 (61) 0-78 (52) 50-52 6-70 (52) 76-69 19-76 76-41 4-76 (69) 38-74 (52) 101-0 (76) 105-0 (105) 81-15 (57) 72-1 (65) 55-18 78-48 (56) 57-66 119-0 (115) 73-7 51-23 74-0 (74) What an amazing match! This was probably the most exciting match of the tournament so far as a packed Crucible audience watched Ian McCulloch progress to the quarter finals in yet another final frame decider! Both players were on top form, both excellent long potters, and long pots were flying in all over the place. At 11 all, it was too tense to watch when McCulloch had a tremendous fluke to get in but produced an good clearance to ensure Williams needed three snookers. Williams promptly produced one, but after a nail-biting exchange, in which McCulloch was snookered no less than five times, a long red was stroked in by Ian to go 12-11 up. Williams brought it back level but the final frame saw McCulloch pot some amazing long balls under real pressure to take the match. Mark J Williams | 12 - 13 | Ian McCulloch 71-78 (respotted black) 143-0 (133) 42-60 (60) 79-0 102-30 (102) 115-16 (60) 0-90 (90) 70-68 (62 W) 0-143 (108) 83-34 (42) 24-87 (75) 34-74 (69) 59-65 (53,58) 5-116 (108) 77-2 29-113 (100) 75-24 (71) 84-1 (40) 74-4 (52) 65-1 (64) 26-71 (44) 38-83 (83) 23-66 (43) 105-12 (84) 2-53 Shaun Murphy converted his comeback from early yesterday into a two-frame lead before this session. He carried on his positive play taking four out of five to complete his best win ever at the crucible and will play six-times world champion Steve Davis in the quarter finals. John Higgins | 8 - 13 | Shaun Murphy 72-7 (66) 89-16 (85) 63-40 (51) 55-56 82-0 (62) 0-129 (129) 20-80 0-79 43-70 56-61 65-0 (52) 0-97 74-12 1-97 (97) 6-72 (72) 88-17 (68) 75-38 29-74 (55) 9-68 36-79 (41) 0-119 (115) Stevens only needed one frame to finish the match off, due to his overnight eight frame lead. Jimmy, who was reportedly a bit under the weather, took the first frame of the session. But Stevens made a 69 break to finish the match off and plays world number three, Stephen Hendry. Matthew Stevens | 13 - 5 | Jimmy White 61-62 83-1 45-70 83-17 (55) 80-8 (50) 64-20 49-63 76-50 (66) 58-30 83-0 (59) 68-1 97-0 (90) 66-1 (65) 18-71 110-13 (106) 121-3 (121) 36-81 (68) 69-1 (69)       Day Eight No matches were completed today but there was a lot of action! Jimmy White's misery was evident today as his match against Matthew Stevens started to slip away. White is now 12-4 down, needing to win a massive 9 frames on the trot for victory......well, if anyone can do it, Jimmy can, but i wouldn't put money on it! Shaun Murphy started the day behind against John Higgins. He didn't let it phase him though, from being 4-1 down at one point, he is now 9-7 ahead! Both are playing well, the conclusion to this match will be a thriller!       Day Seven Ronnie O’Sullivan | 13 - 7 | Ali Carter 109-0 17-99 75-14 16-63 41-83 66-3 86-4 19-76 87-0 80-26 17-61 7-71 89-27 101-30 73-0 15-90 76-39 71-0 81-49 125-0 (125 break) Ken Doherty | 11 - 13 | Alan McManus 9-62 22-87 (57) 56-6 0-126 (104) 0-131 (103) 51-47 96-26 (59) 37-64 86-14 99-0 37-87 (87) 18-107 (107) 45-61 101-0 (101) 98-28 72-45 (67) 73-17 (73) 80-51 (53) 15-59 0-91 (63) 63-37 1-91 (59) 5-70 (70) 24-85 (81) Steve Davis | 13 - 10 | Michael Holt 53-58 (58) 126-11 (118) 79-6 32-63 0-99 (86) 42-60 15-79 (75) 8-63 0-100 (100) 45-75 62-15 114-2 (114) 88-41 72-0 76-46 0-114 (114) 70-20 4-71 78-17 (54) 81-5 68-43 68-38 (54) 64-1       Day Six Lee made three impressive century breaks to beat Tony Drago today, completing the penultimate first round match. Stephen Lee | 10 - 5 | Tony Drago 107-16 48-68 106-9 (100) 126-7 (126) 87-0 23-52 61-37 61-49 57-69 81-9 81-34 51-65 36-79 108-13 (108) 77-39 Ian McCulloch | 10 - 9 | Graeme Dott 80-29 70-51 67-61 61-46 28-74 38-84 31-106 77-33 59-31 111-16 (111 break) 3-77 0-120 (120 break) 67-50 0-122 52-72 14-85 55-80 66-1 63-38       Day Five Mark Williams has had a very average season so far, but there was nothing average about his display in this match! After sharing the first two, Williams went on an inspired run, taking the next eight with ease. Only one more was needed so you'd think he would close out the match carefully wouldn't you? Not Mark Williams! He finished it with the tournaments first maximum, the first ever at the Crucible by a welshman. Mark Williams | 10 - 1 | Robert Milkins 92-8 0-72 66-18 79-0 102-0 69-56 60-52 85-4 63-22 94-4 147-0 (147) Hendry started the day with a 7-2 lead, being the odds on favorite to take the match. It started off looking like a quick finish for Hendry as the first two were shared to make it 9-3. But Robertson wasn't bowing out quite so easily. He took the next four frames on the trot, compiling a 110 in the process and bringing it back to 9-7. It still wasn't enough to stop an in-form Hendry as he was the victor in a scrappy 17th frame. Stephen Hendry | 10 - 7 | Neil Robertson 113-16 (103) 1-74 75-36 84-8 94-20 43-58 78-46 86-0 72-62 69-27 21-67 81-13 26-67 26-72 10-59 0-110 (110) 76-24 Quentin Hann has a surprise when he opened his cue case two days before the tournament, finding that he was missing the butt of the cue! His cue had been lost in China and after locating it he had it sent straight to England for the tournament but when he finally opened the case it was too late to do anything. He ended up using a friends cue and you could tell he wasn't happy with it from the off. Ebdon was his usual consistent self, roaring to an 8-0 lead while Hann, who was still struggling with a cue he wasn't used to, could only sit and watch. Hann managed to steal a couple, but it was only delaying the inevitable, as Ebdon pushed on to win 10-2. Peter Ebdon | 10 - 2 | Quentin Hann 74-7 (56) 69-47 (56) 85-25 (54) 69-10 (69) 62-19 (62) 86-40 63-31 63-39 1-56 49-68 79-48 64-35       Day Four After an overnight 8-1 lead it looked like jimmy white was going to be an easy first round winner......it wasn't quite the same story the next day. Jimmy was looking to close the match but O'Brien was having none of it, winning the first two frames of the mornings play. Jimmy then scrapped for the next to go one frame away from victory, Fergal made a valiant effort at a comeback, taking another two, but Jimmy was too good, making a 58 break in the fifteenth frame to claim victory! Jimmy White | 10 - 5 | Fergal O’Brien 110-15 68-31 87-25 65-81 69-56 72-34 83-0 67-66 76-28 8-77 0-76 80-18 0-106 6-73 108-0 John Higgins was on fire today as he took the scalp of young Mark Selby, making the two current highest breaks of the tournament in the process! Even after this display, Higgins, ever the perfectionist, was not entirely happy with his consistency. "It's been the story of my life in the last few years: I play good in patches and garbage in patches," he said. "But it's just snooker; after hearing the news about Paul Hunter you realise it doesn't really mean anything." John Higgins | 10 - 5 | Mark Selby 136-0 (136) 0-135 (135) 105-7 117-8 22-76 17-69 57-64 84-21 106-0 (106) 76-50 138-0 (138) 1-100 88-37 105-0 88-69 A decisive Ali Carter steamrolled the world number 16 to enter the second round today. Carter flew to 6-1 up with some nice breaks, in contrast to Fu's mistake-ridden game. It was then only a matter of time before Carter was victorious, as the next few frames were shared. Marco Fu, after a disappointing season, will now drop out of the top 16 and hopes to have a better time of it next year. Ali Carter | 10 - 4 | Marco Fu 71-40 0-68 78-49 69-37 92-1 58-18 73-25 9-90 80-47 47-61 87-29 78-0 0-80 54-1       Day Three A disastrous season came to an end for Chris Small today as he lost his first round match to local boy Shaun Murphy. Small, who suffers from the spinal disease ankylosing spondylitis, has lost his last 10 ranking matches and is now in danger of falling out of the top-32, from twelfth. After an overnight lead of 5-4, Murphy added the first of the day to go 6-4 ahead. Small took one back but then gave way as Murphy thundered to victory, winning the next four frames and compiling a century. Shaun Murphy | 10 - 5 | Chris Small 75-0 60-22 23-70 33-63 69-12 9-69 0-124 (124) 78-9 92-12 59-28 67-74 84-1 105-0 (100) 59-14 80-32 After a lot of speculation about his health, Paul Hunter, ever the professional, came out to rapturous applause for his first round match against Michael Holt. After some good exchanges from both players, the turning point came in the 9th frame when Holt took a close frame 70-53 which he followed by winning the next three to go 7-5 ahead. Even two centuries couldn't stop the man from Nottingham as he closed out the match with a break of 38 after Hunter missed a late red. Michael Holt | 10 - 8 | Paul Hunter 93-22 0-85 70-35 0-68 17-70 98-12 16-78 59-63 70-53 67-36 64-36 64-56 8-119 (115) 68-56 67-7 2-120 (120) 30-62 68-42 Ken Doherty | 10 - 5 | Barry Pinches 25-59 68-34 0-77 11-63 0-102 (102) 69-9 0-73 74-34 125-0 95-0 109-1 (109) 76-2 101-22 82-14 59-26       Day Two Four matches were completed today, the first being the Hamilton vs Gray affair. The match was scrappy throughout, with both of the players having fairly slow styles. Gray looked like he was running away with it at the beginning, as he took a 4-0 lead but Hamilton dug in, always managing to keep Gray in sight. A run of five frames in a row for Anthony Hamilton put him 9-6 in front but Gray managed to claw a couple back before he crossed the line to make it 10-8. Anthony Hamilton | 10 - 8 | David Gray 50-67 67-75 7-92 41-86 76-30 80-37 0-119 92-8 74-23 1-69 61-47 86-1 72-14 68-22 88-5 44-90 37-64 72-1 Alan McManus | 10 - 9 | Drew Henry 11-76 9-63 52-39 76-44 25-66 57-17 7-73 67-57 61-0 1-128 (128 break) 52-68 75-20 20-65 54-17 109-0 18-63 23-66 100-4 73-11 Matthew Stevens | 10 - 5 | Andy Hicks 80-53 1-67 68-9 8-104 0-105 (105 break) 80-33 66-49 68-3 68-33 66-15 105 (105 break)-0 0-103 56-62 88-9 70-53, Steve Davis | 10 - 9 | Gerard Greene 63-32 41-78 (64) 9-69 78-23 (71) 0-117 (74) 73-20 1-77 3-76 (54) 72-49 75-30 74-67 (respotted black) 48-65 71-40 (62) 81-49 9-85 (52) 5-89 (60) 68-5 28-66 (62) 61-34       Day One Well! What an exciting first day of snooker! It was all about one match, Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Stephen Maguire, world champion vs UK champion. Maguire came out swinging, taking the first two with a couple of half centuries. O'Sullivan hit back with a 72 break to take the third and picked up a scrappy fourth frame. After Maguire got one back, O'Sullivan made the first century of the tournament to bring it level once more and made a 72 break to nudge ahead for the first time in the match at 4-3. After a bit of toing-and-froing Ronnie went two frames clear at 6-4. This only seemed to inspire Maguire as he took five out of six, storming to a 9-7 lead. After a terrible miss on a black from its spot that could have sealed him victory, Maguire started to show weaknesses. On the contrary, O'Sullivan just got better and better, closing out the match with a 68 break. Ronnie O'Sullivan | 10 - 9 | Stephen Maguire 0-72 (50) 23-69 (59) 80-17 (72) 72-40 14-60 (54) 115-0 (115) 74-50 (73) 22-66 99-12 (99) 96-37 (96) 92-0 (92) 53-60 1-102 (102) 31-52 89-1 (89) 1-71 (70) 69-54 (Maguire 54) 74-23 (74) 68-0 (68)