2001 Malta Grand Prix

Snooker tournament October 2020 October 2020 Malta Grand Prix 2001 02 21 2001 02 25 y Mediterranean Conference Centre Valletta Malta Non-ranking event £36,000 £10,000 Stephen Hendry SCO (147) Stephen Hendry SCO Mark Williams WAL 7–1 2000 Last The 2001 Malta Grand Prix (officially the 2001 Rothmans Malta Grand Prix) was a professional snooker tournament held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta, from 21 to 25 February 2001. It was the seventh and last Malta Grand Prix, and the fourth of the five World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational competitions in the 2000–01 snooker season. It preceded the season's antepenultimate invitational event, the 2001 Masters. The event featured 12 players and was played as a round-robin format until the semi-finals. Ken Doherty was the defending champion of the tournament having defeated Mark Williams nine frame frames to three (9–3) in the final of the 2000 event but was eliminated from the group stages after finishing second in his group. Stephen Hendry won the competition, beating Williams 7–1 in the final. It was the 69th tournament that Hendry had won and he earned £10,000 from a prize pool of £36,000. In the semi-finals, Hendry defeated fellow Scot John Higgins 6–4 and Williams also beat Fergal O'Brien 6–4. Hendry made a maximum break in the third frame of the final, the highest of the tournament and the 42nd maximum in professional play. Background thumb|The Mediterranean Conference Centre (pictured in 2013) where the competition was held The Malta Grand Prix was created by Snooker Promotions (Malta) founders Richard Balani, Wilfred Sultana and Joe Zammit in 1994 as a 12-player competition. It was Malta's first major professional snooker event. The event was non-ranking for most of its history except for the 2000 tournament.Sultana Wilfred 21 February 2004 A successful snooker story The Times of Malta https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/a-successful-snooker-story.129345 live 7 October 2020 11 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201011144224/https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/a-successful-snooker-story.129345Turner Chris Malta Grand Prix, Malta Cup http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Malta.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120403122412/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Malta.html 3 April 2012 4 November 2011 Chris Turner's Snooker Archive The 2001 tournament was the fourth of the five World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational events in the 2000–01 snooker season, and was the seventh Malta Grand Prix, It was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, between 21 and 25 February 2001, and preceded the 2001 Masters.Tournament Diary 2000/2001 http://www.laboremus.no/Snooker/Trn/0001/diary20002001.shtml dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010729000609/http://www.laboremus.no/Snooker/Trn/0001/diary20002001.shtml 29 July 2001 7 October 2020 WWW Snooker Sponsored by the cigarette manufacturer Rothmans, it had a total prize fund of £36,000, with £10,000 going to the winner.Layton Eric Cuesport Book of Professional Snooker 179 A total of 12 players including 3 from Malta were invited to enter the competition.14 February 2001 O'Sullivan and Fu Withdraw From Malta Trip http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/451.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010618150354/http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/451.htm 18 June 2001 7 October 2020 Embassy SnookerHendon David 16 February 2001 Here Comes The Sun http://www.tsnsnooker.com/cont/trn/sched/malta.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010303180715/http://www.tsnsnooker.com/cont/trn/sched/malta.htm 3 March 2001 7 October 2020 TSN Snooker Maltese players Alex Borg, Tony Drago and Joe Grech as well as Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Paul Hunter, Stephen Lee, Fergal O'Brien, Matthew Stevens, Joe Swail and Mark Williams participated in the tournament. Ronnie O'Sullivan, a three-time ranking winner in the 2000–01 season, withdrew due to a reoccurring back injury while Marco Fu also withdrew for family reasons, leading O'Brien and Hunter to replace them.21 February 2001 Sporting digest: Snooker 27 The Independent https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A70686936/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=e70cb5b1 live subscription 7 October 2020 Gale General OneFile 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152204/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA70686936&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GPS&asid=e70cb5b1 Players were put into four groups of three, with each group winner qualifying for the semi-finals. The maximum number of frames in a match increased from 9 in the group stages to 11 in the semi-final, leading up to the final, which was best-of-13 frames.2001 Rothmans Malta Grand Prix http://www.azbilliards.com/snooker/2000-01/01maltagp.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030522001740/http://www.azbilliards.com/snooker/2000-01/01maltagp.html 22 May 2003 7 October 2020 AZBilliards.com Group stages Groups A and B The twelve best-of-nine frame group stage matches took place from 21 to 23 February.Malta Grand Prix Order of Play http://www.110sport.com/snooker/cont/trn/sched/maltaoop.php dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010501020400/http://www.110sport.com/snooker/cont/trn/sched/maltaoop.php 1 May 2001 7 October 2020 110Sport Group A was composed of Borg, Doherty and Higgins. In his first match since losing to O'Brien in the quarter-finals of the 2001 Masters,21 February 2001 Doherty has easy opening victory The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/doherty-has-easy-opening-victory-1.283756 live 7 October 2020 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152207/https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/doherty-has-easy-opening-victory-1.283756 world number seven and the tournament's defending champion Doherty made break breaks of 115, 73, 131, 77 and 79 to defeat Borg 5–1.21 February 2001 Snooker: Doherty wins in Malta Grand Prix Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-30004716.html live 7 October 2020 10 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201010154338/https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-30004716.html Higgins outscored Borg 449 to 111 as he whitewashed Borg 5–0 with breaks of 83, 81, 77 and 73.Dee John 23 February 2001 Williams on course 40 The Daily Telegraph https://www.proquest.com/docview/317448635 subscription 7 October 2020 317448635 The final match of the group saw Higgins play Doherty. Higgins won three of the first five frames with Doherty securing frames three and five for a 3–2 score. Higgins won frames six and seven to progress to the semi-finals with a 5–2 win. Grech, Hendry and Stevens played in Group B. Grech led 3–0 in the match against Stevens but the latter made breaks of 80, 62, 54, 46 and 43 to win 5–3.Dee John 21 February 2001 Stevens Near Miss As Cable Snaps http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/455.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010430053217/http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/455.htm 30 April 2001 7 October 2020 Embassy Snooker During the eighth frame, the electrical cables attached to the television lighting rig some 50 ft on above the players snapped and swung across the table, causing Stevens, who was about to strike the pink ball, to seek cover. While the cables did not cause any damage, play was suspended because they needed to be reattached to their couplings.Yates Phil 22 February 2001 Hunter is caught out by Drago; Snooker 37 The Times https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A70754038/AONE?u=wikipedia&sid=AONE&xid=e631ccc3 live subscription 8 October 2020 Gale Academic OneFile 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152206/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA70754038&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=e631ccc321 February 2001 Snooker: Stevens advances in difficult circumstances Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-30004731.html live 7 October 2020 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152208/https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-30004731.html Hendry produced his 19th century break of the season and the 524th of his career in the fifth frame of his 5–1 victory over Grech.22 February 2001 Day Two – Scots Produce Double http://worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta3.asp dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010306213114/http://www.worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta3.asp 6 March 2001 7 October 2020 World Snooker The following day, Hendry made breaks of 118 and 67 to defeat Stevens 5–3 and qualify for the semi-finals. Groups C and D Group C was made up of O'Brien, Lee and Swail. O'Brien won the match's first group 5–3 over Swail. Lee, the world number five, won 5–3 over Swail and needed to beat O'Brien to go through to the semi-finals. The final match of Group C saw O'Brien win the first frame on a 112 break before Lee took the next two. The next four frames were shared between both players. O'Brien took the eighth to force a final frame decider that he won with a break of 59 for a 5–4 victory and entry to the semi-finals. Drago, Hunter and Williams were drawn in Group D. Hunter was defeated 5–3 by Drago following breaks of 65, 47 and 40 from the latter after he lost the first frame on the black ball. Drago said post-match: "It wasn't a full house out there but the expectations for me these days are not good because I have fallen down the rankings and I haven't done all that well for a few years". Williams won 5–2 over Hunter and commented that he could not score heavily due to bouncing on the cushion cushions and had difficulty controlling the cue ball. Williams claimed the final frames of his match against Drago with breaks of 54, 65, 45, 43 and 36 to win the last semi-final spot 5–2.23 February 2001 Day Three – Semi-finals Take Shape http://worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta4.asp dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010306213209/http://www.worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta4.asp 6 March 2001 7 October 2020 World Snooker Knockout rounds Semi-finals The two semi-finals were played on 23 and 24 February. Hendry and Higgins played in the first semi-final. The lead was 2–0 to Hendry, which he made 4–2 and later 5–3. Higgins was unable to force a final frame decider when he missed the brown ball to win the tenth frame and tie the score at 5–5.24 February 2001 Day Four – Hendry Wins Battle of the Scots http://worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta5.asp dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010414073908/http://worldsnooker.com/snooker_media_centre/malta/media_malta5.asp 14 April 2001 7 October 2020 World Snooker Hendry took the tenth frame 63–62 to win the match 6–4 and the final's first berth. Hendry, who had qualified for his 90th career final, said: "I played OK in patches then missed an easy one, something you can't afford to do at this level. But a win is a win and while capturing ranking event titles is what I'm after, I'll be happy to lift this trophy as it's been a long time since I won anything."Dee John 24 February 2001 Hendry Through to Malta Final http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/459.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010430054443/http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/459.htm 30 April 2001 7 October 2020 Embassy Snooker thumb|upright|right|Stephen Hendry (pictured in 2011) won the 69th tournament of his career with a 7–1 victory over Mark Williams. The other semi-final was between O'Brien and Williams. The first frame was won by Williams and O'Brien took the next four to lead 4–1. Williams changed his playing style midway through the match as he was unsteady as a result of him jabbing and snatching.D'Arcy Jimmy 25 February 2001 Snooker: O'Brien loses out to Williams https://www.rte.ie/sport/snooker/2001/0225/154446-snooker/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20201008210003/https://www.rte.ie/sport/snooker/2001/0225/154446-snooker/ 8 October 2020 7 October 2020 RTÉ Sport Errors from O'Brien stopped him winning frames eight and nine, before missing the final red ball to lead 5–4, allowing Williams to win the tenth frame with a clearance of 31 to the black ball to win 6–4 and the second spot in the final.Dee John 24 February 2001 Williams Takes Last Five From O'Brien http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/460.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010430054532/http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/460.htm 30 April 2001 7 October 2020 Embassy Snooker Williams reached his second final of the season and commented on his playing style: "To do that is ludicrous but that shows how my head went. I was disgusted with myself but jabbing and snatching at everything seemed to work so I'll be sticking with that against Stephen." Final The best-of-13 frames final between Hendry and Williams was held on the evening of 25 February. Williams won the first frame on a break of 42, and finished with a score of 75–20.Dee John Snooker: Hendry exerts the maximum pressure https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/2999639/Snooker-Hendry-exerts-the-maximum-pressure.html The Daily Telegraph 26 February 2001 7 October 2020 subscription 9 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201009214450/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/2999639/Snooker-Hendry-exerts-the-maximum-pressure.html live Hendry took the next six frames with breaks of 57, 70, 56, 41 and 87 and pot potted the black in the eighth to win the match 7–1.Yates Phil 26 February 2001 Hendry back in winner's circle with 147; Snooker 8 The Times https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A70891568/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=331a2737 live subscription 7 October 2020 Gale Academic OneFile 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152210/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA70891568&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GPS&asid=331a2737 He also achieved a maximum break in the third frame for the highest break.Snooker: Hendry completes Maltese victory https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A70865596/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=f253ba8c The Independent 26 February 2001 7 October 2020 11 Gale General OneFile subscription 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152206/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA70865596&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GPS&asid=f253ba8c live Hendry made his eighth maximum,Maximum credit as Hendry regains touch https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12232952.maximum-credit-as-hendry-regains-touch/ The Herald 26 February 2001 7 October 2020 8 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201008193128/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12232952.maximum-credit-as-hendry-regains-touch/ live and his third in a major tournament final.The other two finals that Hendry made maximum breaks in were the 1997 Charity Challenge and the 1999 British Open.Dee John Hendry Captures Malta Title http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/461.htm Embassy Snooker 25 February 2001 7 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20010429052525/http://www.embassysnooker.com/news/461.htm 29 April 2001 dead It was the third overseas maximum, the first in a European competition away from Great Britain and Ireland,Baxter Trevor Hendry back in winning frame https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A82428265/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=0ac8e7b1 The Scotsman 26 February 2001 7 October 2020 9 Gale OneFile: News subscription 16 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201116152245/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA82428265&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GPS&asid=0ac8e7b1 live and professional snooker's 42nd maximum. Hendry earned £10,000 prize money for winning the tournament and £1,000 for making a maximum break. It was the 69th tournament win of his career, and his first since the 2000 Premier League. Hendry commented on the win: "People will say this is only a small tournament but just to be in the winner's circle again is a good feeling." He went on to talk about his maximum break: "As for the maximum, I fancied it from the word go, the balls were perfectly placed by the time the break reached eight and it was then a great opportunity to go all the way. I was never in any trouble at all." Willams, who won £5,000 as runner-up, said of his loss: "I was never in the match. I tried to win but there was nothing there and Stephen deserved to beat me." He conceded that "I'm getting used to a good pummelling" after losing the finals of the UK Championship to Higgins and the China Open to O'Sullivan earlier in the season. Results The players highlighted in bold text in the table indicate who progressed to the semi-finals. Players in bold to the right of the tables denote match winners. Group A +Group A final tablePOS Final positionPlayerMP Matches playedMW Matches wonML Matches lostFW Frames wonFL Frames lostFD Frame deficitPTS Points1 John Higgins SCO 220102+822 Ken Doherty IRL21176+113 Alex Borg Alex Borg (snooker player) MLT202110−90 SCO John Higgins 5–0 Alex Borg MLT IRL Ken Doherty 5–1 Alex Borg MLT SCO John Higgins 5–2 Ken Doherty IRL Group B +Group B final tablePOS Final positionPlayerMP Matches playedMW Matches wonML Matches lost FW Frames wonFL Frames lostFD Frame deficitPTS Points1 Stephen Hendry SCO220104+622Matthew Stevens WAL21188013Joe Grech snooker player MLT202410−60 SCO Stephen Hendry 5–1 Joe Grech MLT WAL Matthew Stevens 5–3 Joe Grech MLT SCO Stephen Hendry 5–3 Matthew Stevens WAL Group C +Group C final tablePOS Final positionPlayerMP Matches playedMW Matches wonML Matches lost FW Frames wonFL Frames lostFD Frame deficitPTS Points1 Fergal O'Brien IRL220107+322 Stephen Lee snooker player ENG21198+113 Joe Swail NIR202610−50 ENG Stephen Lee 5–3 Joe Swail NIR IRL Fergal O'Brien 5–3 Joe Swail NIR ENG Stephen Lee 4–5 Fergal O'Brien IRL Group D +Group D final tablePOS Final positionPlayerMP Matches playedMW Matches wonML Matches lost FW Frames wonFL Frames lostFD Frame deficitPTS Points1 Mark Williams snooker player WAL 220104+622 Tony Drago MLT21178−113 Paul Hunter ENG202510−50 WAL Mark Williams 5–2 Tony Drago MLT ENG Paul Hunter 3–5 Tony Drago MLT WAL Mark Williams 5–2 Paul Hunter ENG Knockout draw Players in bold indicate match winners. no SCO Stephen Hendry 6 SCO John Higgins 4 WAL Mark Williams 6 IRL Fergal O'Brien 4 SCO Stephen Hendry 7 WAL Mark Williams 1 Semi-finalsBest of 11 frames FinalBest of 13 frames Final The bold text in the table indicates all of the winning frame scores and the winning player. Breaks over 50 are displayed in brackets. Final: Best of 13 frames.Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta, 25 February 2001.Mark Williams1–7Stephen HendryEvening: 75–20, 41–74 (57), 0–147 (147), 35–79 (70), 46–61 (56), 17–70, 7–87 (87), 50–5742Highest break1470Century breaks1050+ breaks5 Century breaks The 2001 Malta Grand Prix featured a total of seven century breaks between three players. The highest break was a maximum recorded by Hendry in the third frame of the final with Williams. 147, 118, 118, 100 Stephen Hendry 131, 115 Ken Doherty 112 Fergal O'Brien Notes References Category:Malta Grand Prix Category:2001 in Maltese sport Category:2001 in snooker Category:Sport in Valletta Category:21st century in Valletta