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2002 Irish Masters
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2002 Irish Masters
The 2002 Irish Masters (known as the 2002 Citywest Irish Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 19 to 24 March. It was the 25th edition of the Irish Masters and the fourth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational event of the 2001–02 season; it followed the third invitational event, the 2002 Masters, held in February. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Citywest hotel group and the Department of Health and Children and broadcast by RTÉ.
Third-ranked John Higgins won the competition, defeating the world number seven Peter Ebdon ten frames to three (10–3) in the final. It was Higgins' second Irish Masters victory, his fourth in a tournament that season and the 24th of his career. In the semi-finals Higgins defeated Matthew Stevens 6–5 and Ebdon won 6–3 over Ken Doherty. Higgins produced the tournament's highest break of 140 in the eighth frame of his semi-final match against Stevens to earn €5,000 and a further €100,000 for winning the event.
Founded in 1978 by the Benson & Hedges tobacco company as the Republic of Ireland's major snooker event, the Irish Masters originated as a snooker challenge match and became an elimination tournament. The 2002 competition was the 25th edition of the competition, and the fourth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational event of the 2001–02 season. As an invitational event, it did not carry world ranking points. It featured a 12-player main draw held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 19 to 24 March, and was co-sponsored by the hotel group Citywest and the Department of Health and Children. It had a prize fund of €251,000, and the host broadcaster was RTÉ.
A total of 12 players competed in the Irish Masters: the top eleven players in the world rankings, and a wild card entry, the world number sixteen, Fergal O'Brien. Each of the 12 players were seeded, with the first seed being Ronnie O'Sullivan, the 2001 Irish Masters winner, and the reigning UK and world champion. Steve Davis, the eight-time Irish Masters winner, missed the event for the first time since the 1986 tournament because he fell to 21st in the world rankings and was not given a wild card. The maximum number of frames played in a match increased from 11 in the first round, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals to the best-of-19 frames final on 24 March.
The breakdown of prize money for the 2002 tournament is listed below.
The first round of the tournament was held from 19 to 20 March as best-of-11 frame matches. World number eight Stephen Lee defeated the reigning Masters champion Paul Hunter 6–4 in their third meeting of the season. The match was equalled at 3–3 and then 4–4 before Lee compiled breaks of 72 and 88 to go through to the quarter-finals. Lee said he had worked to improve his technique and was pleased with it. World number seven Peter Ebdon won 6–2 against world championship semi-finalist Joe Swail. Ebdon compiled breaks of 120 and 81 to move clear of Swail and win the match—this after Swail had missed a red ball that would have allowed him to win the fifth frame. Both players agreed that Swail's error was the game's turning point.
Matthew Stevens won 6–5 over Jimmy White, who made his 20th successive appearance in the Irish Masters. Ahead 3–1, Stevens fell 4–3 behind White at the mid-session interval after he produced breaks of 106 and 102 and a clearance of 65 to the black ball. White missed a red to win the match while on a break of 62 and Stevens made a 58 clearance to the pink ball. Stevens missed the black and White potted it to force a final frame, which Stevens won 75–14. Stephen Hendry, the seven-time world champion, took a 6–2 victory over O'Brien. Leading 2–1 with a break of 74, O'Brien was tied when Hendry produced a 112 break. Hendry then made breaks of 98 and 100 en route to his win as O'Brien accumulated 41 points in that time.
The four best-of-11 frame quarter-finals took place from 21 to 22 March with the first-round winners playing one of the top four seeds. Ebdon was the first player through to the semi-finals when he defeated world number one Mark Williams 6–4. He took a 5–2 lead from breaks of 110, 77 and 113 along with a 93 clearance. Williams reduced the deficit to 5–4 before a miss on the black in the tenth frame allowed Ebdon to win the match. Ken Doherty played Lee in the second quarter-final. Lee achieved the match's top break of 90 as he drew the score at 2–2 and forced a re-spotted black after Doherty was out of position on the pink. Lee missed his target and Doherty took frame five before it went to 4–3 after Doherty incurred five fouls from being snookered on the green ball in the seventh. Lee took two of the following three frames to claim a 6–4 victory.
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2002 Irish Masters
The 2002 Irish Masters (known as the 2002 Citywest Irish Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 19 to 24 March. It was the 25th edition of the Irish Masters and the fourth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational event of the 2001–02 season; it followed the third invitational event, the 2002 Masters, held in February. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Citywest hotel group and the Department of Health and Children and broadcast by RTÉ.
Third-ranked John Higgins won the competition, defeating the world number seven Peter Ebdon ten frames to three (10–3) in the final. It was Higgins' second Irish Masters victory, his fourth in a tournament that season and the 24th of his career. In the semi-finals Higgins defeated Matthew Stevens 6–5 and Ebdon won 6–3 over Ken Doherty. Higgins produced the tournament's highest break of 140 in the eighth frame of his semi-final match against Stevens to earn €5,000 and a further €100,000 for winning the event.
Founded in 1978 by the Benson & Hedges tobacco company as the Republic of Ireland's major snooker event, the Irish Masters originated as a snooker challenge match and became an elimination tournament. The 2002 competition was the 25th edition of the competition, and the fourth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational event of the 2001–02 season. As an invitational event, it did not carry world ranking points. It featured a 12-player main draw held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 19 to 24 March, and was co-sponsored by the hotel group Citywest and the Department of Health and Children. It had a prize fund of €251,000, and the host broadcaster was RTÉ.
A total of 12 players competed in the Irish Masters: the top eleven players in the world rankings, and a wild card entry, the world number sixteen, Fergal O'Brien. Each of the 12 players were seeded, with the first seed being Ronnie O'Sullivan, the 2001 Irish Masters winner, and the reigning UK and world champion. Steve Davis, the eight-time Irish Masters winner, missed the event for the first time since the 1986 tournament because he fell to 21st in the world rankings and was not given a wild card. The maximum number of frames played in a match increased from 11 in the first round, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals to the best-of-19 frames final on 24 March.
The breakdown of prize money for the 2002 tournament is listed below.
The first round of the tournament was held from 19 to 20 March as best-of-11 frame matches. World number eight Stephen Lee defeated the reigning Masters champion Paul Hunter 6–4 in their third meeting of the season. The match was equalled at 3–3 and then 4–4 before Lee compiled breaks of 72 and 88 to go through to the quarter-finals. Lee said he had worked to improve his technique and was pleased with it. World number seven Peter Ebdon won 6–2 against world championship semi-finalist Joe Swail. Ebdon compiled breaks of 120 and 81 to move clear of Swail and win the match—this after Swail had missed a red ball that would have allowed him to win the fifth frame. Both players agreed that Swail's error was the game's turning point.
Matthew Stevens won 6–5 over Jimmy White, who made his 20th successive appearance in the Irish Masters. Ahead 3–1, Stevens fell 4–3 behind White at the mid-session interval after he produced breaks of 106 and 102 and a clearance of 65 to the black ball. White missed a red to win the match while on a break of 62 and Stevens made a 58 clearance to the pink ball. Stevens missed the black and White potted it to force a final frame, which Stevens won 75–14. Stephen Hendry, the seven-time world champion, took a 6–2 victory over O'Brien. Leading 2–1 with a break of 74, O'Brien was tied when Hendry produced a 112 break. Hendry then made breaks of 98 and 100 en route to his win as O'Brien accumulated 41 points in that time.
The four best-of-11 frame quarter-finals took place from 21 to 22 March with the first-round winners playing one of the top four seeds. Ebdon was the first player through to the semi-finals when he defeated world number one Mark Williams 6–4. He took a 5–2 lead from breaks of 110, 77 and 113 along with a 93 clearance. Williams reduced the deficit to 5–4 before a miss on the black in the tenth frame allowed Ebdon to win the match. Ken Doherty played Lee in the second quarter-final. Lee achieved the match's top break of 90 as he drew the score at 2–2 and forced a re-spotted black after Doherty was out of position on the pink. Lee missed his target and Doherty took frame five before it went to 4–3 after Doherty incurred five fouls from being snookered on the green ball in the seventh. Lee took two of the following three frames to claim a 6–4 victory.