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Matthew Stevens
Matthew John 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 crown event, the World Snooker Championship, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of No. 4 for the 2005/2006 season. Stevens has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career.
Stevens became a professional snooker player in 1994; in his second season, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the Masters, where he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 5–6 to Alan McManus. He also showed potential the following season by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997–98 season, he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and the UK Championship, achieving the highest break of the tournament at the latter. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at the Crucible in the World Championship, beating Alain Robidoux and Mark King before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998, he reached his first ranking final at the UK Championship, losing 6–10 to John Higgins.
In the 1999–00 season Stevens got to all three finals of the Triple Crown events. In the final of the 1999 UK Championship he lost to Mark Williams 8–10. He won the 2000 Masters title, with a 10–8 win over Ken Doherty in the final. At the 2000 World Championship, he reached the first of his two world championship finals to date. After victories over Tony Drago, Alan McManus, Jimmy White, and Joe Swail, he faced Mark Williams in the final, losing 16–18, after having led 10–6, 13–7, and then 14–10, with the final session to play. Stevens became only the second player in the history of the world championship to lose in the final from holding a four frame overnight lead. He has also been beaten in a world championship semi-final on four occasions: in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2012. In 2002, he looked certain to have won a place in the final, leading Peter Ebdon 16–14 in their semi-final tie, and just needing a relatively simple red in the 31st frame to leave his opponent requiring snookers. When Stevens missed the pot, Ebdon made an impressive clearance to win the frame and went on to take the next two frames to win the match 17–16.
Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship, after beating Stephen Hendry in the final. He trailed Hendry 0–4 at the first interval, but remarkably he reeled off the next five frames; Hendry found his form again to lead 7–5, but Stevens was not to be denied and clinched a 10–8 victory. This remains the only ranking tournament victory of his career. However, he followed this achievement with a run of nine successive first round defeats in best-of-nine matches, only interrupted by a run to the semi-final of the 2004 World Championship.
He was again runner-up at the 2005 World Championship, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy in the final, having been up 10–6, and then 12–11 with only the final session to play. He again relinquished a four frame overnight lead to lose in the final, only the third time this had ever happened in world championship history. The turning point was arguably the 22nd frame, in which he had a shot at the final blue to leave Murphy needing snookers; Stevens elected to play the shot left-handed rather than use the rest and, when he missed the shot, Murphy then cleared the table to level the match at 11–11. Despite the disappointment of losing the final, Stevens insisted that Murphy had simply been the "better player" and that he would himself eventually win the championship.[citation needed]
The following year, Stevens was beaten by Ken Doherty 8–13 in the second round of the 2006 World Championship, having gone into the final session level at 8–8.
In 2007, Stevens lost 12–13 to Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship, having led 11–5 and 12–7 earlier in the match, making him the first person to ever lose a best-of-25 match from a 12–7 lead. The defeat left him ranked outside the top 16 for the first time in eight years. In 2008, he was defeated in the first round of the World Championship for the first time in his career, by defending champion John Higgins, and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season. The only highlight of the 2008–09 season was a run to the final of the Bahrain Championship, in which he was given a top 16 seeding due to the unavailability of three leading players. He only reached the last 16 of one other event, and failed to qualify for the World Championship after a defeat to Martin Gould. He finished the season with a drop of nine places to world number 26.
Stevens enjoyed a solid 2009–10 season. He qualified for the Welsh Open by beating Barry Pinches 5–4. In the first round, he caused an upset by defeating Shaun Murphy 5–4. He then faced Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in the second round but, despite making two century breaks, he lost the match 2–5. He also lost a close match 9–10 to Marcus Campbell in the 2010 World Championship qualifiers, and thus did not make it to the main draw at The Crucible for the second year in succession.
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Matthew Stevens
Matthew John 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 crown event, the World Snooker Championship, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of No. 4 for the 2005/2006 season. Stevens has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career.
Stevens became a professional snooker player in 1994; in his second season, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the Masters, where he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 5–6 to Alan McManus. He also showed potential the following season by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997–98 season, he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and the UK Championship, achieving the highest break of the tournament at the latter. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at the Crucible in the World Championship, beating Alain Robidoux and Mark King before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998, he reached his first ranking final at the UK Championship, losing 6–10 to John Higgins.
In the 1999–00 season Stevens got to all three finals of the Triple Crown events. In the final of the 1999 UK Championship he lost to Mark Williams 8–10. He won the 2000 Masters title, with a 10–8 win over Ken Doherty in the final. At the 2000 World Championship, he reached the first of his two world championship finals to date. After victories over Tony Drago, Alan McManus, Jimmy White, and Joe Swail, he faced Mark Williams in the final, losing 16–18, after having led 10–6, 13–7, and then 14–10, with the final session to play. Stevens became only the second player in the history of the world championship to lose in the final from holding a four frame overnight lead. He has also been beaten in a world championship semi-final on four occasions: in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2012. In 2002, he looked certain to have won a place in the final, leading Peter Ebdon 16–14 in their semi-final tie, and just needing a relatively simple red in the 31st frame to leave his opponent requiring snookers. When Stevens missed the pot, Ebdon made an impressive clearance to win the frame and went on to take the next two frames to win the match 17–16.
Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship, after beating Stephen Hendry in the final. He trailed Hendry 0–4 at the first interval, but remarkably he reeled off the next five frames; Hendry found his form again to lead 7–5, but Stevens was not to be denied and clinched a 10–8 victory. This remains the only ranking tournament victory of his career. However, he followed this achievement with a run of nine successive first round defeats in best-of-nine matches, only interrupted by a run to the semi-final of the 2004 World Championship.
He was again runner-up at the 2005 World Championship, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy in the final, having been up 10–6, and then 12–11 with only the final session to play. He again relinquished a four frame overnight lead to lose in the final, only the third time this had ever happened in world championship history. The turning point was arguably the 22nd frame, in which he had a shot at the final blue to leave Murphy needing snookers; Stevens elected to play the shot left-handed rather than use the rest and, when he missed the shot, Murphy then cleared the table to level the match at 11–11. Despite the disappointment of losing the final, Stevens insisted that Murphy had simply been the "better player" and that he would himself eventually win the championship.[citation needed]
The following year, Stevens was beaten by Ken Doherty 8–13 in the second round of the 2006 World Championship, having gone into the final session level at 8–8.
In 2007, Stevens lost 12–13 to Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship, having led 11–5 and 12–7 earlier in the match, making him the first person to ever lose a best-of-25 match from a 12–7 lead. The defeat left him ranked outside the top 16 for the first time in eight years. In 2008, he was defeated in the first round of the World Championship for the first time in his career, by defending champion John Higgins, and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season. The only highlight of the 2008–09 season was a run to the final of the Bahrain Championship, in which he was given a top 16 seeding due to the unavailability of three leading players. He only reached the last 16 of one other event, and failed to qualify for the World Championship after a defeat to Martin Gould. He finished the season with a drop of nine places to world number 26.
Stevens enjoyed a solid 2009–10 season. He qualified for the Welsh Open by beating Barry Pinches 5–4. In the first round, he caused an upset by defeating Shaun Murphy 5–4. He then faced Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in the second round but, despite making two century breaks, he lost the match 2–5. He also lost a close match 9–10 to Marcus Campbell in the 2010 World Championship qualifiers, and thus did not make it to the main draw at The Crucible for the second year in succession.