2008 World Snooker Championship

888.com World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates 19 April–5 May 2008
Venue Crucible Theatre
City Sheffield
Country England
Organisation(s) WPBSA
Format Ranking event
Total prize fund £1,050,000
Winner's share £250,000
Highest break England Ronnie O'Sullivan (147)
England Ali Carter (147)
Final
Champion England Ronnie O'Sullivan
Runner-up England Ali Carter
Score 18–8
2007
2009

The 2008 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2008 888.com World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 2008 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

John Higgins was the defending champion, but he lost in the second round 9–13 against Ryan Day.

Ronnie O'Sullivan won his third world title by defeating Ali Carter 18–8 in the final. It was O'Sullivan's 20th ranking title.[1] The tournament was sponsored by online casino 888.com.

Tournament summary

First round

Second round

  • Ryan Day reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the first time in his career by beating the defending champion John Higgins 13–9.[11]
  • Stephen Hendry reached the quarter-finals for the seventeenth time in his career.[12]
  • Liang Wenbo suffered embarrassment when he punched the air in premature celebration of a 13–10 victory over Swail, only for Swail to gain a snooker and take the frame. Swail recovered to level at 12–12, only to miss the brown while clearing the colours in the final frame and lose the match 13–12. The result meant that he would not be in the top 16 the following season. After the match Swail complained bitterly that in the final frame the referee had incorrectly replaced the cue ball after calling a miss, giving Liang an easier escape from a snooker, and accused Liang of unprofessional conduct for not pointing out the referee's mistake.[13]
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan scored a maximum break against Mark Williams in the final frame of their match, the ninth of his career in competitive competition, beating Stephen Hendry's record of eight. This was Ronnie's third at the Crucible.[14]
  • Following his loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams dropped out of the top 16 of the World Rankings after twelve seasons in it.[15]
  • Stephen Maguire repeated his first round feat by winning the first eight frames in the first session of his match against Neil Robertson.[10]

Quarter-finals

  • Ali Carter made the third maximum break of the year (seventh of the 2007/2008 season). This came just a day after Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum, the first time there have been two 147 breaks in the main draw of the same ranking tournament. Peter Ebdon came very close to a maximum of his own just a frame earlier, but narrowly missed the fifteenth black. Just minutes before on the other table, Stephen Hendry was also attempting a maximum of his own but missed the fifteenth red.[16]
  • Stephen Hendry reached the 12th Crucible semi-final of his career, setting a record for one-table appearances that still stands.[17]
  • Liang Wenbo became the first player from mainland China to reach this stage.[16]

Semi-finals

  • Ronnie O'Sullivan whitewashed Stephen Hendry 8–0 in their second session, extending O'Sullivan's streak to eleven consecutive frames against the former seven-time world champion. With winning the opening frame of the third session, he extended the winning streak to 12 consecutive frames. At one point O'Sullivan scored 448 points without reply. This was the first time Hendry had lost every frame in a full session at the Crucible.[18] O'Sullivan won the match 17–6 with a session to spare.[19]
  • This was Stephen Hendry's last world Championship semi-final, 19 years after his first.
  • Ali Carter reached his first ever ranking final by beating Joe Perry 17–15.[20]

Final

  • For the first time in the history of any snooker tournament, both finalists had compiled maximum breaks in earlier rounds.
  • For the first time since 1991 two Englishmen played in the final. In 1991 John Parrott defeated Jimmy White 18–11.[21]
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan became only the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win more than two World titles at the Crucible.[21]
  • The start of the final session was briefly interrupted by a streaker who ran onto the stage and then crawled under the snooker table.[22]
  • In post-match interviews, both players admitted to not having played particularly well, with O'Sullivan commenting "Ali and I are disappointed not to put on a better performance". Carter's performance was described as "jaded".[23]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[10][24]

Main draw

Shown below are the results for each round. The numbers in parentheses beside some of the players are their seeding ranks (each championship has 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers).[10][25]

First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals
Best of 19 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 25 frames Best of 33 frames
                           
19 April            
 Scotland John Higgins (1)   10
24, 25 & 26 April
 Wales Matthew Stevens   5  
 Scotland John Higgins (1)   9
20 & 21 April
   Wales Ryan Day (16)   13  
 Wales Ryan Day (16)  10
29 & 30 April
 Republic of Ireland Michael Judge   6  
 Wales Ryan Day (16)   7
22 April
   Scotland Stephen Hendry (8)  13  
 China Ding Junhui (9)  10
25 & 26 April
 Hong Kong Marco Fu   9  
 China Ding Junhui (9)   7
20 & 21 April
   Scotland Stephen Hendry (8)   13  
 Scotland Stephen Hendry (8)  10
1 & 2 May
 Northern Ireland Mark Allen   9  
 Scotland Stephen Hendry (8)  6
23 & 24 April
   England Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)  17
 England Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)  10
26, 27 & 28 April
 China Liu Chuang   5  
 England Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)   13
21 & 22 April
   Wales Mark Williams (12)   7  
 Wales Mark Williams (12)  10
29 & 30 April
 England Mark Davis   3  
 England Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)  13
19 & 20 April
   China Liang Wenbo  7  
 England Stephen Lee (13)   4
27 & 28 April
 Northern Ireland Joe Swail   10  
 Northern Ireland Joe Swail   12
23 April
   China Liang Wenbo   13  
 Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty (4)   5
 China Liang Wenbo   10  
22 & 23 April            
 England Shaun Murphy (3)   10
25 & 26 April
 England Dave Harold   3  
 England Shaun Murphy (3)   4
19 & 20 April
   England Ali Carter (14)   13  
 England Ali Carter (14)  10
29 & 30 April
 England Barry Hawkins   9  
 England Ali Carter (14)  13
21 & 22 April
   England Peter Ebdon (6)   9  
 England Mark Selby (11)   8
24 & 25 April
 England Mark King   10  
 England Mark King   9
19 & 20 April
   England Peter Ebdon (6)   13  
 England Peter Ebdon (6)   10
1, 2 & 3 May
 England Jamie Cope   9  
 England Ali Carter (14)  17
19 & 20 April
   England Joe Perry  15
 Australia Neil Robertson (7)  10
26, 27 & 28 April
 England Nigel Bond  4  
 Australia Neil Robertson (7)   7
23 & 24 April
   Scotland Stephen Maguire (10)   13  
 Scotland Stephen Maguire (10)   10
29 & 30 April
 England Anthony Hamilton   3  
 Scotland Stephen Maguire (10)  12
21 April
   England Joe Perry  13  
 England Steve Davis (15)   8
27 & 28 April
 England Stuart Bingham   10  
 England Stuart Bingham   9
22 & 23 April
   England Joe Perry   13  
 Scotland Graeme Dott (2)   7
 England Joe Perry   10  
Final (Best of 35 frames) Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 4 May & 5 May 2008. Referee: Netherlands Jan Verhaas[26]
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)
 England
18–8 Ali Carter (14)
 England
81–56, 127–0, 99–0, 0–104, 86–4, 62–76, 65–18, 73–0, 78–0, 36–60, 86–4, 28–93, 45–80, 123–0, 77–32, 110–5, 66–48, 74–0, 25–64, 85–0, 0–84, 58–42, 4–89, 68–39, 75–32, 62–16 2 century breaks: 1 (Carter) 1 (O'Sullivan)

Highest break by O'Sullivan: 106
Highest break by Carter: 104

81–56, 127–0, 99–0, 0–104, 86–4, 62–76, 65–18, 73–0, 78–0, 36–60, 86–4, 28–93, 45–80, 123–0, 77–32, 110–5, 66–48, 74–0, 25–64, 85–0, 0–84, 58–42, 4–89, 68–39, 75–32, 62–16
England Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the 2008 888.com World Snooker Championship

Preliminary qualifying

The preliminary qualifying rounds for the tournament took place at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales between 3 and 5 January 2008.[10]

Round 1

England Phil Seaton5–2Wales Donald Newcombe

Round 2

England Colin Mitchell5–4England Phil Seaton
England Les Dodd1–5India David Singh
England Adam Osbourne0–5England Sean Storey
England Tony Knowles5–1England Ali Bassiri
England Neil Selman5–1England John Wilson
England Ian Stark5–4England Del Smith
England Tony Brown5–1England Christopher Flight
England Stephen Ormerodw/o–w/dEngland Paul Wykes

Round 3

England Colin Mitchell5–3India David Singh
England Sean Storey5–0England Tony Knowles
England Neil Selman4–5England Ian Stark
England Tony Brown3–5England Stephen Ormerod

Qualifying

The qualifying rounds 1–4 for the tournament that place at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales between 6 and 11 January 2008. The final round of qualifying took place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield between 7 and 10 March.[10]

Round 1

Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace10–1England Sean Storey
England Jimmy Robertson10–5England Stephen Ormerod
Republic of Ireland Rodney Goggins10–4England Ian Stark
China Liu Chuang10–0England Colin Mitchell

Rounds 2–5

  Round 2
Best of 19 frames
  Round 3
Best of 19 frames
  Round 4
Best of 19 frames
  Round 5
Best of 19 frames
England Alex Davies 10   Wales Ian Preece 10   England Adrian Gunnell 10   England Stuart Bingham 10
Australia Steve Mifsud 2   England Alex Davies 9   Wales Ian Preece 9   England Adrian Gunnell 3
England Mark Joyce 10   England Jimmy Michie 10   Republic of Ireland Michael Judge 10   England Michael Holt 6
Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace 8   England Mark Joyce 4   England Jimmy Michie 6   Republic of Ireland Michael Judge 10
Scotland James McBain 10   Scotland Marcus Campbell 9   Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien 10   England Jamie Cope 10
Belgium Kevin Van Hove 2   Scotland James McBain 10   Scotland James McBain 4   Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien 5
China Tian Pengfei 10   England Mike Dunn 10   England Andrew Norman 2   England Dave Harold 10
England Ashley Wright 4   China Tian Pengfei 2   England Mike Dunn 10   England Mike Dunn 4
England Munraj Pal 8   England David Roe 10   England Andy Hicks 10   England Barry Hawkins 10
China Xiao Guodong 10   China Xiao Guodong 5   England David Roe 5   England Andy Hicks 8
England Matthew Selt 10   England Jimmy White 10   England A Higginson 7   England Mark King 10
Scotland Fraser Patrick 6   England Matthew Selt 4   England Jimmy White 10   England Jimmy White 3
China Liu Song 10   Scotland Scott MacKenzie 10   Thailand James Wattana 8   England Anthony Hamilton 10
England Jimmy Robertson 6   China Liu Song 5   Scotland Scott MacKenzie 10   Scotland Scott MacKenzie 2
Norway Kurt Maflin 9   Wales Paul Davies 8   England John Parrott 10   England Joe Perry 10
Wales Gareth Coppack 10   Wales Gareth Coppack 10   Wales Gareth Coppack 3   England John Parrott 8
England Shailesh Jogia 4   England Barry Pinches 10   England Robert Milkins 4   England Nigel Bond 10
Wales Michael White 10   Wales Michael White 4   England Barry Pinches 10   England Barry Pinches 7
England Lee Spick 9   England Judd Trump 10   Scotland Jamie Burnett 2   Northern Ireland Joe Swail 10
Republic of Ireland Rodney Goggins 10   Republic of Ireland Rodney Goggins 4   England Judd Trump 10   England Judd Trump 9
England Jamie O'Neill 8   England Stuart Pettman 4   England Rory McLeod 10   Wales Matthew Stevens 10
England Martin Gould 10   England Martin Gould 10   England Martin Gould 8   England Rory McLeod 5
China Liang Wenbo 10   England Rod Lawler 6   England Dave Gilbert 3   England Ian McCulloch 5
England Ben Woollaston 3   China Liang Wenbo 10   China Liang Wenbo 10   China Liang Wenbo 10
Wales Lee Walker 9   Republic of Ireland Joe Delaney 5   England David Gray 5   Wales Dominic Dale 9
China Liu Chuang 10   China Liu Chuang 10   China Liu Chuang 10   China Liu Chuang 10
Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez 10   Scotland Drew Henry 2   England Mark Davis 10   Northern Ireland Gerard Greene 2
England Alfred Burden 4   Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez 10   Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez 9   England Mark Davis 10
Republic of Ireland David Morris 9   Finland Robin Hull   Scotland Alan McManus 10   Hong Kong Marco Fu 10
Thailand Supoj Saenla 10   Thailand Supoj Saenla W/O   Thailand Supoj Saenla 2   Scotland Alan McManus 3
Malta Tony Drago 9   England Tom Ford 5   England Ricky Walden 10   Northern Ireland Mark Allen 10
Thailand I Kachaiwong 10   Thailand I Kachaiwong 10   Thailand I Kachaiwong 4   England Ricky Walden 8

Century breaks

[10]

Televised stage centuries

The highest break received a prize of £10,000, and a 147 break received a prize of £147,000 – a total of £157,000. This prize was shared, as two players made a 147, thus winning £78,500 each. In total there were 63 century breaks made at this year's world championships.

Qualifying stage centuries

References

  1. "O'Sullivan completes world hat-trick". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  2. "Higgins shrugs off early nerves to thwart Stevens' fightback". The Independent on Sunday on HighBeam Research. Retrieved 20 November 2012. (subscription required)
  3. "End Of The World For White". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  4. "Liang stuns Doherty; Liu hangs on". China Internet Information Center. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  5. Roopanarine, Les (22 April 2008). "King reigns supreme as Selby makes early exit". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  6. Casey, Phil. "Higgins wary of Stevens threat". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  7. King, John (20 April 2008). "Red has Matt feeling blue". Sunday Mirror on FindArticles. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  8. "Ding Junhui". betfred.com. Betfred. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  9. Everton, Clive (24 April 2008). "Liang downs off-form Doherty". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "World Snooker Championship 2008". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  11. Yates, Phil (27 April 2008). "Cut of the cloth leaves Higgins out and angry". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  12. Yates, Phil (28 April 2008). "Steady approach gets Stephen Hendry to last eight". The Times. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  13. "Liang edges out Swail in classic". BBC Sport. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  14. Everton, Clive (28 April 2008). "O'Sullivan hits maximum to complete win". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  15. "World Rankings 2008/2009". Snooker.org. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  16. 1 2 Everton, Clive (30 April 2008). "Carter's 'pure adrenaline rush' takes him to a maximum". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  17. "O'Sullivan joins Carter, Perry and Hendry in semi-finals". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  18. "O'Sullivan sends Hendry reeling". London: guardian.co.uk. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  19. Humphries, Adrian. "Brilliant Rocket 7-1 to win with a session to spare". Racing Post on TheFreeLibrary.com. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  20. "Carter reaches first snooker World Championship final after epic victory over Perry". London: Mail Online. 4 May 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  21. 1 2 Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  22. Eagle, Jenny (6 May 2008). "Streaker's 'on the ball'". London: The Sun. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  23. "O'Sullivan wins third world title". BBC Sport. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  24. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 130.
  25. "888.Com World Championship 2008". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  26. Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. p. 143.
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