Matthew Stevens

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Matthew Stevens
Born September 11, 1977 (1977-09-11) (age 30),
Carmarthen
Nationality Flag of Wales Welsh
Nickname(s) The Welsh Dragon
Professional 1994–
Highest ranking #4 (2005/06)
2008/09 ranking #17
Highest break 145 (1996, 2001)
Tournament wins
Ranking 1
Non-ranking 5

Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977, Carmarthen, Wales) is a Welsh professional snooker player. Turning professional in 1994, Stevens reached number six in the world rankings in 2000 and spent the next seven seasons in the top 8, peaking at #4 for 2005/2006. After the 2007 World Championships, Stevens has dropped out of the elite top 16 for the first time in 8 years. [1] His best results have been in the big tournaments, such as the UK Championship and World Championship as longer matches seem to suit his playing style. Known as a good breakbuilder, he has compiled 161 competitive centuries during his career, 11th on the all time list. [2]

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[edit] Career

Stevens reached his first final at the 1998 Liverpool Victoria UK Championship, reaching the final before losing 10-6 to John Higgins. He has one ranking tournament victory: the UK Championship in 2003.

Stevens has never won the World Snooker Championship but has reached the final twice. In 2000 he reached the final but lost 16-18 to Mark Williams after having been up 10-6, 13-7 and then 14-10 with only 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 4 frame overnight lead. In 2005 he was again runner-up, 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. Again Stevens relinquished a 4 frame overnight lead to lose in the final, only the third time this have ever happened. He has also been a beaten semi-finalist on three occasions in 2001, 2002 and 2004.[3] 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 needed a relatively simple red in the 31st frame to leave his opponent needing snookers. Stevens missed the pot and Ebdon made a famous clearance to win the frame, and went on to take the next two to win the match. In 2007 he lost 12-13 to Murphy in the quarter finals having led 11-5 and 12-7, making him the first person to ever lose a best of 25 match from leading 12-7.[1]. He qualified for the 2008 World Championship, with a 10-5 win over Rory McLeod. [1] In the 1st round he lost 10-5 to defending champion John Higgins (his first ever defeat in the first round proper), and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season, for 2008/2009 he is ranked at 17.

Like Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stevens is right-handed but sometimes plays certain shots left-handed if necessary. In 1998 he along with a couple of other players compiled three 147s in a one day event, the Buckleys Best Snooker Challenge, setting a new record. [4]

When Stevens won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 2000, Ken Doherty missed the final black of a 147 attempt, the first time this has ever happened in professional televised tournament.

[edit] Personal Life

The unexpected death of his father, manager and friend Morrell[4] in 2001 was tough on him. This caused Matthew to have an uneventful few seasons. Stevens and his wife Claire have a son, named Freddie Morrell who was born in 2004.[3]

Matthew attended an all Welsh speaking school and, was not allowed to speak a word of English whilst there. From time to time Matthew and his close friend and fellow professional Mark J. Williams, will have Welsh-language conversations over the phone.

Stevens was a pallbearer at close friend Paul Hunter's funeral.[5] He is also a celebrity Texas hold 'em poker player and, in 2004 won the UK's richest poker tournament at just 27 years old, beating former World Darts champion Phil Taylor to first place. Stevens had only been playing poker for 18 months before his victory.[6][7]

[edit] Tournament wins

Ranking events
Other tournaments

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b World Snooker (2007). Stevens hit for six as Murphy Prevails. World Snooker. Retrieved on May 3, 2007.
  2. ^ Chris Turners Snooker archive (2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  3. ^ a b World Snooker (2007). Player Profile - Matthew Stevens. World Snooker. Retrieved on May 4, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Chris Turner (2003). Player Profile - Matthew Stevens. The Global Snooker Centre. Retrieved on April 20, 2007.
  5. ^ Hundreds gather at Hunter funeral. BBC News / West Yorkshire (2006). Retrieved on April 20, 2007.
  6. ^ Snooker star wins poker's big pot. BBC News (2004). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  7. ^ Matthew Stevens: Hendon Mob Poker Database. TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved on April 20, 2007.

[edit] External links