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Matthew Stevens fought back from a seemingly hopeless position to edge out Paul Hunter 13-12 at The Crucible.

Stevens, who began the session 10-6 behind, took all four of the opening frames to level after an inspired run with breaks of 58, 53, 64 and 73.

Hunter went 12-10 up but let Stevens back in with a missed match-ball pink in the 23rd.

The ninth seed cleared up to narrow the gap, forced a decider and edged a nail-biting decider on the pink.

Stevens was delighted with victory over his close friend but admitted his heart was in his mouth during a thrilling final frame.

“I played four perfect frames at the start, but then Paul came back well and I had to dig deep,” said Stevens.

“It was an unbelievable end. We were both going for shots and missing – it was like the Davis and Taylor final.

“I think Paul is one the top two players in the world – he was the man to beat at this tournament.”

A disappointed Hunter reiterated his desire to become world champion.

“You’ve got to believe in yourself in this game and I do – before the end of my career I will definitely be lifting that silver trophy,” said Hunter.

“I was trying my hardest but I suppose the pressure did get to me a bit.

“He was a bit lucky, but that’s snooker and it’s not the end of the world.”

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Second-round result (best of 25 frames):
M Stevens (Wal) 13-12 P Hunter (Eng)

109-21 (109), 58-67, 65-70 (65 Stevens), 47-83 (70), 89-0 (89), 62-45, 55-43, 2-85, 113-0 (113), 18-54, 26-105 (67), 57-43, 5-66, 0-125 (125), 1-85, 41-82, 73-37 (58), 91-0 (53), 80-42 (64), 77-0 (73), 0-81, 24-106 (99), 58-50, 61-31, 63-50

Graeme Dott held off a brave fightback from former world champion John Higgins to win their second round match 13-10.

Dott led 10-6 at the start of play and came back after Higgins won the first frame of the evening to take a 12-7 lead and move within sight of victory.

But the world number four suddenly hit form, rattling in breaks of 89 and 130 as he won three frames in a row.

Dott looked nervous, but finally got a chance and made a 62 break to book a quarter-final against David Gray.

Dott said he was surprised at Higgins’ display after beating his compatriot.

“I was always waiting for John to start bombarding me with breaks but they only came at the end,” admitted Dott.

“I have never seen John play as badly as that. After the first session, people said I should be further ahead, but I played badly too.

“I don’t know why so many top players have crashed out. Maybe the standard of everybody else is improving.”

Higgins said he needed help to improve his game after being knocked out of the tournament.

“I really need to see a sports psychologist,” said the Scot. “It’s not there at all for me. Or at least some days it’s there, some days it’s not.

“I suppose when you’re not winning, the more you doubt yourself. But out there today it was just torture.

“I just did not feel in control. It’s heartbreaking. But take nothing away from Graeme, he’s got a good chance.”

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Second-round result (best of 25 frames):

J Higgins (Sco) 10-13 G Dott (Sco)

55-59 0-70 (70) 44-69 72-53 43-90 (78) 60-65 63-39 61-18 17-75 84-49 (73) 0-72 (72) 43-80 39-71 (64) 64-54 82-0 7-74 79-22 (71) 33-63 0-68 (54) 89-0 (89) 74-52 (52 Dott) 130-4 (130) 24-63 (62)

Ronnie O’Sullivan clinches his first World Championship title after a thrilling 18-14 victory over John Higgins at The Crucible.

Snooker WM 2005 Maximum Break Mark Williams gegen Milkins

www.alex0paul.blogspot.com

When Snooker Ruled the World. TV documentary looking back at the golden era of the sport during the 1970s and 1980 when players such as Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis were in their prime.

www.alex0paul.blogspot.com

When Snooker Ruled the World. TV documentary looking back at the golden era of the sport during the 1970s and 1980 when players such as Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis were in their prime.

www.alex0paul.blogspot.com

When Snooker Ruled the World. TV documentary looking back at the golden era of the sport during the 1970s and 1980 when players such as Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis were in their prime.

Matthew Stevens survived a brave Joe Perry fightback to book his fourth Crucible semi-final appearance in five years with a 13-10 win.

Resuming 11-5 up, Stevens contrived to allow Perry back into the match, losing the first three frames on the trot.

The Welshman showed none of the class he displayed previously in the match, and despite edging a scrappy 20th, Perry won the next to make it 12-9.

Perry moved to 12-10 with an 80 break, before Stevens finally sealed victory.

Stevens admitted he nearly lost his nerve as Perry came back at him.

“It’s difficult when you have a big lead like that and then someone fights back, because it really puts the pressure on you,” he said.

“I actually feel relaxed now I have the match out of the way. I’m into the semis and I know what to expect.”

Perry admitted he thought he could pull off one of the great Crucible comebacks.

“I gave myself a hell of a lot to do in the first two sessions, but I felt ‘I can win this’,” he said.

“I wasn’t surprised to see Matthew struggle. It’s so hard to win matches here even if you’re the favourite.

“I lost the match at the start. I was still mentally tired after beating Mark Williams in the second round.”

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Quarter-final result:

M Stevens (Wal) 13-10 Joe Perry (Eng)

72-39 1-108 45-78 77-8 128-0 73-61 10-65 69-37 72-44 17-63 134-0 93-4 68-2 68-1 66-32 55-80 31-60 28-67 24-62 78-41 54-80 29-85 63-26

www.alex0paul.blogspot.com

When Snooker Ruled the World. TV documentary looking back at the golden era of the sport during the 1970s and 1980 when players such as Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis were in their prime.

When Snooker Ruled the World. TV documentary looking back at the golden era of the sport during the 1970s and 1980 when players such as Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis were in their prime.