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2004 European Open (snooker)

The 2004 European Open was the 2004 edition of the European Open snooker tournament, held from 1 to 6 March 2004, at the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso, Malta. It was the final year the event was known as European Open, as the event was renamed to Malta Cup in next year. Stephen Maguire defeated Jimmy White by nine frames to three (9–3) in the final to claim his first ranking-event title, transforming him from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner", according to The Times. In the semi-finals Maguire defeated Stephen Lee and White beat Tony Drago. The tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters.

2004 European Open
Tournament information
Dates1–6 March 2004 (2004-03-01 – 2004-03-06)
VenueHilton Conference Centre
CityPortomaso
CountryMalta
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£400,000[1]
Winner's share£48,000[1]
Highest break Stephen Maguire (SCO) (137)[2]
Final
Champion Stephen Maguire (SCO)
Runner-up Jimmy White (ENG)
Score9–3
← 2003
2005 →

Tournament summary

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Prior to the 1988/1989 season no ranking tournament had been continuously staged outside of the United Kingdom (although the World Championship had been held twice in Australia). The snooker governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), decided to include overseas events and the first two locations chosen were Canada and Europe. The European Open was first held in 1989 in Deauville, France, and was suspended for 1997/1998 and 2000/2001. It moved to the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso, Malta for the first time in 2004 and was renamed the Malta Cup the following season.[3]

The 2004 tournament was the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2003/2004 season, following the Welsh Open and preceding the Irish Masters.[4] Held in January, the Welsh Open was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated Steve Davis by nine frames to eight (9–8) in the final.[5] The defending European Open champion was also O'Sullivan, who defeated Stephen Hendry 9–6 in last year's final.[6] Paul Hunter, who had defeated O'Sullivan in the final of the non-ranking Masters in February, entered the tournament "playing the best snooker of his career", according to Phil Yates of The Times.[7]

Qualifying

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The qualifying stage was played between players ranked 17 and those ranked lower for one of 16 places in the final stage. The matches were best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals. In March 2004 Maltese player Tony Drago defeated Adrian Gunnell 5–2 in a match held over from the qualifying stage in November.[8]

Round 1

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The qualifiers went through to face members of the top 16. In this round, Davis came from 2–4 down to beat Joe Swail 5–4, in a match where both players missed chances. In the deciding frame, Davis won on the pink ball after Swail had missed the brown. After the match, Davis said it was a historic day as he had never won a match in the country.[9] Stephen Lee received a walkover to the next round after his opponent Robin Hull withdrew for medical reasons.[9][10] World number 41 Stephen Maguire made a break of 89 in the final frame of his match against Peter Ebdon to win 5–4, and world number three O'Sullivan opened his match against Marco Fu with a century break of 110 and went on to win 5–1.[9] Chris Small, who suffers from the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis, whitewashed UK champion Matthew Stevens 5–0, in a match lasting almost three hours and which saw Stevens lose two frames on the black ball.[10][11] Neil Robertson defeated Ken Doherty 5–3, and Joe Perry beat David Roe by the same scoreline. In the last match of the day, David Gray beat Fergal O'Brien 5–3.[9]

World number one Mark Williams was defeated 1–5 by Anthony Hamilton, who made a break of 133.[12] Williams refused to answer questions at the post-match press conference, explaining: "I'm not saying anything because if I do I could be in trouble so I'm keeping my mouth shut."[13] Hunter and Hendry made high breaks of 49 and 55 in defeating Brian Morgan and Jimmy Michie 5–1, respectively.[12] After the match Hendry—the world number two and a seven-time world champion said "I feel like going to apologise to each fan one by one because it was such a bad match".[13] John Higgins whitewashed Barry Pinches 5–0, compiling a 132 break in the last frame in a match where Pinches made a high break of 33.[14] Jimmy White overcame James Wattana 5–4 having trailed 2–3. Graeme Dott defeated Drew Henry 5-3 and Quinten Hann beat Simon Bedford 5–0. In the last game of the day, Drago beat Alan McManus 5–4.[13]

Round 2

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In round two O'Sullivan defeated Small 5–1, coming from behind to win in each of the first three frames with breaks of 58, 81, and 46. A break of 112 completed the victory, after which O'Sullivan said his opponent had made him work.[15] In the fifth frame O'Sullivan continued playing despite needing snookers, later explaining, "I wanted to keep playing because I was enjoying it so much".[16] White made breaks of 72, 52, 69, 51, and 65 in defeating Hendry 5–3, after which Hendry said his performance was "horrendous", and White said his refusal to go out the night before contributed to his performance.[17] In the sixth frame White led by 41 points before missing an easy red, allowing Hendry to win on the black with a 55 break to level at 3–3. White dominated the next two frames for the victory.[18] Higgins, without a tournament victory for over two years, whitewashed Dott 5–0 with breaks of 82, 81, 57, and 52, and said it was the "best [he had] felt for ages".[19] Drago defeated Hunter 5–2 to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking events for the first time since 1998, in a low-quality match where Drago made one break over 50. Lee defeated Davis 5–3 in a four-hour match,[18] and Higgins completed a second whitewash when he beat Dott 5–0, bringing his career record against Dott to 9–1.[20] Maguire defeated Perry 5–4 to reach his first ranking quarter-final,[21] and Hann beat Hamilton 5–1 to claim the final place in the next round.[17]

Quarter-finals

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In the quarter-finals Lee defeated O'Sullivan 5–4 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes. O'Sullivan came from 2–3 down to lead 4–3 before Lee leveled the match. In the final frame O'Sullivan led 36–0, before Lee made a 46 break and fluked a snooker that enabled him to claim victory. O'Sullivan said his performance was very poor, while Lee said he was quietly confident.[22][23] White defeated Robertson 5–3 to reach his third semi-final of the season. White led 4–1 and was 56 points ahead in the sixth but missed a straightforward green, allowing Robertson to win on the black with a 67 break. Robertson took the next frame before a risky long pot in the eighth allowed White to win the match. White—who last won a ranking title 12 years ago prior at this event—said, "Everyone knows I've been in front so many times in the past and tossed it away so I was having nightmares out there".[24] Drago quickly won the first four frames of his match against Hann, conceding the fifth, before completing a 5–1 victory, after which he said the crowd support helped him. Maguire caused an upset when he beat Higgins 5–3, a match that saw Maguire lose the first two frames before winning the next four. After the match Maguire he said he had "starting to think about winning it now".[22]

Semi-finals

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The semi-finals were best-of-11 frames. White reached his first final in four years when he defeated Drago 6–4. Leading 4–1 White made a break of 104 to win the sixth frame, before missing a straightforward red to allow his opponent to win the seventh with an 84 break. Drago won the next two in 15 minutes with breaks of 44 and 109—completing the latter in four minutes[25]—before an 86 break gave White the victory, after which White said, "Playing Tony here, I got a taste of what players have against me at the Masters when the crowd are all on my side but they were fair and I enjoyed every minute of it."[26][27]

In the other semi-final Maguire beat Lee 6–4 in an error-strewn match which lasted four hours.[26] After winning the first two frames Maguire lost the next three, but "kept his cool" to seal the victory.[27] Maguire said the match was a "battle" and that he was surprised at how badly his opponents had played in the tournament, while Lee said he "just blew up" and that, "When you’re as poor as that you get into such a state of mind that you can’t think straight".[26][27]

Final

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The match was White's 23rd appearance in a final and his first since the 2000 British Open. In the best-of-17 final Maguire defeated White 9–3 to win his first ranking title at the age of 22, earning £48,000 in prize money.[26][28] The victory, according to The Times, transformed Maguire from "talented underachiever into a world-ranking event winner"; [29] according to BBC Sport his victory was a surprise.[30]

In the afternoon session Maguire made two sizeable breaks and one of 137 to lead 3–0. He won the next frame and compiled a century in the fifth. The sixth frame was awarded to Maguire, when White violated the three-miss rule. Snookered in the jaws of a corner pocket, White twice attempted to hit the pack of five reds off a side cushion and missed. On his third attempt he adopted a slow roll to the pack and again missed. In the evening session, trailing 0–6, White won his first frame before the next four were shared, the last of which included a break of 125 by White. At 8–2 a break of 57 gave Maguire the victory.[28]

After his victory Maguire acknowledged the influence of Terry Griffiths who had been working with him on the mental side of the game: "He's been on the phone just telling me to keep calm and that I can do it if I believe in myself".[31] Maguire said he always knew he was good enough to win a tournament and that he would aim for a top-16 finish for the season.[30][31] White said, "Stephen outplayed me in safety, potting and position so he deserved to win" and, "He gave me a good bashing. I'm pleased for him because he's a nice lad but I'm disappointed because I didn't compete".[32]

Prize fund

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The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[1]

Main draw

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Numbers to the left of the players' names are the tournament seedings. Players in bold denote match winners.[4][33]

Last 32
Best of 9 frames 		Last 16
Best of 9 frames 		Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames 		Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames 		Final
Best of 17 frames
               
1   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 5
19   Marco Fu (HKG) 1
1   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 5
18   Chris Small (SCO) 1
9   Matthew Stevens (WAL) 0
18   Chris Small (SCO) 5
1   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 4
5   Stephen Lee (ENG) 5
11   Steve Davis (ENG) 5
27   Joe Swail (NIR) 4
11   Steve Davis (ENG) 3
5   Stephen Lee (ENG) 5
5   Stephen Lee (ENG) w/o
32   Robin Hull (FIN) w/d
5   Stephen Lee (ENG) 4
41   Stephen Maguire (SCO) 6
7   Peter Ebdon (ENG) 4
41   Stephen Maguire (SCO) 5
41   Stephen Maguire (SCO) 5
16   Joe Perry (ENG) 4
16   Joe Perry (ENG) 5
57   David Roe (ENG) 3
41   Stephen Maguire (SCO) 5
4   John Higgins (SCO) 3
13   Graeme Dott (SCO) 5
25   Drew Henry (SCO) 3
13   Graeme Dott (SCO) 0
4   John Higgins (SCO) 5
4   John Higgins (SCO) 5
36   Barry Pinches (ENG) 0
41   Stephen Maguire (SCO) 9
15   Jimmy White (ENG) 3
3   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 5
60   Jimmy Michie (ENG) 1
3   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 3
15   Jimmy White (ENG) 5
15   Jimmy White (ENG) 5
34   James Wattana (THA) 4
15   Jimmy White (ENG) 5
  Neil Robertson (AUS) 3
12   David Gray (ENG) 5
33   Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 3
12   David Gray (ENG) 2
  Neil Robertson (AUS) 5
6   Ken Doherty (IRL) 3
  Neil Robertson (AUS) 5
15   Jimmy White (ENG) 6
24   Tony Drago (MLT) 4
8   Paul Hunter (ENG) 5
45   Brian Morgan (ENG) 1
8   Paul Hunter (ENG) 2
24   Tony Drago (MLT) 5
10   Alan McManus (SCO) 4
24   Tony Drago (MLT) 5
24   Tony Drago (MLT) 5
14   Quinten Hann (AUS) 1
14   Quinten Hann (AUS) 5
  Simon Bedford (ENG) 0
14   Quinten Hann (AUS) 5
20   Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 1
2   Mark Williams (WAL) 1
20   Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 5
Key[4][33]

w/o = walkover
w/d = withdrew

Final

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Scores in bold denote winning frame scores and the winning participant.[4]

Final: Best of 17 frames.[33] Referee: Jan Verhaas.
Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso, Malta, 6 March 2004.[4]
Stephen Maguire (41)
  Scotland 		9–3 Jimmy White (15)
  England
Afternoon: 121–2 (96), 79–44 (72), 137–0 (137), 81–23, 113–8 (103), 58–6[i 1], 63–67, 62–60 (62)
Evening: 18–91 (78), 77–1, 0–125 (125), 86–6 (57)
137 Highest break 125
2 Century breaks 1
6 50+ breaks 2

Qualifying

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Qualifying for the tournament took place at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales between 31 October and 5 November 2003.[34]

Round 1

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Best of 9 frames

Round 2–5

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Round 2
Best of 9 frames		Round 3
Best of 9 frames		Round 4
Best of 9 frames		Round 5
Best of 9 frames
  Steven Bennie3  Shaun Murphy4  Jonathan Birch5  Marco Fu5
  Ian Preece5  Ian Preece5  Ian Preece3  Jonathan Birch0
  Martin Gould5  Dave Finbow3  Michael Judge5  Chris Small5
  Paul Sweeny4  Martin Gould5  Martin Gould2  Michael Judge2
  Rory McLeod5  Alfie Burden0  Barry Hawkins5  Joe Swail5
  Tom Ford3  Rory McLeod5  Rory McLeod2  Barry Hawkins3
  Adrian Rosa2  Andy Hicks3  Stuart Bingham5  Robin Hull5
  Colm Gilcreest5  Colm Gilcreest5  Colm Gilcreest2  Stuart Bingham1
  Munraj Pal5  Patrick Wallace5  Stephen Maguire5  Dominic Dale0
  Ryan Day4  Munraj Pal4  Patrick Wallace2  Stephen Maguire5
  Michael Rhodes4  David Roe5  Gary Wilkinson2  Mark King4
  Craig Butler5  Craig Butler0  David Roe5  David Roe5
  Martin Dziewialtowski5  Sean Storey5  Jamie Burnett3  Drew Henry5
  Atthasit Mahitthi2  Martin Dziewialtowski3  Sean Storey5  Sean Storey1
  Leo Fernandez4  Shokat Ali5  Barry Pinches5  Robert Milkins1
  Kwan Poomjang5  Kwan Poomjang2  Shokat Ali2  Barry Pinches5
  Ricky Walden0  Jimmy Michie5  Nigel Bond4  Anthony Davies4
  Lee Walker5  Lee Walker1  Jimmy Michie5  Jimmy Michie5
  Scott MacKenzie5  Marcus Campbell4  James Wattana5  Ali Carter4
  Jason Prince2  Scott MacKenzie5  Scott MacKenzie3  James Wattana5
  Garry Hardiman5  Mike Dunn5  Fergal O'Brien5  John Parrott4
  Terry Murphy4  Garry Hardiman1  Mike Dunn3  Fergal O'Brien5
  Neil Robertson5  Darren Morgan2  Mark Davis1  Ian McCulloch1
  Luke Simmonds0  Neil Robertson5  Neil Robertson5  Neil Robertson5
  Darryn Walker1  Bjorn Haneveer5  Brian Morgan5  Mark Selby1
  Philip Williams5  Philip Williams3  Bjorn Haneveer4  Brian Morgan5
  Adrian Gunnell5  Nick Walker0  Gerard Greene4  Tony Drago[i 2]5
  Jason Ferguson1  Adrian Gunnell5  Adrian Gunnell5  Adrian Gunnell2
  Simon Bedford5  Nick Dyson4  Stuart Pettman2  Dave Harold4
  Jamie Cope3  Simon Bedford5  Simon Bedford5  Simon Bedford5
  Steve Mifsud4  Rod Lawler5  Michael Holt5  Anthony Hamilton5
  Joe Meara5  Joe Meara1  Rod Lawler3  Michael Holt2

Century breaks

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[34]

Qualifying stage centuries

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Televised stage centuries

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Notes

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  1. ^ Maguire was awarded the frame when White violated the three-miss rule.
  2. ^ Match was held over to the venue in Malta.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "European Open Prize Money". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  2. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (7 March 2004). "Magnificent Maguire stuns White to land first title". The Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  3. ^ European Open. German Open. German Masters. Irish Open. cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk (Chris Turner's Snooker Archive). Retrieved 12 September 2010. Archived 16 February 2012
  4. ^ a b c d e "European Open 2004" Archived 2021-04-26 at the Wayback Machine. Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Welsh Open 2004" Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. ^ "European Open 2003" Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  7. ^ Yates, Phil. "Hunter hoping to sustain peak form"[dead link‍]. The Times. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  8. ^ Proby, Johnny. "Irish interest ends in Malta" Archived 2005-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. RTÉ Sport. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d "Davis squeezes past Swail" Archived 2004-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  10. ^ a b Yates, Phil. "Small overcomes pain and Stevens"[dead link‍]. The Times. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  11. ^ Dee, John. "Snooker: O'Sullivan ahead in century race" Archived 2019-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  12. ^ a b Dee, John. "Snooker: Williams shocked by Hamilton" Archived 2016-03-01 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  13. ^ a b c "Williams falls at the first" Archived 2004-03-15 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  14. ^ Proby, Johnny. "Higgins easily through in Malta" Archived 2005-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. RTÉ Sport. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  15. ^ "O'Sullivan eases past Small". BBC Sport. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  16. ^ "O'Sullivan into quarters, Davis falls to Lee". RTÉ Sport. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  17. ^ a b "White too strong for Hendry". BBC Sport. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  18. ^ a b Yates, Phil. "Drago earns place in last eight with help from the locals"[dead link‍]. The Times. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  19. ^ Dee, John. "Snooker: White hot effort bad for Hendry" Archived 2019-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  20. ^ Proby, Johnny. "White and Higgins safely through" Archived 2005-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. RTÉ Sport. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  21. ^ Dee, John. "Snooker: Maguire reaches first final" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  22. ^ a b "Lee ends O'Sullivan hopes" Archived 2004-03-20 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  23. ^ Dee, John. "Snooker: O'Sullivan off colour" Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  24. ^ Yates, Phil. "White wobbles on way to semi-finals"[dead link‍]. The Times. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  25. ^ Boylan, James. "White seals final place". RTÉ Sport. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  26. ^ a b c d Yates, Phil. "White on verge of glory after composed display" Archived 2021-01-15 at the Wayback Machine. The Times. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  27. ^ a b c "White through to final" Archived 2004-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  28. ^ a b "Maguire overwhelms White" Archived 2005-12-15 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  29. ^ "Sport in Brief"[dead link‍]. The Times. 8 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  30. ^ a b "Maguire ready for big time" Archived 2004-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 10 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  31. ^ a b "Maguire hails Griffiths" Archived 2004-07-23 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 7 March 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  32. ^ "White laments poor display" Archived 2004-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  33. ^ a b c "2004 European Open". World of Snooker. Archived from the original on 5 June 2004. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  34. ^ a b "2003-4 European Open". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 18 June 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2023.

Sources

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