1998 UK Championship
The 1998 Liverpool Victoria UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England. The event started on 16 November 1998 and the televised stages were shown on BBC between 21 and 29 November 1998.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 16–29 November 1998 |
| Venue | Bournemouth International Centre |
| City | Bournemouth |
| Country | England |
| Organisation(s) | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £460,000 |
| Winner's share | £75,000 |
| Highest break |  John Higgins (141) |
| Final | |
| Champion | John Higgins |
| Runner-up | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Matthew Stevens |
| Score | 10–6 |
← 1997 1999 → | |
This was the first UK championship to be held in Bournemouth since the inaugural championship in 1977, after 20 years at Preston.[1] The Conference Centre has held snooker competitions before. It hosted the World Cup between 1985 and 1990,[2] the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1991 and 1992,[3] the International Open in 1994 and 1995,[4] and the Grand Prix in 1996 and 1997.[5]
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he withdrew before the tournament. His doctor had told him to rest after suffering from physical and nervous exhaustion.[6]
John Higgins won this year's title by defeating Matthew Stevens 10–6 in the final to go with the World Championship crown he won earlier in the year.[7] This was Higgins' 10th ranking title.
Tournament summary
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion John Higgins seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[8][9]
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Main draw
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Final
Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee:  Alan Chamberlain.Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England, 29 November 1998. | ||
| Matthew Stevens (26) Wales |
6–10 | John Higgins (2) Scotland |
| Afternoon: 0–86, 36–62, 68–31 (52), 48–69, 91–0 (62), 11–68 (50), 105–10 (105), 61–60 (Higgins 60) Evening: 72–22 (66), 36–87 (73), 0–84 (84), 6–70, 0–107 (107), 76–34, 23–81, 0–90 (90) | ||
| 105 | Highest break | 107 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 1 |
| 4 | 50+ breaks | 6 |
Century breaks
All Rounds [8]
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References
- Turner, Chris. "UK Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- Turner, Chris. "World Cup, World Team Classic, Nations Cup". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- Turner, Chris. "Wilsons Classic, Lada Classic, Mercantile Credit Classic". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- Turner, Chris. "International Open, Goya Matchroom Trophy". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- Turner, Chris. "Professional Players Tournament, Grand Prix, LG Cup". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- "O'Sullivan pulls out `exhausted'". The Independent. 19 November 1998. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- Downer, Chris (2012). Crucible Almanac. pp. 46–47.
- "Liverpool Victoria UK Championship 1998". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- "1998 UK Championship Player Prize Money". Snooker Database. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- "1998 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Retrieved 13 March 2013.