Battling Stevens secures final group spot - 22/03/2011

Follow us on Twitter @matchroom_sport

WALES’ Matthew Stevens claimed the final qualifying spot in the 2011 Championship League Snooker competition as he defeated Liang Wenbo (China) 3-0 in the final of Group 7 at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.

Stevens, who nearly missed the tournament completely after his flight back from Dublin after the PartyCasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Final was delayed by nearly two hours on Monday morning, battled through tiredness to beat Stephen Lee in the semi final and then Liang to claim a total of £6,800 from his efforts.

That increased his 2011 CLS earnings to £13,450 with the promise of more to come in the final group of the competition which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday 23 & 24 March.

“I came here first thing on Monday morning after Dublin and I didn’t have much time to rest or sleep, but that’s a good thing as these days you’re playing all the time,” said a delighted Stevens.

“I was moaning enough when there were no tournaments but it’s gone from one extreme to the other and we’re going from one country to another.

“It was a bit tight to get here on time, my plane was delayed and there was an accident after the Dartford Tunnel. I thought I might have to turn around but I got here eventually and won the tournament.

“I didn’t expect much in the last couple of days, especially yesterday as I was playing tired all day and I was happy to win one of my three matches, but today I came here still tired but feeling a bit better.

“I didn’t play great but scored pretty heavily, hung in there even though my concentration wasn’t great and did enough to win.

Stevens joins Ryan Day, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, Ali Carter, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy in what is a very strong final group.

“Any one of the seven could win the final group. It’s going to be exciting, a good couple of days and great preparation for China next week so I’m really looking forward to it,” added Stevens.

Earlier, Stevens, Lee and Liang all finished with four wins from their six matches and they were joined by Championship League debutante Andrew Higginson whose wins over Mark King and Stephen Lee were enough to secure fourth spot and a play-off berth.

Stevens disposed of Lee fairly quickly, but Higginson and Liang, who were both potentially playing their last match of the season, engaged in a dog fight which the Chinese eventually won on the pink in the decider.

Players earn £100 per frame won. The top four players after the remainder of the group matches then play in best of five semi-finals. The money increases to £300 per frame won and the winner receives £3,000, the runner-up £2,000 and the beaten semi-finalists £1,000 each.

The winners go through to the final group on March 23rd & 24th where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs.