Stevens wins Championship League to seal Premier League return - 24/03/2011

MATTHEW STEVENS overcame tiredness in adversity to outlast Shaun Murphy and claim the 2011 Championship League Snooker title to qualify for the Premier League.

It finished 3-1 but Stevens, the World No.16, was fighting tiredness after playing near enough eight hours a day every day this week.

Starting out in Group 7 on Monday, Stevens won through to the final group where he overcame some of the biggest names in the game to triumph. His reward is £30,050 in prize-money as well as a coveted spot in this year’s PartyCasino.com Premier League.

He nearly did not make it into the event as a delayed flight from Dublin early on Monday morning, coupled with nightmare traffic on the M25, saw him arrive nearly two hours late at Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.

However, a technical delay of 30 minutes and then a very lengthy five frame match in the opener bought Stevens some time and he eventually arrived with seconds to spare.

Matthew Stevens with Matchroom Sport Managing Director Eddie Hearn

“I’m delighted to be back in the Premier League. I’ve been watching it for ages with the shot clock and hopefully it will suit my style of game but it’s just nice to be back competing with the top guys,” he said.

“It was nine or ten years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it, playing week in week out all over the country. I didn’t do that great before but the shot clock brings more excitement and I’m really excited about it.

“Being in the Premier League seemed a long way away a few years ago but it’s all down to a lot of hard work. My game isn’t quite where it was ten or 11 years ago but I’m sure I’ll be winning ranking tournaments soon.

“When you’re only playing six tournaments a year, as we were, it was very tough as once you got beat you’d have two months off. I wasn’t going into the club, I was a bit down and going out drinking but now you don’t have the time for that. I’m really enjoying my snooker now as we’re playing week in, week out,” added the Welshman.

Stevens went into an early lead as he took a low scoring opener with a break of 51. Murphy levelled it with a run of 81 in the next and it was clear that neither player was going to be giving much away.

Matthew Stevens versus Shaun Murphy. Picture Frank Coppi

The third frame became bogged down with the final two reds clustered with the black as Stevens took four attempts to escape from a safety. It was worth the perseverance as the Welshman went onto to win the frame as Murphy failed to pot the brown.

Tiredness began to play its part with both players in what was the final frame as neither of them managed to assert themselves but it was Stevens who edged ahead. He missed a simple black into the centre pocket to hand Murphy a lifeline but the Englishman in turn missed a brown and that was to be his last effort.

Coming off the back of his win at the Players’ Tour Championship Grand Final in Dublin last Sunday, it was a disappointment for Murphy but the £20,800 he won here, added to his £60,000 first prize in Ireland, saw the 2005 World Champion’s earnings swell to over £80,000 in the past five days.

Earlier Stevens had overcome Mark Williams in an all-Welsh semi-final clash, with breaks of 61, 69 and 56 sealing the deal for the Swansea man. Williams’ consolation was a total pay day of £17,350 from this year’s event.

Murphy beat Ali Carter in the decider of his semi to book his final spot with a run of 90 in the third being his best effort of the match. Carter, a regular big earner in the event over the past few seasons, cleared a total of £23,100 this year.

Stevens though continued, “It’s been four tough days in Ireland and four tough days here. There’s a lot of pressure in the final as you’re thinking if you win it then you’re in the Premier League.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of games and both of us struggled as there was a lot of pressure on us – it’s probably the worst I’ve played all week.

“We were both twitching all over the place and I was getting a bit anxious towards the end but luckily for me Shaun missed a few balls as well.”

Championship League Snooker, which has been broadcast live on a number of betting websites, featured 25 of the game’s best players competing over three months. Seven qualifying groups took place with the winners of each one advancing to the Winners’ Group.

Played at Crondon Park Golf Club in rural Essex, Championship League Snooker is produced exclusively for live streaming on internet betting sites throughout the world. Players earn £100 per frame won in the initial groups and the top four players after the remainder of the group matches then play in best of five semi-finals.

The final group of Championship League Snooker is the most lucrative with £10,000 going to the winner, £5,000 to the runner-up and £3,000 each for the semi-finalists. The ‘frame money’ is £300 for the league stage as well as the semis and the final.

The Final
Shaun Murphy 1-3 Matthew Stevens
18-67 (Stevens 51), 107-0 (Murphy 81), 40-54, 23-61

Semi Finals
Matthew Stevens 3-1 Mark Williams
36-61 (Williams 36, Stevens 61), 0-69 (Stevens 69), 70-0 (Williams 70), 48-64 (Williams 48, Stevens 56)

Shaun Murphy 3-2 Ali Carter
101-38 (Murphy 40), 12-69 (Carter 30), 90-0 (Murphy 90), 1-92 (Carter 64), 76-43 (Murphy 43, Carter 60)