Thailand Masters 2001
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Thailand Masters 2001 Blue Eagle Thailand Masters 2001 
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| Tournament type: | World ranking tournament |
| Attendees: | 159 |
| Venue: | Merchant Court Hotel, Bangkok , Thailand |
| Opening: | March 11, 2001 |
| Endgame: | March 17, 2001
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| Winner: |
 Ken Doherty
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| Finalist: |
 Stephen Hendry
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| Highest Break: | 132 ( Ken Doherty )
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← 2000
2002 →
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The Blue Eagle Thailand Masters 2001 was a snooker tournament as part of the Snooker Main Tour of the 2000/01 season , which took place in Bangkok from March 11th to 17th . The tournament had repeatedly taken place in various hotels in the Thai capital, this year the Merchant Court Hotel was the venue for the first time. The local airline Thai Airways International was the name sponsor of the Blue Eagle brand for the second time in a row.
The then world champion and world number one Mark Williams had recently won the tournament twice in a row. This time, however, he was eliminated in the second round. Last year's finalist Stephen Hendry reached the final again, but lost again. He lost 3: 9 to Ken Doherty , who was the only Irishman to win the tournament. After his win at the Welsh Open two months earlier, it was the second title win this season.
Prize money / ranking points
This time the sponsors raised around £ 15,000 more in prize money than in the previous year. Nothing changed for the top places in the main tournament, only the bottom 32 got £ 200 more. There was also a surcharge for all losers in the qualifying rounds, but only between £ 75 and £ 175.
The value of the tournament changed more clearly. The tournament winner got 1,840 points more for the world rankings and 1,225 points more for the defeated finalist. There were staggered surcharges for all placements up to 437 points plus 128 for the last ones. Due to the higher number of participants, there was one more qualifying round this time, in which each participant received 252 points; in the previous year, the number of entry points was still 100.
| placement | Prize money | Points a |
|---|---|---|
| winner | £ 44,000 | 6,400 |
| final | £ 22,000 | 4,265 |
| Semifinals | £ 11,550 | 2,945 |
| Quarter finals | £ 6,250 | 2.165 |
| Round of 16 | £ 3,650 | 1,775 |
| Last 32 | £ 3,100 | 1,520 |
| Last 48 | £ 1,425 | 1,165 |
| Last 64 | £ 1,125 | 912 |
| Last 96 | 925 pounds | 700 |
| Last 128 | 475 pounds | 537 |
| Round 1 | - | 252 |
| Highest Break (Final Round) | £ 2,500 | |
| Highest Break (Qualification) | £ 1,000 | |
| All in all | £ 282,000 |
Final round
For round 1, the 16 winners of the qualification or wildcard games were drawn from the top 16 of the world rankings .
The performance of Pakistani Shokat Ali , number 68 in the world rankings, was remarkable . For the first and only time in his long career he reached the quarterfinals of a professional tournament by beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 . He only won the decision frame because he forced the world number four to 10 foul points and then punched the "Respotted Black" .
final
Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry had already faced each other six times in a single final. The Irishman had won twice, including when he became world champion in 1997 , Hendry had been successful four times. At the Nations Cup earlier in the season, he had won with Team Scotland against Ireland, adding a point in the final by beating Doherty in a one-frame match. In addition, he had won the last tournament before the Thailand Masters, the Malta Grand Prix .
Doherty won the first frame, then Hendry secured the next two frames with two 50's breaks. A century break in frame 4 then initiated the decisive phase for the Irishman. He then won three more frames, one of them with another century of 132 points, the highest break in the main tournament. Hendry was able to keep his chances open for the evening by winning the eighth frame to 3: 5 at the end of the session. But in the first frame of the second session, a 55-point break was not enough and Doherty stole the frame to 6: 3. Then the Irishman had enough momentum to leave Hendry no more frame and in the end to win 9: 3. For Doherty it was the fifth ranked title of his career and the second this season.
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Final: Best of 17 Frames Referee: Colin Brinded Merchant Court Hotel, Bangkok , Thailand , March 10, 2001  |
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Ken Doherty
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9 : 3 |
Stephen Hendry
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Afternoon : 58 : 7, 41: 66 (57), 50: 66 (59), 105 : 0 (105), 85 : 0 (85), 132 : 0 (132), 72:15 (72), 0: 71 (71); Evening : 71 : 63 (71, 55), 108 : 5 (51), 91 : 27 (91), 91 : 27 |
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| 132 | Highest break | 71 |
| 2 | Century breaks | - |
| 7th | 50+ breaks | 4th |
Century breaks
7 players achieved 10 breaks of at least 100 points in the main tournament. Tournament winner Ken Doherty was the only one who managed more than a century break . He played 2 of his 4 Centurys in the final, including the highest tournament break of 132 points. For this he also received another £ 2,500 bonus .
Main tournament
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Ken Doherty
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132, 131, 123, 105 |
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Dave Finbow
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131 |
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Ronnie O'Sullivan
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129 |
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Ali Carter
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127 |
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John Higgins
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104 |
 Joe Swail
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103 |
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Stephen Lee
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102 |
swell
- ↑ a b c 2001 Thailand Masters - Finishes. CueTracker, accessed September 16, 2019 .
- ↑ 2001 Thailand Masters. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed September 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Blue Eagle / Thai Airways Thailand Masters 2001. snooker.org, accessed on September 16, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Rankings - 2000-2001. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed September 16, 2019 .
- ^ John Dee: Snooker: Stubborn Ali surprises O'Sullivan. The Telegraph , March 14, 2001, accessed September 16, 2019 .