1995 Embassy World Professional Snooker Championship

Mazrocis, the young Leicester pro, was completely outclassed though thankfully just avoided the whitewash. Hendry looking very sharp at this early stage, clearly wanted to get the match over with and showed no remorse at inflicting such a crushing defeat.

Drago in typically swift mood, looked set to whitewash Cavney but was just stalled. The longest frame of the match was one of Cavney's victories, Drago's frames taking an average of just 12 minutes! A very useful, if undemanding, win to keep Drago in the Top 16.

O'Sullivan completely outclassed Harold and the first session, taken 7-2 by O'Sullivan, was almost exhibition snooker, including a 14 red-black break by O'Sullivan. Harold battled hard but too many unforced errors and the aura of O'Sullivan proved just too much.

An all Welsh battle saw Morgan easily overcome any resistance from Davis in what was a pretty uninspiring affair and quite drawn out with it. Morgan managed a century break but always looked to be struggling with his form.

Although Morgan got off to a good start, it was Parrott who found more sustainable form and he never really looked like losing this one. His safety play, however, was suspect but largely unpunished by Morgan who made too many unforced errors.

A surprisingly dull affair with not much worthy of repitition. Swail showed some flashes of the form that lifted him to number 12, but more often were his poor, ill-thought out shots and a significant improvement in his game is needed to maintain his standing.

A tight match saw Roe eventually breaking free to clinch a 10-6 victory. Again quite a tawdry affair with not much in the way of free flowing snooker which may have been expected of the two. Roe, however, had considerable (and, at times, vocal) support which seemed to urge him on and book a much needed second round place.

A remarkably poor performance by both players; in some frames there were such ludicrously simple shots missed and both looked amateurish and out of place. There were only very brief flashes of the Whirlwind and, although a win is a win, White would have to be disappointed by his performance.

A shock defeat of Wattana by the world number 22, Wilkinson. A very turgid match, though, with nothing of merit to report and the much fancied Wattana must be very disappointed with such a lack lustre performance.

Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be the longest match of the round and was a very turgid affair indeed. There was no real quality of break building but lots of uninspiring safety play and neither player willing to attack. Very disappointing at this level of snooker.

Another dull match, neither player producing their best -- the kind of stuff which gives TV snooker a bad name, need I say more?

A splendid, open game of flowing snooker, both players scoring well and making nice breaks. Drago's inconsistency, however, gave Hendry too many openings which were always punished. Still a delight to watch and one of the shortest 25-framers you're ever likely to see!

O'Sullivan's sparkling first round form seemed to have all but disappeared in the early stages of this match and Morgan's solid play was rewarded by an 8-4 lead. O'Sullivan then found his magic again to win 9 frames in a row and book a quarter final place.

A memorable and hard match for both players. Swail produced some of his best snooker for a long time and help Parrott all the way. However, Parrott pulled away at 12-11 and Swail failed to take a chance to level at 12-12, Parrott giving a victory air punch when finally clinching the match. A splendid game once it got going.

Roe's defeat was sealed after the first session was taken 7-1 by White, who played some superb snooker. Roe fought well, though, and made something of a comeback but White always looked in command when he needed to be. White's lack of concentration though at some times makes his title campaign seem weak.

This was always likely to be a long match and so it was. A fairly uninteresting affair at best, but there were some good safety exchanges for the connoisseur. Griffiths held on well as one would expect but all credit to Wilkinson for hanging on and pulling off the win.

A surprise result on paper, but McManus hadn't played well all season and Bond played solidly to punish any mistakes. Another dull match to watch but the win ensured Bond's third consecutive quarter final place at Sheffield.

Although Davis matched Ebdon in the early stages, Ebdon's experience won the day. He looked very focussed and sharp, and pieced together some excellent medium-sized breaks when Davis left chances. An excellent match, very enjoyable to watch -- brilliant long pots from Davis, structured breaks from Ebdon.

A fine match and a good win for Hendry. O'Sullivan pegged Hendry to within two frames all the way to the last session, but whenever he went only one frame behind, Hendry pulled out all the stops to hold his lead. Eventually, Hendry stamped his authority and O'Sullivan began to look somewhat disillusioned.

After White took the first session 6-2, he looked confident and solid. However, Parrott took the next session 6-2 to level at 8-8. Things became very tight and we soon got to 11-11. Parrott had a good chance to go 12-11 but seemed to lose his bottle and White snatched it. The next frame was a very tense affair, both players missing easy shots. But White, with masses of support, held his nerve to take the match 13-11. Never brilliant, but a compelling game.

Bond again played consistently well to overcome the challenge of Wilkinson. Bond looked unusually confident and was very consistent, even though Wilkinson put up his usual sturdy effort. A good win for Bond to book a place in the semis.

A classic encounter involving last year's finalists. Hendry played well in the early stages and produced a magnificent 147 break in frame 12 to take an 8-4 lead. White pulled back to 8-7 at the close of the session but Hendry came back in determined style and White never really looked like going ahead. An excellent, exciting and open match which was thoroughly enjoyed by the capacity audience.

Two surprise semi-finalists in Bond and Hicks, but a super match nonetheless. Hicks looked somewhat drained after his hard matches in the earlier rounds and Bond played consistently well to open an unassailable 15-7 lead. Hicks, however, wasn't going to take defeat lying down and came back with a run of 4 consecutive frames to make Bond think. But Bond held on and clinched the next to complete a 16-11 win and ensure himself a final place -- the biggest match and payday of his career.

Final

A surprisingly shaky start from Hendry was punished by consistent scoring from Bond who took a 5-4 lead. Hendry, though, showed his true class by winning the next seven frames without reply to end the first day with a commanding 11-5 lead. The second day was Hendry's, though. Whenever Bond made a mistake, Hendry punished him severely to take a comfortable 18-9 win and become the first player to win four World titles in a row. Also the biggest ever payday in snooker history -- #190,00 for the win, #147,000 for the 147 break and #16,000 for the highest break!!