Matthew Stevens facts for kids

This page is about the Welsh snooker player. For other people, see Matthew Stevens (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Matthew Stevens
Tournament wins
Stevens at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born	(1977-09-11) 11 September 1977 (age 47) Carmarthen, Wales
Sport country	Wales
Professional	1994–present
Highest ranking	4 (2005/06)
Current ranking	47 (as of 8 May 2018)
Ranking	1

Matthew John Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a professional snooker player from Wales. He has won two major snooker tournaments that are part of the "Triple Crown": the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He also reached the final of the World Snooker Championship twice, in 2000 and 2005. Matthew Stevens reached his highest ranking of No. 4 in the world during the 2005/2006 season. He has made over 350 "century breaks" in his career, which means scoring 100 points or more in a single turn.

Matthew Stevens' Snooker Journey
Matthew's Life Outside Snooker
Career Highlights
Images for kids
See also

Matthew Stevens' Snooker Journey

Starting Out in Snooker

Matthew Stevens became a professional snooker player in 1994. In his second season, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship. This win allowed him to play in the Masters tournament. There, he beat Terry Griffiths but lost a close match to Alan McManus.

The next season, he showed his talent by beating the famous Stephen Hendry 5–1 at the Grand Prix. In the 1997–98 season, he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix and the UK Championship. He also made it to the quarter-finals in his first appearance at the World Championship, beating two players before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998, he played in his first major final at the UK Championship, where he lost to John Higgins.

Big Wins and Close Calls (2000–2005)

In the 1999–00 season, Matthew Stevens reached the finals of all three "Triple Crown" events. He lost to Mark Williams in the 1999 UK Championship final. However, he won the 2000 Masters title by beating Ken Doherty 10–8 in the final.

At the 2000 World Championship, he reached his first World Championship final. After winning several matches, he faced Mark Williams again. Matthew was leading 14–10, but he ended up losing 16–18. This was only the second time in the World Championship's history that a player lost the final after having a four-frame lead overnight.

He also reached the semi-finals of the World Championship four other times: in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2012. In 2002, he was very close to reaching the final, leading Peter Ebdon 16–14. But he missed an easy shot, and Ebdon won the next three frames to win the match 17–16.

Matthew Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship by beating Stephen Hendry in the final. He was behind 0–4 at one point but came back to win 10–8. This is his only "ranking tournament" victory. After this big win, he had a tough time, losing in the first round of nine straight matches. The only break in this streak was reaching the semi-final of the 2004 World Championship.

He was a runner-up again at the 2005 World Championship, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy. He had a 10–6 lead and then a 12–11 lead, but Murphy played very well to win. Matthew said that Murphy was simply the "better player" and believed he would win the championship one day.

The next year, in the 2006 World Championship, Matthew lost to Ken Doherty in the second round.

Later Career (2006–Present)

In 2007, Matthew Stevens lost a very close match to Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship. He had a big lead of 12–7 but lost 12–13. This was the first time someone lost a best-of-25 match from such a large lead. This defeat caused his ranking to drop outside the top 16 for the first time in eight years.

In 2008, he lost in the first round of the World Championship for the first time. He finished the season outside the top 16 again. A good moment in the 2008–09 season was reaching the final of the Bahrain Championship. He then dropped to world number 26.

Matthew had a good 2009–10 season. He qualified for the Welsh Open and beat Shaun Murphy. He also played a close match at the 2010 World Championship qualifiers but did not make it to the main tournament.

He started the 2010–11 season well, reaching the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters. He also reached the quarter-finals at the Welsh Open. Even with these good results, he was not in the top 16, so he had to qualify for the World Championship. He won a very close qualifying match to get in. He then won the 2011 Championship League, beating Shaun Murphy in the final. Because of his strong performances, Matthew Stevens returned to the top 16 world rankings in 2011. This meant he no longer needed to play qualifying matches for major events.

In the 2011–12 season, he reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the German Masters. He also played in his first Masters tournament since 2007. Matthew had an excellent run at the World Championship, reaching his sixth semi-final in the event. He finished the season ranked world number 10, his highest ranking since 2005.

2013 German Masters

In the 2012–13 season, Matthew reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 UK Championship and the German Masters. At the World Open in China, his cue didn't arrive, so he had to borrow cues from other players! He still managed to reach the final, but lost to Mark Allen. He finished the year ranked world number 14.

In the 2013–14 season, he reached the semi-finals of the 2013 Wuxi Classic. He also had some close matches but failed to qualify for the World Championship. His ranking dropped to world number 19.

In the 2014–15 season, Matthew reached a quarter-final at the 2014 Australian Goldfields Open. He also beat Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Welsh Open, which was his first win against O'Sullivan in twelve years. He then beat Mark Williams at the World Championship before losing to O'Sullivan.

In the 2015–16 season, he reached the third round of the Welsh Open. He also made it to the final qualifying round for the World Championship but lost.

2016 Paul Hunter Classic

In the 2016–17 season, Matthew reached the fourth round of the UK Championship, where he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He did not qualify for the World Championship for the second year in a row. His ranking at the end of this season was 55, his lowest since 1996.

After 2017, Matthew continued to play. He reached the semi-final of the 2018 International Championship in 2018. In the 2019 UK Championship, he beat Mark Selby before losing in the quarter-finals. In the 2020 English Open (snooker), he had a great 4-1 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the third round. Matthew qualified for the World Snooker Championship in 2018, 2020, and 2022. He recently lost in the final qualifying round for the 2025 World Snooker Championship to Wu Yize.

Matthew's Life Outside Snooker

Matthew Stevens was born in Carmarthen, Wales. He went to a Welsh-speaking school and can speak Welsh fluently.

His father, Morrell, who was also his manager, passed away in 2001. Matthew was a close friend of fellow snooker player Paul Hunter and was a pallbearer at his funeral. Matthew also enjoys playing Texas hold 'em poker. In 2004, at just 27 years old, he won the UK's richest poker tournament, beating the famous darts player Phil Taylor. Matthew had only been playing poker for about 18 months before this big win.

Career Highlights

Matthew Stevens has had a successful career with several important wins and many times as a runner-up.

UK Championship: He won this major tournament in 2003. He was also a runner-up twice, in 1998 and 1999.
The Masters: He won this prestigious tournament in 2000.
World Snooker Championship: He reached the final twice, in 2000 and 2005, but was a runner-up both times. He also reached the semi-finals six times.
Other Wins: He won the Benson & Hedges Championship (1995), Belgian Masters (1996), Scottish Masters Qualifying Event (1999), Scottish Masters (1999), Northern Ireland Trophy (2005), Pot Black (2005), and Championship League (2011).
Team Wins: He was part of the Welsh team that won the Nations Cup in 1999.

Matthew has shown great skill and determination throughout his long career in snooker.