On This Week

Ronnie O'Sullivan (pictured) beat Ken Doherty 9-3 in the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters final at Goff's - but he was later disqualified for failing a drugs test. The Rocket tested positive for cannabis after the event, and Doherty became the only player from the Republic of Ireland ever to win their highest profile event.

Willie Thorne reached his second consecutive final of the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters at Goff's, but again he failed to take the title. Steve Davis beat him 9-1 to win the event for the third time in five years.

In his China Open semi-final against Ryan Day, Stephen Maguire compiled his second 147 break in professional competition. This was also the first in a ranking event in Asia.

Just two weeks after winning the European Open, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Citywest Irish Masters title for the second time beating John Higgins 10-9 in a classic final during which he clinched the deciding frame with a century.

At the Beijing University Students' Gymnasium, Stephen Maguire collected his fourth world ranking title when he defeated Shaun Murphy 10-9 to win the Honghe Industrial China Open.

It was the first time an Irishman had made it to the final of the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters but there was no fairy tale ending for Alex Higgins as Jimmy White beat him 9-5 in the final at Goff's. It was also the first time since the event began in 1978 that no Welshman had reached the final.

Darren Morgan became the first Welshman to win the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters for 14 years when he edged Steve Davis 9-8 in the final at Goff's. The Welsh had dominated the early years of this event winning four of the first five finals.

Defending champion, Steve Davis retained his Benson & Hedges Irish Masters title at Goff's in Kildare with a 9-1 victory over three times former winner, Terry Griffiths. Wales thus maintained their remarkable record of providing at least one of the finalists every year since the event began in 1978.

Steve Davis won the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters for the fifth time in eight years when he defeated Dennis Taylor 9-4 in the final.

Having been disqualified from his previous &lsquovictory' three years earlier, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Citywest Irish Masters with a 9-8 victory over Stephen Hendry at the sponsor's hotel in Saggart near Dublin. It was the sixth time in eight years that the final had gone to a deciding frame.

Already the holder of the European and World (Amateur) Championships, Mark Allen added the European Under-19 title beating Chris Norbury 6-5 in the final in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Reigning world champion Graeme Dott won his second ranking title when he defeated Jamie Cope 9-5 in the final of the Honghe Industrial China Open at the Beijing University Students' Gymnasium.

The twelfth running of the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters at Goff's at last provided the fans with an Irish winner even if he was from north of the border. Alex Higgins beat Stephen Hendry in a final which had the Hurricane's supporters on the edge of their seats as it went to the final frame.

Just two days past his 18th birthday and still ranked only 62 in the world, local hero Ding Junhui beat Stephen Hendry 9-5 in the final of the China Open to become the first Chinese player to win a ranking title. Ding had whitewashed Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty on the way to the final but, as he was playing as a wild card, he did not receive any prize money or ranking points for his victory.

England's Reanne Evans won the Ladies' World Snooker Championship for the third year running beating Katie Hendrick 5-3 in the final at the Cambridge Snooker Centre.