On this week: Five-ton Ron

In the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy, Ronnie O’Sullivan became the first player to make five centuries in a best-of-nine match and included his seventh maximum just for good measure! His 5-2 victory over Ali Carter included runs of 108, 122, 107, 147 and 129.

Eddie Charlton, the standard bearer for Australian snooker for many years, died just eight days after his 75th birthday in Palmerston, New Zealand on the way to yet another exhibition. An all-round sportsman, Eddie was ranked number three in the world for five seasons and twice played in the final of the world championship, as well as twice winning Pot Black. He was Australian champion 13 times and was made a Member of the Australian Order of Merit in 1980.

Former English amateur champion Pat Houlihan, who beat John Spencer 11-3 to win that title in 1965, died the day after his 77th birthday. He turned pro in 1969 and played on tour right up until 1993 with a best ranking of 18.

Stuart Bingham became the first player to win the Masters qualifying tournament twice. He beat Mark Selby 6-2 in the final at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield to book his place in the Masters for the second year in succession.

Marcus Campbell recorded his first maximum break in the wild card round of the Bahrain Championship against Ahmed al-Khusaibi of Oman. This was the first 147 to be made in professional competition in the Middle East.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh claimed a second successive IBSF World Championship for Thailand when he defeated Ireland’s Colm Gilcreest 11-7 in the final in Wels, Austria. Reanne Evans took the ladies title for the fifth year running with a 5-3 victory over Wendy Jans, while Dene O’Kane beat Geet Sethi 5-1 to win the masters crown for the third time in five years.

Noppadon Noppachorn provided a home winner for Thailand in the IBSF World (Amateur) Championship in Bangkok. In the final he defeated Dominic Dale 11-9.

A 9-6 victory over John Lardner in the final of the Benson & Hedges Championship in Glasgow secured Ronnie O’Sullivan a place in the Masters at Wembley.

Hot favourites Scotland, with their line-up of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus, duly won the World Cup in Bangkok. In the final they had a 10-7 victory over the Republic of Ireland who were represented by Ken Doherty, Fergal O’Brien and Stephen Murphy.

Ali Carter claimed a place in the Masters by winning the Benson & Hedges Championship at The Willie Thorne Snooker Centre in Malvern with a 9-6 victory over Simon Bedford.

For the second year running, Stephen Hendry won the Dubai Duty Free Classic beating Steve Davis 9-1 in the final at the Al Nasr Stadium.

At the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Stephen Maguire beat Fergal O’Brien 9-5 to win the Northern Ireland Trophy, his third ranking title.

At the Willie Thorne Snooker Centre in Malvern, David Gray won the Benson & Hedges Championship with a 9-6 victory over Dave Harold in the final to secure a place in the Masters at Wembley.

Shaun Murphy made a 147 maximum break against Adrian Rosa in the last 32 of the Benson & Hedges Championship at the Towers Club in Mansfield.

John Higgins became the first player to complete a maximum break in successive matches. Having made one in the final of the LG Cup exactly a month before, he made another in his opening match of the British Open at the Brighton Centre against Michael Judge.

At the IBSF World Championships in Amman, Jordan, Keith E Boon Aun of Hong Kong became only the second player to make a maximum break in the event.

In the British Open at the Brighton Centre, Stephen Maguire became the first player to make centuries in five successive frames, albeit spread over two matches. He had finished off his quarter-final 5-0 whitewash of Anthony Hamilton the previous evening with runs of 113, 100 and 111, and then he began his semi-final against Ronnie O’Sullivan with breaks of 101 and 134. He eventually won the match 6-1.

In a match against Tom Newman in the Daily Mail Gold Cup at Thurston’s, Alec Brown used a cue the length of a fountain pen to play a tricky shot after the cue-ball became obstructed by the pack of reds. Referee Charlie Chambers immediately ruled the stroke a foul, claiming it was not within the spirit of the game. This incident was responsible for the Billiards Association and Control Council to form a new rule stating that the minimum length of a cue would be three feet.

At the Masters Club in Glasgow, Ken Doherty won the Benson & Hedges Championship, beating Darren Morgan 9-3 in the final and giving him his first title since turning professional.

Matthew Stevens won his first title as a professional clinching the Benson & Hedges Championship at the JP Snooker Centre in Edinburgh with a 9-3 victory over Paul McPhillips. The win carried with it a wild-card entry to the Masters at Wembley.

At the Brighton Centre, John Higgins won the British Open title for the fourth time to equal the record of Stephen Hendry. In the final he beat Stephen Maguire 9-6.

In Amman, Jordan, Belgium’s Wendy Jans finally won the IBSF Ladies World Championship after finishing as runner-up in the previous two championships. She beat In Wan-Ip from Hong Kong 5-0 in the final. In the Masters championship, Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan took the title with a 5-4 victory over Glen Wilkinson of Australia.