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Stephen Lee

Forced to go through qualifying having dropped out of the top 16, Lee found the 2008/09 season tough, though he did produce some fine performances in snooker’s two biggest ranking events.
In the Maplin UK Championship, he beat Andy Hicks 9-6 to qualify for the venue, then scored a surprise 9-7 defeat of Stephen Hendry at the Telford International Centre.
"The likes of myself, Ken Doherty and Mark Williams are out of the top 16 because we deserve it, the other lads put us out of there. But I’m enjoying it at the moment and I’ve got a bit of confidence," he said. Lee went on to beat Mark King 9-5 to reach the quarter-finals before losing 9-3 to eventual champion Shaun Murphy.
The season ended with the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship and Lee faced a tough final qualifying match against rising star Judd Trump. He looked likely to miss out on the Crucible when he trailed 6-2, but fought back superbly to win 10-8.
Lee made no secret of the fact that the game had an extra edge. "There’s local rivalry there," he said. "He fluked a few balls and didn’t put his hand up - I don’t know why as it’s only a game. The boy is good but I’m glad I beat him."
Drawn against Ryan Day at the Crucible, Lee was well below his best and lost 10-4. "I played rubbish," he said. "That’s what’s happening to me at the moment. One good game and one bad game, I can’t predict it. I’ve just got to work hard. You also have to accept it when your game doesn’t turn up. I’ve enjoyed this season, I’ve played some good matches and bad matches and that’s what’s happened to me in the last few seasons."
Though Lee had a poor season in ranking events in 2007/08, he did enjoy a superb run in the Masters, where he reached the final for the first time.
Victories over Graeme Dott, Peter Ebdon and Marco Fu set up a final clash with Mark Selby, but that did not go to plan for the Wonder of Wiltshire as he fell 10-3.
Lee’s trophy cabinet required a welcome reshuffle in March 2006 as he won his first piece of major silverware for almost four years.
He beat Drew Henry, Mark Selby, Graeme Dott and Anthony Hamilton to reach the Welsh Open final – then produced an impressive performance to record a 9-4 victory over Shaun Murphy.
The best season of his career was 2001/02 when he won more ranking points than any other player. He was victorious at the inaugural LG Cup at the Guild Hall in Preston, beating Peter Ebdon 9-4 in the final, as well as the Scottish Open in Aberdeen when he beat David Gray 9-2.
Lee’s first ranking title also came at the Guild Hall – that was the 1998 Grand Prix secured with a 9-2 defeat of Marco Fu.
He holds the record for the most consecutive frames won in rankings events – he notched up 33 on the spin during qualifying events in Blackpool in 1992.
He married long-term partner Laura in the summer of 2005 in Florida and is the proud father of four children including twin boys Ronnie and Alfie.

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