Seventeen days of top-class snooker reach a climax at
Sheffield's Crucible Theatre tonight as the finalists take to the baize for what should be the decisive session, hoping to grab the £250,000 winner's prize.
In a cracking final last year, Mark Williams won his second world title, defeating Ken Doherty 18-16. After
Sunday night's play Williams was ahead 11-5, but he was given a nasty shock the following day as the Irishman won six consecutive frames to level the tie at 11-11. From then on, every time the Welshman grabbed the advantage Doherty forced the match back to level pegging. At a nerve-jangling 16-16, it was Williams's nerve that held strong as he bagged the last two frames to clinch victory, adding to his triumphs at the UK Championship and the Masters in the same season.
Commentary by Clive Everton , Dennis Taylor ,
Willie Thorne and John Virgo. Introduced by Hazel Irvine ,
Ray Stubbs , Steve Davis and John Parrott. BBCi: digital viewers can access a news and statistics service via the handset