Stephen Hendry reacted to what Quinten Hann did during a snooker tournament at the Crucible
Stephen Hendry has voiced his astonishment at Quinten Hann’s choice to jet back to Australia between matches at the World Snooker Championship. The 48-year-old used the break between his Crucible matches in 2003 to travel back to Australia before making the return journey to Sheffield.
Among the sport’s most unconventional characters, former snooker professional Hann once challenged opponent Andy Hicks to a fight during his first-round 10-4 defeat at the world championship in 2004. Tensions erupted after the pair traded words, with Hicks accused of mocking Hann before the official intervened.
The previous year, Hann had made the most of his opening round win by flying out to his homeland ahead of his second round match. While many still recall Hann’s confrontation with Hicks, news of his extraordinary journey to Australia the year before came as a surprise to seven-time world champion Hendry.
The former world No. 14 had beaten 1991 champion John Parrott in the opening round at the Crucible. With a week’s break before his next match, Hann travelled to Australia before returning to Sheffield for a 13-2 thrashing by eventual tournament victor Mark Williams.
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“I didn’t know that,” Hendry said on the Snooker Club podcast. “That’s unbelievable. How can you go back to Australia between matches? That is unbelievable.
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“He came up to Scotland once, and he was unpredictable. He wanted to practise with me. We set up to play a best-of-nine. We broke off for the first frame, and he smashed them from the back. I’ve made a century, and my manager was sat watching.
He asked him: ‘Why did you do that?’ And he said: ‘I just wanted to see what he could do. My manager felt like saying: ‘Did you not know what he can do?’”
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Hann was known for his unconventional opening shots against top players, including Ronnie O’Sullivan during the 2000 Grand Prix. When asked about his strategy after a 5-0 defeat, he explained: “I thought that if I couldn’t win the second frame from all the chances I had, I shouldn’t be out there.
“If a professional can’t win with those chances, then you are not a professional. Either way I played today, it was going to go the same way.”
Hann’s snooker career concluded in 2006 when he received an eight-year ban for match-fixing following the previous year’s China Open. He had resigned his World Professional Billiards and Snooker membership shortly before the sanction was confirmed.
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