Stephen Lee
 Stephen Lee at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic |
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| Born | 12 October 1974 Trowbridge, Wiltshire |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 1992– |
| Highest ranking | 5 (2000/2001, 2003/04) |
| Current ranking | 15 |
| Career winnings | GB£1,731,310[1] |
| Highest break | 145 (2008 Northern Ireland Trophy) |
| Century breaks | 160 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 4 |
| Minor-ranking | 1 |
| Non-ranking | 2 |
Stephen Lee (born 12 October 1974) is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, whose smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural in the game.[2] He has won four ranking titles, and spent 10 seasons in the Top 16 of the world rankings (including 6 in the top 8) before dropping out for the snooker season 2008/2009. Lee has compiled over 100 competitive century breaks during his career.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Lee turned professional after winning the English Amateur Championship in 1992. During his first season as a professional he had a run of 33 successive frames won during qualifying matches, an all-time professional record.[3] He reached the Top 16 of the rankings five years later, despite never having reached the semi-finals of a ranking event at this point.[4] He entered the Top 8 after winning his first ranking title during the 1998/1999 season.
[edit] 1998–present
His first ranking victory came at the Grand Prix, in 1998 defeating Dave Harold 6–4 in a hard-fought semi-final that saw Lee come from 3–0 and 4–1 down, before beating newcomer Marco Fu convincingly in the final, 9–2) and 2001. In the World Championship his best run has been to the semi-finals (in the 2003 event). His first ranking title and first two ranking semi-finals were all achieved without beating a top-16 player.[4] After a failed drugs test in 2000 briefly upset his momentum,[5] he scored more ranking points than any other player in the 2001/2002 season (winning the Scottish Open as well as the Grand Prix), thus briefly making him the provisional world #1 early in the following season. Lee was favourite to win the 2001 Masters, but lost 5–6 in the first round to John Parrott. He was part of the England team which won the 2001 Nations Cup.
Due to a dip in form, at the 2006 Welsh Open he came to the competition outside the provisional Top 16 after failing to win a ranking tournament for four years. He went on to win the tournament, beating the World Champion, Shaun Murphy 9–4 in the final.
For 2007/2008 he slipped to #13 in the rankings after reaching just one semi-final, partly due to missing the China Open for personal reasons,.[6] He nevertheless reached the final of the 2008 Masters, losing 10–3 to Mark Selby.[7] Following a heavy defeat by Joe Swail in the first round of the 2008 World Championship, confirming his drop out of the top 16 of the rankings, Lee considered retiring from the game.[8]
However, he did compete in the first ranking event of the 2008/2009 season, the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, and after convincing wins over Judd Trump and Stephen Hendry, he reached the last 16, where despite making three century breaks he lost 4–5 to eventual runner-up Dave Harold. He then failed to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, losing 4–5 to Tom Ford. He reached the 2009 World Championship by defeating Judd Trump in qualifying, but was beaten 10–4 in the first round by Ryan Day.
On 11 February 2010 Lee was arrested by West Midlands Police on suspicion of cheating, in relation to an investigation by the Gambling Commission over suspicious betting patterns.[9]
During the 2010/2011 season Lee managed to regain some form including a win in Event 4 of the EPTC events. However, he drew John Higgins at both the UK Championship and World Championship, losing on both occasions with Higgins going on to win both events. At the China Open he drew Mark Williams and despite Williams making four centuries[10] he won 5–4, making a 61 clearance to the black in the decider. He went on to the quarter-finals where he lost to Ding Junhui 5–2.
[edit] Personal life
He married long-term partner Laura in the summer of 2005 in Florida. He has four children – a daughter called Shana, son Connor and twin sons Ronnie and Alfie.[2] He is noted for his unusually high weight for a professional sportsman, although he has attempted to reduce this by not binge-drinking or eating late at night.[11] [12]
