Snooker: Lee's hard summer pays off

Stephen Lee wore a satisfied smile after returning to big-time snooker with a winning performance at the Scottish Masters in Glasgow yesterday.

In his first outing since a World Championship quarter-final at Sheffield last May, the 27-year-old from Wiltshire knocked out the Scottish qualifier Drew Henry 5-1.

Lee, top of the pile on the one-season ranking list, meets Mark Williams of Wales next for a first-ever Masters semi-final appearance.

"You are only good as your last result but I've been working hard over the summer," admitted the Trowbridge-based player. "I don't usually come back like this. So overall I was quite pleased with that result. Drew is a gritty type of player and if you don't put him down he will keep bouncing back."

Henry, appearing in the final stages of the Masters for the first time since 1994, won four matches in Stirling to qualify to play Lee.

But despite the extra match practice it was Lee who showed the form that brought him the Regal Scottish Open and the LG Cup last season.

Lee made his top break of 76 in frame three but also a vital 72 clearance from 58-0 down in the fifth. That proved to be the turning point as, Henry admitted later: "It could have been a different game had I won that frame but he did a great clearance when it mattered."

Lee also knocked in runs of 41, 40, 36 and 30 to take his place in the last eight.

Henry's consolation was a cheque for £5,500, though he admitted times are likely to be hard for many this season.

"It's a nightmare," said the 33-year-old. "There are only six ranking tournaments this season and for some players who have had a bad week at the qualifiers, their season is almost over.

"They are going to think is it worth going part-time and do I go and get another job?"

Elsewhere Mark Wildman, a former chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, resigned his post as a director. "I've been a professional for 10 years and the game is going backwards every year," he said.