Having recorded a shock defeat against reigning Masters champion Mark Selby in round one, Hawkins kept up his good form to upset the 1997 world champion.

The world No.25 took the opening frame after making a break of 57. The second frame could have gone either way, but it was Hawkins who managed to take it with a break of 73 after doubling a red into the left-middle pocket.

Doherty was not going to give in, and he halved the deficit by knocking in a fine break of 75. However, Doherty could not repeat what he did in the previous frame, and Hawkins clinched the match to round off another fine win in this tournament.

Keeping track of all the records and statistics isn’t easy when it comes to a sport that has been played professionally for decades.

There have been quite a few stunning records throughout the years, yet still new players keep breaking them. One kind of record that seems to be beaten constantly are in the “youngest player ever to…” category. For example we had grown used to the fact that Ronnie O’Sullivan was the youngest player to score a maximum break but then Judd Trump beat that record in 2004 and in 2007 Ding Junhui became the youngest player to score a televised maximum break.

So, what is the most impressive snooker record ever, all categories? Well, Joe Davis’s 15 World Championship titles is a fair candidate, you can’t argue with that. But then again, Stephen Hendry’s seven titles in modern times might be even more amazing considering the big increase in competition since 1946 when Davis won his last World Championship. Hendry’s 36 ranking titles is also a jaw-dropping achievement. Despite Steve Davis’s legendary status he’s quite far behind with his 28.

Even though maximum breaks don’t automatically mean you will win the match (we have seen enough matches ending in favour of the player who didn’t make the maximum to establish that) they still cause the most awe among spectators. The two players who have provided us with the most maximum breaks are O’Sullivan and Hendry who have both scored nine each. However, they have yet to score a 155 break, the absolute highest break possible in snooker. The only player who has reportedly made one is Jamie Cope. Except for the obvious skills needed to make a maximum break, luck is also required to compile a “super maximum break” of155. A free ball has to be involved which is something you can’t exactly control by yourself.

The fastest maximum break was made by Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1997 and was over in five minutes and 20 seconds. Will it ever be beaten? However, quite surprisingly O’Sullivan doesn’t hold the record for the fastest frame, no, it was made by Tony Drago in 1996 who won a frame in three minutes and thirty-one seconds.

The most annoying attempt at a maximum was probably that of Ken Doherty in 2000 when he missed the final black off its spot at the Masters.

A record that might not be very flattering is the one for the longest frame. It was played in the 2008 China Open between Shaun Murphy and Dave Harold and lasted 93 minutes and 12 seconds. The longest match was one of the most classic and famous matches ever played, namely the 1985 World Championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis. It lasted 890 minutes and went to the final black ball. But the match will most likely be remembered as the most exciting rather than the longest.

No matter how many complicated records you break (such as “the second-youngest player to win five consecutive frames in a professional tournament”), entertainment value might still rate higher. After all, people will remember exciting matches first and foremost and tend to forget exact figures.

While the bad boys of snooker aren’t particularly dangerous, their many deeds still shock people. Because snooker is a gentlemanly sport, the acts of the bad boys are perhaps looked upon more severely compared to, let’s say, boxing.

So what is the worst action ever committed by a professional snooker player? Well, there are quite likely a few things that never reached the public and that will be forever buried in the past.

There are also a lot of different categories, most of which involve match-fixing. Australian Quinten Hann might be the worst case ever revealed. He agreed to lose a match with Ken Doherty in the 2006 China Open in return for money, but gave himself away during an interview with an undercover journalist. He ended up with a £10,000 fine and an eight-year ban which has probably marked the end of his career.

There was a similar incident involving Peter Francisco who was banned for five years after being found guilty of match-fixing in a World Championship match against Jimmy White. His uncle, Silvino Francisco was accused of match-fixing as well, but was never found guilty.

There have also been a few cases of drug use throughout the years. The 1980 world champion Cliff Thorburn was banned from two ranking tournaments after having taken cocaine. Bill Werbeniuk, who suffered from essential tremor, used to drink eight pints of beer before every match. Alex Higgins is another infamous example of a heavy drinker. Ronnie O’Sullivan was tested positively for marijuana after having won the 1998 Irish Masters against Ken Doherty. The title was taken away from him and given to Doherty who, however, refused to accept the trophy.

Spats are another quite frequent occurrence in this context. Hann once wanted to go outside to fight with Andy Hicks after a match, and O’Sullivan has sure had his arguments with other players and referees. But the most violent player has to be Higgins, who once punched a referee in the face and threatened to have Dennis Taylor killed.

The most harmless of all the bad boys of snooker is probably Tony Knowles. Knowles was a lover, not a fighter. The women admired him and Knowles had no intention of disappointing them. He eagerly shared passionate stories about his bedroom activities with those who wanted to hear and those who didn’t. Eventually he went over the line and was fined for bringing the game into disrepute.

Bad boys are a distraction from the game and mostly a bad one. But one has to admit that some of these stories – like the ones about Tony Knowles – do add a certain spice to the sport.

O’Sullivan did have a great tournament, making eight century breaks despite having smashed his cue a few days before the tournament began.

The next tournament was the Welsh Open where, again, the defending champion was Selby. The tournament was however won by Ali Carter who took his first ranking title, and then the players travelled to Beijing for the China Open brought a final between John Higgins and Peter Ebdon that ended 10-8 in favour of Ebdon.

The World Championship was a dramatic one even before the main event got underway. First of all Ken Doherty and Matthew Stevens failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time in 16 and 11 years, respectively. Doherty was so disappointed he actually considered retirement. Instead we saw four debutants at the Crucible Theatre – Rory McLeod, Andrew Higginson, Ricky Walden and Martin Gould. Young Mark Allen stunned the snooker world when he beat O’Sullivan in the second round and went all the way to the semi-finals.

 Stephen Hendry made the ninth maximum break of his career in his quarter-final against Shaun Murphy, but lost the match. The final was then played between Murphy and John Higgins, both former world champions. Something remarkable about the final was the fact that it was refereed by a woman, Michaela Tabb, for the first time in the history of the tournament. Higgins became world champion for the second time and on top of everything celebrated his 1000^th frame at the Crucible.  

When the next season started in September, the time had come for the players to go to China yet again to play in the Shanghai Masters. Local player Liang Wenbo surprised everyone when he reached the final, beating Ebdon, Carter, Ricky Walden and Murphy on the way. But the local hero found O’Sullivan too much to handle in the final.

There was a lot of talk about Chinese players yet again in the next tournament, the Grand Prix. For the first time in the history of the tournament the final was played between two non-British players, Chinese Ding Junhui and Australian Neil Robertson. This was also the second final in a ranking tournament between two players outside of the UK, which Robertson won 9-4 .

In the Premier League, Murphy put an end to O’Sullivan’s five-year winning streak, defeating him 7-3 in the final.

Away from the table 2009 was also the year when WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker was forced to resign in favour of Barry Hearn, who showed interest in the position right before the AGM was held. This was most likely the reason why Walker wasn’t re-elected. The snooker world is quite anxious to see what Hearn can do for the sport next year.

In December the second biggest tournament, the UK Championship was held as usual, this year in Telford. British pie brand Pukka Pies sponsored the event for the first time. Veteran Jimmy  White gave up his spot to participate in the television reality show, I’m a Celebrity… Get me out of here! and had to relocate to the jungle for a couple of weeks. The final was played between Higgins and Ding and was quite a tough one. Ding eventually took his second UK title and besides the £100,000 in prize money he received his weight in pies.

The snooker year of 2009 was a quite eventful one and we are of course already looking forward to next year, starting off with the Masters tournament.

Last night, Higgins faced defeat once again, this time to a less obvious player. Reanne Evans, one of the world’s finest female snooker players came out victorious in this year’s battle of the sexes, or shall we say sixes, against Higgins in the 6 Red World Championship.

Evans, who has a daughter from a previous relationship with world top 16 player Mark Allen, has been dominating the women’s snooker scene for a while. She won the match against Higgins 4-3 with a 51 break, which is quite high considering the format. Before beating Higgins, Evans defeated Aaron Doran 4-1 and will most likely move on to the second round. Fans of women’s snooker are excited over these results and believe that she might even have a chance on the pro tour.

The 6 Red World Championship is being played between the 15^th and 18^th of December in Killarney. The event is sponsored by 888sport.com and 130 players from all over the world will be participating.

In 6-red snooker, also known as Super 6s, only six red balls are used. Aside from that, the rules are the same as in regular snooker. The format was invented to speed up the game and make each frame shorter with the intention of increasing the popularity of the sport.

One of the organisers of the tournament is Irish snooker star and former world champion, Ken Doherty. He started off yesterday by beating John McBride 4-1. Another legend who’s participating in the championship is the notorious but still very respected Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, who won the World Championship in 1972 and 1982. His didn’t get quite as good a start as Doherty as he lost his opening match 4-0 to Alex O’Donoghue.

The 6 Red World Championship will be decided on Friday and €10,000 in prize money awaits the winner.