Australian Billiards & Snooker Council

News

Steve Mifsud Wins World Championship
03 Nov 2002

Steve Mifsud (30) from Melbourne became the first Australian to win the IBSF World Snooker Championship when he defeated Tim English (24) from Wales in the Final of the 2002 DOMTY IBSF World Snooker Championship at the Movenpick Media City Hotel in Cairo, Egypt. He also shared the Highest Break Prize of the Championship with Wael Talaat, Egypt, they each compiled a very respectable 138 break.

Steve qualified first out of his round robin group, winning 8 out of 10 matches. This gave him the number 8 seeding into the final 32 knockout stages.

The run to the final saw him defeat Colin Bingham of Northern Ireland 5-4, and Mohamed Elhamy of Egypt 5-2. In the quarter finals he came up against Mohamed Mustafa Shehab of UAE, who had just defeated the top seed Martin McCrudden in the previous round - Steve won that encounter 6-5.

In the semi final Steve met the Chinese sensation, 15 year old Ding Jun Hui, who had won the IBSF World Under 21 Snooker Championship in September. Steve seemingly breezed through that match 8-2.

In the best of 21 final against Welshman Tim English, Steve went out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back. English fought back to be 3-2 down, then 6-5, but Steve won 5 of the next 6 frames to clinch the match 11-6 and win the world championship.

Australia's other representative in the event, Neil Robertson, won 9 out of his 10 round robin matches, losing only to top seed Martin McCrudden, but was beaten in the last 32 by Joe Meara of Northern Ireland who went on to the semi finals.