# 2003 European Open (snooker)

The 2003 European Open was a professional snooker tournament and the fifth of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2002/2003 season, following the Welsh Open. It was held from 11 to 16 March 2003 at the Palace Hotel in Torquay, England. This marked the first and only time when any of the editions of this tournament was not held outside the British Isles. Ronnie O'Sullivan won his 12th ranking title by defeating Stephen Hendry 9–6 in the final. O'Sullivan went on to win back-to-back ranking titles – his next coming at the 2003 Irish Masters, just two weeks later, where he triumphed over John Higgins in a deciding frame.

## Tournament summary

Defending champion Stephen Hendry was the number 1 seed with World Champion Peter Ebdon seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:

## Main draw

| Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | | Final Best of 17 frames | Final Best of 17 frames | Final Best of 17 frames |
| 1 | Stephen Hendry | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dave Harold | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dave Harold | 3 | 1 | Stephen Hendry | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 12 | Graeme Dott | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Graeme Dott | 5 | 12 | Graeme Dott | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Tony Drago | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Tony Drago | 3 | | | | 1 | Stephen Hendry | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | John Higgins | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Jimmy White | 3 | | | | | | | 5 | John Higgins | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | Gerard Greene | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Gerard Greene | 5 | | Gerard Greene | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | John Higgins | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | John Higgins | 5 | 5 | John Higgins | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Barry Pinches | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Barry Pinches | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 | Stephen Hendry | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 3 | | | | |
| 6 | Ken Doherty | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 3 | | | | |
| | David Gray | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | David Gray | 1 | 6 | Ken Doherty | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Paul Hunter | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Paul Hunter | 5 | 9 | Paul Hunter | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robin Hull | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robin Hull | 2 | | | | 9 | Paul Hunter | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Alan McManus | 1 | | | | | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | Bjorn Haneveer | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Bjorn Haneveer | 5 | | Bjorn Haneveer | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Steve Davis | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Steve Davis | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Stephen Hendry | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 9 |
| 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 9 |
| | Michael Holt | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Michael Holt | 3 | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Dave Finbow | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Joe Perry | 4 | | Dave Finbow | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dave Finbow | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dave Finbow | 5 | | | | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Stephen Lee | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Quinten Hann | 5 | | | | | | | 7 | Stephen Lee | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | Jamie Burnett | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jamie Burnett | 4 | 14 | Quinten Hann | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Stephen Lee | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Stephen Lee | 5 | 7 | Stephen Lee | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robert Milkins | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robert Milkins | 4 | | | | | | | | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 3 | | | | |
| 8 | Matthew Stevens | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 3 | | | | |
| | Ian McCulloch | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ian McCulloch | 1 | 8 | Matthew Stevens | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Mark King | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Mark King | 5 | 11 | Mark King | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | David Roe | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | David Roe | 3 | | | | 11 | Mark King | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Joe Swail | 5 | | | | | | | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Davis | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Davis | 4 | 16 | Joe Swail | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Peter Ebdon | 5 | 2 | Peter Ebdon | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Marco Fu | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Jan Verhaas. Palace Hotel, Torquay, England, 16 March 2003. :
| Stephen Hendry (1) Scotland | 6–9 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) England |
| Afternoon: 0–140 (140), 100–11, 101–7 (101), 0–76 (76), 5–65 (52), 3–131 (126), 8–76 (76), 88–33 (88) Evening: 0–142 (142), 97–25 (53), 123–1 (117), 0–77 (77), 72–37 (72), 50–79 (Hendry 50), 0–79 (79) |||
| 117 | Highest break | 142 |
| 2 | Century breaks | 3 |
| 6 | 50+ breaks | 8 |

## Qualifying
### Round 1

Best of 9 frames
| Craig Butler | 5–3 | Manan Chandra |
| Peter Lines | 0–5 | Simon Bedford |
| Sean Storey | 5–2 | Pang Weiguo |
| Jason Prince | 5–2 | Ricky Walden |
| Phaitoon Phonbun | 5–2 | Hugh Abernethy |
| Adrian Gunnell | 5–1 | Atthasit Mahitthi |
| Jason Ferguson | 5–4 | Jamie Cope |
| Stephen Kershaw | 5–3 | Peter Roscoe |
| Kristján Helgason | 5–4 | David Gilbert |
| John Read | w/o–w/d | Matthew Farrant |
| Andrew Higginson | 5–0 | Justin Astley |
| Andrew Norman | 5–2 | James Reynolds |
| Paul Wykes | 5–0 | Colm Gilcreest |
| Martin Dziewialtowski | w/o–w/d | Eddie Manning |
| Matthew Couch | 5–0 | Jimmy Robertson |
| Paul Davies | 5–0 | Leo Fernandez |
| Neal Foulds | 3–5 | David John |
| Euan Henderson | w/d–w/o | Jin Long |
| Paul Davison | 1–5 | Bob Chaperon |
| Jeff Cundy | 3–5 | Stefan Mazrocis |
| Shaun Murphy | 5–1 | Jason Weston |
| Luke Fisher | 5–1 | Lee Spick |
| Joe Johnson | 4–5 | David McLellan |
| Rod Lawler | 5–2 | Mario Wehrman |
| Troy Shaw | 5–2 | Darren Clarke |
| Alain Robidoux | 5–3 | Mark Gray |
| Antony Bolsover | 5–2 | David Donovan |
| Rory McLeod | 3–5 | Munraj Pal |
| Lee Walker | 2–5 | Kwan Poomjang |
| Ryan Day | 4–5 | Matthew Selt |
| Wayne Brown | 5–4 | Johl Younger |
| Tony Jones | 3–5 | Nick Pearce |

### Round 2–5

| Round 2 Best of 9 frames | Round 2 Best of 9 frames | Round 3 Best of 9 frames | Round 3 Best of 9 frames | Round 4 Best of 9 frames | Round 4 Best of 9 frames | Round 5 Best of 9 frames | Round 5 Best of 9 frames |
| Craig Butler | 5 | Stuart Pettman | 5 | Jonathan Birch | 5 | Dave Harold | 5 |
| Simon Bedford | 4 | Craig Butler | 2 | Stuart Pettman | 4 | Jonathan Birch | 4 |
| Sean Storey | 5 | Andy Hicks | 2 | Marcus Campbell | 5 | Tony Drago | 5 |
| Jason Prince | 0 | Sean Storey | 5 | Sean Storey | 3 | Marcus Campbell | 2 |
| Phaitoon Phonbun | 3 | Gerard Greene | 5 | Terry Murphy | 0 | Dominic Dale | 1 |
| Adrian Gunnell | 5 | Adrian Gunnell | 4 | Gerard Greene | 5 | Gerard Greene | 5 |
| Jason Ferguson | 5 | Barry Pinches | 5 | Alfie Burden | 3 | John Parrott | 0 |
| Stephen Kershaw | 4 | Jason Ferguson | 4 | Barry Pinches | 5 | Barry Pinches | 5 |
| Kristján Helgason | 5 | Nick Walker | 5 | Shokat Ali | 4 | David Gray | 5 |
| John Read | 4 | Kristján Helgason | 1 | Nick Walker | 5 | Nick Walker | 2 |
| Andrew Higginson | 5 | Bradley Jones | 4 | Robin Hull | 5 | James Wattana | 2 |
| Andrew Norman | 1 | Andrew Higginson | 5 | Andrew Higginson | 1 | Robin Hull | 5 |
| Paul Wykes | 4 | Bjorn Haneveer | 5 | Billy Snaddon | 3 | Nigel Bond | 4 |
| Martin Dziewialtowski | 5 | Martin Dziewialtowski | 1 | Bjorn Haneveer | 5 | Bjorn Haneveer | 5 |
| Matthew Couch | 5 | Jimmy Michie | 2 | Patrick Wallace | 4 | Steve Davis | 5 |
| Paul Davies | 3 | Matthew Couch | 5 | Matthew Couch | 5 | Matthew Couch | 2 |
| David John | 4 | Mike Dunn | 5 | Michael Holt | 5 | Drew Henry | 4 |
| Jin Long | 5 | Jin Long | 1 | Mike Dunn | 1 | Michael Holt | 5 |
| Bob Chaperon | 2 | Dave Finbow | 5 | Gary Wilkinson | 2 | Anthony Hamilton | 4 |
| Stefan Mazrocis | 5 | Stefan Mazrocis | 3 | Dave Finbow | 5 | Dave Finbow | 5 |
| Shaun Murphy | 4 | Stephen Maguire | 5 | Jamie Burnett | 5 | Fergal O'Brien | 4 |
| Luke Fisher | 5 | Luke Fisher | 1 | Stephen Maguire | 2 | Jamie Burnett | 5 |
| David McLellan | 3 | Barry Hawkins | 5 | Robert Milkins | 5 | Michael Judge | 0 |
| Rod Lawler | 5 | Rod Lawler | 3 | Barry Hawkins | 4 | Robert Milkins | 5 |
| Troy Shaw | 1 | Nick Dyson | 5 | Ian McCulloch | 5 | Anthony Davies | 4 |
| Alain Robidoux | 5 | Alain Robidoux | 4 | Nick Dyson | 0 | Ian McCulloch | 5 |
| Antony Bolsover | 4 | Mark Selby | 3 | David Roe | 5 | Chris Small | 3 |
| Munraj Pal | 5 | Munraj Pal | 5 | Munraj Pal | 1 | David Roe | 5 |
| Kwan Poomjang | 5 | Stuart Bingham | 4 | Mark Davis | 5 | Ali Carter | 4 |
| Matthew Selt | 2 | Kwan Poomjang | 5 | Kwan Poomjang | 0 | Mark Davis | 5 |
| Wayne Brown | 3 | Darren Morgan | 5 | Brian Morgan | 2 | Marco Fu | 5 |
| Nick Pearce | 5 | Nick Pearce | 2 | Darren Morgan | 5 | Darren Morgan | 3 |