page_title: 2001 Champions Cup
section_title: Group B
hierarchical_section_title: 2001 Champions Cup / Group stages / Group B
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bild aufgenommen in Berlin während des German Masters im Snooker 2015. Mark Williams. English: Picture taken in Berlin during the Snooker German Masters in 2015. Mark Williams.
context_page_description: The 2001 Champions Cup was a professional invitational snooker tournament held at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, from 11 to 19 August. It was the seventh and final edition of the eight-player Champions Cup, and was the first of four World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational events of the 2001–02 season following the 2001 World Snooker Championship. It preceded the season's second invitational tournament, the 2001 Scottish Masters.
  John Higgins, the world number three, won the tournament, defeating two-time Champions Cup runner-up Mark Williams seven frames to four in the final. It was the first and only Champions Cup success in the career of Higgins. In the semi-finals, Higgins defeated Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, 5–2 and Williams won against the 2001 Scottish Open victor Peter Ebdon by the same scoreline. Ebdon made the highest break of 130 in the third frame of his group match over Ronnie O'Sullivan, the 2001 world champion.
context_section_description: World number three John Higgins won 5–4 over two-time Champions Cup runner-up Mark Williams. Higgins led 3–0 until Williams tied him 3–3; the former missed a straightforward black for a 5–3 victory. Williams won frame eight on the pink but was unable to convert a 36–0 score into a win. Higgins said the result was possibly due to nervousness. Tournament debutant Paul Hunter won 5–4 over the 1999 Champions Cup winner Stephen Hendry to requite a loss to Hendry at the 2001 world championship. Hendry failed to take a 3–2 lead because he missed the black while 66–0 in front and Hunter took frame five with a 70 clearance. Hunter claimed two of the next three frames to win. After breaks of 53, 52 and 72, Hendry lost for the second time in a row when match-long leader Williams defeated him 5–3 from two half-centuries. The result required Hendry to win his game against fellow Scot Higgins to qualify for the semi-finals.
  Higgins qualified for the semi-finals with a 5–3 win over Hunter. A 97 break won Hunter frame one before Higgins took the next two with breaks of 68 and 71 to accumulate 189 points without reply. Higgins took a 4–2 lead from breaks of 64 and 50, to which Hunter made a 95 break before Higgins sealed the win on a 74–43 scoreline. Williams defeated Hunter for the sixth straight time by 5–2. The first two frames were shared before Williams took the next two. Hunter took frame six with a 33 clearance and Williams the next two to advance to the semi-finals. Breaks of 92, 79, 98 and 56 allowed Hendry to defeat Higgins 5–4 and avoid finishing last in Group B. Higgins said he would attempt to play "110 per cent harder next time out" and was relieved to play Doherty the following day.
caption: Mark Williams (pictured in 2015) advanced from Group B to the semi-finals.
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