Haikou 海口
—  Prefecture-level city  —
海口市
Haikou city skyline
Nickname(s): Coconut City (椰子市)
Location in Hainan
Haikou Location in China
Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Hainan
Government
• CPC Municipal Party Secretary	Chen Ci (陈辞)
• Mayor	Ji Wenlin (冀文林)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	2,237 km2 (864 sq mi)
• Urban	2,237 km2 (864 sq mi)
• Metro	2,280 km2 (880 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)
• Prefecture-level city	2,046,189
• Density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
• Urban	2,046,189
• Urban density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
• Metro	2,046,189
• Metro density	900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	570000
Area code(s)	898
Website	http://www.haikou.gov.cn/

Hǎikǒu (Chinese: 海口), is the capital and most populous city of Hainan province, People's Republic of China. It is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is the district of Haidian Island, which is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a branch of the Nandu.

Administratively, Haikou is a prefecture-level city, comprising four districts, and covering 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi). There are 2,046,189 inhabitants in the built up area all living within the 4 urban districts of the city.

Haikou was originally a port city. Today, more than half of the island's total trade still goes through its ports. The city is home to Hainan University, which has its main campus on Haidian Island.

History[link]

The hanzi characters comprising the city's name, 海口, mean ocean/sea and mouth/port, respectively. Thus, the name "Haikou" is also a word for "seaport". Haikou originally served as the port for Qiongshan, the ancient administrative capital of Hainan island, located some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland to the south east. During its early history Haikou was a part of Guangdong province. In the 13th century it was fortified and became a military post under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The port is located west of the mouth of the Nandu River, Hainan's principal river. When Qiongshan was opened to foreign trade under the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, Haikou started to rival the old administrative city. In 1926, Haikou overtook Qiongshan in population and it was declared a separate administrative city. Haikou was developed as a port during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) when the Japanese invaded and occupied Hainan Island from early 1939 to 1945.

Since 1949, Haikou has maintained its position as Hainan's main port, handling more than half of the island's total trade. It has replaced Qiongshan as the island's administrative capital. In 1988, Haikou was made a prefecture-level city as well as the capital of the newly-created Hainan Province.

Haikou old town contains the oldest buildings in the city and was largely built by wealthy Chinese from the mainland and some overseas Chinese who had returned to their homeland. The houses are a mixture of styles including Portuguese, French, and Southeast Asian. The streets used to be divided into different areas selling Chinese and western medicine, for silk and bespoke clothes, one for fresh fish and meat, and others for the sale of incense, candles, paper, ink, and other goods.

Various projects are currently under discussion to decide the best way to restore and preserve these historical buildings.

Geography[link]

Haikou is situated on the north coast of Hainan Island, by Haikou Bay, facing the Leizhou Peninsula across the Qiongzhou Strait that stretches west from Beibu Bay near Vietnam to the James Shoal bordering the South China Sea to the west. Most of the city is almost completely flat and only a few metres above sea level. It has has an area of 2,304.84 square kilometres (889.90 sq mi).^{[citation needed][1]}

The northern part of Haikou City, the district of Haidian Island, is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a tributary of the Nandu River. The district is accessed by one of four bridges, the largest being Haikou Century Bridge, which connects the Guomao district with Haidian Island at the estuary of the Haidian River. From east to west the remaining three road connections are provided by the Renmin, Heping and Xinbu Bridges.

Demographics[link]

According to the 2010 Census, the prefecture-level city of Haikou has a registered population of 2,046,189 inhabitants, 537,848 more than the population declared on the past census in 2000. The average annual population growth during the period 2000-2010 was of 3.1%.^[2] Most of the population of Haikou are Han Chinese (around 97.75%, according to the 2010 Census).

Subdivisions[link]

Districts[link]

Districts of Haikou

Haikou is divided in four districts. The information here presented uses 2010 Census data.

Neighbourhoods[link]

There are several distinct neighborhoods within the city, including:

• Guomao is a relatively affluent area located on the coast between Longquan Road to the east running west for more than one kilometre. The west part of this area has experienced substantial development since about 2007, and now contains dozens of newly built high-rise residential apartment buildings.

Typical buildings in the Bo'ai Road area

• Bo'ai Road is a neighbourhood located on the south side of the Haidian River, at the northern part of mainland Hakikou. It comprises many dilapidated buildings with European fusion-type architectural facades. The buildings are almost all painted white, and are usually no more than a few stories tall. The area contains mainly narrow streets and alleyways, and is populated almost entirely by indigenous Hainan people. The neighbourhood is the commercial centre for textiles, pets, exotic foods, replica antiques, shoes, and many other products. Since around 2010, a number of the buildings have been demolished, either for development, or because they are unsafe.

• Hainan University area is located on Haidian Island. This area comprises the entire portion of the island west of its main north/south road, Renmin Dadao. It appears similar to a typical student ghetto, containg many small, inexpensive food stands and restaurants.

Parks[link]

The ferris wheel at Baishamen Park

• Evergreen Park is a 71.3 hectare^[3] park located on Binhai Road about 200 m west of the southern foot of Haikou Century Bridge. It is the largest park in Haikou, containing approximately ten thousand coconut trees and several hundred species of South Asian ornamental plants,^[3] however, most of the park consists of grassy fields.
• Baishamen Park (White Sand Gate Park) was created in 2010 and is located on the north shore of Haidian Island. The park contains a small amusement park, and consists mostly of grass fields, with little tree cover.
• Golden Bull Mountain Ridge Park (Jinniuling Park) includes a small zoo, a lake, diverse flora, and a high percentage of forest areas, including a large bamboo forest. It is located on Haixiu Road, west of Longquan Road, the main north-south avenue in Haikou.
• Haikou People's Park is a recently refurbished park located in the downtown area on Haixiu Road next to East Lake.^[4] The park draws large numbers of people each morning who engage in exercises, predominantly tai chi, fitness dancing, and aerobics.
• Hainan International Friendship Park is planned to occupy 180,000 square metres (1,900,000 sq ft) of land, with a length of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).^[5]

Environment[link]

Shopping street in Bo'ai Lu area (French colonial district)

Haikou has the highest rated air quality in China followed by Kunming.^[6] However, since approximately 2009, due to an increase in automobiles, there has been a substantial increase in air pollution.

According to the 2005 statistical book issued by the National Bureau of Statistics, Haikou scored the highest among China's main cities in air quality, with 366 days (2004) of ambient air quality equal to or above grade II, with only 0.033 milligrams/m² of particulate matter (the least of all main cities), 0.003 milligrams/m² of sulphur dioxide (only Lhasa had less), and 0.013 milligrams/m² of nitrogen dioxide (the least of all main cities).^[7]

In 1995, the Haikou city government began an initiative to improve the quality of life for its residents. With the approval of the World Health Organization, and China's Ministry of Health, a ten-point plan was undertaken to address such issues as:

• Community health care
• Vaccinations for children
• Waste recycling
• Green belts and urban trees
• Environmentally friendly construction
• Public toilets
• Sewage treatment
• Communications
• Noise pollution

The groundwater is of international standard^{[clarification needed]}, and is classified as mineral water.

By 2004, the city had established 43 new community health service centers reaching 85 percent of the population. The initiative has increased the size of Haikou's green spaces to 2,000 hectares, with trees lining 40 percent of its roads. Noise pollution has dropped from 61.1db to 58.2db. 300 public toilets have been built. All industrial effluents, industrial waste water and solid waste, and all live sewage, is now processed through centralized treatment centers, and is disposed of without environmental impact. These improvements and others have increased life expectancy in Haikou to 78.26 years.^[8]

Haikou city has also built 163 model ecological villages. Now, over 200,000 villagers in 933 villages have tap water in their homes.

Water and sewage treatment[link]

The treatment of Haikou's wastewater, and the supply of tap water is operated by the French company Veolia Water. The partial privatization agreement gives 49% ownership to Veolia Water in a 30-year joint venture with Haikou Water Group.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Climate[link]

Further information: Hainan#Annual fog

Haikou is on the northern edge of the torrid zone, and is part of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. April to October is the active period for tropical storms and typhoons, most of which occur between August and September. May to October is the rainy season with most rainfall coming in September. Despite its location, the city has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), falling just short of a tropical climate. Nevertheless, the area has hot summers and warm winters, usually with high humidity.^[13] Extremes temperatures have ranged from 2.8 to 42.0 °C (37 to 108 °F) ^[14]

Economy[link]

Hainan Airlines headquarters at the new HNA Development Building

The GDP per capita was $3,573 USD in 2008, ranked number 43 among 659 Chinese cities.

Haikou exports substantial quantities of agricultural produce and livestock.^{[citation needed]} There is a small amount of industry, including canning, textiles, rice hulling, and light engineering.

Hainan Airlines has its headquarters in the HNA Development Building in Haikou.^[15]

Education[link]

Several major educational institutions are located in Haikou.

Hainan University just inside the north gate.

• Hainan University has its main campus on Haikou's Haidian Island, with the South China Tropical Agricultural University, now part of the university, located in the southern part of the city.
• Hainan Normal University is the oldest institution for higher learning. It has an enrolment of more than 20,000, including approximately 200 foreigner students, and has recently constructed a new campus in Guilinyang, just outside of Haikou.
• Hainan Medical College, founded in 1993, offers degrees in medicine. It is located in the south part of the city.
• Qiongzhou University is located in Qiongshan District.
• Haikou College of Economics, located by Guoxing Road, with a new campus in Guilinyang.
• Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences is located across the road from Hainan Medical College.

Transportation[link]

A downtown street. The side lane for two-wheeled vehicles is present on almost all major streets in the city.

Urban[link]

Haikou has an extensive urban bus service. Standard fare is 1 yuan, with no bus pass or ticket system in place. Urban minibuses operated prior to 2009, but have since been phased-out. Taxi automobiles and electric motorbikes operate throughout the city. During 2009-2010, petrol-fueled motorbike taxis were banned and seized by police at numerous checkpoints within the city.

During the past few years, Haikou has experienced a substantial increase in cars. Traffic on main streets, once light, is now similar to other major cities, with rush hour problems that have prompted the city to expand several main roads.

Many main roads in the city have a side lane, separated by a median, exclusively for two-wheeled vehicles.

Physical barriers have been installed in the centre of many main two-way streets, in order to separate opposing lanes. These were installed for safety reasons to prevent pedestrians from crossing the streets at locations other than intersections.

Roundabouts are not prevalent in Haikou, being used mainly on Hai Xiu road, and a few other locations.

Traffic cameras are used at many main intersections in the city, with tickets being issued by post for traffic light infractions.

There is one tunnel in the city, the Qiaozhong Road Tunnel.

Public bicycle system[link]

These bicycles, part of a rental program, are locked. A pre-paid swipe card system is used to gain access to them.

Currently, 60 bicycles are available for rent at four bicycle service stations within the city, in a newly established rental system. A further 1,000 service stations are planned to open within two years providing 20,000 bicycles.^[16]

Air[link]

Haikou is served by Haikou Meilan International Airport (IATA: HAK, ICAO: ZJHK[1]), which is located 25 km from the city.

In January 2011, Haikou was selected to be the first test site for an experiment allowing private helicopter flight in China.^[17]

Intercity highways[link]

Three main highways connect Haikou to other parts of Hainan, running east, west, and south through the middle of the province.

Rail[link]

Haikou East Railway Station

A railway links Haikou to the mainland. A ferry service transports the railway cars, along with other motor vehicles across the strait.

The Hainan East Ring Railway links Haikou and Sanya. There are 15 stations in between, either in operation or still under construction. Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (155 mph). Travel time from Haikou to Sanya is approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes. The main station in Haikou is Haikou East Railway Station (东环铁路海口东站) located near the southern end of Long Quan Road.

An announcement was made in December 2010, that another high-speed railway will be built along the west coast of Hainan connecting with the Hainan Eastern Ring Railway.

Seaports[link]

Haikou Xiuying Port

Haikou has two seaports for passenger and cargo service. Haikou New Port, formerly known as the Inner Harbour, is located on the southern side of the mouth of the Haidian River.

Approximately 7 km (4 mi) west of Haikou New Port is Haikou Xiuying Port. This port is considerably larger, and is the main distribution centre for cargo entering Hainan, and is also a major port for immigration onto Hainan Island.

Arts and culture[link]

Haikou City Stadium

Several large public buildings now occupy Guoxing Road, the new area for arts and culture. These include the Hainan Provincial Museum, the Hainan Provincial Library, and the Hainan Centre for the Performing Arts. These are all located near to one another on the south side of the road, west of Haikou College of Economics, Haikou campus.

At the west side of Evergreen Park is the Haikou Great Hall of the People, a concert hall, and Hainan Exhibition & Convention Center, a large centre for trade shows and other commercial events. Haikou City Stadium, is the main venue for sports events, and is located at the southeast corner of Evergreen Park.

Tourism[link]

This section requires expansion.

Haikou received 4.11 million tourists in 2002, up 7.99 percent from 2001. The city earned approximately three billion yuan (361 million US dollars) from the tourism industry during that period, up 11 percent from the previous year.^[18]

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Haikou is twinned with:

City	Region	Country
Perth	Scotland	United Kingdom
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	United States
Scottsdale	Arizona	United States
Gdynia	Pomeranian Voivodeship	Poland
Darwin	Northern Territory	Australia

Gallery[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Haikou

• Haikou Government website
• Detailed information about Haikou

v t e City of Haikou Geography Districts Longhua Meilan Qiongshan Xiuying Features Haidian Island Haidian River Haikou Bay Qiaozhong Road Tunnel Baishamen Park Evergreen Park Golden Bull Mountain Ridge Park Haikou People's Park Education Hainan University Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou College of Economics Hainan Medical College Hainan Normal University Transportation Sea Haikou New Port Haikou Xiuying Port Rail Haikou East Railway Station Haikou Railway Station Air Haikou Meilan International Airport Hainan Airlines Cultural facilities Haikou City Stadium Hainan Centre for the Performing Arts Hainan Provincial Library Hainan Provincial Museum Media Haikou Television Hainan Television Hainan Daily Nanguo Metropolis Daily Category Commons

v t e Hainan Province county-level divisions Prefecture level Prefecture-level cities Haikou Longhua District Meilan District Qiongshan District Xiuying District Sanya (no intermediate County-level divisions, see Administration of Sanya) County level Counties Chengmai Ding'an Lingao Tunchang County-level cities Wenchang Qionghai Wanning Wuzhishan Dongfang Danzhou Autonomous counties Baisha Baoting Changjiang Ledong Lingshui Qiongzhong Economic development zone Yangpu Economic Development Zone Administration office Administration Office for Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands See also: Politics of Hainan

v t e Provincial capitals of the People's Republic of China Changchun, Jilin Changsha, Hunan Chengdu, Sichuan Fuzhou, Fujian Guangzhou, Guangdong Guiyang, Guizhou Haikou, Hainan Hangzhou, Zhejiang Harbin, Heilongjiang Hefei, Anhui Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Jinan, Shandong Kunming, Yunnan Lanzhou, Gansu Lhasa, Tibet Nanchang, Jiangxi Nanjing, Jiangsu Nanning, Guangxi Shenyang, Liaoning Shijiazhuang, Hebei Taiyuan, Shanxi Ürümqi, Xinjiang Wuhan, Hubei Xi'an, Shaanxi Xining, Qinghai Yinchuan, Ningxia Zhengzhou, Henan

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Matthew Stevens

Born	(1977-09-11) 11 September 1977 (age 34) Carmarthen
Sport country	Wales
Nickname	The Welsh Dragon
Professional	1994–
Highest ranking	4 (2005/06)
Current ranking	10
Highest break	147 (Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 12)
Century breaks	232
Tournament wins
Ranking	1
Non-ranking	6

Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player.^[1] Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of #4 for the 2005/2006 season, and is currently ranked inside of the elite top 16 at number 10. Stevens is known as a good breakbuilder, and has compiled over 200 competitive centuries so far during his career.^[2]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Stevens turned professional in 1994 and in his second season won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the 1996 Masters. At the Masters he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 6–5 to Alan McManus. The following season he also showed potential by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997/1998 season he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and UK Championship. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at the Crucible of the World Championship, beating Alain Robidoux and Mark King before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998 he reached his first ranking final at the UK Championship, losing 10–6 to John Higgins.

2000–2005[link]

In 2000, he won the Masters, with a 10–8 win over Ken Doherty in the final. Later that season at the World Championship he reached the first of his two World Championship finals to date. After victories over Tony Drago, Alan McManus, Jimmy White and Joe Swail he faced Mark Williams losing 16–18 after having led 10–6, 13–7 and then 14–10 with only the final session to play. Stevens became only the second player in the history of the world championship to lose in the final from holding a 4 frame overnight lead.

He has also been a beaten semi-finalist on three occasions in 2001, 2002 and 2004. In 2002 he looked certain to have won a place in the final leading Peter Ebdon 16–14 in their semi final tie, and just needed a relatively simple red in the 31st frame to leave his opponent needing snookers. Stevens missed the pot and Ebdon made a famous clearance to win the frame, and went on to take the next two to win the match 17–16.^[3]

Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship beating Stephen Hendry 10–8 in the final. He trailed Hendry 0–4, but remarkably he reeled off the next five frames. Hendry found his form again to lead 7–5, but Stevens was not to be denied and clinched a 10–8 victory, which remains the only ranking tournament victory of his career.^[4] However, he followed this with a run of nine successive first round defeats in best-of-nine matches, only interrupted by a run to the semi-final of the 2004 World Championship.

In 2005 he was again runner-up, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy in the final, having been up 10–6 and then 12–11 with only the final session to play. Again Stevens relinquished a 4 frame overnight lead to lose in the final, only the third time this had ever happened. The turning point was arguably the 22nd frame, in which Stevens had a shot at the final blue to leave Murphy needing snookers, but elected to play the shot left-handed rather than use the rest. He missed, and Murphy cleared the table to level the match at 11-11. Despite the disappointment, Stevens insisted that Murphy had simply been the better player and that he would eventually win the championship.

The following year, Stevens was beaten by Ken Doherty 13-8 in the second round, having gone into the final session level at 8-8.

2006–2010[link]

In 2007 he lost 12–13 to Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship having led 11–5 and 12–7, making him the first person to ever lose a best of 25 match from leading 12–7. The defeat left him ranked outside of the top 16 for the first time in 8 years. In 2008 he was defeated in the first round of the world championship for the first time in his career by defending champion John Higgins, and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season. The only highlight of the 2008/09 season was a run to the final of the Bahrain Championship, in which the unavailability of three leading players gave him a top sixteen seeding. He only reached the last sixteen of one other event, and failed to qualify for the World Championship after a defeat to Martin Gould. He finished the season with a drop of nine places to #26.

Stevens enjoyed a solid 2009/2010 season. He qualified for the Welsh Open by beating Barry Pinches 5–4. In the first round, he caused an upset by defeating Shaun Murphy 5–4. He faced Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in round two, and despite making two century breaks he lost the match 5–2. Stevens also lost a close match 10–9 to Marcus Campbell in the 2010 World Championship qualifiers, and thus did not make it to The Crucible for the second year in succession.

2010/2011[link]

Stevens made a promising start to the 2010/2011 season by qualifying for the Shangai Masters, beating Anda Zhang 5–2. In the first round he defeated Liang Wenbo 5–3. He caused another upset in the last 16 by beating Shaun Murphy. He played Ali Carter in the quarter-finals but lost 5–4 on the final black, despite leading 4–1.

Stevens continued his solid form by reaching the quarter-finals at the Welsh Open. He qualified by beating Anthony Hamilton 4-2. There he whitewashed number 5 seed Shaun Murphy 4-0 and in the last 16 he beat fellow Welshman and close friend Ryan Day 4-3. In the quarter-finals, Stevens was drawn against John Higgins, but was edged out 5-3. Despite these performances he still wasn't ranked in the top 16 and so had to qualify for the World Championship, where he managed to beat Fergal O'Brien 10–9 on the final black to qualify for the first time since 2008. He was eliminated by Mark Allen in the first round, losing 4 consecutive frames after leading 9-6. He then won the 2011 Championship League beating Mark Williams 3-1 in the semi-final and Shaun Murphy 3-1 in the final, to qualify for the Premier League.

His performances during the season were enough to see him return to the elite top 16 in the world rankings for the first time since 2006, meaning he would no longer need to play qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the ranking events.^[5]

2011/2012[link]

After losing in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open to Liang Wenbo, Stevens reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters by defeating Stephen Lee and Martin Gould. However, his run was ended by compatriot Mark Williams, who whitewashed him 0–5.^[6] A last 16 exit in the UK Championship to Ding Junhui followed, before Stevens reached his second ranking event quarter-final of the season in the German Masters courtesy of 5–1 victories over both Craig Steadman and Neil Robertson. He then lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–5.^[7]

Due to being ranked inside the top 16, Stevens played in his first Masters tournament since 2007 during the season and was beaten by John Higgins 2–6 in the first round.^[8] His first Premier League campaign since 2002 saw Stevens win 3 and lose 3 of the 6 matches he played to finish 7th in the 10 man league and therefore fail to make it to the play-offs.^[9] Stevens finished runner-up to O'Sullivan in Event 7 of the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship series and with last 16 finishes coming in Event 9 and Event 11, he was ranked 17th in the Order of Merit, inside the top 24 who qualified for the Finals.^[10] There he played Ricky Walden in the last 24 and lost 0–5 in 50 minutes.^[6]

Stevens was defeated in the second round of the Welsh Open and had successive first round losses in the World Open and China Open to go into the World Championship in less than auspicious form.^[6] However, Stevens had an excellent run as he reached his sixth semi-final in the event, and first since 2005.^[11] He reached the last four with wins over Marco Fu (10–3), Barry Hawkins (13–11) and Ryan Day (13–5, having won 11 consecutive frames).^[6][11] He played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-final and lost 10–17, meaning Stevens has not beaten his opponent in almost a decade.^[12] Stevens finished the season ranked world number 10, the highest he has ended the year since 2005.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Stevens was born in Carmarthen, Wales, attended an all Welsh speaking school – Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School – and is fluent in the language.

The unexpected death of his father, manager and friend Morrell in 2001 was tough on him.^[13] This caused Matthew to have an uneventful few seasons. Stevens and his wife Claire Holloway have two sons, Freddie and Ollie, who were born in 2004 and 2008 respectively.

Stevens was a close friend to Paul Hunter and was pallbearer at his funeral.^[14] He is also a celebrity Texas hold 'em poker player and in 2004 won the UK's richest poker tournament at just 27 years old, beating 15 time World Darts champion Phil Taylor to first place. Stevens had only been playing poker for 18 months before his victory.^[15][16]

Performance timeline[link]

Career finals[link]

Ranking event finals: 7 (1 title, 6 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–2) UK Championship (1–2) Other (0–2) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1998 UK Championship Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 6–10 Runner-up 2. 1999 UK Championship (2) Williams, MarkMark Williams 8–10 Runner-up 3. 2000 World Snooker Championship Williams, MarkMark Williams 16–18 Winner 1. 2003 UK Championship Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–8 Runner-up 4. 2005 Irish Masters O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan 8–10 Runner-up 5. 2005 World Snooker Championship (2) Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy 16–18 Runner-up 6. 2008 Bahrain Championship Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson 7–9 Non-ranking[link] Benson & Hedges Championship – 1995 Regal Scottish Masters – 1999 Benson & Hedges Masters – 2000 Northern Ireland Trophy – 2005 Pot Black – 2005 Championship League – 2011 Team events[link] Nations Cup with team Wales – 1999 References[link] ^ "Profile on World Snooker". World Snooker Association. 2010. http://www.worldsnooker.com/player_list-8138.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-02.  ^ "Chris Turners Snooker Archive – Top Century Makers". 2008. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Centuries.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-01.  ^ "Brave Ebdon sinks Stevens". BBC Sport. 2002-05-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/world_champs_2002/1965134.stm. Retrieved 2010-09-03.  ^ "Stevens clinches UK crown". BBC Sport. 2003-11-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3251450.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-02.  ^ a b "Ranking History". Snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ a b c d "Matthew Stevens 2011/2012". Snooker.org. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=9&season=2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Matthew Stevens to reach German Masters semis". BBC Sport. 3 February 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/16877955. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "Masters snooker: Neil Robertson & John Higgins through to quarter-finals". BBC Sport. 17 January 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/16598794. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "PartyCasino.com Premier League Finals". Snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=107. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Order of Merit". Snooker.org. 23 May 2012. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=10&season=2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.  ^ a b "World Snooker 2012: Matthew Stevens crushes Ryan Day". BBC Sport. 2 May 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17918430. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "World Snooker 2012: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Matthew Stevens". BBC Sport. 5 May 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17944229. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Profile on Sporting Life 2001/2002". Sporting Life. 2001/2002. http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/season01-02/profiles/mstevens/. Retrieved 2008-08-02.  ^ "Hundreds gather at Hunter funeral". BBC News / West Yorkshire. October 19, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/west_yorkshire/6066570.stm. Retrieved April 20, 2007.  ^ "Snooker star wins poker's big pot". BBC News. December 13, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4091481.stm. Retrieved 2007-04-20.  ^ "Matthew Stevens: Hendon Mob Poker Database". The Hendon Mob.com. http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=28026. Retrieved April 20, 2007.  External links[link] Official Site "Matthew Stevens". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2234598,00.html.  Official WPBSA player profile. Matthew Stevens at CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database Profile on Pro Snooker Blog Profile on Global Snooker v t e World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association top sixteen snooker players after the 2012 World Championship     Mark Selby Judd Trump Mark Williams Stephen Maguire John Higgins Shaun Murphy Neil Robertson Stephen Lee Ronnie O'Sullivan Matthew Stevens Ding Junhui Mark Allen Graeme Dott Martin Gould Ricky Walden Stuart Bingham Persondata Name Stevens, Matthew Alternative names Short description Date of birth 11 September 1977 Place of birth Carmarthen Date of death Place of death