ALAN McMANUS (Scotland)

World ranking: 8

Age: 28

World Championship best: Semi-finalist (1993)

Best ranking event performance: Winner two tournaments - Dubai Duty Free Classic 1994; Thailand Open 1996

1998/99 ranking form: Grand Prix - R3, UK - R1, Irish - RU, Welsh - R3, Scottish - QF, Thailand - RU, China - SF, British - R2.

Alan McManus, WPBSA Young Player of the Year in 1991, took just two seasons to claim a place among the world's elite top 16 players.

His first ranking event title came in 1994, when he won the Dubai Duty Free Classic, defeating Peter Ebdon 9-6 in the final.

He captured the Benson & Hedges Masters the same year with a superb 9-8 victory over his fellow Scot Stephen Hendry in the final and a second ranking success came in the 1996 Thailand Open.

McManus has reached the last 16 of the Embassy World Championship every year since he first played in the event in 1991, he took the highest break prize in 1994 with a total clearance of 143, but he has lost in the second round for the past two years.

It was two years since he survived the last four of a ranking tournament before he reached the final of the Thailand Masters, where he lost to Mark Williams.

One of the game's most consistent players, he has a remarkable record of semi-final appearances in ranking events having reached the last four 18 times.

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