By Richard Preen

World Ranking: 5
Date Of Birth: 17/09/69
Form: RU/QF/SF/R16/R32
World Championship best: Winner - 1997

“Crafty Ken” as he's affectionately known boasts a rare record of winning both the World Amateur and Professional titles.

His success at the Crucible came in 1997 when he put an end to Stephen Hendry's amazing five year winning spell.

It resulted in a convincing 18-12 victory which pushed him to his highest career ranking of third in the world.

He nearly pulled off another amazing coup by defending his world title the following year, in the end he was beaten 18-12 by John Higgins in the final.

His last ranking event victory came in the 2001 Thailand Masters.

He also has the rare accolade of being awarded a tournament by default after Ronnie O'Sullivan failed a drug test at the 1998 Irish Masters, subsequently Ken was presented with the trophy as the beaten finalist.

Ken's form this term has been mixed by his own high standards.

Early exits from the LG, British, European and Irish were matched by a runners-up spot at the UK Championships and a semi-final berth at the B&H Masters.

Ken's solid all round game makes him an attractive prospect where the punter is concerned.

He is a consistently heavy scorer who benefits from the ability to make the correct shot selection on the vast majority of occasions.

His safety game is immaculate and his nickname “Crafty Ken” is coined because of his forte from exiting snookers.

Ken can be regarded as a decent each-way bet and will take some stopping at this year's event.