By Richard Preen

World Ranking: 15
Date Of Birth: 21/01/71
Form: R16/R16/R16/R32/R32
World Championship best: Semi-finalist – 92, 93

Alan McManus makes his 13th straight appearance at the Crucible and boasts a pretty consistent record.

In his previous 12 events he has been knocked out in the second round on eight separate occasions.

His other appearances have included two semi-final placings in 92 and 93 while the last two seasons have witnessed disappointing performances with exits in round one.

Last year McManus fell short against Welsh qualifier Anthony Davies 10-7.

With a likely meeting against Ronnie O'Sullivan in round two the chances are that McManus will increase this statistic to nine second round defeats.

McManus could be regarded as another player who has not fulfilled his true potential.

He burst onto the scene in 1991 when he was narrowly beaten 13-12 by Terry Griffiths at Sheffield.

His achievements were recognised by the WPBSA where he was presented with the young player of the year award.

His biggest success followed in 1994 when he became the Benson and Hedges Masters champion breaking Stephen Hendry's dominance in this particular competition.

He later added the 1994 Dubai Classic to his roll of honour, this becoming his first ranking event victory.

The expectant run of trophies did not follow though and subsequently it wasn't until the 1996 Thailand Open when McManus finally felt the ecstasy of taking first prize again.

His only successes since then have involved representing Scotland in a couple of international team events.

This season started off strongly for McManus with a runners-up spot to Chris Small at the LG Cup followed by a quarter-final appearance at the British Open.

Since then his season has waned and he will be eager to find some of that early season form if he is to progress at Sheffield.