World Ranking: 18
Provisional Ranking: 14
Date Of Birth: 26/09/73
World Championship best: Last 16 – 1992, 2001

The surprise package of last season was Chris Small.

He surged to victory at the LG Cup at odds of 150-1 and that proved to be the foundation for an impressive campaign.

It was remarkable that Small was even in a position to play in that event.

He has a serious spinal condition which almost forced him to quit the game.

Now he stands on the verge of a place in the sport's elite top 16 after accumulating more points in 2003/04.

Failed to defend his LG title in Preston but did reach the last eight again before losing to John Parrott.

Qualified for the Crucible with a 10-7 victory over Patrick Wallace and now faces fellow Scot Alan McManus.