REANNE Evans has again raised the bar in women’s snooker by winning the world title for a record sixth year running (on Wednesday, April 7).
The undisputed world number one racked up six breaks of more than 40 in a 5-1 demolition of good friend Maria Catalano in the final at Cambridge Snooker Centre.
In a blistering display of break building, after losing the first frame, Evans compiled runs of 56, 45, 69, 52, 45 and 62.
It is now 61 matches since the 24-year-old mother-of-one, from Dudley, West Midlands, last tasted defeat on the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association circuit.
This season she has won all six ranking events and the Wytech Masters.
She collected £1,000, courtesy of sponsor Paul Wood, for clinching her 23rd ranking title.
“It’s the most I’ve ever won for winning a tournament,” said Evans.
“It’s brilliant. Doing the clean sweep has put the icing on the cake.
“It’s going to take some beating by whoever comes up in the future. Hopefully, I’ve set the bar high enough.
“In the first frame I was all over the place. I knew I was cueing well so I calmed down a bit and it worked.
“Maria’s playing better and cueing a lot sweeter but she missed a couple to let me in.
“That’s what you get from playing men. You get punished all day long so you learn from that. You don’t want to keep picking balls out so you try and punish them when they miss.”
Evans believes the top of the women’s game is now like that, with players such as Catalano, June Banks, Katie Henrick and Emma Bonney.
And she picked out ten-year-old rising star Jasmine Bolsover as the possible heir to her throne.
“Jasmine looks brilliant. She’s probably going to be the one to take over. And, obviously, you’ve got Hannah (Jones) as well.
“I’ll walk before she starts making 50s,” she laughed.
In the semi-finals, world number four Henrick, 29, came close to finally breaking Evans’ remarkable run.
However, Evans fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 down, and wrapped up the decider with a 78.
“She played really well,” said Evans. “In the first three frames, I didn’t really see a ball. It was the best I’ve seen her play.”
Despite the Henrick onslaught, Evans insisted defeat never crossed her mind.
“You’ve still got to believe you can win,” she said. “You’ve got more confidence than anyone else but there’s also more pressure on you.
“Everybody wants you to lose; they’re all trying their hardest to beat you. You’ve just got to maintain that standard.”
The newly crowned champion is planning to spend the prize money on a holiday in Ibiza with three-year-old daughter Lauren.
Round-robin group stages (Q = qualified for the last-16):
| Group A | ||||||||||
| No | Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | W | F | Tot | Pos |
| 1 | Chitra Magimairaj | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | Q | |
| 2 | Maureen Rowland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3 | Laura Alves | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Pam Wood | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | Q | |
| 5 | Martina Lumsden | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 10 | ||
| Group B | ||||||||||
| No | Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | W | F | Tot | Pos |
| 1 | Jaique Ip Wan In | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2 | Jan Hughes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Eva Palmius | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 13 | Q | |
| 4 | Hannah Jones | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | Q | |
| 5 | Gaye Jones | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Group C | ||||||||||
| No | Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | W | F | Tot | Pos |
| 1 | Yu Ching Ching | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | Q | |
| 2 | Jasmine Bolsover | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | Q | |
| 3 | Joanne Davies | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||