After his win many considered Hendry to be the greatest of them all

It affirmed his position as snooker's most successful player of the modern era.

Hendry had been at rock bottom after losing 9-0 to Marcus Campbell in the first round of the 1998 UK Championship.

But he ironed out his technical flaws with the help of his coach, Frank Callan, and won two major titles, the Regal Scottish Open and Benson and Hedges Irish Masters, in the run up to the Crucible.

In every round he was faced with an opponent who could conceivably had gone on to take the title, but victories over Paul Hunter, James Wattana, Matthew Stevens, Ronnie O'Sullivan and, in the final, Mark Williams gave him the title.

In his semi-final with O'Sullivan, each player made four centuries, with two apiece compiled in a classic third session.

During the Williams-John Higgins semi-final, the second session was interrupted by a few drops of condensation that landed on the table, causing play to be suspended for 20 minutes.