www.alex0paul.blogspot.comA montage of world number 2 and former world champion Graeme Dott\'s finest moments. Enjoy.\nGraeme Dott (born May 12, 1977) is a professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, but lost his title in the very first match at the 2007 championship,being defeated 10-7 by Ian McCulloch on April 21, 2007. However, due to a very consistent season (he won another tournament as well) Dott still ended the year as the no. 2 ranked player in the world (behind newly crowned two-times world champion John Higgins).Since turning professional in 1994, Dott has slowly climbed the rankings, reaching the top sixteen in 2001, where he has remained ever since. With his World Championship victory he was up to number 6 in the rankings for 2006/2007, then his highest ever position. This is a remarkable turn-around, for at one point in the 2005/2006 season he looked in danger of plummeting down the rankings.Dott achieved his first ranking tournament victory at the 2006 World Snooker Championship; he was previously runner-up in the 1999 Regal Scottish Open, the 2001 British Open, the 2004 World Championship and the 2005 Malta Cup.\nHe scored his only competitive 147 break in the 1999 British Open. \nDott started his campaign with a 10-3 victory over former champion John Parrott, before beating veteran Nigel Bond in the second round. His quarter-final match was against Australia\'s Neil Robertson, and, after leading 12-8, he was pegged back to 12-12, before edging through the final frame. In the semi-finals he faced former two-time champion Ronnie O\'Sullivan. At 8-8 after the second session of four sessions, Ronnie failed to perform in the third, not winning any of the 8 frames and paving the way for Graeme to win 17-11.\n\nDott faced Peter Ebdon in the final for the £200,000 prize. He began the last session of the match leading 15-7, but Ebdon won six successive frames to reduce his deficit to two frames. Dott eventually won by 18 frames to 14, after winning some vital frames with marvellous clearances. It was the longest World Championship final ever and the latest to finish of all time. The previous record holder was the classic final frame last black ball finish 1985 final between Englishman Steve Davis and Irishman Dennis Taylor, which finished at 12:19 a.m. (GMT). The Dott-Ebdon match finished half an hour later, this despite featuring 3 fewer frames, reflecting the slow overall pace of the match— the average frame length was so high that both afternoon sessions only had six frames, instead of the usual eight. Moreover, at just over 74 minutes, the 27th frame was the longest in the history of the World Championship, even beating the 70 minute mark of the previous record set by Canadian Cliff Thorburn and Welshman Doug Mountjoy, two famous slow players of the past.\n\nHe became the new provisional world number one in the rankings system after overcoming Jamie Cope by 9 frames to 5 to win the 2007 China Open, his second ranking tournament win.\n\nHowever, the followingyear, at the 2007 World Championship, he was, as the defending world champion, beaten in the first round by Ian McCulloch, thus maintaining the \"Crucible Curse\" by being the seventeenth consecutive first-time champion to lose his title the very next year.\nDott married Elaine Lambie in 2001 and thecouple celebrated the birth of their son, Lewis, in 2004. Elaine is the daughter of Dott\'s manager, Alex Lambie, whose brother John used to manage Partick Thistle F.C..\n\nHe supports Rangers [2] and paraded his World Championship trophy at Ibrox, their home ground, during half-time of Rangers\' finalleague match against Hearts on 7 May 2006.\n\nRanking wins\nWorld Snooker Championship - 2006 \nChina Open - 2007 \n Runner-up\nRegal Scottish Open - 1999 \nBritish Open - 2001 \nWorld Snooker Championship - 2004 \nMalta Cup - 2005 Championships, Crucible, Greatest, In, Matthew, O'Sullivan, Ronnie, Scotland, Semi, Sheffield, Snooker, Stevens, Theatre, Wales, World