, the
world number one and
world champion The 2004 British Open was the second ranking event of the
2004/2005 snooker season, after the
Grand Prix in October, which was won by
world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan—the
2004 and two-time
world champion—who defeated
Ian McCulloch 9–5 in the final. It preceded the
UK Championship. The defending champion was seven-time world champion
Stephen Hendry who defeated O'Sullivan 9–6 in
last year's final. Hendry was still angry at his loss at the Grand Prix to McCulloch, explaining, "The way I felt at the Grand Prix was down to the fact that I know what I'm still capable of". The total prize fund was £200,000 and the host broadcaster was
Eurosport. O'Sullivan was considered the favourite, with his mentor
Ray Reardon saying "Ronnie is in the form of his life and looks very close to being unstoppable at the moment". Although few top players reached the final eight in the Grand Prix, O'Sullivan said he would not be surprised if they performed well in this tournament. The other successful qualifiers included the likes of
Shaun Murphy,
Mark Selby,
Neil Robertson, and
Ryan Day.
Round 1 The 16 first-round matches were between players ranked 17–32 and those who had made it through the qualifying stage. In this round, Ding took 63 minutes to whitewash 5–0 Malta's
Tony Drago—who turned professional before Ding was born—outscoring Drago 463–73, for his first appearance in the last 32 of a ranking tournament.
John Parrott made a
century break in his 5–3 victory over
Jamie Burnett, while
Joe Jogia won four consecutive frames to overcome
Joe Swail 5–4.
Round 2 The winners of round 1 went through to face members of the
top 16. Ding continued his run, defeating
Jimmy White 5–1 to make the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. Ding called the win his most satisfying to date and White commended his opponent's performance, saying, "He's dangerous and he's improved a hell of a lot this year". Elsewhere, Maguire whitewashed
UK champion Matthew Stevens 5–0, outscoring him 427–68. He was not satisfied with his performance, however: "I was awful—if I keep playing like that they'll have to call the nuthouse to come and collect me".
John Higgins, a three-time champion who first won in
1995, beat
Drew Henry 5–1, and said he would withdraw from the tournament if his pregnant wife went into labour. Hendry beat
Robert Milkins 5–1, and dismissed suggestions that the loss at the Grand Prix had inspired him to play better at this tournament. Murphy defeated world number four
Paul Hunter 5–3 for his second last-16 appearance in a ranking event, and attributed the win to his happiness off the table; Murphy—a Christian since the age of 17—said, "My girlfriend Claire is a wonderful woman. We've become engaged and we're involved with a tremendous church in Rotherham". Two-time world champion and world number two
Mark Williams—who became a father in May and had slipped to eighth in the provisional rankings—claimed a 5–1 victory over Jogia in 89 minutes. In a hard-fought contest,
Stephen Lee defeated King 5–4. Regarding comments he made about his retirement after his previous match, O'Sullivan said, "There's no point quoting me because what I say from one day to the next will be different". Maguire made a of 140 in his 5–2 win over Ding, while Hamilton defeated Williams 5–3 for his fourth consecutive win over the world number two. Doherty became the fifth member of the top eight to lose when he was defeated 4–5 by Hicks, while Hawkins defeated Bingham 5–4 and Murphy beat Holt 5–3. Maguire made three consecutive century breaks from 2–0 up to whitewash Hamilton 5–0, setting up a semi-final clash with O'Sullivan. Maguire won the first two frames on the black, the second after trailing 0–74 and requiring two . Maguire said that he played brilliant, like in practice, Murphy beat fellow qualifier Hawkins 5–3 to reach his first ranking semi-final, with Higgins as the opponent. Higgins attributed his performance to a shortening of his cue. and even before the match, O'Sullivan had described Maguire as "of the young ones, definitely the best".
Final In the all-Scottish best-of-17 final, Higgins defeated Maguire 9–6 for a record-equalling fourth title. Of the victory, Higgins said it was the most important of his career. He had not won a ranking title since his
2001 victory at this event and had lost his previous six finals. It was his 25th major title and his 16th ranking title, and it earned him £30,000 in prize money. In the afternoon session, Maguire took the first frame, but Higgins won the next three, compiling a 100 break in the third. Breaks of 72, 55, and 76 allowed Maguire to regain the lead, before Higgins took the eighth after Maguire missed a straightforward red to leave it 4–4 at the end of the first session. In the evening session, Higgins took the ninth, before Maguire made two breaks over 50 in the 10th. Higgins then made two consecutive century breaks, including a 144 in the 11th, which equalled his own highest break. He continued his run with a break of 68 in the 13th, before Maguire pulled one back in the next. A 97 break gave Higgins the victory. All tournament, Higgins had been anticipating the birth of his child and on 24 November, Higgins became a father for the second time when his wife gave birth to a son, Oliver, shortly after his loss at the
UK Championship. ==Prize fund==