Cueman Lee reveals Master plan to stay off the drink in diet regime

Published on Saturday 19 January 2008 19:13

STEPHEN Lee has revealed his battle to beat the bulge could yield him his first SAGA Insurance Masters crown.

The Wiltshire cueman dispensed with former world and UK champion Peter Ebdon in the quarter-finals of this year's 460,000 showcase invitational event at Wembley Arena.

After an impressive 6-1 win, the world No.11 hopes his new fitness regime will help him go on and lift the prestigious trophy.

"I'm trying to lose weight," said Lee. "I stopped drinking at New Year and I've been in the gym. You've got to give it a chance.

"I don't think this game is about fitness though, it's about being calm. But I'm working hard at the moment.

"I need to lose weight because I've slipped down the provisional rankings, so I'm bang up for it. You don't have to be fit to walk around a snooker table, but at the longer tournaments it does count more, like the UK and World Championship.

"I've always said if you get out of bed the right side then you've done most of the hard work, but me and my missus like to go to the pub at the weekend. I've had to stop binge drinking and eating after ten o'clock at night.

"We live in a little village and we drink a lot over a Friday and Saturday, so I'm making more of an effort."

Lee reached the semi-finals of the Masters in 2000 and 2006, as well as the quarter-finals on two occasions – in 2003 and 2007.

But the Trowbridge-based professional has never won the famous crown in ten attempts.

"I'll get a few people to come down and support over the weekend, which will be good," Lee added.

"The big game this week for me was beating Graeme Dott, but hopefully this tournament will be a turning point for me."

The first of the semi-finals sees Dubliner Ken Doherty, twice a Masters finalist, lock horns with debutant Mark Selby, last season's 888.com World Championship runner-up from Leicester. Both players fought back from 5-3 behind to win their quarter-final clashes 6-5 – and both are understandably hungry to secure a place in today's best-of-19-frame final.

The second semi-final sees Lee take on Hong Kong's Marco Fu, a 6-3 winner over Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui in the fourth quarter-final of this year's championship. Tournament favourite Ding missed a crucial black in the sixth frame in what was a massive turning point in the match.