The 2001 Welsh Open (officially the 2001 Regal Welsh Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 and 28 January 2001 at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

John Higgins was the defending champion, but he lost his quarter-final match against Stephen Lee.

Ken Doherty defeated Paul Hunter 9–2 in the final to win his fourth ranking title.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:

  • Winner: £62,000
  • Runner-up: £33,000
  • Semi-finalists: £16,500
  • Quarter-finalists: £9,400
  • Last 16: £4,800
  • Last 32: £3,900
  • Last 48: £3,100
  • Last 64: £2,400
  • Last 96: £1,550
  • Last 128: £950
  • Highest break (televised): £5,000
  • Highest break (untelevised): £1,000
  • Total: £440,200

Tournament summary

Defending champion John Higgins was the number 1 seed with World Champion Mark Williams seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.

Main draw

Round 1 Best of 9 framesLast 16 Best of 9 framesQuarter Final Best of 9 framesSemi Final Best of 11 framesFinal Best of 17 frames
1Scotland John Higgins5
21Scotland Chris Small1
1Scotland John Higgins5
12England Peter Ebdon3
12England Peter Ebdon5
Thailand Noppadon Noppachorn1
1Scotland John Higgins1
5England Stephen Lee5
9Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien5
53England Gary Ponting4
9Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien3
5England Stephen Lee5
5England Stephen Lee5
40Wales Anthony Davies3
5England Stephen Lee3
14England Paul Hunter6
6Wales Matthew Stevens4
31England Joe Perry5
31England Joe Perry4
14England Paul Hunter5
14England Paul Hunter5
England Nick Walker0
14England Paul Hunter5
16Northern Ireland Joe Swail2
16Northern Ireland Joe Swail5
33Scotland Jamie Burnett3
16Northern Ireland Joe Swail5
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan4
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
19Scotland Graeme Dott3
14England Paul Hunter2
7Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty9
3Scotland Stephen Hendry5
52England David Gray3
3Scotland Stephen Hendry5
15Hong Kong Marco Fu3
15Hong Kong Marco Fu5
England Wayne Brown1
3Scotland Stephen Hendry3
7Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
11England Anthony Hamilton3
32Australia Quinten Hann5
32Australia Quinten Hann3
7Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
7Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
20Wales Dominic Dale3
7Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty6
2Wales Mark Williams3
8Scotland Alan McManus5
62England Michael Holt0
8Scotland Alan McManus5
29Scotland Drew Henry3
10England John Parrott3
29Scotland Drew Henry5
8Scotland Alan McManus4
2Wales Mark Williams5
13England Dave Harold3
22England Mark King5
22England Mark King1
2Wales Mark Williams5
2Wales Mark Williams5
23England Nigel Bond3

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Graham Harding. Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales, 28 January 2001.
Paul Hunter (14) England2–9Ken Doherty (7) Ireland
Afternoon: 1–63, 76–1 (68), 23–77 (71), 59–0, 56–62 (52), 5–57, 51–73, 13–129 (125) Evening: 44–72, 8–99 (56), 36–85 (69)
68Highest break125
0Century breaks1
150+ breaks5