The 2003 Welsh Open (officially the 2003 Regal Welsh Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 26 January at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

Paul Hunter was the defending champion, but he lost in the semi-finals 2–6 against Mark Williams. Williams in turn lost to Stephen Hendry 9–5 in the final. Hendry won his third Welsh Open title and the 34th ranking title of his career.

Tournament summary

Defending champion Paul Hunter was the number 1 seed with World Champion Peter Ebdon seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.

Prize fund

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

Winner: £82,500 Runner-up: £42,500 Semi-final: £21,250 Quarter-final: £11,700 Last 16: £9,600 Last 32: £7,800 Last 48: £4,000 Last 64: £3,150Last 80: £2,150 Last 96: £1,450Stage one highest break: £1,800 Stage two highest break: £7,500Stage one maximum break: £5,000 Stage two maximum break: £20,000Total: £597,200

Main draw

Last 32 Best of 9 framesLast 16 Best of 9 framesQuarter-finals Best of 9 framesSemi-finals Best of 11 framesFinal Best of 17 frames
1England Paul Hunter5
53England Mark Selby1
1England Paul Hunter5
Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez1
11England Mark King2
Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5
1England Paul Hunter5
6Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty2
16Northern Ireland Joe Swail5
56England Barry Pinches3
16Northern Ireland Joe Swail4
6Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
6Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
25England Steve Davis2
1England Paul Hunter2
4Wales Mark Williams6
5Scotland John Higgins5
31England Ali Carter4
5Scotland John Higgins1
39Finland Robin Hull5
12Scotland Graeme Dott3
39Finland Robin Hull5
39Finland Robin Hull4
4Wales Mark Williams5
13England Joe Perry5
51England Barry Hawkins2
13England Joe Perry2
4Wales Mark Williams5
4Wales Mark Williams5
19England David Gray2
4Wales Mark Williams5
7Scotland Stephen Hendry9
3England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
17England Anthony Hamilton4
3England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
28Malta Tony Drago4
9Wales Matthew Stevens1
28Malta Tony Drago5
3England Ronnie O'Sullivan3
27Hong Kong Marco Fu5
14Australia Quinten Hann2
27Hong Kong Marco Fu5
27Hong Kong Marco Fu5
8England Stephen Lee0
8England Stephen Lee5
21England Dave Harold3
27Hong Kong Marco Fu4
7Scotland Stephen Hendry6
7Scotland Stephen Hendry5
20Wales Dominic Dale1
7Scotland Stephen Hendry5
15Scotland Alan McManus4
15Scotland Alan McManus5
44Scotland Jamie Burnett3
7Scotland Stephen Hendry5
England Rod Lawler2
10England Jimmy White2
England Rod Lawler5
England Rod Lawler5
35England Michael Holt3
2England Peter Ebdon2
35England Michael Holt5

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Eirian Williams. Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales, 26 January 2003.
Mark Williams (4) Wales5–9Stephen Hendry (7) Scotland
Afternoon: 64–0 (62), 0–127 (127), 26–90 (89), 0–140 (140), 25–83 (64), 59–49, 0–104 (104), 0–108 (108) Evening: 87–0 (87), 65–1 (54), 51–61, 62–0 (50), 31–79 (79), 0–91 (91)
87Highest break140
0Century breaks4
450+ breaks8

Qualifying

Round 1

Best of 9 frames

England Shaun Murphy 1–5 Wales David John England Joe Johnson 2–5 England Justin Astley Scotland Martin Dziewialtowski 4–5 Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez England Paul Wykes 4–5 England Mark Gray England Troy Shaw 3–5 England Munraj Pal England Paul Davison 5–3 Scotland David McLellan England Neal Foulds 1–5 Australia Johl Younger England Craig Butler 5–1 England Jimmy Robertson England Jeff Cundy 4–5 England Jamie Cope England John Read 4–5 Wales Peter Roscoe England Adrian Gunnell 5–4 England David Gilbert England Peter Lines 5–4 England Darren Clarke England Jason Ferguson 5–2 Netherlands Stefan Mazrocis England Stephen Kershaw 5–0 Scotland Hugh Abernethy England Matthew Couch 5–0 Canada Bob Chaperon England Wayne Brown 1–5 China Pang WeiguoWales Lee Walker 5–3 Wales Matthew Farrant England Luke Fisher 5–1 England Nick Pearce England Tony Jones 5–3 England Eddie Manning Northern Ireland Jason Prince 5–1 India Manan Chandra Thailand Phaitoon Phonbun 3–5 England Jason Weston Wales Paul Davies 5–4 China Jin Long Wales Ryan Day 5–3 Wales James Reynolds England Sean Storey 5–0 Thailand Kwan Poomjang England Andrew Higginson 4–5 England Lee Spick Iceland Kristján Helgason 5–2 Republic of Ireland Colm Gilcreest Scotland Euan Henderson 5–1 Netherlands Mario Wehrman Canada Alain Robidoux 3–5 England Simon Bedford England Rod Lawler 5–1 Thailand Atthasit Mahitthi England Andrew Norman 5–2 Wales David Donovan England Rory McLeod 5–3 England Matthew Selt England Antony Bolsover 4–5 England Ricky Walden
England Shaun Murphy1–5Wales David John
England Joe Johnson2–5England Justin Astley
Scotland Martin Dziewialtowski4–5Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez
England Paul Wykes4–5England Mark Gray
England Troy Shaw3–5England Munraj Pal
England Paul Davison5–3Scotland David McLellan
England Neal Foulds1–5Australia Johl Younger
England Craig Butler5–1England Jimmy Robertson
England Jeff Cundy4–5England Jamie Cope
England John Read4–5Wales Peter Roscoe
England Adrian Gunnell5–4England David Gilbert
England Peter Lines5–4England Darren Clarke
England Jason Ferguson5–2Netherlands Stefan Mazrocis
England Stephen Kershaw5–0Scotland Hugh Abernethy
England Matthew Couch5–0Canada Bob Chaperon
England Wayne Brown1–5China Pang Weiguo
Wales Lee Walker5–3Wales Matthew Farrant
England Luke Fisher5–1England Nick Pearce
England Tony Jones5–3England Eddie Manning
Northern Ireland Jason Prince5–1India Manan Chandra
Thailand Phaitoon Phonbun3–5England Jason Weston
Wales Paul Davies5–4China Jin Long
Wales Ryan Day5–3Wales James Reynolds
England Sean Storey5–0Thailand Kwan Poomjang
England Andrew Higginson4–5England Lee Spick
Iceland Kristján Helgason5–2Republic of Ireland Colm Gilcreest
Scotland Euan Henderson5–1Netherlands Mario Wehrman
Canada Alain Robidoux3–5England Simon Bedford
England Rod Lawler5–1Thailand Atthasit Mahitthi
England Andrew Norman5–2Wales David Donovan
England Rory McLeod5–3England Matthew Selt
England Antony Bolsover4–5England Ricky Walden

Round 2–5

Round 2 Best of 9 framesRound 3 Best of 9 framesRound 4 Best of 9 framesRound 5 Best of 9 frames
Wales David John5England Mark Selby5England Jonathan Birch0Scotland Drew Henry3
England Justin Astley4Wales David John4England Mark Selby5England Mark Selby5
Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5England Dave Finbow2Northern Ireland Terry Murphy3Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien1
England Mark Gray3Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5Republic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5
England Munraj Pal5England Barry Pinches5Scotland Billy Snaddon4England Nigel Bond4
England Paul Davison2England Munraj Pal2England Barry Pinches5England Barry Pinches5
Australia Johl Younger3England Nick Walker3England Robert Milkins5England Steve Davis5
England Craig Butler5England Craig Butler5England Craig Butler4England Robert Milkins3
England Jamie Cope5Northern Ireland Gerard Greene5Scotland Marcus Campbell5England Ali Carter5
Wales Peter Roscoe2England Jamie Cope3Northern Ireland Gerard Greene3Scotland Marcus Campbell3
England Adrian Gunnell5England Stuart Pettman5Finland Robin Hull5Scotland Chris Small3
England Peter Lines4England Adrian Gunnell1England Stuart Pettman2Finland Robin Hull5
England Jason Ferguson5England Barry Hawkins5England Alfie Burden4England John Parrott1
England Stephen Kershaw2England Jason Ferguson3England Barry Hawkins5England Barry Hawkins5
England Matthew Couch5England Jimmy Michie5England David Roe3England David Gray5
China Pang Weiguo1England Matthew Couch3England Jimmy Michie5England Jimmy Michie3
Wales Lee Walker4England Bradley Jones0England Mark Davis5England Anthony Hamilton5
England Luke Fisher5England Luke Fisher5England Luke Fisher0England Mark Davis0
England Tony Jones5Wales Darren Morgan4England Brian Morgan5Malta Tony Drago5
Northern Ireland Jason Prince2England Tony Jones5England Tony Jones3England Brian Morgan4
England Jason Weston4Belgium Bjorn Haneveer2England Gary Wilkinson5Hong Kong Marco Fu5
Wales Paul Davies5Wales Paul Davies5Wales Paul Davies2England Gary Wilkinson3
Wales Ryan Day4England Stuart Bingham3Pakistan Shokat Ali5England Dave Harold5
England Sean Storey5England Sean Storey5England Sean Storey1Pakistan Shokat Ali2
England Lee Spick5England Andy Hicks5England Ian McCulloch5Wales Dominic Dale5
Iceland Kristján Helgason4England Lee Spick3England Andy Hicks1England Ian McCulloch4
Scotland Euan Henderson4England Mike Dunn5Scotland Jamie Burnett5Republic of Ireland Michael Judge1
England Simon Bedford5England Simon Bedford2England Mike Dunn2Scotland Jamie Burnett5
England Rod Lawler5Scotland Stephen Maguire4Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace4Thailand James Wattana2
England Andrew Norman4England Rod Lawler5England Rod Lawler5England Rod Lawler5
England Rory McLeod3England Nick Dyson5England Michael Holt5Wales Anthony Davies2
England Ricky Walden5England Ricky Walden4England Nick Dyson2England Michael Holt5

Century breaks