World ranking: 23
Last five seasons: 23-21-13-8-5
Date of birth: 15-11-65
Lives: Old Tupton, Derbyshire
Turned professional: 1989
Ranking tournament victories: 1 - British Open 1996
Last season's prize money: £40,510
Career prize money (up to start of 2001-2002 season): £1,045,180
Highest tournament break: 139 - Grand Prix 1989, Embassy World Championship 1993

Beaten 18-9 by Stephen Hendry in the 1995 Embassy World Championship final, Nigel Bond is currently trying to recapture the form that established him as a top-16 player.

Hendry has been a real thorn in Bond's side. He defeated his 110 Sport stable-mate at Sheffield for four successive years from 1993 and also denied him in his first major final at the 1990 Grand Prix.

The Derbyshire professional captured his first world ranking title at the 1996 British Open, obtaining the snooker he required from 69-0 down in the deciding frame to complete a famous 9-8 victory over John Higgins. He won the Regal Masters the following year.

Forced to pre-qualify for the 2000 World Championship for the first time since 1992, Bond overcame Euan Henderson 10-5 before losing 10-7 to Alan McManus in Sheffield.

He went out 10-3 to Stephen Lee at the first round last season and said: "This is the one stage where you want to show that you can perform and when you don't it's depressing, especially when you've done so well here in the past."