STEPHEN Hendry emphatically ended an 11-month barren spell without a

ranking tournament victory by overcoming Steve Davis 10-6 in the final

of the #150,000 Sky Sports International Open snooker tournament in

Plymouth last night.

The 24-year-old Scot, who begins the defence of his world title in

Sheffield on Saturday, gave himself an enormous boost with his fine

performance against the in-form Davis.

Winner of the European Open, British Open, and Irish Masters since

mid-February, Davis fashioned clearances of 59 and 35 in the last two

frames of the afternoon session to establish a 5-4 interval lead.

But when play resumed, Hendry was in unstoppable form as he rattled

off six of the next seven frames to collect a first prize of #25,000.

Hendry opened the evening's proceedings with a 69 break to level at

5-5 before a 105 in frame 11 gave him the lead at 6-5, and a new world

record. It was Hendry's ninth century in the event -- the most centuries

by a single player in a single tournament -- and he added a 115 for good

measure in frame 14.

In between, Hendry also powered in breaks of 69 and 57 to build up a

strong 9-5 lead. Davis, up to second in the provisional rankings after

this tournament, stayed alive with a 76 break in frame 15 before Hendry

stamped his authority once again with decisive runs of 55 and 73 to

claim the title.

Hendry said: ''It's a great confidence booster for me. I would have

been disappointed if I had not won this event after playing so well.''

Davis, who suffered only his second defeat in 21 matches, admitted:

''Stephen really put the boot in. It was a high quality performance.''