|
| World Matchplay |
| Invitation Event |
Brief
History of the World Matchplay
There have in fact been several events with similar titles. There
was the Professional Match-Play championship played from 1952 until 1957 which
effectively replaced the world championship when the players were in dispute
with the then governing body. Results of this event can be found with those of
the World Championship itself.
In late 1976, Eddie Charlton promoted an event in Melbourne which, with WPBSA approval, carried
the title World Professional Match-Play Championship. It was a sixteen-man
event but did not include John Spencer or several other top names and three of
the lesser known Australian entrants could only manage a total of three frames
between them. Charlton himself beat Ray Reardon 31-24 in the final but the event
was never repeated.
Mare recently however Barry Hearn established the World Matchplay
in 1988 as an invitation event for the top twelve players on the provisional
ranking list and the event was the first in snooker to offer a six-figure prize
with the winner of the inaugural event, sponsored by Everest, the double
glazing company, at Brentwood in December 1988 receiving exactly £100,000.
Of the 12 players, the top eight seeds received a bye into the
quarter finals. It was, appropriately enough, Steve Davis, the greatest player
of that decade, who won the event and took away that first six-figure cheque,
with John Parrott the runner up. The event was staged at the same venue for the
next two years. John Parrott was the runner up for the second year running as
Jimmy White took the big cheque in 1989 and, although Jimmy retained his title
in 1990, Coalite had taken over as sponsors and the top prize was now only
£70,000.
It moved to Doncaster in 1991
where Gary Wilkinson gained the only major win of his career as he beat Steve
Davis in the final and Steve was the beaten finalist again in 1992, with James
Wattana taking the title.
Roll Of Honour
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1988 |
Brentwood Centre |
Everest |
Steve Davis |
John Parrott |
9-5 |
£100,000 |
| 1989 |
Brentwood Centre |
Everest |
Jimmy White |
John Parrott |
18-9 |
£100,000 |
| 1990 |
Brentwood Centre |
Coalite |
Jimmy White |
Stephen Hendry |
18-9 |
£70,000 |
| 1991 |
The Dome, Doncaster |
Coalite |
Gary Wilkinson |
Steve Davis |
18-11 |
£70,000 |
| 1992 |
The Dome, Doncaster |
Coalite |
James Wattana |
Steve Davis |
9-4 |
£70,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
