|
| Other Non-Ranking and Invition Events |
| First held 1990-1999* |
* See also: Pre 1980 1980-89 2000 onwards
555 BCE Belgian Challenge
A one-off event
staged as part of the World Series and also one of a series of 555 Challenges
that season. Sixteen players took part and, as with other events in these
series, several continental players were invited to take part. Of these only
Rene Dikstra of Holland
managed to win a frame leading Jimmy White 4-2 before eventually losing 5-4.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1991/2 |
Antwerp |
555 |
Steve Davis |
Stephen Hendry |
10-9 |
£20,000 |
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European Challenge
This was one of a number of “Challenge” events
at various locations worldwide in the early 1990s. Sponsored by a French TV
channel this one involved eight players in knockout format.
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1991 |
Waregem, Belgium |
Canal Plus |
Jimmy White |
Steve Davis |
4-1 |
£20,000 |
| 1992 |
Waregem, Belgium |
Canal Plus |
Stephen Hendry |
Joe Johnson |
4-0 |
£20,000 |
| 1993 |
Espernay, France |
Canal Plus |
Stephen Hendry |
Tony Drago |
5-3 |
£20,000 |
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European Grand Masters
An eight man one-off event which, in the
first round, matched four of snooker’s more senior players, Ray Reardon, Terry
Griffiths, John Spencer and Cliff Thorburn, against four of the newer ones,
James Wattana, Nigel Bond, Martin Clark and Darren Morgan. The young guns
prevailed with the notable exception of James Wattana who lost to Ray Reardon,
who was conceding some 37 years, and who also beat Nigel Bond on his way to the
final.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1990/1 |
Monte Carlo |
none |
Martin Clark |
Ray Reardon |
3-0 |
£6,000 |
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Guangzhou
Masters
Held only once in early 1996, it involved four
invited professionals, Steve Davis, Peter Ebdon, Tony Drago and David Roe and
four Chinese players in the opening round.
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1996 |
Guangzhou, China |
none |
Tony Drago |
Steve Davis |
8-6 |
£30,000 |
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to top
555 Hong Kong Challenge
This event was only held twice in
the early 1990s as part of Barry Hearn’s ‘World Series’.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1990/1 |
Hong Kong |
555 |
James Wattana |
Jimmy White |
9-3 |
£20,000 |
| 1991/2 |
Hong Kong |
555 |
Stephen Hendry |
James Wattana |
9-1 |
£20,000 |
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Humo Masters
The Humo Masters
has been held as a domestic competition in Belgium on many occasions but in the early 1990s it
was the Belgian leg of the ‘World Series’ for three seasons. It is only those three events that I am including here.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1990/1 |
Antwerp |
Humo |
John Parrott |
Jimmy White |
9-6 |
£30,000 |
| 1991/2 |
Antwerp |
Humo |
Mike Hallett |
Neal Foulds |
9-7 |
£30,000 |
| 1992/3 |
Antwerp |
Humo |
James Wattana |
John Parrott |
10-5 |
£15,000 |
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555 Indian Challenge
One of a number of “Challenge” events held
at various places around Asia and Europe in
the early nineties as part of the World Series. This one had a field of 16
including a four Indian players.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1991/2 |
Delhi |
555 |
Stephen Hendry |
John Parrott |
9-5 |
£20,000 |
Gold Flake Indian Masters
This was a one-off eight player event with
four top pros, Steve Davis, Steve James, Willie Thorne and Peter Ebdon, joining
two Indians better known for their prowess at billiards, Geet Sethi and Michael
Ferreira plus two leading lady players, Stacey Hillyard and Karen Corr. The
groups were decided on aggregate frames won rather than matches.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1992/3 |
Delhi |
Gold Flake |
Steve Davis |
Steve James |
9-6 |
£5,000 |
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to top
Kent Classic
Another World Series event
held on one occasion only. There was a field of sixteen on a straight knockout
including several Asian players. One of these, Rom Surin of Thailand,
caused a minor upset by putting out Neal Foulds in the first round.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1992/3 |
Haidian Stadium, Beijing |
Kent |
John Parrott |
Stephen Hendry |
6-5 |
£25,000 |
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to top
Kings Cup
An event made for
television in Thailand
and held in the studios of their Channel 9 station just before Christmas.
Sixteen players were invited, mostly Asians and the were split into four groups
of three with four players exempted until the quarter finals where they joined
the group winners. Eventual winner, Nigel Bond was the only European player in
the first event but in the others, three from the home countries joined local
favourite James Wattana as the invitees.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1992/3 |
Channel 9 Auditorium, Bangkok |
none |
Nigel Bond |
James Wattana |
8-7 |
£2,500 |
| 1993/4 |
Channel 9 Auditorium, Bangkok |
none |
James Wattana |
Darren Morgan |
8-3 |
£2,500 |
| 1994/5 |
Thai/Japan Youth Centre, Bangkok |
none |
Billy Snaddon |
Noppadon Noppachorn |
8-4 |
£2,500 |
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to top
Merseyside Professional Championship
A highly successful low-budget
professional event promoted by well known referee, Peter Williamson.
Although the prize money was modest it attracted a large field mainly
drawn from the lower end of the ranking list.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1993/94 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
Burtonwood |
Dave Harold |
Tony Rampello |
5-3 |
£500 |
| 1994/95 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
J P O'Brien |
Dean Reynolds |
Jason Ferguson |
5-1 |
£700 |
| 1995/96 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
Courage |
Rod Lawler |
Dean Reynolds |
5-4 |
£700 |
| 1996/97 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
Matthew Brown |
David Gray |
Paul Sweeny |
5-2 |
£1,150 |
| 1997/98 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
Matthew Brown |
Antony Bolsover |
Paul Wykes |
5-4 |
£1,150 |
| 1998/99 |
Liverpool Billiards & Snooker Club |
John Smith/Fosters |
Peter Lines |
Lee Walker |
5-4 |
£1,150 |
| 1999/00 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Styart Bingham |
Stuart Pettman |
5-1 |
£1,150 |
| 2000/01 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Michael Holt |
Rod Lawler |
5-3 |
£1,200 |
| 2001/02 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Nick Dyson |
Paul S. Davison |
5-2 |
£1,200 |
| 2002/03 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Mark Davis |
Stephen Maguire |
5-2 |
£1,500 |
| 2003/04 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Stephen Maguire |
Mark Davis |
5-1 |
£1,500 |
| 2004/05 |
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool |
John Smith |
Joe Perry |
Stephen Croft |
5-2 |
£1,500 |
back
to top
Millennium Cup
Held just once as a curtain
raiser to the 1999/2000 season. The eight-man field at the Regent Hotel
in Hong Kong included Marco Fu and three other local players
plus four of the top players in the game, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie
O’Sullivan,
Mark Williams and Stephen Lee
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1999 |
Regent Hotel, Hong Kong |
Cable TV International |
Stephen Lee |
Ronnie O'Sullivan |
7-2 |
n/a |
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to top
Nescafé Extra Challenge
A one-off event held in Bangkok notable for the fact that it provided
Ronnie O'Sullivan with his first tournament victory as a professional.
It involved four
players, O’Sullivan, Alan McManus, James Wattana and John
Parrott,
playing each other on a round robin basis with the winner decided on a
league
basis. Both O’Sullivan and Wattana had two wins out of three but
O’Sullivan
took the title having won more frames.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1992/3 |
Bangkok |
Nescafé |
Ronnie O'Sullivan |
James Wattana |
Round Robin |
£10,500 |
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to top
Red & White Challenge
Held only once in 1995, it involved four invited
professionals meeting Pakistani amateurs in the opening round.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1995/6 |
Islamabad, Pakistan |
Red & White |
Nigel Bond |
John Parrott |
8-6 |
£6,000 |
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to top
Red Bull Champions Super League
Held in Guangzhou,
China in June
1998, this one-off event was a six-man round robin. The players were Steve
Davis, Stephen Hendry and James Wattana plus three local stars who had yet to
make their mark as professionals, Marco Fu, Pang Wei-Guo and Guo Hua. Davis and
Hendry had identical records but Davis
took the title as he had beaten Hendry in their individual match.
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1998 |
Guangzhou, China |
Red Bull |
Steve Davis |
Stephen Hendry |
Round-Robin |
£12,000 |
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to top
Red Bull Super Challenge
Also held in June 1998 this was a similar event
to the Champion’s Super League (see above). Again it was
a six-man round robin but played at three different venues in China. The
line-up was similar but John Higgins replaced Wattana and another Chinese, Au Hi Wai, came in for
Marco Fu.
| Year |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1998 |
Shenyang, Xian & Beijing, China |
Red Bull |
Stephen Hendry |
John Higgins |
Round-Robin |
£12,000 |
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to top
Riley Superstar International
This event held on 1997 in Guangzhou, China
was played on a round robin basis. There were initially four three man groups,
each one consisting of two local players and one invited professional. The pros
involved were, Ken Doherty, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and James Wattana.
The top two in each group moved into two further four-man groups from which
emerged the semi-finalists.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1997/8 |
Guangzhou, China |
Riley |
Ronnie O'Sullivan |
Jimmy White |
5-3 |
£10,000 |
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to top
Top Rank Classic
A round robin event held twice in Thailand in the
mid 1990s. Stephen Hendry won both but I am unable to find full details of the
second one.
| Season |
Venue |
Sponsor |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1994/5 |
Hat Yai, Thailand |
Top Rank |
Stephen Hendry |
Jimmy White |
R-R |
£20,000 |
| 1995/6 |
Thailand |
Top Rank |
Stephen Hendry |
n/a |
9-1 |
n/a |
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© Chris Turner 2008
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