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Irish Masters

Professional snooker tournament

Professional snooker tournament

FieldValue
tournament_nameIrish Masters
venueOrmonde Hotel
locationKilkenny
countryIreland
establishment1975
organisationWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
formatNon-ranking event
final year2007
Final ChampionENG Ronnie O'Sullivan

The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, following on from the successful Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (alternatively known as the Benson & Hedges Ireland Championship). The final champion of the tournament was Ronnie O'Sullivan.

History

Early events

The event started out in 1975 as the Benson & Hedges Challenge Match between Alex Higgins and John Spencer. The match initially carried a £250 prize for the winner and £150 for the runner-up, but both players agreed to a "winner-takes-all" format. Spencer scored two centuries (a 121 and a 109) and despite Higgins leading 7–5, Spencer won four frames in a row to win. In 1976 and 1977 it was expanded to a four-man invitational event, called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament.

Irish Masters

In 1978 the tournament was renamed the Irish Masters and continued as an ever-present fixture on the snooker calendar until 2005. Benson & Hedges continued their sponsorship with the tournament being played at Goffs, County Kildare. After tobacco sponsorship was outlawed in the Ireland in 2000, the Irish government funded the event from 2001 and it was subsequently relocated to the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, County Dublin. The tournament was staged on an invitational basis for most of its existence but became a ranking tournament from the 2002/03 season. The event was dropped from the calendar in the 2005/2006 season. In 2007, a three-day invitational event known as the Kilkenny Irish Masters was staged with 16 players. It attracted a strong field with 9 of the world's top 16 players taking part, with Ronnie O'Sullivan winning the title.

The tournament was dominated most of all by Steve Davis, who won it eight times. It was won by Irish players on two occasions, Alex Higgins in 1989 and Ken Doherty in 1998. Doherty claimed the title despite losing in the final 3–9 against Ronnie O'Sullivan, as O'Sullivan subsequently failed a drugs test after testing positive for cannabis. There was only one official maximum break in the history of the tournament. John Higgins made it in the quarter-finals of the 2000 event against Jimmy White. There has been one further maximum break in 2007 by O'Sullivan, but it is not included in the list of official maximum breaks, as the table was not to the required standards used on the professional circuit.

Winners

YearWinnerRunner-upFinal scoreVenueSeasonBenson & Hedges Challenge Match (non-ranking)Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (non-ranking)Irish Masters (non-ranking)Irish Masters (ranking)Kilkenny Irish Masters (non-ranking)
1975ENG John SpencerNIR Alex Higgins9–7IRL Dublin1974/75
1976ENG John SpencerNIR Alex Higgins5–0IRL Dublin1975/76
1977NIR Alex HigginsWAL Ray Reardon5–3IRL Leopardstown1976/77
1978ENG John SpencerWAL Doug Mountjoy5–3IRL Kill1977/78
1979WAL Doug MountjoyWAL Ray Reardon6–5IRL Kill1978/79
1980WAL Terry GriffithsWAL Doug Mountjoy9–8IRL Kill1979/80
1981WAL Terry GriffithsWAL Ray Reardon9–7IRL Kill1980/81
1982WAL Terry GriffithsENG Steve Davis9–5IRL Kill1981/82
1983ENG Steve DavisWAL Ray Reardon9–2IRL Kill1982/83
1984ENG Steve DavisWAL Terry Griffiths9–1IRL Kill1983/84
1985ENG Jimmy WhiteNIR Alex Higgins9–5IRL Kill1984/85
1986ENG Jimmy WhiteENG Willie Thorne9–5IRL Kill1985/86
1987ENG Steve DavisENG Willie Thorne9–1IRL Kill1986/87
1988ENG Steve DavisENG Neal Foulds9–4IRL Kill1987/88
1989NIR Alex HigginsSCO Stephen Hendry9–8IRL Kill1988/89
1990ENG Steve DavisNIR Dennis Taylor9–4IRL Kill1989/90
1991ENG Steve DavisENG John Parrott9–5IRL Kill1990/91
1992SCO Stephen HendryIRL Ken Doherty9–6IRL Kill1991/92
1993ENG Steve DavisSCO Alan McManus9–4IRL Kill1992/93
1994ENG Steve DavisSCO Alan McManus9–8IRL Kill1993/94
1995ENG Peter EbdonSCO Stephen Hendry9–8IRL Kill1994/95
1996WAL Darren MorganENG Steve Davis9–8IRL Kill1995/96
1997SCO Stephen HendryWAL Darren Morgan9–8IRL Kill1996/97
1998IRL Ken Doherty *ENG Ronnie O'SullivanDisqualifiedIRL Kill1997/98
1999SCO Stephen HendryENG Stephen Lee9–8IRL Kill1998/99
2000SCO John HigginsSCO Stephen Hendry9–4IRL Kill1999/00
2001ENG Ronnie O'SullivanSCO Stephen Hendry9–8IRL Saggart2000/01
2002SCO John HigginsENG Peter Ebdon10–3IRL Saggart2001/02
2003ENG Ronnie O'SullivanSCO John Higgins10–9IRL Saggart2002/03
2004ENG Peter EbdonENG Mark King10–7IRL Saggart2003/04
2005ENG Ronnie O'SullivanWAL Matthew Stevens10–8IRL Saggart2004/05
2007ENG Ronnie O'SullivanENG Barry Hawkins9–1IRL Kilkenny2006/07

Notes

  • Ronnie O'Sullivan was disqualified and stripped of the title in 1998 after a 9–3 win over Ken Doherty. O'Sullivan failed a drugs test after testing positive for cannabis. Doherty was awarded the title.

References

References

  1. (26 May 1975). "Spencer "breaks" Higgins". Belfast Telegraph.
  2. Turner, Chris. "Irish Masters". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive.
  3. Turner, Chris. "Kilkenny Irish Masters". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive.
  4. (12 March 2007). "O'Sullivan drives Hawkins to drink". [[RTÉ Sport]].
  5. Ian O'Riordan. (7 July 1998). "O'Sullivan stripped of Irish title". The Irish Times.
  6. (10 March 2007). "O'Sullivan notches 147 in Ireland". [[BBC Sport]].
  7. Turner, Chris. "Maximum Breaks". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive.
  8. "Hall of Fame". Snooker.org.
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