Welsh Open (snooker)

The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.

Welsh Open
Tournament information
VenueInternational Convention Centre Wales
LocationNewport
CountryWales
Established1992
Organisation(s)World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£405,000
Recent edition2023
Current champion Robert Milkins (ENG)

Mark Williams is the only Welsh winner, having captured the title in 1996 and 1999. John Higgins holds the record for the most Welsh Open wins, claiming the title five times.

Robert Milkins is the reigning champion.

History

The tournament began as a ranking tournament in 1992. It is now the third-longest-running ranking event on the World Snooker Tour, after the World Championship and the UK Championship.[1] In the 2016–17 season, the event became part of the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. The event trophy was renamed the Ray Reardon Trophy; Reardon himself presented the first trophy bearing his name to the 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.[2]

The event was sponsored by Regal until 2003, but UK restrictions on tobacco advertising meant that it was without a sponsor until 2009.[3] The tournament was sponsored by Totesport.com in 2010,[4] by Wyldecrest Park Homes in 2011,[5] by 888真人 in 2012,[6] and by BetVictor from to 2013 to 2016.[7][8] In 2017 the tournament was sponsored by Coral.

In 1996, Paul Hunter reached the semi-finals at the age of 17 years and 111 days, becoming the youngest player to reach this stage of a ranking tournament.[3]

John Higgins holds the record for the most Welsh Open titles, having won the event on 5 occasions. The other multiple winners are Ronnie O'Sullivan with 4 victories, Stephen Hendry with 3, and Steve Davis, Ken Doherty, Paul Hunter, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson with 2 wins each.

Like the Welsh Professional Championship, it was played at the Newport Centre in Newport, before moving to the Cardiff International Arena in 1999. It was moved back to Newport in 2005,[3] where it remained until 2014.[9] In January 2014, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn announced that the 2014 tournament would be the last held in Newport, and that he would open negotiations to move the event to a larger venue, most likely in Cardiff.[10] The event was held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 2015 to 2020, before moving back to Newport in 2021 and 2022. The 2023 event will be held in Llandudno, the first time in its history that it has been staged in neither Newport nor Cardiff.[11] The tournament is broadcast by BBC Wales, Eurosport, CCTV, SMG, Now TV and Showtime Arabia. In the early days it was televised by both BBC Wales (in English), S4C (in Welsh) and Sky Sports.

There have been ten maximum breaks in the history of the tournament. The first was made by Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1999, against James Wattana. The second was made at the qualifying stage of the 2000 event by Barry Pinches, against Joe Johnson. The third was made by Andrew Higginson in 2007, against Ali Carter. The fourth 147 was made in 2011 by Stephen Hendry, against Stephen Maguire.[12] This was Hendry's 10th 147 break, and with this he equalled the record for most maximums with Ronnie O'Sullivan.[13] He also became the oldest player at the time to compile a maximum break at the age of 42 years and 35 days.[14] The fifth maximum was made by O'Sullivan in 2014, in the last frame of the final against Ding Junhui. This was O'Sullivan's 12th 147 break, and with it he set the record for most maximums.[15] It was also the last maximum to be compiled before the event moved to Cardiff. Ding Junhui made the sixth at the quarter-finals of the 2016 tournament, against Neil Robertson.[16] Two maximum breaks were made at the 2019 event, one by Neil Robertson in the first round, against Jordan Brown,[17] and one by Noppon Saengkham in the third round, against Mark Selby.[18] The ninth maximum was made in 2020 by Kyren Wilson on his first visit to the table in his first round match against Jackson Page.[19][20] The most recent maximum break was made in 2023 by Shaun Murphy in the third round, against Daniel Wells.[21]

Winners

[3][22][23][24]

Year Winner Runner-up Final score Venue City Season
1992  Stephen Hendry (SCO)  Darren Morgan (WAL) 9–3 Newport Centre Newport, Wales 1991/92
1993  Ken Doherty (IRL)  Alan McManus (SCO) 9–7 1992/93
1994  Steve Davis (ENG)  Alan McManus (SCO) 9–6 1993/94
1995  Steve Davis (ENG)  John Higgins (SCO) 9–3 1994/95
1996  Mark Williams (WAL)  John Parrott (ENG) 9–3 1995/96
1997  Stephen Hendry (SCO)  Mark King (ENG) 9–2 1996/97
1998  Paul Hunter (ENG)  John Higgins (SCO) 9–5 1997/98
1999  Mark Williams (WAL)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 9–8 Cardiff International Arena Cardiff, Wales 1998/99
2000  John Higgins (SCO)  Stephen Lee (ENG) 9–8 1999/00
2001  Ken Doherty (IRL)  Paul Hunter (ENG) 9–2 2000/01
2002  Paul Hunter (ENG)  Ken Doherty (IRL) 9–7 2001/02
2003  Stephen Hendry (SCO)  Mark Williams (WAL) 9–5 2002/03
2004  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Steve Davis (ENG) 9–8 Welsh Institute of Sport 2003/04
2005  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 9–8 Newport Centre Newport, Wales 2004/05
2006  Stephen Lee (ENG)  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 9–4 2005/06
2007  Neil Robertson (AUS)  Andrew Higginson (ENG) 9–8 2006/07
2008  Mark Selby (ENG)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 9–8 2007/08
2009  Ali Carter (ENG)  Joe Swail (NIR) 9–5 2008/09
2010  John Higgins (SCO)  Ali Carter (ENG) 9–4 2009/10
2011  John Higgins (SCO)  Stephen Maguire (SCO) 9–6 2010/11
2012[25]  Ding Junhui (CHN)  Mark Selby (ENG) 9–6 2011/12
2013[26]  Stephen Maguire (SCO)  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 9–8 2012/13
2014[27]  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Ding Junhui (CHN) 9–3 2013/14
2015[28]  John Higgins (SCO)  Ben Woollaston (ENG) 9–3 Cardiff International Arena Cardiff, Wales 2014/15
2016[29]  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Neil Robertson (AUS) 9–5 2015/16
2017[30]  Stuart Bingham (ENG)  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–8 2016/17
2018[31]  John Higgins (SCO)  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 9–7 2017/18
2019[32]  Neil Robertson (AUS)  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 9–7 2018/19
2020[33]  Shaun Murphy (ENG)  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 9–1 2019/20
2021[34]  Jordan Brown (NIR)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 9–8 Celtic Manor Resort Newport, Wales 2020/21
2022  Joe Perry (ENG)  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–5 ICC Wales 2021/22
2023  Robert Milkins (ENG)  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 9–7 Venue Cymru Llandudno, Wales 2022/23
2024 – 2023/24

Statistics

Finalists
Name Nationality Winner Runner-up
John Higgins  Scotland 5 2
Ronnie O'Sullivan  England 4 2
Stephen Hendry  Scotland 3 2
Steve Davis  England 2 1
Ken Doherty  Ireland 2 1
Paul Hunter  England 2 1
Mark Williams  Wales 2 1
Neil Robertson  Australia 2 1
Stuart Bingham  England 1 2
Shaun Murphy  England 1 2
Ali Carter  England 1 1
Ding Junhui  China 1 1
Stephen Lee  England 1 1
Stephen Maguire  Scotland 1 1
Mark Selby  England 1 1
Jordan Brown  Northern Ireland 1 0
Joe Perry  England 1 0
Robert Milkins  England 1 0
Alan McManus  Scotland 0 2
Judd Trump  England 0 2
Barry Hawkins  England 0 1
Andrew Higginson  England 0 1
Mark King  England 0 1
Darren Morgan  Wales 0 1
John Parrott  England 0 1
Joe Swail  Northern Ireland 0 1
Ben Woollaston  England 0 1
Kyren Wilson  England 0 1
  • 2023 competitors are shown in bold.

See also

References
  1. Ivan (21 December 2022). "BetVictor Welsh Open Draw". World Snooker. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. "Ray Reardon at 90: 'Proud for Wales, proud for myself'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. Turner, Chris. "Welsh Open". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  4. "Totesport.com Named Sponsor For Snooker's Welsh Open". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  5. "Wyldecrest Park Homes To Sponsor Snooker's Welsh Open". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  6. "888真人Sponsor Welsh Open". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  7. "BetVictor Sponsor Welsh Open". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  8. "BetVictor Renew Sponsorship of Welsh Open". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  9. "Newport secures Welsh Open deal for next three years". BBC Sport. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  10. "Welsh Open snooker tournament to leave Newport Centre". BBC News. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  11. "Welsh Open moves to Llandudno in 2023". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. Turner, Chris. "Maximum Breaks". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  13. "Hendry Out Despite Maximum". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  14. Turner, Chris. "Various Snooker Records". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  15. "Magical Maximum Seals Rocket Triumph". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  16. "Robertson wins despite Ding Maximum". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  17. "Robertson Makes Motorpoint Maximum". World Snooker. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  18. "Saengkham Makes Cardiff 147". World Snooker. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  19. "Wilson Fires 147 In Cardiff". World Snooker. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  20. "Wilson Turns Over Page With Maximum". World Snooker. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  21. "Murphy Makes 147 In Wales". World Snooker. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  22. "Welsh Open". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  23. "Roll of Honour". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  24. "Hall of Fame". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  25. "888真人 Welsh Open (2012)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  26. "BetVictor Welsh Open (2013)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  27. "BetVictor Welsh Open (2014)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  28. "BetVictor Welsh Open (2015)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  29. "BetVictor Welsh Open (2016)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  30. "Coral Welsh Open (2017)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  31. "Welsh Open (2018)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  32. "ManBetX Welsh Open 2019". World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  33. "ManBetX Welsh Open 2020". World Snooker Tour. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  34. "BetVictor Welsh Open 2021". World Snooker Tour. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
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