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Welsh Open (snooker) facts for kids

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Welsh Open
BetVictor Welsh Open Logo.png
Tournament information
Venue Venue Cymru
Location Llandudno
Country Wales
Established 1992
Organisation(s) World Snooker Tour
Format Ranking event
Total prize fund £405,000
Recent edition 2024
Current champion(s)  Gary Wilson (ENG)

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.

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.

Gary Wilson 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. 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.

The event was sponsored by Regal until 2003, but UK restrictions on tobacco advertising meant that it was without a sponsor until 2009. The tournament was sponsored by Totesport.com in 2010, by Wyldecrest Park Homes in 2011, by 888真人 in 2012, and by BetVictor from to 2013 to 2016. 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.

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, where it remained until 2014. 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. 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 was held in Llandudno, the first time in its history that it has been staged in neither Newport nor Cardiff. 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. This was Hendry's 10th 147 break, and with this he equalled the record for most maximums with Ronnie O'Sullivan. He also became the oldest player at the time to compile a maximum break at the age of 42 years and 35 days. 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. 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. Two maximum breaks were made at the 2019 event, one by Neil Robertson in the first round, against Jordan Brown, and one by Noppon Saengkham in the third round, against Mark Selby. 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. Shaun Murphy made the tenth maximum break in 2023 in his third round match against Daniel Wells. The most recent maximum break was compiled by Gary Wilson in 2024, during the semi-final against Higgins.

Winners

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  Ding Junhui (CHN)  Mark Selby (ENG) 9–6 2011/12
2013  Stephen Maguire (SCO)  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 9–8 2012/13
2014  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Ding Junhui (CHN) 9–3 2013/14
2015  John Higgins (SCO)  Ben Woollaston (ENG) 9–3 Cardiff International Arena Cardiff, Wales 2014/15
2016  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)  Neil Robertson (AUS) 9–5 2015/16
2017  Stuart Bingham (ENG)  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–8 2016/17
2018  John Higgins (SCO)  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 9–7 2017/18
2019  Neil Robertson (AUS)  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 9–7 2018/19
2020  Shaun Murphy (ENG)  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 9–1 2019/20
2021  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  Gary Wilson (ENG)  Martin O'Donnell (ENG) 9–4 2023/24

Statistics

Finalists

Name Nationality Winner Runner-up
Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins  Scotland 5 2
O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan  England 4 2
Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry  Scotland 3 2
Davis, SteveSteve Davis  England 2 1
Doherty, KenKen Doherty  Ireland 2 1
Hunter, PaulPaul Hunter  England 2 1
Williams, MarkMark Williams  Wales 2 1
Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson  Australia 2 1
Bingham, StuartStuart Bingham  England 1 2
Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy  England 1 2
Carter, AliAli Carter  England 1 1
Ding JunhuiDing Junhui  China 1 1
Lee, StephenStephen Lee  England 1 1
Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire  Scotland 1 1
Selby, MarkMark Selby  England 1 1
Brown, JordanJordan Brown  Northern Ireland 1 0
Perry, JoeJoe Perry  England 1 0
Milkins, RobertRobert Milkins  England 1 0
Wilson, GaryGary Wilson  England 1 0
McManus, AlanAlan McManus  Scotland 0 2
Trump, JuddJudd Trump  England 0 2
Hawkins, BarryBarry Hawkins  England 0 1
Higginson, AndrewAndrew Higginson  England 0 1
King, MarkMark King  England 0 1
Morgan, DarrenDarren Morgan  Wales 0 1
Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott  England 0 1
Swail, JoeJoe Swail  Northern Ireland 0 1
Woollaston, BenBen Woollaston  England 0 1
Wilson, KyrenKyren Wilson  England 0 1
O'Donnell, MartinMartin O'Donnell  England 0 1

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Abierto de Gales para niños

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