Northern Ireland Trophy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Snooker tournaments |
| World Championship |
| Ranking tournaments |
| UK Championship |
| Grand Prix |
| Malta Cup |
| Welsh Open |
| China Open |
| Northern Ireland Trophy |
| Other tournaments |
| Masters |
| Premier League |
| Pot Black |
| Withdrawn tournaments |
| See: Snooker tournaments |
The Northern Ireland Trophy is a professional snooker tournament. It began as an invitational event introduced for the 2005/06 season and was contested by 20 players. From the 2006/07 season, it is a full ranking event, attended by the world's top 32 players plus 16 qualifiers.
The event is the first major tournament to be held in Northern Ireland and has been staged as part of World Snooker's continuing efforts to popularise the game in more territories.
The tournament currently takes place at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast in mid-August and is the first professional tournament of the season. Prize money for 2006 totalled £200,500 ($387,586) with the winner receiving £30,000 ($57,992).
[edit] Winners
| Year | Winner | Opponent | Final score | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Matthew Stevens | Stephen Hendry | 9 - 7 | 2005/06 |
| 2006 | Ding Junhui | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 9 - 6 | 2006/07 |
[edit] World Record
In the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy Ronnie O'Sullivan, broke a world record. He won the match in 53 minutes of play, which was the fastest ever time in a 9 frame match.
