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Home , Andy Hicks, British Open (snooker), Jimmy White, John Higgins, Masters (snooker), Nigel Bond

The - The Years By Elliott West

Snooker has a vast treasure trove of tournaments in its past and one that definitely springs to mind is the former British Open. The tournament began life in 1980 in the Assembly Rooms Derby in 1980 and was a sixteen-man invitational event with a round-robin stage with winners advancing to the semi-finals. The next two years the tournament was renamed twice, first being called the Yamaha Organs Trophy and then the International . After Yamaha decided to withdraw its sponsorship the event was finally called the British Open in 1985.The tournament moved from Derby to Plymouth, Newcastle and in its final years was played out in Brighton.

For this piece, I want to concentrate my attention on the event’s time at Plymouth. In 1994, the British Open moved to the Plymouth Pavilions. Plymouth probably had the golden years of its life in this South West city and all the greats of the modern game graced its stage. By this time the “Class of ‘92” were just starting to break through onto the circuit and the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Mark Williams all won the tournament in the Plymouth years. Ronnie won the first in 1994, beating in the final, 9-4, John Higgins in 1995, beating the previous year’s winner, O’Sullivan, 9-6 and again in 1998 against , 9-8. In the intervening years, Mark J Williams captured the title from Stephen Hendry, winning 9-2 in 1997.

Plymouth was also the catalyst for maximum breaks with several being created during these glorious years. During the qualifying stage of the tournament in 1995, David McDonnell compiled one in the fourth round against Nic Barrow and Jason Prince in the fifth round in 1999 against Ian Brumby. Stephen Hendry then made it a golden year by compiling his second career maximum against , a final he went on to win, 9-5.

It is truly amazing how this tournament grew from its infancy as a non-ranking event in 1980 when snooker was only just becoming a popular sport, previously recognised as a game. When won hands down against , 5-1, few people inside and outside snooker would have ever dreamt that this event would grow in the stature that it did and certainly not the longevity that it had, running in total from 1980-2004 in different formats. So many great players played on its tables and I would run out of space if I was to name them all. Players such as , Tony Meo, Bob Chaperon, , , Ray Reardon, and Fergal O’Brien all won this title over the years. Some are well remembered and others need minds to be refreshed before their triumph is recalled. Even the sadly missed raised the trophy in 2002, beating another formidable player of his time, Ian McCulloch, 9-4. A player who later had to retire from professional snooker due to back problems. The Plymouth years have so many magical moments including when Steve Davis the then oldest player in the tournament removed Mark Williams and denied him a quarter-final place in 1999 after a vintage performance. Then ranked number 15 Davis won the match 5-2 scoring a top break of 119 and other great contributions of 94, 57 and 66. Peter Ebdon also won big at Plymouth taking home his third ranking title and a cheque for £62,000 when he beat Jimmy White 9-6. White had started the tournament as an 80-1 outsider in his first match against Joe Perry and was 11-8 by the time he reached the final against Ebdon. However Peter defied the odds and took the silverware home.

I have some great memories of the Plymouth Pavilions. In fact, this was where I first saw the player compete here. A player who I am glad to say has just regained his professional tour card through the gruelling . I am also ecstatic to know that World Seniors will be visiting Plymouth Pavilions in their current season, playing the British Seniors Open from 3-4 April 2020.

To book your tickets for the British Seniors Open on 3-4 April go to the link below:

https://www.theticketstore.co.uk/online/defaul t.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load &BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_i d=0A462929-E860-45BC-B20A- 2E9B36D825C6