1997 European League

Doc Martens European League

Tournament information
Dates	28 December 1996 – 18 May 1997 (1996-12-28 – 1997-05-18)
Venue	Diamond Centre
City	Irthlingborough
Country	England
Organisation	Matchroom Sport
Format	Non-ranking event
Winner's share	£60,000
Final
Champion	Ronnie O'Sullivan
Runner-up	Stephen Hendry
Score	10–8
← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 Doc Martens European League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that was played from 28 December 1996 to 18 May 1997. All matches including the play-offs were played at the Diamond Centre at Irthlingborough. ^[1]

Ronnie O'Sullivan won in the final 10–8 against Stephen Hendry. ^[2]

League phase

Ranking		EBD	HEN	DOH	OSU	DAV	HIG	PAR	WHI	Frame W-L	Match W-D-L	Pld-Pts
1	Peter Ebdon	x	x	5 + 2	x	4	5	7	5	28–20	4–1–1	6–9
2	Stephen Hendry	x	x	x	6 + 4	7	2	4	7	30–18	3–2–1	6–8
3	Ken Doherty	3 + 6	x	x	x	3	4	7	6	29–19	3–1–2	6–7
4	Ronnie O'Sullivan	x	2 + 4	x	x	7	4	4	7	28–20	2–3–1	6–7
5	Steve Davis	4	1	5	1	x	6 + 4	x	x	21–27	2–2–2	6–6
6	John Higgins	3	6	4	4	2 + 4	x	x	x	23–25	1–3–2	6–5
7	John Parrott	1	4	1	4	x	x	x	7 + 4	21–27	1–3–2	6–5
8	Jimmy White	3	1	2	1	x	x	1 + 4	x	12–36	0–1–5	6–1

Top four qualified for the play-offs. If points were level then most frames won determined their positions. If two players had an identical record then the result in their match determined their positions. If that ended 4–4 then the player who got to four first was higher. ^[3]

• 28 December Match Day 1
  • Ken Doherty 7–1 John Parrott
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan 7–1 Steve Davis
• 29 December Match Day 2
  • Peter Ebdon 7–1 John Parrott
  • Peter Ebdon 5–3 Ken Doherty
  • Steve Davis 6–2 John Higgins
• 18 January Match Day 3
  • Stephen Hendry 6–2 Ronnie O'Sullivan
  • John Parrott 7–1 Jimmy White
  • John Higgins 6–2 Stephen Hendry
• 19 January Match Day 4
  • Ken Doherty 6–2 Jimmy White
  • Peter Ebdon 5–3 Jimmy White
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–4 John Higgins
  • Stephen Hendry 7–1 Steve Davis
• 12 April Match Day 5
  • John Higgins 4–4 Ken Doherty
  • John Parrott 4–4 Stephen Hendry
  • Steve Davis 4–4 Peter Ebdon
• 13 April Match Day 6
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–4 John Parrott
  • Ken Doherty 6–2 Peter Ebdon
  • Stephen Hendry 7–1 Jimmy White
• 10 May Match Day 7
  • Peter Ebdon 5–3 John Higgins
  • Steve Davis 5–3 Ken Doherty
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan 7–1 Jimmy White
• 11 May Match Day 8
  • Steve Davis 4–4 John Higgins
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–4 Stephen Hendry
  • John Parrott 4–4 Jimmy White

Play-offs

17–18 May (Diamond Centre, Irthlingborough, England) ^[3]

	Semi-finals Best of 11 frames					Final Best of 19 frames
	1	Peter Ebdon	2
	4	Ronnie O'Sullivan	6
						4	Ronnie O'Sullivan	10
						2	Stephen Hendry	8
	2	Stephen Hendry	6
	3	Ken Doherty	3

References

1. "The 1996/97 Season". snooker.org. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
2. "Premier/Matchroom League, Matchroom Championship League". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
3. Layton, Eric. Cuesport Book of Professional Snooker. p. 171.