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.
Anthony Stephen Hamilton is an English professional snooker player. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's elite Top 16 and fifteen in the Top 32, reaching a career-high of number ten in the world in the 1999/2000 season. Hamilton is a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist, a Masters semi-finalist and compiler of more than 300 competitive century breaks during his long career. He won his first ranking title in 2017, beating Ali Carter 9–6 in the final of the German Masters, doing so at the age of 45.
Liang Wenbo is a Chinese former professional snooker player who is permanently banned from competition. During his career, Liang won one ranking title at the 2016 English Open, twice won the World Cup for China in 2011 and 2017 with teammate Ding Junhui, and reached one Triple Crown final at the 2015 UK Championship, which he lost to Neil Robertson. He made three maximum breaks in professional competition and achieved a career high of 11th in the snooker world rankings.
The 2008 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 2008 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 32nd consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible Theatre, and the seventh and final ranking event of the 2007–08 snooker season. The tournament was organised by World Snooker, and sponsored by betting company 888.com. The tournament featured a total prize fund of £1,050,000 with £250,000 being awarded to the winner.
Ben Woollaston is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the 2015 Welsh Open, in which he lost to John Higgins.
The 2008–09 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 June 2008 and 10 May 2009. Four players missed the fourth ranking event of the season, the Bahrain Championship, and therefore lost ranking points; this was due to a clash with some Premier League matches whose date had already been approved by the game's governing body.
The 2009 Bank of Beijing China Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 30 March and 5 April 2009 at the Beijing University Students' Gymnasium in Beijing, China. The event was sponsored by Bank of Beijing and Hyundai.
Daniel Wells is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. He has twice come through Qualifying School to play on the professional snooker tour, and turned professional again at the beginning of the 2023–24 season after placing top of the 2022–23 One Year Ranking List for players outside the top 64, despite competing as an amateur for the entire season.
The 2005 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 23 January 2005 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.
The 2010 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 17 April and 3 May 2010 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The final ranking event of the 2009-10 snooker season, it was the 34th year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, first held in 1927. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and had a total prize fund of £1,111,000, with £250,000 going to the winner of the event. The tournament was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred.
The 2009 Grand Prix was a professional ranking tournament that took place between 3–11 October 2009 at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 2009 Pukka Pies UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 5–13 December 2009 at the Telford International Centre in Telford, England.
The 2010 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 25 and 31 January 2010 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. This was the first time that the Welsh Open was sponsored by Totesport.com.
The 2010 Roewe Shanghai Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 6–12 September 2010 at the Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai, China.
The 2011 German Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 2–6 February at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany.
The 2011 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 14 and 20 February 2011 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. This was the first time that the Welsh Open was sponsored by Wyldecrest Park Homes.
The 2012 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 19 February 2012 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. This was the first time, that 888真人 sponsored the event.
Joel Walker is an English former professional snooker player. In 2010 he won the Rileys Future Stars competition and turned professional in 2012 through Q School.
The 2013 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 11 and 17 February 2013 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. It was the seventh ranking event of the 2012/2013 season, and the first time that BetVictor sponsored the event.
The 2014 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 February and 2 March 2014 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2013/2014 season, and the second time that BetVictor sponsored the event.
Marco Fu (HKG) (142)
Ali Carter (ENG)
Joe Swail (NIR)
