| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15–21 February 2016 |
| Venue | Motorpoint Arena |
| City | Cardiff |
| Country | Wales |
| Organisation | World Snooker |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £324,000 |
| Winner's share | £60,000 |
| Highest break |  Ding Junhui (CHN) (147) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Runner-up |  Neil Robertson (AUS) |
| Score | 9–5 |
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The 2016 Welsh Open (officially the 2016 BetVictor Welsh Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 15 to 21 February 2016. It was the sixth ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.
Contents
The defending champion John Higgins lost 1–4 against Michael White in the last 16. [1]
Playing Barry Pinches in the first round, Ronnie O'Sullivan declined the opportunity to make a maximum break, describing the £10,000 prize money on offer as "too cheap". He potted the pink off the penultimate red and made a 146. World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn called O'Sullivan's actions "unacceptable" and "disrespectful". [2]
Ding Junhui made the 117th official maximum break in the sixth frame of his quarter-final against Neil Robertson. It was Ding's sixth maximum break in professional competition. [3]
O'Sullivan met Robertson in the final. From 2–5 behind, O'Sullivan won seven frames in a row, finishing with a break of 141 in the 14th frame, to defeat Robertson 9–5 and equal John Higgins's record of four Welsh Open titles. [4] It was O'Sullivan's 28th ranking title, which put him in joint second place with Higgins and Steve Davis for the number of career ranking titles. [5]
