Paul Hunter Classic

Last updated
Paul Hunter Classic
Paul Hunter Classic 2012 Logo.png
Tournament information
VenueStadthalle
Location Fürth
CountryGermany
Established2004
Organisation(s) WPBSA, Snookerstars.de
FormatRanking event (2016–2018)
Non-ranking event (2019)
Total prize fund £120,000
Current champion(s) Flag of England.svg Barry Hawkins

The Paul Hunter Classic is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It changed from a ranking event to a 16-man invitational event in 2019. From 2010 to 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. Barry Hawkins is the reigning champion. After losing its ranking event status, independent promoter Snookerstars.de promoted the 2019 event.

Contents

History

The tournament started in 2004 as the Grand Prix Fürth and was staged in Fürth, Germany. After two years as the Fürth German Open, it was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic in 2007 in memory of the late player Paul Hunter. [1] In 2010 it became part of the Players Tour Championship. [2]

There have been six official maximum breaks in the history of the tournament. The first was made by Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2011 against Adam Duffy. [3] The second was compiled by Ken Doherty in 2012 against Julian Treiber. This was Doherty's first 147. [4] The third was made in 2014 by Aditya Mehta against Stephen Maguire. Mehta became the first Indian player to compile an official 147. [5] The fourth was made by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in 2016 [6] The fifth and sixth were made by Michael Georgiou and Jamie Jones on same day in 2018. [7]

Winners

[1] [2] [8]

YearWinnerRunner-upFinal scoreSeason
Grand Prix Fürth (pro–am)
2004 Flag of England.svg Paul Hunter Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Matthew Stevens 4–2 2004/05
Fürth German Open (pro–am)
2005 Flag of England.svg Mark King Flag of England.svg Michael Holt 4–2 2005/06
2006 Flag of England.svg Michael Holt Flag of England.svg Barry Hawkins 4–2 2006/07
Paul Hunter Classic (pro–am)
2007 Flag of England.svg Barry Pinches Flag of Ireland.svg Ken Doherty 4–0 2007/08
2008 Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy Flag of England.svg Mark Selby 4–0 2008/09
2009 Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy Flag of England.svg Jimmy White 4–0 2009/10
Paul Hunter Classic (minor-ranking)
2010 Flag of England.svg Judd Trump Flag of England.svg Anthony Hamilton 4–3 2010/11
2011 Flag of England.svg Mark Selby Flag of England.svg Mark Davis 4–0 2011/12
2012 [9] Flag of England.svg Mark Selby Ulster Banner.svg Joe Swail 4–1 2012/13
2013 [10] Flag of England.svg Ronnie O'Sullivan Ulster Banner.svg Gerard Greene 4–0 2013/14
2014 [11] Ulster Banner.svg Mark Allen Flag of England.svg Judd Trump 4–2 2014/15
2015 [12] Flag of England.svg Ali Carter Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy 4–3 2015/16
Paul Hunter Classic (ranking)
2016 [13] Flag of England.svg Mark Selby Flag of England.svg Tom Ford 4–2 2016/17
2017 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Michael White Flag of England.svg Shaun Murphy 4–2 2017/18
2018 Flag of England.svg Kyren Wilson Flag of England.svg Peter Ebdon 4–2 2018/19
Paul Hunter Classic (non-ranking)
2019 Flag of England.svg Barry Hawkins Flag of England.svg Kyren Wilson 4–3 2019/20
2020Cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic 2020/21

See also

Related Research Articles

Maximum break The highest single score in cue sport Snooker

A maximum break in snooker is the highest possible break in a single frame. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points, followed by all six colours for a further 27 points. A maximum break is regarded as the highest possible achievement in a single frame of snooker, and is often compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling.

The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament, a part of the Home Nations Series. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which started in 1980 and was only open to Welsh players.

Jamie Jones (snooker player)

Jamie Jones is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. At age 14, he was the youngest ever player to make a maximum 147 break in competition, a record that has since been beaten by Judd Trump. At the 2012 World Snooker Championship, Jones reached his first ranking quarter-final. He made his second appearance in the quarter-finals of a Triple Crown tournament at the 2016 UK Championship.

Michael Georgiou

Michael Georgiou is a British-Cypriot former professional snooker player from Forest Hill. He is a practice partner of Igor Figueiredo and Hammad Miah, who practises at the Snooker Academy in Leytonstone.

The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, which saw the tournament replaced by the snooker World Cup, also held in Wuxi. The last champion was Neil Robertson, who won the event in 2013 and retained his title in 2014.

2010–11 snooker season

The 2010–11 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 20 May 2010 and 2 May 2011. The German Masters was the first ranking tournament in Germany since the 1997/1998 season. The Grand Prix was renamed to World Open, and the format of the tournament was change with 32 amateurs joining the Main Tour professionals. The Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series was introduced to the calendar. These events were open to amateurs and professional with a separate Order of Merit. The top 24 in the Order of Merit qualified to the Finals, which was a ranking event. The Premier League was for the first time part of the Main Tour. The Jiangsu Classic was renamed to the Wuxi Classic, and other events were introduced to the calendar: the new cue sport Power Snooker, the World Seniors Championship, and Snooker Shoot Out. The Scottish Professional Championship was held for the first time since 1989.

The Euro Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 1 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 26–29 August 2010 in Fürth, Germany.

2011–12 snooker season

The 2011–12 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 1 June 2011 and 7 May 2012. The Brazil Masters became the first professional event held in South America, and the Australian Goldfields Open the first ranking event in Australia. The World Cup was held again after 1996. At the end of the season Ronnie O'Sullivan was named the World Snooker Player of the Year and the Snooker Writers Player of the Year, Judd Trump the Fans Player of the Year and Luca Brecel the Rookie of the Year. Stuart Bingham received the "Performance of the Year" for winning his first ranking event, the Australian Goldfields Open. Stephen Hendry's maximum break at the World Championship received "The Magic Moment" award. Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 4 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 25–28 August 2011 in Fürth, Germany. Some of the preliminary round matches were held in Nürnberg. It was the first PTC event outside of the Grand Finals to be broadcast on television, as one table was screened on Eurosport.

2012–13 snooker season

The 2012–13 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 16 May 2012 and 6 May 2013. The season featured two new ranking events: the Wuxi Classic and the International Championship. The tour had a record five ranking events in China, and three new PTC events in Asia. The tour also visited Bulgaria for the first time in its history, and returned to Poland, Belgium and Australia. Before the start of the season World Snooker requested every player to sign a players contract, that would allow players to choose which events they want to enter – no player was forced to play in any event. At the end of the season Mark Selby was named the World Snooker Player of the Year, the Snooker Writers' Player of the Year and the Fans' Player of the Year and Ian Burns the Rookie of the Year. Ronnie O'Sullivan received the "Performance of the Year" for winning his fifth World title after playing just one competitive match during the season. Jimmy Robertson's 57 break in just 130 seconds at the Snooker Shoot Out received the "Magic Moment of the Year" award. Terry Griffiths, Joe Johnson, Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty, Graeme Dott, Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

European Tour 2012/2013 – Event 1

The Betfair European Tour 2012/2013 – Event 1 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 23–26 August 2012 in Fürth, Germany.

The European Tour 2012/2013 – Event 5 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13–16 December 2012 at the Ravenscraig Sports Facility in Ravenscraig, Scotland. This was the first World Snooker event in Scotland since the 2010 World Open. The event was the fifth of the European Tour 2012/2013

The European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 4 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 22–25 August 2013 in Fürth, Germany.

The 2013 Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 8–14 July 2013 at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia. It was the second ranking event of the 2013/2014 season.

The European Tour 2014/2015 – Event 2 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 20–24 August 2014 in Fürth, Germany.

The European Tour 2015/2016 – Event 2 was a professional minor-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 26–30 August 2015 in Fürth, Germany.

Shaun Murphy English snooker player. 2005 World Champion

Shaun Peter Murphy is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.

The 2016 Paul Hunter Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24–28 August 2016 at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.

2018 Paul Hunter Classic

The 2018 Paul Hunter Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place in August 2018 at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany. It was the third ranking event of the 2018/2019 season. The tournament is named in honour of former snooker professional, Paul Hunter.

2019 Paul Hunter Classic Snooker tournament, held August 2019

The 2019 Paul Hunter Classic was a professional non-ranking invitational snooker tournament. The event took place between 24 and 25 August 2019 at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany. The tournament was the 2019 edition of the Paul Hunter Classic first held in 2004 as the Grand Prix Fürth. The tournament is named in honour of snooker professional, Paul Hunter who won the 2004 event and died in 2006. The event featured a 16-player bracket with a qualification tournament that was held in Nuremberg, Germany. As the tournament was dropped as a ranking event, independent promoters Snookerstars.de promoted the event providing prize money for the tournament.

References

  1. 1 2 "Geschichte der PHC". SnookerStars. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  2. 1 2 Turner, Chris. "Other pro-am and Invitation Events: Paul Hunter Classic". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  3. Turner, Chris. "Maximum Breaks". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  4. "Doherty Joins 147 Club". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association . Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  5. "Mehta 147/O'Sullivan In Form". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. "Un-Nooh Makes 147 In Furth". World Snooker . Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  7. "Georgiou and Jones Join 147 Club". World Snooker. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  8. "Paul Hunter Classic History". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  9. "European Tour Event One (2012)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  10. "European Tour Event Four (2013)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  11. "European Tour Event Two (2014)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  12. "Ali Carter wins first title since cancer all-clear". BBC Sport . Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  13. "Mark Selby wins snooker's Paul Hunter Classic in Germany". BBC Sport . Retrieved 29 August 2016.