Paul Hunter Classic

Paul Hunter Classic

Tournament information
Venue	Stadthalle
Location	Fürth
Country	Germany
Established	2004
Organisation(s)	WPBSA, Snookerstars.de
Format	Ranking event (2016–2018) Non-ranking event (2019)
Total prize fund	£120,000
Current champion	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.

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]}

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

See also

• German Masters, ranking tournament in Berlin
• FFB Open, minor-ranking tournament in Fürstenfeldbruck

References

1. "Geschichte der PHC". SnookerStars. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
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. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.