2006 Northern Ireland Trophy

Northern Ireland Trophy
Tournament information
Dates13–20 August 2006 (2006-08-13 – 2006-08-20)
VenueWaterfront Hall
CityBelfast
CountryNorthern Ireland
OrganisationWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£200,500
Winner's share£30,000
Highest break Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (140)
Final
Champion Ding Junhui (CHN)
Runner-up Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Score9–6
2005
2007

The 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy was the 2006 edition of the Northern Ireland Trophy snooker tournament, held from 13 to 20 August 2006, at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ding Junhui defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan by nine frames to six (9–6) in the final to lift his third ranking title whilst still a teenager. In the semi-finals, Ding defeated Stephen Lee 6–1, and O'Sullivan beat Dominic Dale 6–0. O'Sullivan made the highest break with his 140. The defending champion, Matthew Stevens, lost in round 3. The tournament, consisting of the top 32 and 16 qualifiers, was the first of seven WPBSA ranking events in the 2006/2007 season, preceding the Grand Prix.

Tournament summary

The Northern Ireland Trophy was first staged in 2005 at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a non-ranking tournament featuring the top 16 and four wildcards, generally Irish. In the following year, it was granted ranking status and took the form of a regular tournament.[1][2]

The 2006 tournament was the first of seven World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2006/2007 season, preceding the Grand Prix, and the first event since last season's World Championship won by Graeme Dott, who defeated Peter Ebdon 18–14 in the final.[3] The defending champion was Matthew Stevens, who defeated Stephen Hendry 9–7 in the previous year's final.[4] Going into the tournament, Joe Swail, provisionally ranked number 13, said he was targeting a place in the top 16;[5] and Dott, the World Champion, said interest in his results would increase, and that he felt capable of winning more tournaments.[6] Shaun Murphy, the 2005 World Champion, said the pressure would be off him in the 2006/2007 season.[7]

Qualifying

The qualifying stage took place between players ranked from 33 to 48 and those lower for one of 16 places in the final stage between 29 and 31 July 2006 at Pontin's Snooker Centre, Prestatyn, Wales. The matches were best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals. Successful qualifiers in this round included Northern Irish player Mark Allen, who defeated Tom Ford 5–3, and said the Waterfront—where he made his professional debut last year—was the best venue he had played at. Gerard Greene defeated Judd Trump 5–2, and Dominic Dale beat Dermot McGlinchey 5–1.[8] Jimmy White, who had slipped from 8th to 35th in the rankings, lost 3–5 to Jimmy Michie, and said he was "match-shy" rather than nervous.[9] Irish players Joe Delaney and Fergal O'Brien lost to Rod Lawler and Paul Davies respectively, both 3–5.[10]

Round 1

In round 1 the 16 qualifiers went through to face players ranked 17–32. Swail lost 1–5 to Greene, who said the crowd was on his opponent's side. Tied at 3–3 Mark Selby won the seventh frame after Tony Drago missed a pink, eventually winning the match 5–4. Jamie Burnett made breaks of 117, 77, and 55 in defeating David Gray 5–2.[11] Allen lost 1–5 to Ryan Day, a match in which Day made breaks of 79, 73, 56, and 91, after which Day said, "as soon as I started knocking in some breaks they went a bit quiet", in reference to the crowd.[12] Michael Holt lost 2–5 to Mike Dunn, a player ranked 34 places below him.[13] James Wattana defeated Michie 5–4 in a match that lasted over three hours. Michie was 1–3 down but went on to lead 4–3 and 30–0 points before he missed a straightforward pot, eventually losing the frame. Michie had the first chance in the next but also lost that frame.[14] Tian Pengfei, on his 19th birthday, made breaks of 50, 62, and 115 in defeating Andy Hicks.

Final

In the best-of-17 final Ding defeated O'Sullivan to lift his third ranking title whilst still a teenager.[15][16][17]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[18][19]

Main draw

Last 48
Best of 9 frames
Last 32
Best of 9 frames
Last 16
Best of 9 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
Final
Best of 17 frames
1Scotland Graeme Dott5
22England David Gray2Scotland Jamie Burnett3
1Scotland Graeme Dott5
Scotland Jamie Burnett5
27England Mark Selby4
27England Mark Selby5
27England Mark Selby515England Ali Carter4
1Scotland Graeme Dott2
Malta Tony Drago4
Wales Dominic Dale5
11England Steve Davis2
29Northern Ireland Joe Swail1Northern Ireland Gerard Greene5
Northern Ireland Gerard Greene4
Northern Ireland Gerard Greene5
Wales Dominic Dale5
Wales Dominic Dale5
21Hong Kong Marco Fu37England Peter Ebdon3
Wales Dominic Dale0
Wales Dominic Dale5
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan6
8Wales Mark Williams5
18England Joe Perry4England Andrew Norman1
8Wales Mark Williams2
England Andrew Norman5
17Wales Ryan Day5
17Wales Ryan Day5
17Wales Ryan Day512England Barry Hawkins1
17Wales Ryan Day1
Northern Ireland Mark Allen1
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
14Wales Matthew Stevens5
28England Mark King528England Mark King0
14Wales Matthew Stevens2
England Rory McLeod3
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
England Stuart Pettman4
19Scotland Alan McManus24England Ronnie O'Sullivan5
4England Ronnie O'Sullivan6
England Stuart Pettman5
26China Ding Junhui9
3Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
24Thailand James Wattana524Thailand James Wattana4
2Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty5
England Jimmy Michie4
9Scotland Stephen Maguire4
England Mike Dunn2
20England Michael Holt29Scotland Stephen Maguire5
2Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty1
England Mike Dunn5
26China Ding Junhui5
16England Anthony Hamilton3
26China Ding Junhui526China Ding Junhui5
26China Ding Junhui5
Wales Paul Davies4
4Scotland John Higgins3
32England Robert Milkins3
32England Robert Milkins54Scotland John Higgins5
26China Ding Junhui6
England Rod Lawler2
10England Stephen Lee1
5England Shaun Murphy5
30England Andy Hicks3China Tian Pengfei4
5England Shaun Murphy5
China Tian Pengfei5
13Australia Neil Robertson4
31England Nigel Bond3
31England Nigel Bond513Australia Neil Robertson5
5England Shaun Murphy4
Republic of Ireland Michael Judge1
10England Stephen Lee5
10England Stephen Lee5
23England Stuart Bingham4England David Roe2
10England Stephen Lee5
England David Roe5
2Scotland Stephen Hendry4
25England Ian McCulloch3
25England Ian McCulloch52Scotland Stephen Hendry5
England Matthew Couch1


Qualifying

Qualifying for the tournament took place at Pontins in Prestatyn, Wales between 29 and 31 July 2006.[20]

Round 1
Best of 9 frames
Round 2
Best of 9 frames
Round 3
Best of 9 frames
 Lee Spick (ENG)Scotland Jamie Burnett5England Dave Harold1
ByeEngland Lee Spick3Scotland Jamie Burnett5
China Liu Song5Malta Tony Drago5Scotland Marcus Campbell1
Malta Alex Borg3China Liu Song3Malta Tony Drago5
England Judd Trump5Scotland Scott MacKenzie0Northern Ireland Gerard Greene5
Thailand Passakorn Suwannawat3England Judd Trump5England Judd Trump2
England Paul Davison4Pakistan Shokat Ali2Wales Dominic Dale5
Northern Ireland Dermot McGlinchey5Northern Ireland Dermot McGlinchey5Northern Ireland Dermot McGlinchey1
England Andrew Higginson5England Andrew Norman5England John Parrott1
England Peter Lines0England Andrew Higginson3England Andrew Norman5
England Sean Storey5Northern Ireland Mark Allen5England Tom Ford3
England James Leadbetter4England Sean Storey1Northern Ireland Mark Allen5
England Chris Norbury5England Rory McLeod5England Ricky Walden3
Scotland Mark Boyle3England Chris Norbury4England Rory McLeod5
England Lee Page5England Stuart Pettman5England Barry Pinches4
Germany Patrick Einsle0England Lee Page3England Stuart Pettman5
United Arab Emirates Mohammed Shehab3England Jimmy Michie5England Jimmy White3
England Ben Woollaston5England Ben Woollaston3England Jimmy Michie5
England Alfie Burden5England Mike Dunn5England Mark Davis3
Thailand Issara Kachaiwong4England Alfie Burden3England Mike Dunn5
Wales Ian Preece4Wales Paul Davies5Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien3
Wales Jamie Jones5Wales Jamie Jones1Wales Paul Davies5
England Chris MellingRepublic of Ireland Joe Delaney5England Rod Lawler5
ByeEngland Chris Melling3Republic of Ireland Joe Delaney3
China Tian Pengfei5Finland Robin Hull1England Jamie Cope3
Netherlands Roy Stolk0China Tian Pengfei5China Tian Pengfei5
China Liang Wenbo5England David Gilbert5Republic of Ireland Michael Judge5
Scotland Robert Stephen0China Liang Wenbo0England David Gilbert1
England Mark Joyce5England David Roe5England Adrian Gunnell4
Republic of Ireland David Morris4England Mark Joyce2England David Roe5
England Matthew Couch5England Joe Jogia2Scotland Drew Henry4
England Jeff Cundy2England Matthew Couch5England Matthew Couch5

Century breaks

[20]

Qualifying stage centuries

Televised stage centuries

References

  1. ^ February 2012 "Northern Ireland Trophy" Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk (Chris Turner's Snooker Archive). Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  2. ^ "New event to kick off next season" Archived 2006-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 16 June 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  3. ^ "Dogged Dott wins epic world final " Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 2 May 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Northern Ireland Trophy 2005" Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine. Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Swail targeting place in top 16" Archived 2021-03-07 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Dott relishing Trophy challenge". BBC Sport. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Murphy takes 'lack of pressure' in his stride". Sheffield Star. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Allen secures place at Waterfront" Archived 2022-04-11 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  9. ^ "White loses in Belfast qualifier" Archived 2022-04-11 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  10. ^ "BRIEFS: Sligo swells hamper dinghies" Archived 2012-10-25 at the Wayback Machine. Irish Independent. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Swail beaten in N Ireland Trophy" Archived 2022-04-11 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  12. ^ "Day defeats Allen at Waterfront Hall". RTÉ Sport. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  13. ^ "Allen crashes out to Welshman Day" Archived 2022-04-11 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  14. ^ Dee, John. "Wattana off to a good start". The Nation. p. 32. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Ding beats O'Sullivan in NI final " Archived 2007-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport. 20 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Junhui takes title in Belfast". RTÉ Sport. 20 August 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  17. ^ "Ding at the treble"". Sporting Life. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  18. ^ "2006 Northern Ireland Trophy Player Prize Money" Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. snookerdatabase.co.uk (Snooker Database). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  19. ^ "2006 Northern Ireland Trophy – Information". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Northern Ireland Trophy 2006". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2024.

Sources