On this Week

In a repeat of the previous year’s final, Ireland A beat Canada 9-2 to win the Tuborg World Cup at Bournemouth International Centre. It was the third year in a row that Dennis Taylor (pictured), Alex Higgins and Eugene Hughes had won this event in a team representing All-Ireland. The Canadian team of Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk was unchanged for the eighth successive World Cup.

At London’s Victoria Hall, John Spencer beat Gary Owen 37-24 to win the Players No.6 World Professional Championship which had been restored to a knockout format for the first time since 1957.

Nick Dyson compiled the first of his two official maximum breaks in a UK Tour event at the Hazel Grove Snooker Club in Stockport against Adrian Gunnell.

It was perhaps appropriate that with Guinness taking over the sponsorship of the World Cup, it should go to Ireland for the first time. Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, and Eugene Hughes beat the England A team of Steve Davis, Tony Meo and Tony Knowles 9-7 in the final at Bournemouth International Centre.

Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, and Eugene Hughes, now playing as Ireland A, retained the World Cup title at Bournemouth beating Canada’s trio of Cliff Thorburn, Kirk Stevens and Bill Werbeniuk 9-7 in the final.

Defending champion, Darren Morgan just failed to retain his Benson & Hedges Irish Masters title at Goff’s. He was beaten 9-8 in the final by Stephen Hendry, the fourth year in succession that the final had gone to the decisive 17th frame.

Defending champions, England again represented by Steve Davis, Neal Foulds and Jimmy White, won the Fersina Windows World Cup for the fourth time. In the final, at Bournemouth International Centre they beat the Rest of the World whose team comprised Dene O’Kane, Tony Drago and Silvino Francisco 9-8. The final frame, between Davis and O’Kane was decided on a re-spotted black after 73 minutes and 30 seconds – which was at the time, the longest frame in any televised match but that has since been surpassed several times.

Cliff Thorburn, Bob Chaperon, and Alain Robidoux brought the British Car Rentals World Cup back to Canada after a gap of eight years. In the final at Bournemouth they beat Dennis Taylor, Alex Higgins and Tommy Murphy of Northern Ireland 9-5.

Having waited nearly eight years to record his first maximum in professional competition, John Higgins made a second just five weeks later, in the quarter finals of the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters against jimmy White. This was the first 147 ever made in this tournament.

At the Citywest Hotel at Shaggan near Dublin, John Higgins won his second Irish Masters title with a 10-3 victory over Peter Ebdon. This was the last occasion that this was an invitation event as it gained full ranking status in 2003.

Sidney Smith played in ten world championships between 1936 and 1951 reaching two finals and four semi finals. He also won the News Of The World tournament in 1951/2.

At Goff’s, Peter Ebdon won the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters title beating Stephen Hendry in the deciding seventeenth frame.

The 23rd and last Benson & Hedges sponsored Irish Masters was won by John Higgins who beat the defending champion, Stephen Hendry, 9-4.

Mark Williams collected his first major title for two-and-a-half years when he beat John Higgins 9-8 in Beijing to win the gloriously named Star Dragon Woods Villas Cup China Open.

In the Honghe Industrial China Open in Beijing, the eighth frame of the last 32 match between Shaun Murphy and Dave Harold lasted un unbelievable 93 minutes and 12 seconds, by some margin the longest ever frame in professional snooker.

Belgium’s Luca Brecel became the yougest ever winner of the European Under-19 Championship. At just 14 years and 18 days he beat Michael Wsaley 6-5 in the final in St. Peterburg.

Judd Trump clinched the Championship League title with a 3-2 victory over Mark Selby to ewarn a place in the 2010 Premier League.

John Roberts Sr, the first real billiards champion, died at the age of 67. Although he was never officially world champion he was regarded as such for the 20 or so years before the first official championship was organised in 1970 when he was beaten by William Cook. He travelled extensively particularly to Australia. By the time of his death, his son, also John, had won the world title several times.

Having been runner up the year before, Steve Davis went one better and won the first of his eight Benson & Hedges Irish Masters titles beating Ray Reardon 9-2 in the final at Goff’s in County Kildare.

For the fourth time in six years, Steve Davis won the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters at Goff’s. In the final he defeated Neal Foulds 9-4.

The defending champion, Steve Davis collected a record eighth Benson & Hedges Irish Masters. For the second year running he beat Alan McManus in the final but this time it went to the deciding frame. Steve’s eight titles had come in twelve attempts and never had one player so dominated a single event since Joe Davis won 15 world championships.

The very first English Amateur Billiards Championship was won by H. A. O. Lonsdale who beat W D Courtney to take the title.

For the third year in a row, Terry Griffiths won the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters at Goff’s, this time beating Steve Davis 9-5 in the final. Welsh players had totally dominated the first five years of this event to such an extent that Steve was the first non-Welshman to appear in the final since 1978.

Steve Davis beat Alan McManus 9-4 in the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters final at Goff’s to win the title for the seventh time.

Looking down and out at 4-8 down, Stephen Hendry won the next five frames to beat Stephen Lee 9-8 at Goff’s and claim his third Benson & Hedges Irish Masters title.

In his first season on the main tour, Stephen Maguire compiled the 37th official maximum break against Phaitoon Phonbun in the first round of the Regal Scottish Open in Aberdeen.

At the Citywest Hotel, Saggart near Dublin, Peter Ebdon collected his second Irish Masters title nine years after his first. In the final he beat Mark King 10-7. Mark was celebrating his 30th birthday with his second world ranking final.