International Open Series

The International Open Series (often referred to as Pontins International Open Series or PIOS[1][2] for sponsorship purposes), was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season. It was originally called the Open Tour but was renamed in 2005/2006.[3]

International Open Series
Tournament information
VenueWorld Snooker Centre
LocationPrestatyn
CountryWales
Established2001
Organisation(s)WPBSA (2001/02)
EASB (2002/03–2009/10)
FormatProfessional (2001/02)
Pro-am (2002/03)
Amateur (2003/04–2009/10)
Final year2009/10
Final championEngland Jack Lisowski

History

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The tour was established to provide players not on the WPBSA Main Tour or Challenge Tour with professional competition, and the best performers were promoted to the Challenge Tour.[3] It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) during its first season, but the English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB), an amateur body, took it over from 2002/03.[3] The event was open to professionals, amateurs and international players for the first couple of seasons, but following the EASB's split from the WPBSA for 2003/04 the entry criteria were revised barring professional and non-English players from entering.[3] After the Challenge Tour was discontinued, the entry criteria were revised again to allow international amateur players to compete, and from 2005/06 the competition promoted players directly to the Main Tour.[4] The series was abandoned after the 2009/10 season and replaced by the Q School in the 2010/11 season.

Event finals

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Season Event Winner Runner-up Final score
WPBSA Open Tour (professional non-ranking)[3]
2001/02 Event 1   Mark Gray   Shaun Murphy 5–2
Event 2   Brian Morgan   Leo Fernandez 5–2
Event 3   Robin Hull   Colm Gilcreest 5–4
Event 4   Matthew Couch   Munraj Pal 5–3
Event 5   Lee Spick   Mark Gray 5–3
Event 6   Stuart Bingham   Matthew Selt 5–4
EASB Open Tour (pro-am)[3]
2002/03 Event 1   Ryan Day   James Reynolds 5–4
Event 2   Ryan Day   Mark Gray 5–3
Event 3   Rory McLeod   Mark Gray 5–2
Event 4   Ricky Walden   Jamie Cope 5–1
EASB Open Tour (amateur)[3]
2003/04 Event 1   David KL Taylor   Darren McVicar 4–3
Event 2   James Tatton   Lee Richardson 4–2
Event 3   Lee Richardson   Jamie Barratt 4–0
Event 4   Sean Bullock   Andy Radford 4–0
Event 5   Andy Radford   Mark Sutton 4–0
Event 6   Eddie Cooper   Nick Spelman 4–2
Event 7   Alan Trigg   Wayne Cooper 4–1
Event 8   Paul Davison   Wayne Cooper 4–2
Final play-off   Wayne Cooper   Nick Spelman 5–1
PIOS (amateur)[4]
2005/06 Event 1   Tian Pengfei   Martin Gould 6–3
Event 2   Mark Joyce   James Leadbetter 6–3
Event 3   Liu Song   Stephen Rowlings 6–1
Event 4   Colm Gilcreest   Mark Joyce 6–3
Event 5   Chris Melling   Paul Davison 6–5
Event 6   Liu Song   Paul Davison 6–3
Event 7   Tian Pengfei   Liu Song 6–3
Event 8   Andrew Higginson   Jamie O'Neill 6–3
2006/07 Event 1   Munraj Pal   Kurt Maflin 6–3
Event 2   Julian Logue   Alex Davies 6–5
Event 3   Leo Fernandez   Lee Walker 6–5
Event 4   Kuldesh Johal   Lee Walker 6–4
Event 5   Kurt Maflin   Ashley Wright 6–3
Event 6   Jamie O'Neill   Ashley Wright 6–2
Event 7   Bjorn Haneveer   Craig Steadman 6–2
Event 8   James McBain   Kurt Maflin 6–4
2007/08 Event 1   Simon Bedford   Gary Wilkinson 6–3
Event 2   Kuldesh Johal   Andrew Pagett 6–4
Event 3   Paul Davison   Michael King 6–2
Event 4   Matthew Couch   Michael Wild 6–3
Event 5   Peter Lines   Daniel Wells 6–5
Event 6   Kuldesh Johal   Simon Bedford 6–5
Event 7   Jamie Jones   Peter Lines 6–2
Event 8   Liam Highfield   Justin Astley 6–2
2008/09 Event 1   Bjorn Haneveer   Andrew Atkinson 6–2
Event 2   Xiao Guodong   Noppadol Sangnil 6–5
Event 3   Shokat Ali   Michael White 6–3
Event 4   Craig Steadman   Mike Hallett 6–1
Event 5   Chris Norbury   Alfie Burden 6–2
Event 6   Xiao Guodong   Jack Lisowski 6–0
Event 7   Thepchaiya Un-Nooh   Lee Page 6–3
Event 8   Joe Jogia   Ben Woollaston 6–5
2009/10 Event 1   Jack Lisowski   Liam Highfield 6–5
Event 2   Liam Highfield   Neal Jones 6–2
Event 3   Paul Davison   Kyren Wilson 6–4
Event 4   Jamie Jones   Jak Jones 6–0
Event 5   Anthony McGill   Farakh Ajaib 6–0
Event 6   Kyren Wilson   Liam Highfield 6–4
Event 7   Paul Davison   Justin Astley 6–2
Event 8   Jack Lisowski   Justin Astley 6–1

Order of Merit winners

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[4]

Season Winner
2005/06   Liu Song
2006/07   Kurt Maflin
2007/08   Kuldesh Johal
2008/09   Joe Jogia
2009/10   Jack Lisowski

References

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  1. ^ "Pontin's &– Working with Global Snooker". London: Global Snooker. 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Pontin's International Open Series: Rules of Entry 2009/10" (PDF). Global-Snooker.com: Maximum Snooker Coverage. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Suffolk: Rose Villa Publications. pp. Introduction & 178–186. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  4. ^ a b c "Pontins International Open Series". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2010.