The Pro Challenge Series was a series of non-ranking snooker tournaments held during the 2009–10 snooker season. The events were open to all players on the main tour and were intended to give tour players more playing opportunities.[1] Seven events were planned but only four took place before the series was cancelled, due to low player participation.[2] The series was not repeated and was replaced by the Players Tour Championship, which started the following season.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 28 July 2009 – 18 February 2010 |
| Tournaments | 4 |
Prize fund
editExcept for event 2, events had a prize fund of £15,000 with the winner receiving £5,000.[3] Event 2, which was played using the six-red format, had a prize fund of £10,000 with the winner receiving £3,000. In event 2 the £500 break prize went to the player with the fastest maximum break.[4]
Schedule
editThe schedule for the Events 1 to 5 is listed below. Event 4 was cancelled and event 5 was the final tournament played. Event 2 was played using the six-red format. Events 6 and 7 were cancelled.[2]
| Date | Country | Tournament | Venue | City | Field | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Jul | 30 Jul |  ENG
|
Event 1 | Northern Snooker Centre | Leeds | 40 |  Stephen Maguire (SCO)
|
Alan McManus (SCO)
|
5–2 | [5] |
| 31 Aug | 1 Sep |  WAL
|
Event 2 | Pontins | Prestatyn | 47 |  Ken Doherty (IRL)
|
Martin Gould (ENG)
|
6–2 | [6] |
| 9 Nov | 11 Nov | ENG
|
Event 3 | Willie Thorne Snooker Centre | Leicester | 52 | Robert Milkins (ENG)
|
Joe Jogia (ENG)
|
5–3 | [7] |
| Event 4 | Cancelled | [8] | ||||||||
| 16 Feb | 18 Feb | ENG
|
Event 5 | George Scott Snooker Club | Liverpool | 39 | Barry Hawkins (ENG)
|
Michael Holt (ENG)
|
5–1 | [9] |
Event 1
editPrize fund
edit- Winner: £5,000
- Runner-up: £2,500
- Semi-final: £1,500
- Quarter-final: £500
- Last 16: £250
- High break: £500
The first event took place at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, from 28 to 30 July 2009. Stephen Maguire beat Alan McManus 5–2 in the final.[3][10] Dave Harold made the highest break of 128.[5] Results are given below.
Preliminary round
edit
Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 0–4 
Robert Milkins (ENG)
Mark Boyle (SCO) 2–4 Matthew Selt (ENG)- Marcus Campbell (SCO) 3–4 Andrew Norman (ENG)
Gerard Greene (NIR) 4–0 Graeme Dott (SCO)- Ken Doherty (IRL) w/o–w/d Jimmy White (ENG)
- Andrew Higginson (ENG) 4–1 Lee Spick (ENG)
Bjorn Haneveer (BEL) 1–4 Ricky Walden (ENG)- Mark Davis (ENG) 3–4 Stephen Maguire (SCO)
Century breaks
edit- 128 – Dave Harold
- 127 – Ken Doherty
- 126 – Andrew Norman
- 115 – Ricky Walden
- 107 – Mark Boyle
- 107 – Stephen Maguire
- 106 – Matthew Couch
- 100 – Tom Ford
- 100 – Joe Swail
Event 2
editPrize fund
edit- Winner: £3,000
- Runner-up: £1,500
- Semi-finals: £800
- Quarter-Finals: £400
- Last 16: £225
- Fastest maximum break (x75): £500
The second event took place at Pontins, Prestatyn, on 31 August and 1 September 2009, using the six-red format. Ken Doherty beat Martin Gould 6–2 in the final.[4][11] Stuart Pettman took the prize for the fastest maximum break.[6] Results are given below.
Preliminary round
edit- Craig Steadman (ENG) 2–5 Barry Pinches (ENG)
- Stuart Bingham (ENG) 4–5 Mark Boyle (SCO)
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) 3–5 Ben Woollaston (ENG)- Sam Baird (ENG) w/o-w/d Jimmy White (ENG)
- Matthew Couch (ENG) 2–5 Jordan Brown (NIR)
- Joe Swail (NIR) 5–2 Noppadol Sangnil (THA)
- Rod Lawler (ENG) 5–0 Mark Joyce (ENG)
- Joe Delaney (IRL) w/d–w/o Matthew Selt (ENG)
- Dave Harold (ENG) 4–5 Stephen Lee (ENG)
- Ian McCulloch (ENG) 4–5 Fergal O'Brien (IRL)
- Michael Holt (ENG) 1–5 Robert Milkins (ENG)
- Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 4–5 Anthony Hamilton (ENG)
- Mike Dunn (ENG) 1–5 Andrew Norman (ENG)
- Peter Lines (ENG) 3–5
Ryan Day (WAL) - Chris Norbury (ENG) 2–5 Judd Trump (ENG)
Maximum breaks
editNote: a maximum break in six-red snooker is 75 points.[4][11]
- Stuart Pettman (2 min 31 sec)
- Dave Harold (3 min 16 sec)
- Fergal O'Brien (4 min 30 sec)
- Ryan Day (no time)
Event 3
editPrize fund
edit- Winner: £5,000
- Runner-up: £2,500
- Semi-final: £1,500
- Quarter-final: £500
- Last 16: £250
- High break: £500
The third event took place at the Willie Thorne Snooker Centre in Leicester, from 9 to 11 November 2009. Robert Milkins beat Joe Jogia 5–3 in the final. Ricky Walden made the highest break of 140.[7][12] Results are given below.
Preliminary round
edit- Michael Holt (ENG) 3–4 Joe Perry (ENG)
- Mark Williams (WAL) 1–4 Jamie Cope (ENG)
- Ricky Walden (ENG) 4–0 Mike Dunn (ENG)
- James Wattana (THA) 3–4 Craig Steadman (ENG)
- Chris Norbury (ENG) w/d–w/o Gerard Greene (NIR)
- Joe Jogia (ENG) 4–2 Stephen Lee (ENG)
- Nigel Bond (ENG) 4–2 Atthasit Mahitthi (THA)
- Peter Lines (ENG) 4–0 Andrew Higginson (ENG)
- Graeme Dott (SCO) w/d–w/o Barry Pinches (ENG)
- Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 1–4 Fergal O'Brien (IRL)
- Ben Woollaston (ENG) 4–3 Andrew Norman (ENG)
- Mark Davis (ENG) 4–1 Paul Davies (WAL)
- Noppadol Sangnil (THA) 1–4 Mark Joyce (ENG)
- Simon Bedford (ENG) 2–4 Judd Trump (ENG)
- Joe Swail (NIR) 3–4 Mark King (ENG)
- Matthew Couch (ENG) 2–4 Andy Hicks (ENG)
- Stuart Bingham (ENG) 4–2 Ryan Day (WAL)
- Lee Spick (ENG) 2–4 Ken Doherty (IRL)
- Robert Milkins (ENG) 4–2
Zhang Anda (CHN) - Dave Harold (ENG) 4–3 Barry Hawkins (ENG)
Century breaks
edit- 140, 105, 103, 102, 102, 100 – Ricky Walden
- 137, 118 – Robert Milkins
- 137 – Simon Bedford
- 137 – Craig Steadman
- 129 – Jamie Cope
- 125, 104 – Stuart Bingham
- 123, 116, 102 – Judd Trump
- 121 – Rod Lawler
- 120 – Ken Doherty
- 113, 103 – Sam Baird
- 113 – Liu Song
- 110 – Mark King
- 107 – Matthew Couch
- 102 – Joe Jogia
Event 5
editPrize fund
edit- Winner: £5,000
- Runner-up: £2,500
- Semi-final: £1,500
- Quarter-final: £500
- Last 16: £250
- High break: £500
Event 5 took place at the George Scott Snooker Club in Liverpool, from 16 to 18 February 2010. Barry Hawkins beat Michael Holt 5–1 in the final. Judd Trump made the highest break of 138.[9][13] Results are given below.
Preliminary round
edit- Liang Wenbo (CHN) 4–2 Jamie Cope (ENG)
- Matthew Selt (ENG) 2–4 Michael Holt (ENG)
- Matthew Couch (ENG) 1–4 Ben Woollaston (ENG)
- Sam Baird (ENG) 1–4 Judd Trump (ENG)
- Stephen Lee (ENG) w/d–w/o Adrian Gunnell (ENG)
- Barry Pinches (ENG) 0–4 Graeme Dott (SCO)
- Ken Doherty (IRL) 2–4 Chris Norbury (ENG)
Century breaks
edit- 138 – Judd Trump
- 137 – Ken Doherty
- 135, 129, 121 – Liang Wenbo
- 134 – Rod Lawler
- 132, 128, 104 – Stuart Bingham
- 131 – Graeme Dott
- 130 – Craig Steadman
- 128, 105 – Tom Ford
- 125 – Nigel Bond
- 124 – Mark Joyce
- 123, 106 – Barry Hawkins
- 122 – Jamie Cope
- 122 – Adrian Gunnell
- 109, 102 – Michael Holt
- 106 – Simon Bedford
- 104, 100 – Daniel Wells
References
edit- ^ Hendon, David (30 June 2009). "Pro Challenge Series launched". Snooker Scene Blog. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ a b Hendon, David (2 March 2010). "Pro Challenge Series axed". Snooker Scene Blog. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ a b c "Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Schedule of Play & Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Maguire wins first World Snooker Pro challenge event". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Ken hits them for Six". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Results and Prize Fund". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ "Pro Challenge Series schedule". Chris Turner Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "Schedule and Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ "WSA Pro Challenge One". Top Snooker. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ a b "WSA Pro Challenge Series Two, Super Sixes". Top Snooker. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ a b "WSA Pro Challenge Series Three". Top Snooker. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ a b "WSA Pro Challenge Series Five". Top Snooker. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.