History
The tournament began as a ranking tournament in 1992 initially in February after the Masters, but later took the spot of the Classic in January. The event was sponsored by Regal until 2003 (known as the Regal Welsh Open), but UK restrictions on tobacco advertising meant that it was without a sponsor until 2009. The tournament was sponsored by Totesport.com in 2010, by Wyldecrest Park Homes in 2011, and is currently sponsored by 888真人.
In 1996 at the age of 17 years and 111 days Paul Hunter reached the semi-finals and became the youngest player to reach this stage of a ranking tournament. Stephen Hendry and John Higgins are the only players to win the tournament three times.
Like the Welsh Professional Championship, it was played at the Newport Centre, before moving to the Cardiff International Arena in 1999. It was moved back to Newport in 2005, and will remain there at least until 2014. The tournament currently takes place after the German Masters, and is currently covered by BBC Wales, Eurosport, CCTV, SMG (China), Now TV (Hong Kong) and Showtime Arabia.
There have been 4 maximum breaks in the history of the tournament. The first was made by Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1999 against James Wattana. The second was made at the qualifying stage of the 2000 event by Barry Pinches against Joe Johnson. The third was made by Andrew Higginson in 2007 against Ali Carter. The last 147 was made in 2011 by Hendry against Stephen Maguire. This was Hendry's 10th 147 break and with this equalled the record for most maximums with Ronnie O'Sullivan, and became the oldest player to compile a maximum break at the age of 42 years and 35 days.
Read more about this topic: Welsh Open (snooker)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“For a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Bias, point of view, fury—are they ... so dangerous and must they be ironed out of history, the hills flattened and the contours leveled? The professors talk ... about passion and point of view in history as a Calvinist talks about sin in the bedroom.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973)
“A great proportion of the inhabitants of the Cape are always thus abroad about their teaming on some ocean highway or other, and the history of one of their ordinary trips would cast the Argonautic expedition into the shade.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)