British Open 1997

British Open 1997
Tournament type:	World ranking tournament
Attendees:	437
Venue:	Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth , England
Opening:	March 27, 1997
Endgame:	April 5, 1997
Winner:	Mark Williams
Finalist:	Stephen Hendry
Highest Break:	138 ( Stephen Hendry )
← 1996   1998 →

The 1997 British Open was a snooker tournament of the 1996/97 season that was held in Plymouth from March 27 to April 5 . For the fourth year in a row, the venue was the Plymouth Pavilions in the city on England's south coast. It was the 13th edition of the tournament. As in 1994 , the British Open was without a name sponsor this year, after the Castella Classic cigar brand stopped supporting it after two years.

Defending champion Nigel Bond did not get past the second round. In the final, Mark Williams met world champion and world number one Stephen Hendry . The underdog won with a clear 9: 2, the highest result since 1994, when the finals were switched to best-of-17 . For Williams it was the second win of the season after the Grand Prix and his third overall rankings title.

Main tournament

After four qualifying rounds, in which the players from 33rd place in the world rankings had participated, 32 players were left. The top 32 were placed directly for the main tournament, the 32 qualifiers were drawn for the first round.

	First round best of 9 frames					Second round best of 9 frames					Round of 16 best of 9 frames					Quarterfinals Best of 9 Frames					Semi-final best of 11 frames					Final Best of 17 frames
	1	Nigel Bond	5
	42	Tony Knowles	0
						1	Nigel Bond	5
						18th	Andy Hicks	4th
	18th	Andy Hicks	5
	231	Robert Milkins	2
											1	Nigel Bond	1
											15th	Tony Drago	5
	15th	Tony Drago	5
	48	Wayne Jones	3
						15th	Tony Drago	5
						105	Ian McCulloch	0
	31	Stephen Lee	2
	105	Ian McCulloch	5
																15th	Tony Drago	1
																16	Mark Williams	5
	16	Mark Williams	5
	56	Jason Prince	4th
						16	Mark Williams	5
						95	Nick Pearce	0
	30th	Chris Small	4th
	95	Nick Pearce	5
											16	Mark Williams	5
											19th	Gary Wilkinson	3
	5	John Parrott	3
	40	Drew Henry	5
						40	Drew Henry	1
						19th	Gary Wilkinson	5
	19th	Gary Wilkinson	5
	41	Terry Murphy	3
																					16	Mark Williams	6th
																					4th	Peter Ebdon	5
	7th	Ken Doherty	3
	71	Michael Judge	5
						71	Michael Judge	5
						80	Nick Walker	4th
	20th	Rod Lawler	-
	80	Nick Walker	kl.
											71	Michael Judge	5
											87	Dominic Dale	3
	13	Jimmy White	3
	87	Dominic Dale	5
						87	Dominic Dale	5
						24	Steve James	2
	24	Steve James	5
	45	Tony Chappel	3
																71	Michael Judge	3
																4th	Peter Ebdon	5
	14th	Alain Robidoux	5
	166	Joe Perry	3
						14th	Alain Robidoux	1
						22nd	Anthony Hamilton	5
	22nd	Anthony Hamilton	5
	110	Lee Richardson	2
											22nd	Anthony Hamilton	1
											4th	Peter Ebdon	5
	17th	Joe Swail	4th
	60	Jimmy Michie	5
						60	Jimmy Michie	2
						4th	Peter Ebdon	5
	4th	Peter Ebdon	5
	36	Fergal O'Brien	2
																									16	Mark Williams	9
																										2	Stephen Hendry	2
	3	John Higgins	4th
	86	Antony Bolsover	5
						86	Antony Bolsover	3
						33	Martin Clark	5
	33	Martin Clark	5
	58	Graeme Dott	3
											33	Martin Clark	4th
											10	Steve Davis	5
	10	Steve Davis	5
	85	Marcus Campbell	1
						10	Steve Davis	5
						55	Mark Davis	0
	27	Dene O'Kane	2
	55	Mark Davis	5
																10	Steve Davis	5
																6th	Alan McManus	2
	9	Darren Morgan	5
	129	Sean Storey	3
						9	Darren Morgan	4th
						25th	Willie Thorne	5
	25th	Willie Thorne	5
	76	Shokat Ali	4th
											25th	Willie Thorne	2
											6th	Alan McManus	5
	6th	Alan McManus	5
	63	Tony Jones	2
						6th	Alan McManus	5
						39	Mark King	1
	28	Dave Finbow	2
	39	Mark King	5
																				10	Steve Davis	2
																					2	Stephen Hendry	6th
	8th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	4th
	72	Gerard Greene	5
						72	Gerard Greene	2
						201	Paul Sweeny	5
	32	Mick Price	4th
	201	Paul Sweeny	5
											201	Paul Sweeny	4th
											11	Dave Harold	5
	11	Dave Harold	5
	35	Billy Snaddon	4th
						11	Dave Harold	5
						26th	Dennis Taylor	2
	26th	Dennis Taylor	5
	61	Stephen Murphy	2
																11	Dave Harold	3
																2	Stephen Hendry	5
	12	James Wattana	4th
	65	Paul McPhillips	5
						65	Paul McPhillips	5
						29	Jason Ferguson	2
	29	Jason Ferguson	5
	108	Steve Judd	2
											65	Paul McPhillips	4th
											2	Stephen Hendry	5
	21st	Neal Foulds	3
	102	Paul Wykes	5
						102	Paul Wykes	1
						2	Stephen Hendry	5
	2	Stephen Hendry	5
	57	Karl Broughton	3

kl. = without a fight

final

Final: Best of 17 Frames Plymouth Pavilions,  Plymouth , England , April 5, 1997
Mark Williams	9 : 2	Stephen Hendry
Afternoon : 66 : 61 (56 Williams, 61 Hendry), 7: 64 (64), 8: 60 , 87 : 0 (50), 75 : 31 (68), 69 : 20 (66), 73 : 48 (59 ), 75:16 ; Evening : 75 : 8, 61 : 44, 61 : 21
68	Highest break	64
-	Century breaks	-
5	50+ breaks	2

swell

1. ↑ British Open Including British Gold Cup, Yamaha Organs Trophy and Yamaha International Masters. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, archived from the original on February 16, 2012 ; accessed on November 12, 2019 . 
2. ↑ 1997 British Open. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed November 12, 2019 . 
3. ^ British Open 1997. snooker.org, accessed on November 12, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Rankings - 1996-1997. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed November 12, 2019 .