Carling Challenge 1987

Carling Challenge 1987 Carling Championships 1987
Tournament type:	Invitation tournament
Attendees:	4th
Venue:	RTÉ Studios , Dublin , Ireland
Opening:	September 21, 1987
Endgame:	September 23, 1987
Defending champion:	Dennis Taylor
Winner:	Dennis Taylor
Finalist:	Joe Johnson
Highest Break:	140 ( Dennis Taylor )
← 1986   1988 →

The Carling Challenge 1987 , alternatively also the Carling Championships 1987 , was a professional snooker invitation tournament as part of the 1987/88 season . The tournament was held from September 21 to 23, 1987 in the studios of Raidió Teilifís Éireann in the Irish capital Dublin . The winner was defending champion Dennis Taylor , who defeated the Englishman Joe Johnson in the final and at the same time played the highest break of the tournament and at the same time the only century break in his opening match with a 140 break .

Prize money

After three years as the Carlsberg Challenge , the Carlsberg Brewery passed on the naming rights to its Carling brand . The prize money increased by just under £ 1,500 to £ 32,650.

	Prize money
winner	£ 12,500
finalist	£ 8,500
Semi-finalist	£ 5,825
All in all	£ 32,650

Tournament course

As in previous years, four players were invited to the tournament, who first dueled each other for the title in the semi-final mode Best of 9 frames and then in the final mode Best of 15 frames .

	Semi-final Best of 9 frames				Final Best of 15 frames
	Dennis Taylor	5
	Stephen Hendry	3
					Dennis Taylor	8th
					Joe Johnson	5
	Joe Johnson	5
	Neal Foulds	4th

final

The Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor had already won in 1986 after becoming world champion in 1985. His competitor Joe Johnson was the reigning world champion.

After Taylor took a 1-0 and 2-1 lead, Johnson turned the game around and gave me a 2-3 lead. After Taylor turned the game around and Johnson equalized, Taylor took the lead 7-4. Then Johnson won another frame before Taylor won the 13th frame with 64:47 and thus both game and tournament.

Final: Best of 15 Frames RTÉ Studios ,  Dublin , Ireland , September 23, 1987
Dennis Taylor	8 : 5	Joe Johnson
67 : 16 (66); 42: 66 ; 91 : 2 (91); 45: 70 ; 70: 74 (Taylor 64); 69:40 ; 84:37 ; 47: 50 ; 95 : 8 (88); 73 : 51; 77 : 38 (54); 39: 87 (53); 64 : 47
91	Highest break	53
-	Century breaks	-
5	50+ breaks	1

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Ron Florax: 1987 Carling Championships. CueTracker.net, accessed April 2, 2019 .  
2. ^ ^{A b} Chris Turner: Carlsberg Challenge / Carling Challenge / Fosters Professional. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, 2008, archived from the original on January 7, 2012 ; accessed on April 2, 2019 .  
3. ^ Ron Florax: 1987 Carling Championships - Finishes. CueTracker.net, accessed April 2, 2019 .