European Challenge
| Tournament status | |
|---|---|
| Ranking tournament: | - |
| Minor ranking tournament: | - |
| Invitation tournament: | 1991-1993 |
| Tournament dates of the last edition | |
| Venue: | Épernay , France |
| Prize money (total): | £ 50,000 |
| Prize money (winner): | £ 20,000 |
| Frames in the final: | Best of 9 |
| Records | |
| Most wins: |
 Stephen Hendry (2 ×)
|
| Highest Break: | 132 Gary Wilkinson 1992
|
| Venue (s) on the map | |
The European Challenge was a snooker tournament that was held three times in the early 1990s and had no impact on the world ranking list ( non-ranking tournament ). The tournament was sponsored by the French television channel Canal Plus during the first two editions in the Happy European Sports and Business Center in the Belgian city of Waregem , before it moved to the French city of Épernay for the last edition in 1993 . In all three tournaments, eight selected players played in the knockout system for the title, which was won by Jimmy White in 1991 and Stephen Hendry from Scotland in the two following years . In 1992 the Englishman Gary Wilkinson played the highest break in tournament history with a 132 break.
history
The first edition of the tournament took place in Waregem at the beginning of the 1991/92 season , was sponsored by the French television channel Canal Plus and consisted of a field of eight players from the world's top players who played for the title in a knockout system . As in the following two years, the total prize pool was £ 50,000 , of which £ 20,000 went to the winner. The final reached the Englishmen Jimmy White and Steve Davis , with White winning the tournament 4-1. The highest break, on the other hand, was played by John Parrott with a 117 break.
At the end of the same season, the second edition of the tournament followed at the same location. Again eight players were invited to the tournament, but some of them differed from the participants in the first tournament. They played the tournament again from the quarterfinals in the knockout system , so that in the final, the Scot Stephen Hendry won the tournament 4-0 against Joe Johnson . In contrast, Gary Wilkinson , who was eliminated in the semifinals, beat Parrott's record for the highest break when he already played a 132 break in his opening game.
The third and final edition of the tournament took place in early January 1993 as part of the 1992/93 season in Épernay, France. All parameters were the same as in the two previous editions, but in this case the field of participants did not only consist of professional players; in addition to the top seven players in the world, the French amateur player Luc Allain was invited. Stephen Hendry once again reached the final, who became the tournament's record winner with a 5-3 win over Tony Drago from Malta. Although Hendry played the highest break of the edition with a 130 break, he missed Wilkinson's record from last year. There were no further issues afterwards.
winner
| year | venue | winner | Result | finalist | sponsor | season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Challenge - Non-ranking tournament | ||||||
| 1991 | Waregem - Happy European Sports and Business Center |
Jimmy White
|
4: 1 |
Steve Davis
|
Canal Plus | 1991/92 |
| 1992 |
Stephen Hendry
|
4-0 |
Joe Johnson
|
|||
| 1993 | Épernay - unknown |
Stephen Hendry
|
5: 3 |
 Tony Drago
|
1992/93 | |
Web links
- Overview of the European Challenge at CueTracker
- Overview of the European Challenge in the Snooker Database
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Chris Turner: Other Non-ranking and invition Events - First hero 1990-1999 *. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, 2008, archived from the original on January 7, 2012 ; accessed on March 12, 2020 (English).
- ^ Ron Florax: 1991 European Challenge - Finishes. CueTracker.net, accessed March 12, 2020 .
- ^ Ron Florax: 1991 European Challenge. CueTracker.net, accessed March 12, 2020 .
- ^ Ron Florax: 1992 European Challenge. CueTracker.net, accessed March 12, 2020 .
- ^ Ron Florax: 1993 European Challenge. CueTracker.net, accessed March 12, 2020 .
