Grand Prix 1997

Grand Prix 1997
Tournament type:	World ranking tournament
Attendees:	96
Venue:	International Center, Bournemouth , England
Opening:	October 14, 1997
Endgame:	October 26, 1997
Winner:	Dominic Dale
Finalist:	John Higgins
Highest Break:	141 ( Quinten Hann )
← 1996   1998 →

The 1997 Grand Prix was a snooker tournament of the 1997/98 season that was held in Bournemouth from October 14th to 26th, 1997 . The Bournemouth International Center hosted the tournament for the second year running. The 14th edition of the Grand Prix remained without a sponsor for the second time.

In round 2 it was already the end of the line for the defending champion Mark Williams . Came into the final John Higgins , the 1994 had won before, and Dominic Dale , the first time ever a finale reached. The underdog won his first title with a 9-6 win.

Main tournament

The top 32 of the world rankings were set for round 1. The 32 players who had prevailed in a qualifying round were drawn to them.

	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	Mark Williams	5
	56	Michael Judge	2
						1	Mark Williams	4th
						53	Matthew Stevens	5
	24	Steve James	1
	53	Matthew Stevens	5
											53	Matthew Stevens	5
											32	Billy Snaddon	4th
	32	Billy Snaddon	5
	94	Matthew Couch	4th
						32	Billy Snaddon	5
						15th	Darren Morgan	3
	15th	Darren Morgan	5
	58	Wayne Jones	4th
																53	Matthew Stevens	5
																6th	John Parrott	4th
	16	Stephen Lee	5
	131	Troy Shaw	4th
						16	Stephen Lee	1
						43	Paul Hunter	5
	27	Martin Clark	1
	43	Paul Hunter	5
											43	Paul Hunter	4th
											6th	John Parrott	5
	28	Brian Morgan	5
	162	Peter McCullagh	0
						28	Brian Morgan	0
						6th	John Parrott	5
	6th	John Parrott	5
	40	Drew Henry	1
																					53	Matthew Stevens	5
																					4th	John Higgins	6th
	7th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
	80	Bradley Jones	4th
						7th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	2
						86	John Read	5
	26th	Rod Lawler	3
	86	John Read	5
											86	John Read	5
											11	Tony Drago	3
	23	Fergal O'Brien	2
	69	Paul Wykes	5
						69	Paul Wykes	3
						11	Tony Drago	5
	11	Tony Drago	5
	44	Euan Henderson	2
																86	John Read	0
																4th	John Higgins	5
	12	James Wattana	5
	106	Stephen O'Connor	4th
						12	James Wattana	1
						20th	Mark King	5
	20th	Mark King	5
	159	Craig MacGillivray	2
											20th	Mark King	0
											4th	John Higgins	5
	22nd	Joe Swail	2
	104	Quinten Hann	5
						104	Quinten Hann	4th
						4th	John Higgins	5
	4th	John Higgins	5
	143	Leigh Griffin	1
																									4th	John Higgins	6th
																										54	Dominic Dale	9
	3	Stephen Hendry	3
	38	Jamie Burnett	5
						38	Jamie Burnett	3
						18th	Dave Harold	5
	18th	Dave Harold	5
	62	Gerard Greene	3
											18th	Dave Harold	4th
											54	Dominic Dale	5
	19th	Andy Hicks	3
	54	Dominic Dale	5
						54	Dominic Dale	5
						13	Steve Davis	2
	13	Steve Davis	5
	90	Peter Lines	3
																54	Dominic Dale	5
																25th	Chris Small	2
	9	Alain Robidoux	1
	48	Paul Davies	5
						48	Paul Davies	2
						25th	Chris Small	5
	25th	Chris Small	5
	34	Dennis Taylor	0
											25th	Chris Small	5
											122	Alfie Burden	2
	17th	Gary Wilkinson	3
	122	Alfie Burden	5
						122	Alfie Burden	5
						8th	Nigel Bond	3
	8th	Nigel Bond	5
	152	David Gray	2
																				54	Dominic Dale	6th
																					21st	Jimmy White	2
	5	Peter Ebdon	3
	45	Jonathan Birch	5
						45	Jonathan Birch	4th
						31	Mick Price	5
	31	Mick Price	5
	61	Anthony Davies	3
											31	Mick Price	5
											99	Wayne Brown	2
	29	Terry Murphy	5
	76	Ian McCulloch	0
						29	Terry Murphy	4th
						99	Wayne Brown	5
	14th	Anthony Hamilton	4th
	99	Wayne Brown	5
																31	Mick Price	0
																21st	Jimmy White	5
	10	Alan McManus	5
	87	Stuart Pettman	2
						10	Alan McManus	5
						49	David Roe	1
	30th	Neal Foulds	1
	49	David Roe	5
											10	Alan McManus	1
											21st	Jimmy White	5
	21st	Jimmy White	5
	37	Jason Ferguson	0
						21st	Jimmy White	5
						36	Willie Thorne	2
	2	Ken Doherty	4th
	36	Willie Thorne	5

final

In five years on the Main Tour, Dominic Dale had never made it further than the round of 16, at the Grand Prix he was only in the main tournament for the second time this year. The world number two John Higgins , on the other hand, had already reached the final of the Grand Prix for the third time. But the finale got off to a surprising start when Dale fought his way through the first four frames and won all four. But in the second half of the session, Higgins was able to limit the damage and reduce it to 3: 5 again. In the evening he got one frame closer to Dale, but every time he shortened, the Welshman immediately restored the 2-frame gap. That went up to the score of 8: 6, which Dale made with a 120-point break. Frame 15 had to be won by Higgins, but again it was Dominic Dale who made the decisive break and with it his first title win as a professional.

Final: Best of 17 Frames Referee: Colin Brinded International Center,  Bournemouth , England , October 26, 1997
John Higgins	6: 9	Dominic Dale
Afternoon : 0: 73 (50), 44: 57 , 59: 69 , 17: 78 , 70 : 59 (61), 31: 81 , 77 : 1 (71), 98 : 0 (98); Evening : 104 : 0 (104), 0: 89 , 87 : 4, 53: 67 , 74 : 39, 6: 120 (120), 9: 71 (71)
104	Highest break	120
1	Century breaks	1
4th	50+ breaks	3

swell

1. ↑ 1997 Grand Prix. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed December 18, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Grand Prix 1997. snooker.org, accessed December 18, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Rankings - 1997-1998. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed December 18, 2019 .