International Open 1997

International Open 1997
Tournament type:	World ranking tournament
Attendees:	433
Venue:	Exhibition Center , Aberdeen , Scotland
Opening:	February 13, 1997
Endgame:	February 22, 1997
Winner:	Stephen Hendry
Finalist:	Tony Drago
Highest Break:	142 ( Ronnie O'Sullivan )
← 1996

The 1997 International Open was a snooker tournament for the 1996/97 season that was held from February 13 to 22. For the only time the tournament took place not in England, but in Scotland. The venue was the Exhibition Center in the North Sea port city of Aberdeen . For the second time since 1994 , the tournament had no name sponsor.

Defending champion John Higgins lost in the semifinals to Tony Drago . In the final, the Maltese met world champion and world number one Stephen Hendry . The Scot won 9-1, the highest result since the International Open was a ranking tournament. Only in 1981 as an invitation tournament had there been a 9-0 final in the final. This was the third time in a row that the winner came from Scotland.

It was the last edition of the International Open , which was held for the first time in 1981. In the same place, the Scottish Open was launched the next year as a replacement with a new sponsor , which was permanently located in Scotland.

Main tournament

The top 32 of the world rankings were set for the first round, 32 players who had emerged from the qualification were drawn to them for the first round. 7 qualifying rounds were played to determine these participants. The tournament mode remained unchanged.

	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	John Higgins	5
	58	Graeme Dott	4th
						1	John Higgins	5
						26th	Dennis Taylor	2
	26th	Dennis Taylor	5
	65	Paul McPhillips	4th
											1	John Higgins	5
											102	Paul Wykes	1
	14th	Alain Robidoux	4th
	199	Bradley Jones	5
						199	Bradley Jones	1
						102	Paul Wykes	5
	20th	Rod Lawler	2
	102	Paul Wykes	5
																1	John Higgins	5
																6th	Alan McManus	3
	9	Darren Morgan	2
	147	Stuart Parnell	5
						147	Stuart Parnell	5
						119	Adrian Rosa	1
	29	Jason Ferguson	3
	119	Adrian Rosa	5
											147	Stuart Parnell	1
											6th	Alan McManus	5
	6th	Alan McManus	5
	96	Matt Wilson	3
						6th	Alan McManus	5
						31	Stephen Lee	4th
	31	Stephen Lee	5
	80	Nick Walker	2
																					1	John Higgins	5
																					15th	Tony Drago	6th
	7th	Ken Doherty	5
	92	Mark Rowing	0
						7th	Ken Doherty	3
						17th	Joe Swail	5
	17th	Joe Swail	5
	159	Mehmet Husnu	1
											17th	Joe Swail	3
											15th	Tony Drago	5
	15th	Tony Drago	5
	56	Jason Prince	1
						15th	Tony Drago	5
						76	Shokat Ali	4th
	25th	Willie Thorne	2
	76	Shokat Ali	5
																15th	Tony Drago	5
																4th	John Parrott	3
	11	Dave Harold	5
	49	Brian Morgan	3
						11	Dave Harold	5
						24	Steve James	0
	24	Steve James	5
	68	Jamie Woodman	3
											11	Dave Harold	2
											4th	John Parrott	5
	33	Martin Clark	1
	47	Joe Johnson	5
						47	Joe Johnson	2
						4th	John Parrott	5
	4th	John Parrott	5
	54	Jamie Burnett	2
																									15th	Tony Drago	1
																										2	Stephen Hendry	9
	3	Peter Ebdon	5
	44	Mark Johnston-Allen	2
						3	Peter Ebdon	5
						106	David McLellan	0
	32	Mick Price	1
	106	David McLellan	5
											3	Peter Ebdon	5
											16	Mark Williams	4th
	16	Mark Williams	5
	45	Tony Chappel	2
						16	Mark Williams	5
						18th	Andy Hicks	3
	18th	Andy Hicks	5
	-	Alan Burnett	2
																3	Peter Ebdon	5
																8th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	1
	12	James Wattana	5
	41	Terry Murphy	1
						12	James Wattana	2
						27	Dene O'Kane	5
	27	Dene O'Kane	5
	64	Jonathan Birch	0
											27	Dene O'Kane	2
											8th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
	8th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
	195	Mark Fenton	1
						8th	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
						89	Stuart Pettman	3
	21st	Neal Foulds	1
	89	Stuart Pettman	5
																				3	Peter Ebdon	3
																					2	Stephen Hendry	6th
	5	Nigel Bond	5
	104	Wayne Brown	3
						5	Nigel Bond	5
						34	David Roe	2
	22nd	Anthony Hamilton	2
	34	David Roe	5
											5	Nigel Bond	3
											13	Jimmy White	5
	13	Jimmy White	5
	71	Michael Judge	1
						13	Jimmy White	5
						28	Dave Finbow	1
	28	Dave Finbow	5
	143	Leigh Griffin	3
																13	Jimmy White	2
																2	Stephen Hendry	5
	10	Steve Davis	5
	100	Oliver King	1
						10	Steve Davis	3
						30th	Chris Small	5
	30th	Chris Small	5
	35	Billy Snaddon	4th
											30th	Chris Small	2
											2	Stephen Hendry	5
	19th	Gary Wilkinson	5
	123	Jason Weston	1
						19th	Gary Wilkinson	3
						2	Stephen Hendry	5
	2	Stephen Hendry	5
	62	Euan Henderson	4th

final

Final: Best of 17 Frames Referee: Alan Chamberlain Exhibition Center,  Aberdeen , Scotland , 22nd February 1997
Tony Drago	1: 9	Stephen Hendry
Afternoon : 31: 90 (90), 69 : 23, 6: 128 (128), 59: 72 , 55: 69 (55 Drago), 14: 69 (55), 23: 71 , 7: 78 (78); Evening : 0: 116 (94), 29: 91
55	Highest break	128
-	Century breaks	1
1	50+ breaks	5

swell

1. ↑ International Open / Goya Matchroom Trophy. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, archived from the original on February 16, 2012 ; accessed on December 14, 2019 (English). 
2. ↑ 1997 International Open. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed December 14, 2019 . 
3. ↑ International Open 1997. snooker.org, accessed on December 14, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Rankings - 1996-1997. In: CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Ron Florax, accessed December 14, 2019 .