Irish Professional Championship 1986

Irish Professional Championship 1986 Strongboe Irish Professional Championship 1986
Tournament type:	Non-ranking
Attendees:	14th
Venue:	Maysfield Leisure Center , Belfast , Northern Ireland
Opening:	May 9, 1986
Endgame:	May 13, 1986
Defending champion:	Dennis Taylor
Winner:	Dennis Taylor
Finalist:	Alex Higgins
Highest Break:	96 ( Alex Higgins )
← 1985   1987 →

The Strongbow Irish Professional Championship 1986 was a professional snooker tournament without influence on the world rankings to determine the Northern Irish or Irish professional champions. The tournament was held as part of the 1985/86 season shortly after the World Snooker Championship from 9 to 13 May 1986 for the second time since 1983 in the Maysfield Leisure Center in Belfast , Northern Ireland . In a new edition of the multiple final game between Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins , Taylor won for the fifth time, drawing level with Higgins in the overall ranking. Higgins played the highest break of the tournament with a 96 break, so there were no century breaks .

Prize money

Once again the tournament was sponsored by Strongbow Cider , with the prize pool increasing slightly to £ 21,100 , an increase of £ 1,500.

	Prize money
winner	£ 8,000
finalist	£ 5,000
Semi-finalist	£ 2,000
Quarter finalist	£ 800
Round of 16	150 pounds
All in all	£ 21,100

Tournament course

After there had already been 13 participants last year, this time the Irishman Joe O'Boye also took part in the tournament. Of the 14 participants, only last year's finalists Taylor & Higgins were seeded for the quarter-finals, the rest of the field already played a game in the second round. These games were played in the best of 9 frames mode, while the quarter and semi-finals had a maximum limit of 11 frames. The tournament winner was finally determined in the Best of 19 Frames mode .

Round of 16 best of 9 frames

Quarterfinals Best of 11 frames

Semi-final best of 11 frames

Final Best of 19 frames

Dennis Taylor

6th

Billy Kelly

5

Billy Kelly

1

Jackie Rea

0

Dennis Taylor

6th

Tommy Murphy

5

Tommy Murphy

3

Joe O'Boye

0

Tommy Murphy

6th

Tony Kearney

5

Tony Kearney

2

Patsy Fagan

0

Dennis Taylor

10

Alex Higgins

7th

Alex Higgins

6th

Jack McLaughlin

5

Jack McLaughlin

2

Paul Watchorn

0

Alex Higgins

6th

Eugene Hughes

5

Eugene Hughes

2

Dessie Sheehan

0

Eugene Hughes

6th

Pascal Burke

5

Pascal Burke

3

Paddy Browne

4th

final

Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins had met in the finals of the tournament several times , most recently when Taylor won his fourth title. Both players had been seeded for the quarterfinals and had lost four frames each.

Higgins initially took the lead 0: 2 and 1: 3 before Taylor equalized to 3: 3. However, Higgins took the lead again, but this time Taylor turned the match and extended his lead to 8-4. Higgins shortened to 8: 6 before Taylor pushed the game towards a victory with a 90 break. Higgins was able to win another frame before Taylor won the 17th frame with the help of a 63 break and thus won both the match and the tournament.

Final: Best of 19 Frames Maysfield Leisure Center ,  Belfast , Northern Ireland , May 13th 1986
Dennis Taylor	10 : 7	Alex Higgins
15: 57 , 53: 55 ; 71 : 17 (50) 5: 65 , 70 : 43; 74 : 9, 9: 68 (50), 72 : 15 (64), 90 : 40 (56), 69 : 42 (60); 71:44 ; 70 : 56 (Taylor 53), 59: 71 , 49: 74 (63), 90 : 14 (90), 22: 76 , 64 : 5 (63)
90	Highest break	63
-	Century breaks	-
7th	50+ breaks	2

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Ron Florax: 1986 Irish Professional Championship. CueTracker.net, accessed April 11, 2019 .  
2. ^ Ron Florax: 1986 Irish Professional Championship - Finishes. CueTracker.net, accessed April 11, 2019 .