Irish Professional Championship 1987
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Irish Professional Championship 1987 Matchroom Irish Professional Championship 1987 
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| Tournament type: | Non-ranking |
| Attendees: | 14th |
| Venue: | Antrim Forum , Antrim , Northern Ireland |
| Opening: | February 1987 |
| Endgame: | February 1987
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| Defending champion: |
 Dennis Taylor
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| Winner: |
Dennis Taylor
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| Finalist: |
 Joe O'Boye
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| Highest Break: | 129 ( Dennis Taylor )
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← 1986
1988 →
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The Matchroom Irish Professional Championship 1987 was a professional snooker tournament without influence on the world rankings to determine the Irish or Northern Irish professional champions of the 1986/87 season . The tournament was first played in February 1987 at the Antrim Forum in the Northern Irish city of Antrim . The winner was again the Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor , who won his sixth and last title at this tournament with a 9-2 win over Joe O'Boye , who had made it to the final as the first Irishman since 1981. Taylor also played the tournament's highest break with a 129 break.
Prize money
After two years of sponsorship by Strongbow , Matchroom Sport took over the sponsorship. This increased the prize money again compared to the previous year, this time by £ 1,900 to £ 23,000. There was also prize money for the highest break in the tournament.
| Prize money | |
|---|---|
| winner | £ 8,500 |
| finalist | £ 5,000 |
| Semi-finalist | £ 2,500 |
| Quarter finalist | £ 1,000 |
| First round | 150 pounds |
| Highest break | 600 pounds |
| All in all | £ 23,000 |
Tournament course
As in the previous year, a total of fourteen players took part in the tournament, twelve of whom played their first game in the first round; only the two former world champions Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor were seeded for the quarter-finals. While the first round games lasted a maximum of nine frames, the quarter and semi-finals were played in the best of 11 frames mode . The winner of the tournament was finally determined in the best of 17 frames mode .
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Round of 16 best of 9 frames |
Quarterfinals Best of 11 frames |
Semi-final best of 11 frames |
Final Best of 19 frames |
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| Dennis Taylor
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6th | |||||||||||||||||
| Dessie Sheehan
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5 | Dessie Sheehan
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3 | |||||||||||||||
| Jack McLaughlin
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4th | Dennis Taylor
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6th | |||||||||||||||
| Paddy Browne
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5 | Paddy Browne
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1 | |||||||||||||||
| Jackie Rea
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3 | Paddy Browne
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6th | |||||||||||||||
| Pascal Burke
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5 | Pascal Burke
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2 | |||||||||||||||
| Patsy Fagan
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3 | Dennis Taylor
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9 | |||||||||||||||
| Joe O'Boye
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2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Alex Higgins
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| Joe O'Boye
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5 | Joe O'Boye
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kl. | |||||||||||||||
| Billy Kelly
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0 | Joe O'Boye
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6th | |||||||||||||||
| Eugene Hughes
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5 | Eugene Hughes
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3 | |||||||||||||||
| Paul Watchorn
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2 | Eugene Hughes
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6th | |||||||||||||||
| Tony Kearney
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5 | Tony Kearney
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1 | |||||||||||||||
| Tommy Murphy
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1 | |||||||||||||||||
final
The Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor , world champion from 1985, had been seeded for the quarter-finals and had reached the seventh final in a row for him within this tournament with victories over the Irish Dessie Sheehan and Paddy Browne . He met Joe O'Boye , who was the first Irishman since Patsy Fagan in 1981 to be back in the tournament finals. O'Boye had reached the quarterfinals with a victory over Billy Kelly , in which he benefited from the lack of a fight from Alex Higgins , before he reached his first and last final of a professional tournament with a 6-3 win over Eugene Hughes .
Favorite Taylor won the first two frames before O'Boye equalized with a 50 break, among other things. But from that point on, Taylor didn't drop a single frame and won the game 9-2. This made Taylor the most successful player in tournament history with a total of six tournament wins ahead of Alex Higgins with five titles before the latter won the 1989 edition. For Taylor it should be the last title at the Irish professional championship, he only reached the final once in the next event.
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Finale: Best of 17 Frames Antrim Forum , Antrim , Northern Ireland , February 1987 |
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Dennis Taylor
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9 : 2 |
Joe O'Boye
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68 : 41, 81 : 22 (50), 31: 71 , 55: 72 (50), 76 : 53 (Taylor 52), 69 : 21, 58 : 6, 73 : 55, 79 : 1 (53), 69 : 31, 58 : 32 |
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| 53 | Highest break | 50 |
| - | Century breaks | - |
| 3 | 50+ breaks | 1 |
Century Breaks
During the tournament, two players each played a century break .
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Dennis Taylor : 129
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Paddy Browne : 100
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ron Florax: 1987 Irish Professional Championship. CueTracker.net, accessed April 28, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Ron Florax: 1987 Irish Professional Championship - Finishes. CueTracker.net, accessed April 28, 2019 .