Professional ticket event

Professional Ticket Event 1980
Tournament type:	Qualifying tournament
Attendees:	8th
Venue:	Snooker Center , Sheffield , England
Opening:	7th December 1980
Endgame:	December 13, 1980
Winner:	Dave Martin
Finalist:	Eugene Hughes
Highest Break:	132 ( Eugene Hughes )

The Professional Ticket Event 1980 was a snooker qualification tournament for the professional tour as part of the 1980/81 season . The only edition of the tournament where there was no prize money was held from December 7th to 13th, 1980 in the Snooker Center in the English city ​​of Sheffield . The winner was the Englishman Dave Martin , who defeated the Irishman Eugene Hughes 9: 6 in the final, while Hughes played the highest break of the tournament in the final with a 132 break.

Tournament course

Eight amateur players, including six English and two Irish, took part in the tournament and played against each other in a knockout system to obtain permission to play on the professional tour . All games were played in the best of 17 frames mode.

Quarterfinals Best of 17 frames

Semi-final best of 17 frames

Final Best of 17 frames

Dave Martin

9

Tony Graham

2

Dave Martin

9

Ian Williamson

3

Ian Williamson

9

Paul Medati

5

Dave Martin

9

Eugene Hughes

6th

Eugene Hughes

9

Mick Fisher

3

Eugene Hughes

9

Billy Kelly

2

Billy Kelly

9

Vic Harris

8th

final

The Englishman Dave Martin could look back on relatively successful years as an amateur, as he had already reached the final of the English Amateur Championship twice and lost twice - including against the later six-time World Cup finalist Jimmy White . His opponent Eugene Hughes was a four-time Irish champion - twice in snooker and two more times in English billiards . Both had made it to the finals with only five lost frames and consequently each with clear victories.

After Hughes won the first frame of the game, Martin clearly dominated the game and took a 6-1 lead. Hughes then managed to get 6-3, but Martin extended his lead to 7-3. Hughes continued his race to catch up and won another three frames and played the highest break of the tournament to 7: 6 with a 132 break, but it was of no use. Martin won the following two frames and thus the match with 9: 6 and the tournament and the associated retention of the professional status.

Almost four months later, Martin played his first professional games at the Yamaha Organs Trophy . From the field of participants of the tournament almost all other players followed in the next few years, only Tony Graham remained without professional status at amateur level, for example Hughes became a professional player for the 1981/82 season.

Final: Best of 17 Frames Snooker Center ,  Sheffield , England , 13th December 1980
Dave Martin	9 : 6	Eugene Hughes
13: 70 (53), 82 : 15, 85 : 22 (68), 85 : 15, 87 : 33, 76 : 17, 98 : 36 (79), 39: 87 , 51: 58 , 81 : 49, 46 : 78 , 21: 97 (59), 0: 133 (132), 87 : 15, 64 : 44
79	Highest break	132
-	Century breaks	1
2	50+ breaks	3

Century Breaks

During the tournament, two players each played a century break .

• Eugene Hughes : 132
• Billy Kelly : 100

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Ron Florax: 1980 Professional Ticket Event. CueTracker.net, accessed July 2, 2019 .  
2. ^ Ron Florax: 1980 Professional Ticket Event - Centuries. CueTracker.net, accessed July 2, 2019 .