Irish Professional Snooker Championships

= History =

The Irish Professional Championship was first staged in 1947 and was dominated for a quarter of a century by Jackie Rea, the first star of Irish snooker.

Rea held the title, played on a Challenge basis, every year but one until 1972, when he was beaten 28-12 in the final by a 23 year-old called Alex Higgins, who would revolutionise the sport in the hearts and minds of the public in the years to come.

Higgins had already become world champion and for the next two decades would enjoy a fierce rivalry with another Northern Irish talent, Dennis Taylor.

Between them they won 11 Irish Professional titles and each provided an iconic moment at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield – host venue for the World Championship – in the 1980s

Higgins won his second world title in 1982 and tearfully beckoned his wife, Lynn, and daughter, Lauren, on to the Crucible stage to share in his triumph.

Taylor famously potted the final black to beat the seemingly invincible Steve Davis 18-17 in 1985 – still widely regarded as the most famous match in snooker history.

Together with Eugene Hughes, Higgins and Taylor won three successive World Team titles in the 1980s.

The duo’s run of success in the Irish Championship was interrupted only by Jack McLaughlin, but Higgins and Taylor each went into decline in the early 1990s as the torch was passed to a new generation of Irish stars, led by Ranelagh’s Ken Doherty, who had been inspired by watching Higgins win the 1982 world title.

Doherty’s promise was obvious from his capture of the 1989 World Under 21 Championship and he followed this by winning the World Amateur Championship a few months later.

Doherty soon made an impact on the professional circuit, winning the Welsh Open in 1993 and the Scottish Masters in 1993 and 1994. In 1997, he defeated Stephen Hendry 18-12 at the Crucible to complete a unique hat trick, having won the world title at every level.

In 1993, Doherty had beaten Dylan Leary, Hughes, Jason Prince and Stephen Murphy to win the Irish Championship, after which it went into abeyance for 12 years.

During this time, more Irish players were to make an impact on the pro circuit. Belfast’s Joe Swail was crowned Irish champion in 1992 after thrashing Prince 9-1 in the final and went on to spend four seasons in the elite top 16.

Swail made two memorably emotional runs to the Crucible semi-finals, losing to Matthew Stevens in 2000 and Ronnie O’Sullivan a year later.

Dubliner Fergal O’Brien was also residing in the top 16 at this time having won the 1999 British Open and appeared in the 2000 World Championship quarter finals.

O’Brien also led Paul Hunter 7-3 in the 2001 Wembley Masters final but was beaten 10-9 – the first of the much missed Hunter’s three remarkable recoveries at the London event.

In recent years, Michael Judge, Gerard Greene and Patrick Wallace have been among the leading Irish members of the circuit and two young guns have emerged with the potential to emulate the stars of the past.

Antrim’s Mark Allen, the 2002 world amateur champion, beat Steve Davis and then John Higgins on his TV debut at the 2005 Northern Ireland Trophy and is ranked inside the world’s top 32 after only two seasons.

Allen, partner of women’s world champion Reanne Evans, beat Doherty in the first round of last season’s World Championship. Davy Morris of Kilkenny, currently spending his second season on the pro tour, won the Irish amateur title at six different age levels and this year captured the inaugural Lucan Classic, beating O’Brien in the final.

Last year, Morris reached the Irish Championship semi-finals where Judge defeated him 6-1. Allen also featured in the last four but lost 6-4 to Doherty, who went on to beat Judge 9-4 to win his second title some 13 years after his first.

Doherty had lost 9-7 to Swail in the 2005 final as the event was revived at the Spawell Snooker Centre.

Roll of Honour

;VC Poker Irish Professional Championship
*2008
*2007 Ken Doherty 9-2 Fergal O'Brien
*2006 Ken Doherty 9-4 Michael Judge
*2005 Joe Swail 9-7 Ken Doherty

;Murphy's Stout Irish Professional Championship
*1993 Ken Doherty 9-2 Stephen Murphy
*1992 Joe Swail 9-1 Stephen Murphy

*1989 Alex Higgins 9-7 Jack McLaughlin
*1988 Jack McLaughlin 9-4 Dennis Taylor
*1987 Matchroom - Dennis Taylor 9-2 Joe O'Boye
*1986 Strongbow - Dennis Taylor 10-7 Alex Higgins
*1985 Strongbow - Dennis Taylor 10-5 Alex Higgins
*1983 Smithwicks - Alex Higgins 16-11 Dennis Taylor (High Break 132 Alex Higgins)
*1982 Smithwicks - Dennis Taylor 16-13 Alex Higgins (High Break Dennis Taylor 129)

;Irish Professional Championship (challenge format)
*1981 Dennis Taylor 22-21 Patsy Fagan
*1980 Dennis Taylor 21-15 Alex Higgins
*1979 Alex Higgins 21-13 Patsy Fagan
*1978 Alex Higgins 21-7 Dennis Taylor

*1972 Alex Higgins 28-12 Jack Rea

*1952 Jack Bates bt Jackie Rea

*1947-1971 Jackie Rea, *except 1952