Challenge Tour (snooker)

UK/Challenge Tour

Tournament information
Venue	World Snooker Centre
Location	Prestatyn
Country	United Kingdom
Established	1997/1998
Organisation(s)	World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Format	Non-ranking
Final Year	2004/2005
Final champion(s)	Jamie Cope

The Challenge Tour was a series of professional snooker tournaments that ran from the 1997/1998 season until the 2004/2005 season.^[1] The tour was immediately below the level of the WPBSA Main Tour. The series was initially known as UK Tour.

History

Due to over-subscription of the World Snooker Tour, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted from the 1997/1998 season resulting in the Main Tour and the UK Tour. The Main Tour had an exclusive membership, whereas initially the whole professional membership could compete on the UK Tour and the best performers could earn promotion.^[1] From the 1999/2000 season entry was limited to players not competing on the Main Tour,^[1] and from the 2001/2002 season the UK Tour itself had an exclusive membership.^[2] From the 2000/2001 season it was rebranded the Challenge Tour.^[3]

In its first season there were five events, but the number was reduced to four in the following seasons.^[3] There were two official maximum breaks at the UK Tour, both being made in the 1998/1999 season. In Event 3 Stuart Bingham made it against Barry Hawkins and in Event 4 Nick Dyson made it against Adrian Gunnell.^[1] The tour was discontinued after 2004/2005, but the concept was revived in 2010/2011 in the form of the Players Tour Championship.

Event finals

^[1][3]

Season	Event	Winner	Runner-up	Score
UK Tour
1997/1998	Event 1	Paul McPhillips	Michael Holt	6–5
	Event 2	Mark Fenton	Antony Bolsover	6–4
	Event 3	Simon Bedford	Robert Milkins	6–4
	Event 4	Patrick Wallace	Shaun Murphy	6–4
	Event 5	Paul Sweeny	Hugh Abernethy	6–5
1998/1999	Event 1	Alfie Burden	Anthony Davies	6–5
	Event 2	Joe Swail	Alfie Burden	6–1
	Event 3	Stuart Bingham	Matthew Couch	6–1
	Event 4	James Reynolds	Jason Ferguson	6–4
1999/2000	Event 1	Matt Wilson	Barry Hawkins	6–4
	Event 2	Andrew Higginson	Scott MacKenzie	6–3
	Event 3	Simon Bedford	Barry Hawkins	6–5
	Event 4	Barry Hawkins	Craig Butler	6–1
Challenge Tour
2000/2001	Event 1	Adrian Rosa	Surinder Gill	6–4
	Event 2	Andrew Norman	Luke Fisher	6–3
	Event 3	Shaun Murphy	Andrew Norman	6–3
	Event 4	Shaun Murphy	Luke Simmonds	6–2
2001/2002	Event 1	James Reynolds	Steve Judd	6–5
	Event 2	Leo Fernandez	Ryan Day	6–3
	Event 3	Lee Spick	Joe Delaney	6–3
	Event 4	David Gilbert	Ryan Day	6–3
2002/2003	Event 1	Chris Melling	Tom Ford	6–2
	Event 2	Adrian Rosa	Stuart Mann	6–5
	Event 3	Michael Rhodes	Luke Simmonds	6–5
	Event 4	Kurt Maflin	James Leadbetter	6–2
2003/2004	Event 1	Stefan Mazrocis	Paul Davison	6–2
	Event 2	Hugh Abernethy	Gary Wilson	6–0
	Event 3	Brian Salmon	Steve James	6–1
	Event 4	Gary Wilson	Jin Long	6–4
2004/2005	Event 1	Jamie Cope	Chris Norbury	6–2
	Event 2	James Tatton	Matthew Barnes	6–4
	Event 3	James McBain	Mark Allen	6–3
	Event 4	Jamie Cope	Matthew Couch	6–0

Order of Merit winners

^[1]

Season	Winner
UK Tour
1997/1998	Paul McPhillips
1998/1999	Alfie Burden
1999/2000	Barry Hawkins
Challenge Tour
2000/2001	Shaun Murphy
2001/2002	Ryan Day
2002/2003	Martin Gould
2003/2004	Brian Salmon
2004/2005	Jamie Cope

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "WPBSA Secondary Professional Tour". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/challenge.html. Retrieved 8 May 2010. 
2. ^ "2000 / 2001 Challenge Tour". fcsnooker. Preston, Lancashire: The Frank Callan Suite. 26 April 2002. http://www.fcsnooker.co.uk/Players/Challenge_tour/challenge_tour_intro.htm. Retrieved 15 June 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Suffolk: Rose Villa Publications. pp. Introduction & 171–186. ISBN 9780954854904.