- Champions Cup (snooker)
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Champions Cup Tournament information Venue Brighton Centre Location Brighton Country England Established 1995 Organisation(s) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Format Non-Ranking event Final Year 2001 Final champion(s) John Higgins
The Champions Cup was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament held in England that ran for eight seasons starting in the 1994/1995 season and was originally known as the Charity Challenge.
History
The tournament was originally called the Charity Challenge. The event was unique by having the players compete for charity, with the prize money being donated to their respective causes. The event started in the 1994/1995 season and was contested by a 16 man field, but was reduced to an 8 man field by the 1996/1997 season. The event is most notable for Stephen Hendry compiling a maximum break in the deciding frame of the 1997 final against Ronnie O'Sullivan. It is the only time a maximum break has ever been made in the deciding frame of a final in professional competition.[1]
After five seasons the charity aspect was dropped and replaced with a new format. The event was re-branded the Champions Cup and was contested by the players, who won major tournaments in the previous season. In its inaugural year it adopted a “winner takes all” format with a £175,000 prize going to the winner, with the other contestants receiving nothing. The winner's prize was the second highest after the World Championship. In subsequent years the event had a more conventional prize money schedule.[1]
The tournament was sponsored by Liverpool Victoria for all but the last two events. In 2000 the event was sponsored by TVN and there was no sponsor in 2001. The event was broadcast on ITV, but was dropped from the calendar after the 2001 event due to ITV discontinuing its snooker coverage.[1]
Winners
Year Winner Opponent Final score Season Charity Challenge 1995 Stephen Hendry
Dennis Taylor
9–1 1994/1995 1996 Ronnie O'Sullivan
John Higgins
9–6 1995/1996 1997 Stephen Hendry
Ronnie O'Sullivan
9–8 1996/1997 1998 John Higgins
Ronnie O'Sullivan
9–8 1997/1998 1999 John Higgins
Ronnie O'Sullivan
9–4 1998/1999 Champions Cup 1999 Stephen Hendry
Mark Williams
7–5 1999/2000 2000 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Mark Williams
7–5 2000/2001 2001 John Higgins
Mark Williams
7–4 2001/2002 References
- ^ a b c d Turner, Chris (2008). "Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge/Champions Sup". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/champcup.html. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
Snooker tournaments Ranking World Championship · UK Championship · World Open · Welsh Open · German Masters · China Open · Shanghai Masters · Australian Goldfields Open · Players Tour Championship (Paul Hunter Classic)Non-ranking The Masters · World Cup · Championship League · Wuxi Classic · Beijing International Challenge · World Seniors Championship · Scottish Professional Championship · Hainan Classic · Brazil Masters · General Cup InternationalWithdrawn tournaments Categories:- Snooker non-ranking competitions
- Recurring events established in 1995
- Recurring events disestablished in 2001
- Snooker competitions in the United Kingdom
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