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Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Bourne

The Scottish Professional Championship is being revived after a 22 year absence.

The tournament, solely for Scottish pros, is being staged at the Lucky Break Club, Glasgow from April 11-13.

The top four ranked Scottish professionals - John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Stephen Hendry and Graeme Dott - will be seeded through to the quarter-finals, assuming they accept the invitation to compete.

The other five Scots pros - Alan McManus, Marcus Campbell, Jamie Burnett, Anthony McGill and James McBain - will be joined by three former professionals to play a qualifying round, with the four winners progressing to the quarters.

The Scottish Professional Championship ran from 1980 to 1989.

It provided the then 17 year-old Hendry with his first professional title in 1986.

He won it the following two years as well but with so much snooker to play and so little decent Scottish opposition at the time he declined to enter in 1989, when the event was won by John Rea.

The revived tournament will take place in Rea's own club and carries a prize fund of £15,000.

In recent years the Irish professionals have had their own tournament and, in a fantasy world where everything ran smoothly, it would be nice for other countries to follow suit and maybe even have a finals for the various national champions.

Scotland became a great snooker hotbed in the wake of Hendry's remarkable rise to the very top.

A number of good players have come and gone since...Euan Henderson, Billy Snaddon, Chris Small, David McLellan, John Lardner, Martin Dziewialtowski, Graham Horne, Craig McGillivray to name a few.

The Scots failed to win a match at the Crucible until 1987. Since then a Scot has won the title 11 times and appeared in a total of 16 finals.

Having their own championship again gives them the chance to celebrate one of snooker's most successful nations.


http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/


Another new tournament to the calendar can never be a bad thing <ok>

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby SnookerFan

Bourne wrote:Another new tournament to the calendar can never be a bad thing <ok>


True, though I doubt any of it will get on television. Give some players that much sort after match practice though, and some lucky Glaswegians might be able to book tickets.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Bourne

Well it's just before the Worlds, and we've seen what the CL can do for players' form and confidence in the lead up to the Worlds, so it's certainly a good thing for the players taking part <ok>

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

Bourne wrote:Well it's just before the Worlds, and we've seen what the CL can do for players' form and confidence in the lead up to the Worlds, so it's certainly a good thing for the players taking part <ok>

Eddie Sinclair playing then is he? :evilgrin:

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Wildey

JohnFromLondonTown wrote:
Bourne wrote:Well it's just before the Worlds, and we've seen what the CL can do for players' form and confidence in the lead up to the Worlds, so it's certainly a good thing for the players taking part <ok>

Eddie Sinclair playing then is he? :evilgrin:

Eddie Sinclair is dead lol

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

wildJONESEYE wrote:
JohnFromLondonTown wrote:
Bourne wrote:Well it's just before the Worlds, and we've seen what the CL can do for players' form and confidence in the lead up to the Worlds, so it's certainly a good thing for the players taking part <ok>

Eddie Sinclair playing then is he? :evilgrin:

Eddie Sinclair is dead lol

I Know. If you try hard enough I might give you a mention in 20 years time wild.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby SnookerFan

Not that this is a bad thing, but am I the only one who thinks we want to start getting more of this sort of thing on television? I know Hearn has to keep the players happy first, because it's them who vote him in or out, so has to create tournaments whether he can get sponsorship and TV viewing or not. But I'd prefer to watch something like this, over Sky Shoot Out any day of the week.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Wildey

SnookerFan wrote:Not that this is a bad thing, but am I the only one who thinks we want to start getting more of this sort of thing on television? I know Hearn has to keep the players happy first, because it's them who vote him in or out, so has to create tournaments whether he can get sponsorship and TV viewing or not. But I'd prefer to watch something like this, over Sky Shoot Out any day of the week.

you have missed something here theres more chance of the players voting out the prime minister than Barry Hearn.

he owns the right 51% share holder in snooker and if im right the sponsors own about 24% leaving about 25% to the players so there's not enough percentage to even start to think about voting him out. :D

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby SnookerFan

Wild wrote:
SnookerFan wrote:Not that this is a bad thing, but am I the only one who thinks we want to start getting more of this sort of thing on television? I know Hearn has to keep the players happy first, because it's them who vote him in or out, so has to create tournaments whether he can get sponsorship and TV viewing or not. But I'd prefer to watch something like this, over Sky Shoot Out any day of the week.

you have missed something here theres more chance of the players voting out the prime minister than Barry Hearn.

he owns the right 51% share holder in snooker and if im right the sponsors own about 24% leaving about 25% to the players so there's not enough percentage to even start to think about voting him out. :D


Fair point. I'm just impatient to start seeing some PTC events on TV over shot clock events. <laugh>

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Wildey

SnookerFan wrote:
Wild wrote:
SnookerFan wrote:Not that this is a bad thing, but am I the only one who thinks we want to start getting more of this sort of thing on television? I know Hearn has to keep the players happy first, because it's them who vote him in or out, so has to create tournaments whether he can get sponsorship and TV viewing or not. But I'd prefer to watch something like this, over Sky Shoot Out any day of the week.

you have missed something here theres more chance of the players voting out the prime minister than Barry Hearn.

he owns the right 51% share holder in snooker and if im right the sponsors own about 24% leaving about 25% to the players so there's not enough percentage to even start to think about voting him out. :D


Fair point. I'm just impatient to start seeing some PTC events on TV over shot clock events. <laugh>


from snooker scene wrote:Snooker Scene hopes that Barry Hearn, for World Snooker, will at least accept
Paul Mount's offer to stage this season's final qualifying competition of the World Championship (March 4-15) at the South West Academy, which does have suitable playing facilities and viewing and eating arrangements for spectators.


so say all of us. <ok>

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby wheelsofsteel

SnookerFan wrote:Not that this is a bad thing, but am I the only one who thinks we want to start getting more of this sort of thing on television? I know Hearn has to keep the players happy first, because it's them who vote him in or out, so has to create tournaments whether he can get sponsorship and TV viewing or not. But I'd prefer to watch something like this, over Sky Shoot Out any day of the week.


or even online :hmm:

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby Smart

from snooker scene wrote:Snooker Scene hopes that Barry Hearn, for World Snooker, will at least accept
Paul Mount's offer to stage this season's final qualifying competition of the World Championship (March 4-15) at the South West Academy, which does have suitable playing facilities and viewing and eating arrangements for spectators.


PM <cool>

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby SnookerFan

Smart wrote:
from snooker scene wrote:Snooker Scene hopes that Barry Hearn, for World Snooker, will at least accept
Paul Mount's offer to stage this season's final qualifying competition of the World Championship (March 4-15) at the South West Academy, which does have suitable playing facilities and viewing and eating arrangements for spectators.


PM <cool>


:pm:

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby SnookerFan

vodkadiet wrote:http://scottishsnooker.info/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=185%3Ascottish-professional-chanpionship&lang=en

Will this be televised? Surely Eurosport will be having extensive coverage?

The Burnett vs McPhillips match could be a cracker. :D

Cracker is a Scotsman! <ok>


I doubt it, though have been wrong before.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby John From London Town

I was talking to John Lardner on Twitter the other day. He beat Billy Snaddon first up but got knocked out by Paul McPhillips next up. There are a couple of others I'm hoping to see pick up a cue again from up there. All fine Snooker players.

Expect to see a few of them to make an appearence in next seasons PTC's too. All good if you ask me.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby gallantrabbit

I think it`s terrific to see this back and hope we also ee the return of the English.
Really are some names from the past and great to see. The PTCs might be full to the brim next year.

Re: Scottish Professional Championship Returns

Postby vodkadiet

PRELIM 1 (Lucky Break)
Jamie Burnett v Paul McPhillips (4th April @ 2.15pm)
PRELIM 2 (Lucky Break)
Alan McManus v Mark Boyle (4th April @ 7.30pm)
PRELIM 3 (Lucky Break)
Marcus Campbell v James McBain (6th April @ 2.15pm)
PRELIM 4 (Lucky Break)
Anthony McGill v Richy McDonald (6th April @ 7.30pm)

LAST 8 (Lucky Break

(1) John Higgins OR PRELIM 1 (11th April @ 7.30pm)
v (13th April @ 2.15pm)
(4) Stephen Hendry OR PRELIM 2 (11th April @ 2.15pm)

(3) Graeme Dott OR PRELIM 3 (12th April @ 2.15pm)
v (13th April @ 7.30pm)
(2) Stephen Maguire OR PRELIM 4 (12th April @ 7.30pm)

FINAL(Lucky Break)
(14th April @ 7.30pm)