| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13–20 August 2006 (2006-08-13 –2006-08-20) |
| Venue | Waterfront Hall |
| City | Belfast |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Organisation | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £200,500 |
| Winner's share | £30,000 |
| Highest break |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (140) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Ding Junhui (CHN) |
| Runner-up | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Score | 9–6 |
←2005 2007 → | |
The2006 Northern Ireland Trophy was the 2006 edition of theNorthern Ireland Trophysnookertournament, held from 13 to 20 August 2006, at theWaterfront Hall,Belfast, Northern Ireland.Ding Junhui defeatedRonnie O'Sullivan by nineframes to six (9–6) in the final to lift his thirdranking title whilst still a teenager. In the semi-finals, Ding defeatedStephen Lee 6–1, and O'Sullivan beatDominic Dale 6–0. O'Sullivan made the highestbreak with his 140. Thedefending champion,Matthew Stevens, lost in round 3. The tournament, consisting of the top 32 and 16 qualifiers, was the first of sevenWPBSA ranking events in the2006/2007 season, preceding theGrand Prix.
TheNorthern Ireland Trophy was first staged in2005 at theWaterfront Hall,Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a non-ranking tournament featuring the top 16 and four wildcards, generally Irish. In the following year, it was granted ranking status and took the form of a regular tournament.[1][2]
The 2006 tournament was the first of sevenWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the2006/2007 season, preceding theGrand Prix, and the first event sincelast season'sWorld Championship won byGraeme Dott, who defeatedPeter Ebdon 18–14 in the final.[3] The defending champion wasMatthew Stevens, who defeatedStephen Hendry 9–7 in the previous year's final.[4] Going into the tournament,Joe Swail, provisionally ranked number 13, said he was targeting a place in the top 16;[5] and Dott, the World Champion, said interest in his results would increase, and that he felt capable of winning more tournaments.[6]Shaun Murphy, the2005 World Champion, said the pressure would be off him in the 2006/2007 season.[7]
The qualifying stage took place between playersranked from 33 to 48 and those lower for one of 16 places in the final stage between 29 and 31 July 2006 atPontin's Snooker Centre,Prestatyn, Wales. The matches were best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals. Successful qualifiers in this round included Northern Irish playerMark Allen, who defeatedTom Ford 5–3, and said the Waterfront—where he made his professional debut last year—was the best venue he had played at.Gerard Greene defeatedJudd Trump 5–2, andDominic Dale beat Dermot McGlinchey 5–1.[8]Jimmy White, who had slipped from 8th to 35th in the rankings, lost 3–5 toJimmy Michie, and said he was "match-shy" rather than nervous.[9] Irish playersJoe Delaney andFergal O'Brien lost toRod Lawler andPaul Davies respectively, both 3–5.[10]
In round 1 the 16 qualifiers went through to face players ranked 17–32. Swail lost 1–5 to Greene, who said the crowd was on his opponent's side. Tied at 3–3Mark Selby won the seventh frame afterTony Drago missed a pink, eventually winning the match 5–4.Jamie Burnett made breaks of 117, 77, and 55 in defeatingDavid Gray 5–2.[11] Allen lost 1–5 toRyan Day, a match in which Day made breaks of 79, 73, 56, and 91, after which Day said, "as soon as I started knocking in some breaks they went a bit quiet", in reference to the crowd.[12]Michael Holt lost 2–5 toMike Dunn, a player ranked 34 places below him.[13]James Wattana defeated Michie 5–4 in a match that lasted over three hours. Michie was 1–3 down but went on to lead 4–3 and 30–0 points before he missed a straightforward pot, eventually losing the frame. Michie had the first chance in the next but also lost that frame.[14]Tian Pengfei, on his 19th birthday, made breaks of 50, 62, and 115 in defeatingAndy Hicks.
In the best-of-17 final Ding defeated O'Sullivan to lift his third ranking title whilst still a teenager.[15][16][17]
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[18][19]
|
|
Qualifying for the tournament took place atPontins inPrestatyn,Wales between 29 and 31 July 2006.[20]
|
|
|
|
