Kent Cup (snooker)

The Kent Cup was an invitational non-ranking snooker tournament staged on six occasions from 1987 to 1992.[1]

Kent Cup
Tournament information
LocationBeijing
CountryChina
Established1987
Organisation(s)Matchroom Sport
Framework
WPBSA
FormatNon-ranking event
Final year1992
Final championEngland John Parrott

The Kent Cup followed the China Masters which had been the first professional snooker tournament in China and had been held the previous two seasons. Willie Thorne won the inaugural tournament, defeating Jimmy White in the final in front of 100 million viewers in China.[2] By the following season the viewership had doubled to 200 million, with the 1988 edition seeing John Parrott win his maiden professional title with a victory over Martin Clark.[3] The next edition saw a significant reduction in prize fund.[4] Sakchai Sim-Ngam won the tournament, which was held exclusively for the players from the Asia-Pacific region.[5] The 1990 edition saw the return of lower-ranked professionals from United Kingdom.[6] Marcus Campbell won the tournament to collect his first professional title.[7] Campbell returned to defend his title in 1991, but was defeated in the final by Joe Swail.[8]

The following year the tournament was re-branded as the Kent Classic and the top professionals returned with an increased prize fund. John Parrott defeated Stephen Hendry in the final edition of the tournament.[9]

Winners
Year Winner Runner-up Final score Season
Kent Cup
1987 England Willie Thorne England Jimmy White 5–2 1986/87
1988 England John Parrott England Martin Clark 5–1 1987/88
1989 Thailand Sakchai Sim-Ngam Hong Kong Franky Chan 4–1 1988/89
1990 Scotland Marcus Campbell Canada Tom Finstad 4–1 1989/90
1991 Northern Ireland Joe Swail Scotland Marcus Campbell 5–0 1990/91
Kent Classic
1992 England John Parrott Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–5 1992/93

References
  1. Turner, Chris. "Other Non-Ranking and Invition Events". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. Morrison, Ian (1989). The Official 1990 Matchroom Special. London: Hamyln. p. 57. ISBN 0600566005.
  3. "John's Trip To China "Just Fab"". Liverpool Echo. 12 April 1988. p. 35.
  4. "Beijing agony for sad Kenny: SNOOKER". South China Morning Post. 22 April 1989. p. 20.
  5. "Off-colour Chan fails to overcome Thai jinx: SNOOKER". South China Morning Post. 24 April 1989. p. 30.
  6. "World champion Doherty tops bill for Beijing: SNOOKER". South China Morning Post. 3 February 1990. p. 14.
  7. "Campbell wins on China T.V.". Snooker Scene. Birmingham: Everton's News Agency. May 1990. p. 24.
  8. Merchant, Yasin (May 1991). "Swail strikes to land eastern double!". Pot Black. Brentwood: Pot Black Publishing. pp. 20–21.
  9. "World Series: Parrott wins Kent Cup in Peking". Snooker Scene. Birmingham: Everton's News Agency. October 1992. pp. 16–17.
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