Scottish Professional Championship

The Scottish Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which was open only for Scottish players. The final champion was John Higgins.

This article is about the snooker tournament. For the golf tournament, see Scottish PGA Championship.

Scottish Professional Championship
Tournament information
VenueLucky Break Club
LocationClydebank
CountryScotland
Established1980
Organisation(s)Scottish Snooker
FormatNon-ranking event
Final year2011
Final championJohn Higgins

History

The Scottish Professional Championship was held in Edinburgh in December 1949. There were four entries. Willie Newman, the holder, beat Bob Martin 6–5 in the first semi-final on 7 December.[1] Harry Stokes beat Eddie Brown 6–5 in the second semi-final on 8 December.[2] In the 21-frame final, played on 9 and 10 December, Stokes led 8–2 after the first day[3] and won 11–4 on the second afternoon.[4]

The Championship was held at the Nile Rooms in Glasgow in February 1951. There were three entries.[5] Harry Stokes beat Bob Martin 6–1 in the semi-final on 6 February.[6] In the 21-frame final, played on 7 and 8 February, Brown led 7–3 after the first day[7] and won 11–9 on the second evening.[8]

The Championship was held in Edinburgh in February 1952. The holder, Eddie Brown, beat Bob Martin 6–1 in the first semi-final on 6 February.[9] Harry Stokes, beat J. Mitchell 6–1 in the second semi-final on 7 February.[10] In the 21-frame final, played on 8 and 9 February, Stokes led 6–4 after the first day[11] and won 11–4 on the second afternoon.[12]

Defending champion Harry Stokes beat Eddie Brown 11–8 in the 21-frame 1953 event held at the Union Club in Glasgow on 20 and 21 March. There were only two entries.[13][14]

The tournament restarted in 1980. In 1981 six Scottish players turned professional, and the event was held as an eight-man knock-out tournament, with Ian Black defeating Matt Gibson 11–7 in the final. The 1982 event was sponsored by Tartan Bitter and Daily Record. The event had no sponsor in the next year and was not held in 1984.[15]

In 1985 the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association gave backing to national championships in form of £1,000 per player. However, after 1989 WPBSA withdrew their support and the event was discontinued. After a 22-year hiatus the event returned in 2011,[15] but was not held in the next season.

Winners
Year Winner Runner-up Final score Season Ref.
Scottish Professional Championship (non-ranking)
1934 W. Crompton J. West 6–2 [16]
1940 Harry Stokes A. Chapman 11–4 [17]
1941 Ben Ellis John Murray 1940/41 [18][19]
1946 (March) R. Martin James O'Brien 4–2 1945/46 [20]
1946 (December) R. Martin J. Camp 4–0 1946/47 [21]
1947 R. Martin W. Newman 1947/48 [22][23]
1948 W. Newman R. Martin 6–2 1948/49 [24]
1949 Harry Stokes Willie Newman 11–4 1949/50
1951 Eddie Brown Harry Stokes 11–9 1950/51
1952 Harry Stokes Eddie Brown 11–4 1951/52
1953 Harry Stokes Eddie Brown 11–8 1952/53
1980 Eddie Sinclair Chris Ross 11–6 1979/80 [15]
1981 Ian Black Matt Gibson 11–7 1980/81 [15]
1982 Eddie Sinclair Ian Black 11–7 1981/82 [15]
1983 Murdo MacLeod Eddie Sinclair 11–9 1983/84 [15]
1985 Murdo MacLeod Eddie Sinclair 10–2 1984/85 [25]
1986 Stephen Hendry Matt Gibson 10–5 1985/86 [15]
1987 Stephen Hendry Jim Donnelly 10–7 1986/87 [15]
1988 Stephen Hendry Murdo MacLeod 10–4 1987/88 [15]
1989 John Rea Murdo MacLeod 9–7 1988/89 [15]
2011 John Higgins Anthony McGill 6–1 2010/11 [26]

References
  1. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 8 December 1949. p. 9 – via Google News.
  2. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 9 December 1949. p. 2 – via Google News.
  3. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 10 December 1949. p. 2 – via Google News.
  4. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 12 December 1949. p. 7 – via Google News.
  5. "Snooker and billiards". Glasgow Herald. 6 February 1951. p. 2 – via Google News.
  6. "Snooker and billiards". Glasgow Herald. 7 February 1951. p. 9 – via Google News.
  7. "Snooker and billiards". Glasgow Herald. 8 February 1951. p. 2 – via Google News.
  8. "Snooker and billiards". Glasgow Herald. 9 February 1951. p. 9 – via Google News.
  9. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 7 February 1952. p. 2 – via Google News.
  10. "Snooker and billiards". Glasgow Herald. 8 February 1952. p. 9 – via Google News.
  11. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 9 February 1952. p. 9 – via Google News.
  12. "Billiards and snooker – Saturday's snooker results". Glasgow Herald. 11 February 1952. p. 7 – via Google News.
  13. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 21 March 1953. p. 9 – via Google News.
  14. "Snooker". Glasgow Herald. 23 March 1953. p. 11 – via Google News.
  15. "Brief History of the Scottish Professional Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Chris Turner. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  16. "Victory over West". The Scotsman. 22 November 1934. p. 4.
  17. "Stokes wins Scottish Professional tournament". The Scotsman. 2 March 1940. p. 13.
  18. "Snooker championship". Daily Record. 4 January 1941. p. 11.
  19. "Football". Motherwell Times. 10 January 1941. p. 6.
  20. "Martin wins Scots snooker championship". The Scotsman. 16 March 1946. p. 6.
  21. "Martin wins Scots snooker championship". The Scotsman. 21 December 1946. p. 6.
  22. "Only two entrants for Scots snooker title". The Scotsman. 7 October 1947. p. 6.
  23. "He's an all-round champ". Dalkeith Advertiser. 23 October 1947. p. 1.
  24. "Scots snooker title". The Scotsman. 29 November 1948. p. 2.
  25. Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. p. 25. ISBN 0-9548549-0-X.
  26. "Scottish Professional Championship (2011)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
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