1996 World Cup (snooker)

The 1996 Snooker World Cup was a team snooker tournament which returned after a six-year absence. With the increasing rise of snooker in some countries, This new version has 20 teams in the championship and it was played in Bangkok in Thailand. Scotland's 'Dream Team' with Stephen Hendry, Alan McManus and John Higgins were strong favourites to win from the start and they did so by beating Republic of Ireland with Ken Doherty, Fergal O'Brien and Stephen Murphy to win their only World Cup. Higgins got the highest break of the tournament with a 139 in his semi-final match against Thailand's Tai Pichit. The tournament was a success but hosting the event had become too costly that the event was withdrawn afterward.[1][2][3]

Castrol-Honda World Cup
Tournament information
Dates29 October – 10 November 1996 (1996-10-29 – 1996-11-10)
VenueArmari Watergate Hotel
CityBangkok
CountryThailand
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£400,000
Winner's share£105,000
Highest breakScotland John Higgins 139
Final
ChampionScotland Scotland
Runner-upRepublic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
Score10–7
1990
2011

Main draw

edit

Teams

edit
Country Player 1 (Captain) Player 2 Player 3
  Scotland Stephen Hendry Alan McManus John Higgins
  England Peter Ebdon Ronnie O'Sullivan Nigel Bond
  Wales Darren Morgan Mark Williams Anthony Davies
  Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor Joe Swail Terry Murphy
  Ireland Ken Doherty Fergal O'Brien Stephen Murphy
  Canada Cliff Thorburn Alain Robidoux Jim Wych
  Malta Tony Drago Alex Borg Joe Grech
  Thailand James Wattana Noppadon Noppachorn Tai Pichit
  Australia Robby Foldvari Quinten Hann Stan Gorski
  Pakistan Shokat Ali Farhan Mirza Saleh Mohammad
  South Africa Silvino Francisco Hitesh Naran Munier Cassim
  New Zealand Dene O'Kane Mark Canovan Daniel Haenga
  Belgium Bjorn Haneveer Mario Geudens Patrick Delsemme
  Hong Kong Kong Wahorn Chan Wai Tat Paul Fung
  Singapore Keith Boon Bernard Tey Ang Chiok Hong
  China Guo Hua Pang Weiguo Tao Shan
  United Arab Emirates Masood Akil Mohammed Shehab Mohammed Al Joker
  Iceland Kristján Helgason Johannes Johannesson Edvard Matthiasson
  Malaysia Sam Chong Ng Ann Seng Yong Kien Foot
  Netherlands Raymond Fabrie Mario Wehrmann Johan Oenema

Darren Morgan was later replaced by Mark Bennett after the death of his mother.

The two best teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group A

edit
Team 1 Score Team 2 Date
  Belgium 6–3   Iceland
  Republic of Ireland 6–3   New Zealand
  Northern Ireland 6–3   Iceland
  Republic of Ireland 7–2   Belgium
  Northern Ireland 4–5   Belgium
  New Zealand 5–4   Iceland
  Republic of Ireland 4–5   Northern Ireland
  New Zealand 5–4   Belgium
  Republic of Ireland 7–2   Iceland
  Northern Ireland 6–3   New Zealand

Group B

edit
Team 1 Score Team 2 Date
  Hong Kong 2–7   Singapore
  Canada 8–1   South Africa
  Scotland 9–0   Singapore
  Hong Kong 7–2   South Africa
  Scotland 6–3   South Africa
  Canada 8–1   Singapore
  Canada 7–2   Hong Kong
  South Africa 5–4   Singapore
  Scotland 6–3   Canada
  Scotland 8–1   Hong Kong

Group C

edit
Team 1 Score Team 2 Date
  Thailand 4–5   China
  England 8–1   United Arab Emirates
  China 4–5   United Arab Emirates
  Thailand 6–3   Pakistan
  England 5–4   China
  England 6–3   Thailand
  Pakistan 8–1   United Arab Emirates
  Pakistan 7–2   China
  Thailand 9–0   United Arab Emirates
  England 6–3   Pakistan

Group D

edit
Team 1 Score Team 2 Date
  Australia 6–3   Netherlands
  Malta 6–3   Malaysia
  Wales 6–3   Netherlands
  Australia 5–4   Malta
  Wales 8–1   Malaysia
  Malta 4–5   Netherlands
  Wales 7–2   Australia
  Netherlands 6–3   Malaysia
  Wales 5–4   Malta
  Australia 6–3   Malaysia
Quarter-finals
Best of 19 Frames
Semi-finals
Best of 19 Frames
Final
Best of 19 Frames
  Scotland 10
  Northern Ireland 6   Scotland 10
  Thailand 10   Thailand 5
  Wales 9   Scotland 10
  England 10   Republic of Ireland 7
  Australia 5   England 9
  Republic of Ireland 10   Republic of Ireland 10
  Canada 6

Final

edit
Final: Best of 19 frames. Referees:
Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. 10 November 1996.
  Scotland
Stephen Hendry, Alan McManus, John Higgins
10–7   Ireland
Ken Doherty, Fergal O'Brien, Stephen Murphy
Hendry v O'Brien: 84–4
McManus v Murphy: 93–0
Higgins v Doherty: 68–30
Hendry v Murphy: 74–25
McManus v Doherty: 59–63
Higgins v O'Brien: 21–70
Hendry v Doherty: 69–70
McManus v O'Brien: 71–24
Higgins v Murphy: 59–70
Hendry v O'Brien: 77–46
McManus v Murphy: 66–60
Higgins v Doherty: 63–20
McManus v O'Brien: 8–75
Higgins v Murphy: 44–66
Hendry v Doherty: 0–102 (68)
Higgins v O'Brien: 86–26
Hendry v Murphy: 73–34
Highest break
Century breaks
50+ breaks

References

edit
  1. ^ "Fin's Fables: The 1996 Snooker World Cup". Snooker HQ. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. ^ Whebell, Charles (11 November 1996). "Scotland let off by edgy Irish". The Daily Telegraph. p. 43.
  3. ^ "Castrol-Honda World Cup 1996". Snooker.org. Retrieved 3 August 2018.