International Open Series
Tournament information
VenueWorld Snooker Centre
LocationPrestatyn
CountryWales
Established2001
Organisation(s)WPBSA (2001/02)
EASB (2002/03–2009/10)
FormatProfessional (2001/02)
Pro-am (2002/03)
Amateur (2003/04–2009/10)
Final year2009/10
Final championEngland Jack Lisowski

The International Open Series (often referred to as Pontins International Open Series or PIOS[1][2] for sponsorship purposes), was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season. It was originally called the Open Tour but was renamed in 2005/2006.[3]

History

The tour was established to provide players not on the WPBSA Main Tour or Challenge Tour with professional competition, and the best performers were promoted to the Challenge Tour.[3] It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) during its first season, but the English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB), an amateur body, took it over from 2002/03.[3] The event was open to professionals, amateurs and international players for the first couple of seasons, but following the EASB's split from the WPBSA for 2003/04 the entry criteria were revised barring professional and non-English players from entering.[3] After the Challenge Tour was discontinued, the entry criteria were revised again to allow international amateur players to compete, and from 2005/06 the competition promoted players directly to the Main Tour.[4] The series was abandoned after the 2009/10 season and replaced by the Q School in the 2010/11 season.

Event finals

Season Event Winner Runner-up Final score
WPBSA Open Tour (professional non-ranking)[3]
2001/02Event 1England Mark GrayEngland Shaun Murphy5–2
Event 2England Brian MorganRepublic of Ireland Leo Fernandez5–2
Event 3Finland Robin HullRepublic of Ireland Colm Gilcreest5–4
Event 4England Matthew CouchEngland Munraj Pal5–3
Event 5England Lee SpickEngland Mark Gray5–3
Event 6England Stuart BinghamEngland Matthew Selt5–4
EASB Open Tour (pro-am)[3]
2002/03Event 1Wales Ryan DayWales James Reynolds5–4
Event 2Wales Ryan DayEngland Mark Gray5–3
Event 3England Rory McLeodEngland Mark Gray5–2
Event 4England Ricky WaldenEngland Jamie Cope5–1
EASB Open Tour (amateur)[3]
2003/04Event 1England David KL TaylorEngland Darren McVicar4–3
Event 2England James TattonEngland Lee Richardson4–2
Event 3England Lee RichardsonEngland Jamie Barratt4–0
Event 4England Sean BullockEngland Andy Radford4–0
Event 5England Andy RadfordEngland Mark Sutton4–0
Event 6England Eddie CooperEngland Nick Spelman4–2
Event 7England Alan TriggEngland Wayne Cooper4–1
Event 8England Paul DavisonEngland Wayne Cooper4–2
Final play-offEngland Wayne CooperEngland Nick Spelman5–1
PIOS (amateur)[4]
2005/06Event 1China Tian PengfeiEngland Martin Gould6–3
Event 2England Mark JoyceEngland James Leadbetter6–3
Event 3China Liu SongEngland Stephen Rowlings6–1
Event 4Republic of Ireland Colm GilcreestEngland Mark Joyce6–3
Event 5England Chris MellingEngland Paul Davison6–5
Event 6China Liu SongEngland Paul Davison6–3
Event 7China Tian PengfeiChina Liu Song6–3
Event 8England Andrew HigginsonEngland Jamie O'Neill6–3
2006/07Event 1England Munraj PalNorway Kurt Maflin6–3
Event 2Northern Ireland Julian LogueEngland Alex Davies6–5
Event 3Republic of Ireland Leo FernandezWales Lee Walker6–5
Event 4England Kuldesh JohalWales Lee Walker6–4
Event 5Norway Kurt MaflinEngland Ashley Wright6–3
Event 6England Jamie O'NeillEngland Ashley Wright6–2
Event 7Belgium Bjorn HaneveerEngland Craig Steadman6–2
Event 8Scotland James McBainNorway Kurt Maflin6–4
2007/08Event 1England Simon BedfordEngland Gary Wilkinson6–3
Event 2England Kuldesh JohalWales Andrew Pagett6–4
Event 3England Paul DavisonEngland Michael King6–2
Event 4England Matthew CouchEngland Michael Wild6–3
Event 5England Peter LinesWales Daniel Wells6–5
Event 6England Kuldesh JohalEngland Simon Bedford6–5
Event 7Wales Jamie JonesEngland Peter Lines6–2
Event 8England Liam HighfieldEngland Justin Astley6–2
2008/09Event 1Belgium Bjorn HaneveerEngland Andrew Atkinson6–2
Event 2China Xiao GuodongThailand Noppadol Sangnil6–5
Event 3Pakistan Shokat AliWales Michael White6–3
Event 4England Craig SteadmanEngland Mike Hallett6–1
Event 5England Chris NorburyEngland Alfie Burden6–2
Event 6China Xiao GuodongEngland Jack Lisowski6–0
Event 7Thailand Thepchaiya Un-NoohEngland Lee Page6–3
Event 8England Joe JogiaEngland Ben Woollaston6–5
2009/10Event 1England Jack LisowskiEngland Liam Highfield6–5
Event 2England Liam HighfieldEngland Neal Jones6–2
Event 3England Paul DavisonEngland Kyren Wilson6–4
Event 4Wales Jamie JonesWales Jak Jones6–0
Event 5Scotland Anthony McGillEngland Farakh Ajaib6–0
Event 6England Kyren WilsonEngland Liam Highfield6–4
Event 7England Paul DavisonEngland Justin Astley6–2
Event 8England Jack LisowskiEngland Justin Astley6–1

Order of Merit winners

[4]

Season Winner
2005/06China Liu Song
2006/07Norway Kurt Maflin
2007/08England Kuldesh Johal
2008/09England Joe Jogia
2009/10England Jack Lisowski

References

  1. ↑ "Pontin's &– Working with Global Snooker". London: Global Snooker. 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "Pontin's International Open Series: Rules of Entry 2009/10" (PDF). Global-Snooker.com: Maximum Snooker Coverage. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Suffolk: Rose Villa Publications. pp. Introduction & 178–186. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  4. 1 2 3 "Pontins International Open Series". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
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