| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Venue | World Snooker Centre |
| Location | Prestatyn |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Established | 1997/1998 |
| Organisation(s) | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |
| Format | Non-ranking |
| Final Year | 2004/2005 |
| Final champion(s) | Jamie Cope |
The Challenge Tour was a series of professional snooker tournaments that ran from the 1997/1998 season until the 2004/2005 season.[1] The tour was immediately below the level of the WPBSA Main Tour. The series was initially known as UK Tour.
Contents |
Due to over-subscription of the World Snooker Tour, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted from the 1997/1998 season resulting in the Main Tour and the UK Tour. The Main Tour had an exclusive membership, whereas initially the whole professional membership could compete on the UK Tour and the best performers could earn promotion.[1] From the 1999/2000 season entry was limited to players not competing on the Main Tour,[1] and from the 2001/2002 season the UK Tour itself had an exclusive membership.[2] From the 2000/2001 season it was rebranded the Challenge Tour.[3]
In its first season there were five events, but the number was reduced to four in the following seasons.[3] There were two official maximum breaks at the UK Tour, both being made in the 1998/1999 season. In Event 3 Stuart Bingham made it against Barry Hawkins and in Event 4 Nick Dyson made it against Adrian Gunnell.[1] The tour was discontinued after 2004/2005, but the concept was revived in 2010/2011 in the form of the Players Tour Championship.
| Season | Event | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Tour | ||||
| 1997/1998 | Event 1 | Paul McPhillips | Michael Holt | 6–5 |
| Event 2 | Mark Fenton | Antony Bolsover | 6–4 | |
| Event 3 | Simon Bedford | Robert Milkins | 6–4 | |
| Event 4 | Patrick Wallace | Shaun Murphy | 6–4 | |
| Event 5 | Paul Sweeny | Hugh Abernethy | 6–5 | |
| 1998/1999 | Event 1 | Alfie Burden | Anthony Davies | 6–5 |
| Event 2 | Joe Swail | Alfie Burden | 6–1 | |
| Event 3 | Stuart Bingham | Matthew Couch | 6–1 | |
| Event 4 | James Reynolds | Jason Ferguson | 6–4 | |
| 1999/2000 | Event 1 | Matt Wilson | Barry Hawkins | 6–4 |
| Event 2 | Andrew Higginson | Scott MacKenzie | 6–3 | |
| Event 3 | Simon Bedford | Barry Hawkins | 6–5 | |
| Event 4 | Barry Hawkins | Craig Butler | 6–1 | |
| Challenge Tour | ||||
| 2000/2001 | Event 1 | Adrian Rosa | Surinder Gill | 6–4 |
| Event 2 | Andrew Norman | Luke Fisher | 6–3 | |
| Event 3 | Shaun Murphy | Andrew Norman | 6–3 | |
| Event 4 | Shaun Murphy | Luke Simmonds | 6–2 | |
| 2001/2002 | Event 1 | James Reynolds | Steve Judd | 6–5 |
| Event 2 | Leo Fernandez | Ryan Day | 6–3 | |
| Event 3 | Lee Spick | Joe Delaney | 6–3 | |
| Event 4 | David Gilbert | Ryan Day | 6–3 | |
| 2002/2003 | Event 1 | Chris Melling | Tom Ford | 6–2 |
| Event 2 | Adrian Rosa | Stuart Mann | 6–5 | |
| Event 3 | Michael Rhodes | Luke Simmonds | 6–5 | |
| Event 4 | Kurt Maflin | James Leadbetter | 6–2 | |
| 2003/2004 | Event 1 | Stefan Mazrocis | Paul Davison | 6–2 |
| Event 2 | Hugh Abernethy | Gary Wilson | 6–0 | |
| Event 3 | Brian Salmon | Steve James | 6–1 | |
| Event 4 | Gary Wilson | Jin Long | 6–4 | |
| 2004/2005 | Event 1 | Jamie Cope | Chris Norbury | 6–2 |
| Event 2 | James Tatton | Matthew Barnes | 6–4 | |
| Event 3 | James McBain | Mark Allen | 6–3 | |
| Event 4 | Jamie Cope | Matthew Couch | 6–0 | |
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| UK Tour | |
| 1997/1998 | Paul McPhillips |
| 1998/1999 | Alfie Burden |
| 1999/2000 | Barry Hawkins |
| Challenge Tour | |
| 2000/2001 | Shaun Murphy |
| 2001/2002 | Ryan Day |
| 2002/2003 | Martin Gould |
| 2003/2004 | Brian Salmon |
| 2004/2005 | Jamie Cope |
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