2008 Northern Ireland Trophy

Northern Ireland Trophy
Tournament information
Dates	24–31 August 2008
Venue	Waterfront Hall
City	Belfast
Country	Northern Ireland
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£200,500
Winner's share	£30,000
Highest break	Stephen Lee (ENG) (145)
Final
Champion	Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Runner-up	Dave Harold (ENG)
Score	9–3
	← 2007 Last →

The 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 and 31 August 2008 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his 21st ranking tournament by defeating surprise finalist Dave Harold 9–3 in the final.^[1]

Tournament summary[]

Notable comebacks in the qualifiers included: Li Hang coming from 0–4 down to beat Irish prodigy David Morris 5–4, and both Jimmy White and Ian Preece came from 2–4 behind to win their matches 5–4, against Jamie Jones and Paul Davies respectively.
Jimmy White qualified for the final stage of an event for the first time in over a year, stretching back to the 2007 China Open.
Long standing top-16 players, Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Stephen Lee were playing in the qualifiers for the first time in over a decade.
Last year's runner-up, Fergal O'Brien fell at the first hurdle, losing 3–5 to Michael Holt.
In his match against Mark Selby, Andrew Higginson was playing in front of the TV cameras for the first time since his run to the final of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Dominic Dale came from 1–4 down against Mark Allen to level at 4–4, before Allen played superbly to take the decider.
In beating Ding Junhui 5–4, Mark Davis secured one of the best wins of his career.
Ronnie O'Sullivan won three quick consecutive frames to oust former world champion Ken Doherty 5–4 in the last 32.
Stephen Maguire won the last three frames to beat Alan McManus 5–4, a player who had not reached the last 16 of an event the previous season.
Dave Harold beat Stephen Lee 5–4, a player who had been considered one of the tournaments in-form players, having knocked in three centuries, including a high break of 145.
Harold increased his head-to-head record to 3–0 over Stephen Maguire by beating him 5–2 in the quarter-finals, afterwards Maguire stated that he never seems to perform against Harold.
Barry Hawkins produced a brave fightback to recover from 1–4 to level at 4–4 against Ronnie O'Sullivan in their quarter-final match, before the world champion took the decider.
Dave Harold led John Higgins 5–1, but won only 6–4, to reach his first ranking final since 1994, the gap between those two ranking finals is the longest in snooker history.

Prize fund[]

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:^[2]

Winner: £30,000
Runner-up: £15,000
Semi-final: £7,500
Quarter-final: £5,600
Last 16: £4,000
Last 32: £2,500
Last 48: £1,625
Last 64: £1,100

Stage one highest break: £500
Stage two highest break: £2,000
Stage one maximum break: £1,000
Stage two maximum break: £20,000
Total: £200,500

Main draw[]

^[3]

Last 48 Best of 9 frames					Last 32 Best of 9 frames			Last 16 Best of 9 frames			Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames			Semi-finals Best of 11 frames			Final Best of 17 frames

24	Fergal O'Brien	3			1	Stephen Maguire	5
	Michael Holt	5				Michael Holt	1
								1	Stephen Maguire	5

									Alan McManus	4
17	Matthew Stevens	2	15	Mark King	3

	Alan McManus	5				Alan McManus	5
											1	Stephen Maguire	2

											28	Dave Harold	5
28	Dave Harold	5			13	Graeme Dott	3

	Ricky Walden	2			28	Dave Harold	5
								28	Dave Harold	5

								27	Stephen Lee	4
27	Stephen Lee	5	6	Stephen Hendry	1

	Judd Trump	3			27	Stephen Lee	5
														28	Dave Harold	6

														5	John Higgins	4
30	Michael Judge	4			5	John Higgins	5

	David Gilbert	5				David Gilbert	2
								5	John Higgins	5

									Liang Wenbo	1
29	Steve Davis	3	9	Peter Ebdon	0

	Liang Wenbo	5				Liang Wenbo	5
											5	John Higgins	5

											25	Ian McCulloch	3
25	Ian McCulloch	5			10	Neil Robertson	2

	Mike Dunn	4			25	Ian McCulloch	5
								25	Ian McCulloch	5

								4	Mark Selby	4
31	Anthony Hamilton	3	4	Mark Selby	5

	Andrew Higginson	5				Andrew Higginson	1
																	28	Dave Harold	3

																	2	Ronnie O'Sullivan	9
22	Mark Williams	5			3	Shaun Murphy	2

	Marcus Campbell	3			22	Mark Williams	5
								22	Mark Williams	3

								16	Mark Allen	5
32	Dominic Dale	5	16	Mark Allen	5

	Adrian Gunnell	4			32	Dominic Dale	4
											16	Mark Allen	2

											7	Ali Carter	5
20	Joe Swail	4			11	Ding Junhui	4

	Mark Davis	5				Mark Davis	5
									Mark Davis	2

								7	Ali Carter	5
21	Stuart Bingham	4	7	Ali Carter	5

	Rory McLeod	5				Rory McLeod	1
														7	Ali Carter	5

														2	Ronnie O'Sullivan	6
23	Nigel Bond	1			8	Ryan Day	5

	Stuart Pettman	5				Stuart Pettman	4
								8	Ryan Day	3

								26	Barry Hawkins	5
26	Barry Hawkins	5	14	Marco Fu	2

	Jimmy White	3			26	Barry Hawkins	5
											26	Barry Hawkins	4

											2	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
19	Jamie Cope	5			12	Joe Perry	5

	David Gray	4			19	Jamie Cope	2
								12	Joe Perry	3

								2	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5
18	Ken Doherty	5	2	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5

	Gerard Greene	2			18	Ken Doherty	4

Final[]

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Eirian Williams. Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 31 August 2008.^[3]
Dave Harold England	3–9	Ronnie O'Sullivan England
Afternoon: 63–14, 44–68 (68), 17–127 (103), 0–84 (84), 44–87, 13–84, 60–76 (76) Evening: 76–41, 19–73 (64), 54–61, 88–0 (81), 22–80 (50)
81	Highest break	103
0	Century breaks	1
1	50+ breaks	6

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the tournament took place at Pontins in Prestatyn, Wales between 15 and 17 August 2008.^[4]

Round 1 Best of 9 frames		Round 2 Best of 9 frames		Round 3 Best of 9 frames

Rodney Goggins	5	Rod Lawler	5	Michael Holt	5
Declan Hughes	2	Rodney Goggins	0	Rod Lawler	2

Paul Davison	0	Andy Hicks	5	Alan McManus	5
Andrew Pagett	5	Andrew Pagett	4	Andy Hicks	2

Daniel Wells	5	Barry Pinches	5	Ricky Walden	5
Jin Long	3	Daniel Wells	1	Barry Pinches	3

Patrick Wallace	5	Mark Joyce	5	Judd Trump	5
Bye	0	Patrick Wallace	0	Mark Joyce	0

Supoj Saenla	2	Robert Milkins	3	David Gilbert	5
Liu Chuang	5	Liu Chuang	5	Liu Chuang	3

Peter Lines	5	David Roe	5	Liang Wenbo	5
Andy Lee	0	Peter Lines	2	David Roe	0

Matthew Couch	5	Andrew Norman	5	Mike Dunn	5
Vincent Muldoon	3	Matthew Couch	3	Andrew Norman	1

Robert Stephen	1	David Morris	4	A. Higginson	5
Li Hang	5	Li Hang	5	Li Hang	2

Lee Spick	5	Joe Delaney	5	Marcus Campbell	5
Aditya Mehta	2	Lee Spick	0	Joe Delaney	1

Jamie Jones	5	Ian Preece	5	Adrian Gunnell	5
Stephen Craigie	2	Jamie Jones	4	Ian Preece	2

Kuldesh Johal	5	Mark Davis	5	Jamie Burnett	2
Michael Georgiou	3	Kuldesh Johal	1	Mark Davis	5

Matthew Selt	5	Liu Song	5	Rory McLeod	5
Chris McBreen	1	Matthew Selt	1	Liu Song	2

James McBain	5	Stuart Pettman	5	John Parrott	4
Stefan Mazrocis	1	James McBain	3	Stuart Pettman	5

Jimmy White	5	Paul Davies	4	Tom Ford	2
Atthasit Mahitthi	4	Jimmy White	5	Jimmy White	5

Simon Bedford	5	David Gray	5	Jimmy Michie	3
David Grace	1	Simon Bedford	4	David Gray	5

Lewis Roberts	1	Martin Gould	5	Gerard Greene	5
Wayne Cooper	5	Wayne Cooper	3	Martin Gould	3

Century breaks[]

Qualifying stage centuries[]

^[4]

130, 114 – James McBain
128, 114 – Stuart Pettman
127 – Andy Hicks
127 – Liang Wenbo
126 – Liu Song
125 – Adrian Gunnell
121 – Andy Lee

120 – Jamie Burnett
119 – Ricky Walden
111 – Stephen Lee
109 – Ian Preece
108 – Mark Davis
101 – Rodney Goggins
101 – Robert Milkins

Televised stage centuries[]

^[3]

145, 116, 111 – Stephen Lee
139, 110 – Ian McCulloch
134, 126, 115, 111 – Barry Hawkins
134 – Michael Judge
134 – Ryan Day
132, 122, 110, 110, 108, 103 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
127 – Stephen Maguire

113 – Anthony Hamilton
106 – Mark Allen
106 – Ali Carter
104 – Liang Wenbo
103 – John Higgins
103 – Ricky Walden

References[]

^ "Classy O'Sullivan wins NI Trophy". BBC Sport. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
^ "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Prize Money". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Qualifying Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.

[1] "Classy O'Sullivan wins NI Trophy". BBC Sport. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.

[2] "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Prize Money". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.

[GSMR-3] "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.

[GSQR-4] "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Qualifying Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.

[1]

[2]

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Tournament information
Dates	24–31 August 2008 (2008-08-24 – 2008-08-31)
Venue	Waterfront Hall
City	Belfast
Country	Northern Ireland
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£200,500
Winner's share	£30,000
Highest break	Stephen Lee (ENG) (145)
Final
Champion	Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Runner-up	Dave Harold (ENG)
Score	9–3
← 2007 Last →