Pontins Professional
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The Pontins Professional was an invitational professional non-ranking snooker tournament which ran from 1974 until 2000.
History
Top snooker professionals had regularly supplemented their income from professional events by playing exhibition matches on the holiday camp circuit, with Pontins being a regular venue for entertaining holiday-makers. Beginning in 1974, a tournament involving eight professional players began at Pontins and became a regular point in the snooker calendar, usually occurring in the summer after the World Snooker Championship. This ran in conjunction with the Pontins Open, in which young amateur players can take part and qualify for the Professional event, provided a springboard for future stars such as Paul Hunter and Judd Trump. There were also juniors, seniors, and ladies events.
While top professional players regularly entered in the tournament's early years, the increase in the number of events on the snooker tour led to the biggest stars choosing not to enter in later years, and the professional tournament was last held in 2000.
Winners
Statistics
Finalists
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Winner | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Reardon | Wales | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Ken Doherty | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Terry Griffiths | Wales | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Neal Foulds | England | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Darren Morgan | Wales | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Doug Mountjoy | Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | John Spencer | England | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 8 | Willie Thorne | England | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Martin Clark | England | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Jimmy White | England | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Steve Davis | England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Peter Ebdon | England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Stephen Hendry | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Steve James | England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | John Parrott | England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | John Virgo | England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Mark Williams | Wales | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Mike Hallett | England | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 19 | Nigel Bond | England | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Fred Davis | England | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Tony Drago | Malta | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Andy Hicks | England | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Graham Miles | England | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | John Pulman | England | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Matthew Stevens | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Champions by country
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 5 | 12 | 1974 | 2000 |
| England | 10 | 11 | 1977 | 1999 |
| Ireland | 1 | 3 | 1993 | 1996 |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 | 1990 | 1990 |
See also
- Pontins Camber Sands Championship
- Pontins Open
- International Open Series – successor of the event with increased amateur participation