1996 World Cup (snooker)
Snooker tournament
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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 The tournament was a success but hosting the event had become too costly that the event was withdrawn afterward.[1][2][3]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 29 October – 10 November 1996 |
| Venue | Armari Watergate Hotel |
| City | Bangkok |
| Country | Thailand |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £400,000 |
| Winner's share | £105,000 |
| Highest break |  John Higgins 139 |
| Final | |
| Champion | Scotland |
| Runner-up |  Republic of Ireland |
| Score | 10–7 |
← 1990 2011 → | |
Main draw
Teams
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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 | ||