The 1996 German Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 9 and 15 December 1996 at the Roberts Barracks in Osnabrück, Germany. It was the second edition of the event, with 16 players competing in the final stage. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the event, beating Alain Robidoux 9–7 in the final. It was Robidoux's only appearance in a ranking event final.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9–15 December 1996 |
| Venue | Roberts Barracks |
| City | Osnabrück |
| Country | Germany |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Winner's share | £40,000 |
| Highest break |  Alain Robidoux (CAN) (145) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Alain Robidoux (CAN) |
| Score | 9–7 |
← 1995 1997 → | |
Summary
edit16 players competed in the final stage at the British military base at Osnabrück. Play was delayed for two hours on the opening day, after the heating system failed.[1]
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Stephen Hendry 5–2 in the quarter-finals and then beat Nigel Bond 6–1 in the semi-finals, including three century breaks.[2] O'Sullivan met Alain Robidoux in the final, winning 9–7.[2] O'Sullivan was 4–2 ahead before Robidoux made a break of 145 in frame 7, the highest-ever in a ranking event outside the United Kingdom.[2] O'Sullivan led 5–3 after the first session and later extended his lead to 7–3 before Robidoux won the next four frames to level the match at 7–7. O'Sullivan then won the next two frames to win the match, finishing with a break of 108.[3] O'Sullivan won £40,000 while Robidoux took the runners-up prize of £22,500 and the high break prize of £5,000.[3]
Main draw
edit| Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 17 frames | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  John Higgins (SCO)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 |  Tony Drago (MLT)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | John Higgins
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 |  Mark Williams
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  Ken Doherty (IRL)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Mark Williams (WAL)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | John Higgins
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Alain Robidoux
| 6 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Alain Robidoux (CAN)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Ferguson (ENG)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Alain Robidoux
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Dave Harold
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Dave Harold (ENG)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| David Gray (ENG)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Alain Robidoux
| 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan
| 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| Martin Clark (ENG)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Davis (ENG)
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Nigel Bond
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mark Davis
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Steve Davis (ENG)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Nigel Bond (ENG)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Nigel Bond
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan
| 6 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Andy Hicks (ENG)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Stephen Hendry
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Stephen Hendry (SCO)
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Darren Morgan (WAL)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Qualifying
editThe final qualifying round was held in Preston, Lancashire in November 1996.[3]
Final qualifying round
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References
edit- ^ "Snooker". The Guardian. 10 December 1996. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Everton, Clive (16 December 1996). "O'Sullivan scoops the army pool". The Guardian. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "German Open 1996". Snooker.org. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "German Open". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2017.