Euro Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 1
The Paul Hunter Classic 2010 was a snooker tournament that was held in the Town Hall in Fürth from 27 to 29 August.
For the first time world ranking points were awarded at the Paul Hunter Classic; as part of the 2010 newly introduced, consisting of 12 minor ranking tournaments and a tour final Players Tour Championship. The number of world ranking points that can be won is less than that of the major events of Snooker Main Tour - at the competitions but can also amateurs participate. The tournament in Fürth was the first of six taking place on the European continent Players Tour events.
Unlike in previous years, the Paul Hunter Classic was played without group stage elimination in pure mode. On Thursday (26 August 2010), the pre-qualification for amateur players was held in two rounds. From 126 players were in the town hall and partly in the premises of the co-organizer SSC Fürth those determined which were allowed occupy the free spaces in the first round.
- 3.1 Group 1
- 3.2 Group 2
- 3.3 Group 3
- 3.4 Group 4
- 3.5 Group 5
- 3.6 Group 6
- 3.7 Group 7
- 3.8 Group 8
- 3.9 quarterfinals to finals
Prize money and ranking points
Preliminary round
Preliminary Round 1
Preliminary Round 2
Main Round
The tournament winner in 2010 was determined in seven rounds to the finals. In the first round, 96 players were set, including 78 Main Tour professionals. The rest came from the qualifying round.
The main tournament started at the viewer with a disappointment: Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had first reported for Fuerth, stayed away from the tournament without giving reasons. Disappointments, there were also the two players who led the new Players Tour at this time. Barry Pinches had already failed in his first match, Mark Selby then in round two short of top players Ali Carter. Also for the world champion Neil Robertson was for a clear 0-4 against Stuart Bingham already in the Round of 32 final. From ten qualified German players only managed Patrick Einsle in the second round, where Michael Holt was the last stop. The Belgian Björn Haneveer reached the knockout stages as the only non originating from the British Isles players.
The veteran Steve Davis, who had turned to Ali Carter and Graeme Dott two top players, and Jimmy White showed himself in Franconia once again strongly and reached the quarter-finals as well as Shaun Murphy, who had last won the tournament twice in a row. Then there were the young player Jack Lisowski, Judd Trump and Daniel Wells. Lisowski, who qualified in 2010 for the first time for the professional tour, had previously beaten Marco Fu and Ricky Walden. Wells was the only amateur player who came to the last eight, but he had already gained two years on the professional tour experience. In addition, the Welsh, the only remaining non- Englishman was in the tournament. While Wells Jimmy White took a 4-2 in the tournament and managed by reaching the semi-finals of the biggest success of his career in the professional sector, Lisowski subject clearly was two years older top -32 player Trump. Judd Trump could then prevail against defending champion Shaun Murphy and the finals. His opponent was the very experienced 39 -year-old Anthony Hamilton, who, however, was quoted in the world rankings behind Trump and had been in a ranking tournament final last 2002.
The young players started with a frame profit before Hamilton pulled away with three wins in a row and only one frame was removed from the tournament win. With breaks of 69 and 97 points, however, Judd Trump made the 3:3 compensation and took refuge in the decisive seventh frame. With a bold beginner, two intermediate breaks and a little luck, he eventually won the Paul Hunter Classic 2010 and thus his first title at a world ranking tournament.