The 1997 Welsh Open (officially the 1997 Regal Welsh Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 January–1 February 1997 at the Newport Leisure Centre in Newport, Wales.
Mark Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semi-final to Mark King.
Stephen Hendry defeated Mark King 9–2 in the final to win his second Welsh Open title.
Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:
Winner: £37,500 Runner Up: £21,000 Semi Finalists: £10,500 Quarter Finalist: £5,755 Last 16: £2,940 Last 32: £1,655 Last 64: £1,275 Last 96: £490
Stage one highest break: £1,000 Stage two highest break: £5,000 Stage one maximum break: £5,000 Stage two maximum break: £20,000 Total: £215,000
Main draw
Final
Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Colin Brinded. Newport Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales, 1 February 1997. Stephen Hendry 9–2 Mark KingAfternoon: 140–0 (140), 101–5 (101), 29–75, 113–0 (95), 72–50, 110–1 (106), 67–2, 16–96 (58)Evening: 91–26, 71–20, 90–1 (52) 140 Highest break 58 3 Century breaks 0 5 50+ breaks 1
References