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 The tournament was a success but hosting the event had become too costly that the event was withdrawn afterward.
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Main draw
Teams
Country Player 1 (Captain) Player 2 Player 3 Stephen Hendry Alan McManus John Higgins Peter Ebdon Ronnie O'Sullivan Nigel Bond Darren Morgan Mark Williams Anthony Davies Dennis Taylor Joe Swail Terry Murphy Ken Doherty Fergal O'Brien Stephen Murphy Cliff Thorburn Alain Robidoux Jim Wych Tony Drago Alex Borg Joe Grech James Wattana Noppadon Noppachorn Tai Pichit Robby Foldvari Quinten Hann Stan Gorski Shokat Ali Farhan Mirza Saleh Mohammad Silvino Francisco Hitesh Naran Munier Cassim Dene O'Kane Mark Canovan Daniel Haenga Bjorn Haneveer Mario Geudens Patrick Delsemme Hong Kong Kong Wahorn Chan Wai Tat Paul Fung Keith Boon Bernard Tey Ang Chiok Hong Guo Hua Pang Weiguo Tao Shan Masood Akil Mohammed Shehab Mohammed Al Joker Kristján Helgason Johannes Johannesson Edvard Matthiasson Sam Chong Ng Ann Seng Yong Kien Foot 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 1ScoreTeam 2Date Belgium6–3 Iceland Republic of Ireland6–3 New Zealand Northern Ireland6–3 Iceland Republic of Ireland7–2 Belgium Northern Ireland4–5 Belgium New Zealand5–4 Iceland Republic of Ireland4–5 Northern Ireland New Zealand5–4 Belgium Republic of Ireland7–2 Iceland Northern Ireland6–3 New Zealand
Group B
Team 1ScoreTeam 2Date Hong Kong2–7 Singapore Canada8–1 South Africa Scotland9–0 Singapore Hong Kong7–2 South Africa Scotland6–3 South Africa Canada8–1 Singapore Canada7–2 Hong Kong South Africa5–4 Singapore Scotland6–3 Canada Scotland8–1 Hong Kong
Group C
Team 1ScoreTeam 2Date Thailand4–5 China England8–1 United Arab Emirates China4–5 United Arab Emirates Thailand6–3 Pakistan England5–4 China England6–3 Thailand Pakistan8–1 United Arab Emirates Pakistan7–2 China Thailand9–0 United Arab Emirates England6–3 Pakistan
Group D
Team 1ScoreTeam 2Date Australia6–3 Netherlands Malta6–3 Malaysia Wales6–3 Netherlands Australia5–4 Malta Wales8–1 Malaysia Malta4–5 Netherlands Wales7–2 Australia Netherlands6–3 Malaysia Wales5–4 Malta Australia6–3 Malaysia
Final
Final: Best of 19 frames. Referees: Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. 10 November 1996. Stephen Hendry, Alan McManus, John Higgins 10–7 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
References