History

First contested in 1981 and named Northern Ireland Classic. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White

Jimmy White

James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...

 beat Steve Davis

Steve Davis

Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...

 in the final.

The event was revived for the 2005/06 season

Snooker season 2005/2006

The snooker season 2005/06 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2005 and 2006. The following table outlines the results and dates for the ranking and major invitational events that took place.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...

 as an invitational event and was contested by 20 players. From the 2006/07 season

Snooker season 2006/2007

The snooker season 2006/2007 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2006 and 2007. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...

, it became a full ranking event

Snooker world rankings

The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...

, attended by the world's top 32 players plus 16 qualifiers.

The event was the first ranking tournament to be held in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and has been staged as part of World Snooker

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...

's continuing efforts to popularise the game in more territories. The tournament took place at the Waterfront Hall

Waterfront Hall

The Waterfront Hall is a multi-purpose facility, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. Practice partner Peter McGukin was the project architect....

, Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

. It has been the opening event of the season

Snooker season 2006/2007

The snooker season 2006/2007 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2006 and 2007. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...

, other than in 2007 when it was held in November. Prize money

Prize money

Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...

 for 2006 totalled £200,500 with the winner receiving £30,000.

In the 2006 event Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...

 broke a world record during his semi-final against Dominic Dale

Dominic Dale

-External links:**...

; he won the match in 53 minutes of play, which was the fastest ever time in a best-of-11 match. At the 2007 event, O'Sullivan established another record in his 3rd round 5–2 win over Ali Carter by becoming the only player to win a match in a ranking tournament by compiling a century break in every winning frame. O'Sullivan also compiled a maximum break in the same match.

Winners

Year	Winner	Opponent	Final score	Season
Northern Ireland Classic (non-ranking)
1981	Jimmy White Jimmy White James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...	Steve Davis Steve Davis Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...	11 - 9	1981/82
Northern Ireland Trophy (non-ranking)
2005	Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...	Stephen Hendry Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...	9 - 7	2005/06 Snooker season 2005/2006 The snooker season 2005/06 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2005 and 2006. The following table outlines the results and dates for the ranking and major invitational events that took place.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...
Northern Ireland Trophy (ranking)
2006 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy The 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy was the 2006 edition of the Northern Ireland Trophy snooker tournament, held from 13 to 20 August 2006, at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ding Junhui defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan by nine to six in the final to lift his third ranking title whilst...	Ding Junhui Ding Junhui Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...	Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...	9 - 6	2006/07 Snooker season 2006/2007 The snooker season 2006/2007 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2006 and 2007. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...
2007	Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...	Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien is an Irish professional snooker player. He has won one ranking title and reached two other major finals, and spent three seasons as a top 16 player.-Career:...	9 - 5	2007/08 Snooker season 2007/2008 The Snooker Season 2007/2008 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2007 and 2008. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events...
2008 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy The 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 24 and 31 August 2008 in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast....	Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...	Dave Harold Dave Harold David 'Dave' Harold is an English professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter"...	9 - 3	2008/09