It’s wonderful to assume that it’s virtually a decade for the reason that House Nations snooker sequence was launched.
The Welsh Open had already been a well-established event, having been an everyday fixture on the annual calendar since 1992.
A call was taken to develop sister occasions within the close by nations, with tournaments in England, Scotland, and Northern Eire launched whereas every adopted comparable codecs.
The prize fund was comparatively small to start with, however status was elevated by linking well-known names from the game with the trophy that will be introduced for every occasion.
The rejuvenated Welsh Open provided the Ray Reardon Trophy, whereas the brand new English Open winner landed the Steve Davis Trophy.
Belfast’s Alex Higgins was a poignant title connected to the Northern Eire Open, whereas seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry was an apparent choose for Scotland.
Within the first few years, the House Nations snooker sequence offered a dangling carrot of an outrageous reward to its champions.
If any participant may handle to win all 4 occasions in the identical season, they’d have acquired an unimaginable £1 million bonus.
A complete of 28 match wins in a row had been wanted to land the profitable sum, so unsurprisingly no person actually got here shut and the extravagant prize now not exists.
That being stated, the House Nations snooker sequence will present a £150,000 bonus in the course of the 2024/25 marketing campaign for the participant who performs one of the best throughout all 4 occasions.
General, the House Nations Sequence has usually been perceived as a hit since its inception, and the champion of every single occasion this season will earn £100,000 – up from £70,000 at first.
A number of of the heavy hitters have been common winners, however there have additionally been quite a lot of fairy story victories which have stirred up the feelings.
So lots of the House Nations finals have been thrillers as properly, with eight of the 32 title-deciding matches lasting the complete 17 frames.
An extra 9 clashes ended with 9-7 scorelines, together with all 4 finals throughout a compelling 2018/19 marketing campaign for the sequence.
In whole, there have been 17 completely different House Nations snooker champions, from which six have gained multiple title.
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2024 English Open draw and information
A kind of gamers has gained a powerful six titles within the sequence and is among the many favourites for this 12 months’s English Open on the Brentwood Leisure Centre.
Now a everlasting fixture on the schedule, the House Nations appears like will probably be round for a lot of extra years to come back.
The query is, are you able to title the champions from every House Nations snooker occasion to date?
Watch out, as a result of some gamers on the reply checklist haven’t even gained any House Nations titles.
Click on right here if you happen to can’t see the quiz. (Sporcle web site)
Featured picture credit score: World Snooker Tour