PTC-8 Killarney.

connie147

The 8th leg of the Players tour championship (PTC) is going to take place in The Killarney Convention Centre (formerly known as the INEC) adjoining the Glen eagle Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry from October 20th-23rd.
The tournament will be played over 10 tables, with 4 of the show tables having tiered seating. Eurosport will be taking live tv coverage for the entire event.

I'm putting up this new thread about the PTC Killarney because my company, Cue Club Events, are involved in the organisation and running of the tournament, and I will answer any queries ye might have on it.

Entries closed for the professionals last Thursday, and the great news is that of the 100 World Snooker professionals, 94 have entered the tournament. The only pro from the top 64 that is not entered in the tournament is Chinas Ding Junhui who will be back in China when the event takes place.

The PTC is a ranking event where 128 players take part in the 1st round proper. Approxamitly 90 of these will be pros, and approxamitely 38 amatuers will be added to make up the field to 128. Anybody can enter the PTC event, with the entry fee being €100. The closing date for amatuers to enter the PTC-8 Killarney is September 10th. Entries can be made at the box-office on 064-6671550.
It is expected that a number close to 150 amatuer players will enter to play the prelim round for amatuers to create the approx 40 amatuer players to join the 90 pros in the 1st round proper. All PTC matches from prelim through to the final are best of 7 frames.

There is already 70 amatuer players entered (entry fee paid), with another 3 weeks left for amatuer players to enter.

If anybody has any questions to ask, fire away and I'll do my best to answer them.

With Ronnie, John Higgens, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Jimmy White, Steven Hendry, Steven maguire, Steve Davis, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Ali Carter, Matthew Stevens etc etc etc coming to town, along with the best of the Irish Brigade, Mark Allen, Ken Doherty, Fergal o Brien, Joe Swail,Davy Morris, is should be a weekend to remember for Irish snooker fans!!

Connie

califano

Good luck with this Connie, a lot of organisation by the sounds. Any local lads in Killarney or Kerry in general to keep an eye on in the qualifiers?.

connie147

I'll have about 6 or 7 club members that will enter the PTC. Some are very good, and others will be entering just for the experience of it. Locals lads that will be worth watching, in no particular order,

Mark Tuite
Danny McGough
John Friel
Paddy Murphy
Derry o Sullivan.

The standard of the amatuer players in this event is going to be extremely high, but the 5 Killarney lads mentioned above will make it tough for any amatuer opponnent. Should be a tremendous experience for them no matter what happens.

oneillMan999

Nice one Connie, btw how much will the all day tickets be?

zack01

It's fantastic news, I mentioned in a different thread at the end of last season that there was a possibity of a PTC event in Ireland, somehow I thought the Ivy Rooms in Carlow might have got the nod as it's on a par with the SouthWest academy in Glouster which will hold several PTC's this year.
However Killarney has always been a good host for snooker events in Ireland most recently the World Six Red Championship,and I've no doubt Connie and the rest of the organisers will put on a good show.
The first ranking cut off point will have taken place a few weeks earlier which determines the latest top 16 so we may not see as many as the top boys as you would at the earlier PTC's.

connie147

oneillMan999 wrote: »

Nice one Connie, btw how much will the all day tickets be?

We took a decision to keep it as reasonable as possible to entice as many snooker fans as possible to come and support this event.

Snooker will start on Friday and Saturday at 9.30am, with play going on both days until midnight. So 14 hours of snooker, on 10 tables with 4 of the show tables having tiered seating. All day ticket = €10

Sunday sees the 8 x last 16 matches, 4 x quarter finals, 2 x semi-finals and the final, and an all-day ticket for Sunday will cost €15

We are also organising a daily V.I.P. ticket. This ticket will unlimited access to the players lounge, preferred seating at the tv table, and a carvery lunch served in the players lounge.
Daily VIP ticket = €50. 3-day VIP pass = €100.

There will also be an underage ticket (12 and under) @ €5 per day.

There is no charge on Thursday.

I think this is a very competitive pricing structure. Hope ye agree

Connie

connie147

zack01 wrote: »

It's fantastic news, I mentioned in a different thread at the end of last season that there was a possibity of a PTC event in Ireland, somehow I thought the Ivy Rooms in Carlow might have got the nod as it's on a par with the SouthWest academy in Glouster which will hold several PTC's this year.
However Killarney has always been a good host for snooker events in Ireland most recently the World Six Red Championship,and I've no doubt Connie and the rest of the organisers will put on a good show.
The first ranking cut off point will have taken place a few weeks earlier which determines the latest top 16 so we may not see as many as the top boys as you would at the earlier PTC's.

Ive spoken to a lot of the players and they assure me the new rankings wont affect the turnout. World snooker have increased the prizefund dramatically for the PTC finals so all players want a piece of that now. Also, to qualify for the PTC finals, a player must play in 3 of the European PTC events. The Killarney leg comes under the overseas (european tournaments), and as it is the closest and easiest one to get to (50 miutes from Luton, stanstead or Manchester to kerry Airport), we are assured a strong entry.
Another bonus for us is that we held the Liam o Connor memorial pro-am in the INEC Killarney for 3 years in 2004,05,and 06. We had 29 of the top 32 ranked players at the time in a field of 128, and they loved Killarney and had a ball, sp enticing them back was never going to be a problem.

Hope to bump into you down here,

Connie

zack01

connie147 wrote: »

Ive spoken to a lot of the players and they assure me the new rankings wont affect the turnout. World snooker have increased the prizefund dramatically for the PTC finals so all players want a piece of that now. Also, to qualify for the PTC finals, a player must play in 3 of the European PTC events. The Killarney leg comes under the overseas (european tournaments), and as it is the closest and easiest one to get to (50 miutes from Luton, stanstead or Manchester to kerry Airport), we are assured a strong entry.
Another bonus for us is that we held the Liam o Connor memorial pro-am in the INEC Killarney for 3 years in 2004,05,and 06. We had 29 of the top 32 ranked players at the time in a field of 128, and they loved Killarney and had a ball, sp enticing them back was never going to be a problem.

Hope to bump into you down here,


I'll head down for the weekend, always had a great time in Killarney, great snooker town, from the All Ireland Club C'ships to the Six Red Event, it was a great weekend.
Really hope it's a success and it becomes a regular fixture on the pro calendar.
The ticket prices I think are the best part, all that needs doing is to let the snooker fans out there know when and where it's on.
That's my only gripe with snooker events in Ireland, I don't think enough publicity is made for the events here.
Last seasons PTC Finals in Dublin although a huge success could have had better attendance figures for the earlier rounds had people known it was on, I had told as many people as possible but still I had people coming into my club looking at the coverage on tv and asking where was this taking place!
They were surprised when I said Dublin even more so when it was ten minutes up the road!
So if you have any flyers/posters get them out to the clubs and let's get the fans flocking to Killarney and make this the best of the PTC's this season.

connie147

I have just this minute got permission from Alex Higgens family to name the PTC8 tournament being held in Killarney in October after him.

I am delighted and proud to be able to remember Alexs name by way of having a tournament called after him.

Our brochures are going to print this week, so if given a choice, what name would you give the tournament.

A)--The Alex Higgens classic.

--The Alex Higgens trophy.

C)--The Alex Higgens masters.

Or has anyone a better idea. I can only take suggestions for 24 hours due to printer deadlines, so I'm going to give a €100 3-day VIP ticket to one of the posters who replies to this.

So lets hear what ye think. Everyone that makes a genuine suggestion goes into the draw for the 3-day VIP ticket. I just want to know what name would be most popular.

zack01

What a great idea Connie, Alex would have loved that, regarding a name?
I'd go with Trophy, a Masters event is normally invitation and there is already a Classic, starting this weekend, The Paul Hunter Classic.
Whatever you choose though it's a great idea and I'm sure will be popular with all the players and fans alike.

Setun

Good reasons to suggest the "Alex Higgins Trophy", Zack. I'd second that, makes perfect sense when you put it like that. I'm sure all the players will be delighted to play in an event named after the Hurricane too.

califano

B.)
And make sure to get someone to proof read the posters before they go to print;):)

Spiderpig92

i would go with the alex higgins classic, its not a invitational tournament(masters) and not a fully fledged ranking tournament such as the uk championship or world championship(trophy). i think it is a fantastic idea to have a tournament named after the great man and hopefully will be a resounding success. would love to go and see the tournament meself!

chalkie 501

connie147 wrote: »

I'll have about 6 or 7 club members that will enter the PTC. Some are very good, and others will be entering just for the experience of it. Locals lads that will be worth watching, in no particular order,

Mark Tuite
Danny McGough
John Friel
Paddy Murphy
Derry o Sullivan.

The standard of the amatuer players in this event is going to be extremely high, but the 5 Killarney lads mentioned above will make it tough for any amatuer opponnent. Should be a tremendous experience for them no matter what happens.

Delighted to see Danny McGough back playing,cant wait to see him rattle a few big names....I hear Derry o Sullivan is no bad player either;)

allOtherPlaces

Either the The Alex Higgins Trophy, or maybe The Alex Higgins Cup?

... or The Hurricane Cup... or ... The Hurricane Higgins Classic. ...

or... A1 Irish Snooker Trophy Limited

connie147

Looks like its gonna be named "The Alex Higgins International Trophy"

oneillMan999

How about "The Alex Higgins Memorial Trophy"

connie147

oneillMan999 wrote: »

How about "The Alex Higgins Memorial Trophy"

We felt "memorial" is just too morbid. We'd like the tournament to be like more of a celebration of his life and what he gave to the sport.


Connie

connie147

Just to say that we now have a website dedicated to this PTC 8 Tournament in killarney in October, namely the Alex Higgins International trophy.

The website address is www.ptckillarney.com

Any feeddback would be appreciated, just post here.

Connie

connie147

The PTC8 Killarney kicks off this thursday.

Thursday---9.30 am until late sees the 120 amatuers play off to find 32 players to join the 96 pros in the 1st round proper on Friday.

Friday Oct 21st--The top half of the draw is on Friday. 64 players will play down to 8. Play from 9.30am until approx 10pm.

Saturday Oct 22nd--The bottom half of the draw sees the remaining 64 players play down to 8.

Sunday Oct 23rd-- 16 players remaining, so 4 rounds of matches:
last 16
Quarter finals
Semi Finals
Final.

All matches are best of 7 frames (incl final)
Eurosport are covering the event Fri, Sat and Sunday.

An all day ticket for Fri or Saturday is €10
An all day ticket for Sunday is €15.

A limited amount of VIP tickets are available as well. A VIP ticket gets the holder unlimited access to the players lounge, preferred seating at the tv table and carvery lunch served in the players lounge.
A daily VIP ticket costs €50, while a 3-day VIP ticket costs €100.

Any other queries on the evnt, ring me on 087-2833343.

connie147

Eurosport Coverage

13th October 2011
Here are the Eurosport schedules for PTC8.

PTC Ireland on British Eurosport

Fri 21 Oct
1400-2130 LIVE on British Eurosport 2
1400-1700 LIVE on Eurosport HD
1800-2130 LIVE on Eurosport HD

Sat 22 Oct
1430-2130 LIVE on Eurosport HD
1800-2130 LIVE on British Eurosport 2

Sun 23 Oct
1130-1500 LIVE on British Eurosport 2
1700-1800 LIVE on British Eurosport 2
1245-1500 LIVE on Eurosport HD
1600-1800 LIVE on Eurosport HD
2000-2200 LIVE on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD

califano

Entrance fees very fair, should be a great weekend of snooker. Best of luck Connie hope it goes well.

rayz

Can we pay at the door going in? Its hardly booked out.

Spiderpig92

Connie, whoever won the 3 day vip-ticket?

zack01

Trying my best to get down on Saturday, best of luck for the tournament really hope it goes well for you Connie.

bradolf pittler

playing thursday morning at 9:30,really looking forward to it too,should be a great weekend

connie147

rayz wrote: »

Can we pay at the door going in? Its hardly booked out.

no problem paying at the door.

connie147

Spiderpig92 wrote: »

Connie, whoever won the 3 day vip-ticket?

Lol, I completely forgot it.
I just put the names in a had that responded to the question, and Rounders123 came out. GL

Connie

califano

connie147 wrote: »

Lol, I completely forgot it.
I just put the names in a had that responded to the question, and Rounders123 came out. GL

Connie

Thanks Connie id like to transfer it to zack01 only if thats possible seeing he expressed his interest to travel a couple of days ago and generally for what he does around here if he turns up. Otherwise you can cancel it as i havent made plans to get down for it im afraid.

zack01

rounders123 wrote: »

Thanks Connie id like to transfer it to zack01 only if thats possible seeing he expressed his interest to travel a couple of days ago and generally for what he does around here if he turns up. Otherwise you can cancel it as i havent made plans to get down for it im afraid.

Really appreciate that Rounders but i'll have to turn it down, have a lot on this weekend, pity you can't make it because I'm sure it will be a great w'end.
Will catch it on the tv instead. Again thanks for the offer.

bradolf pittler

just back from the PTC in killarney.had a fantastic time playing and watching some of the legends of the game.the tables were top notch,best i've ever played on and every player was treated the same from the highest ranked pro to the lowest ranked amateur,everyone had to wait their turn to play.
many thanks to connie and world snooker for running this event and hopefully it will come back next year.

StephenHendry

great win for robertson , i saw the semi. unlucky mark allen it would have been nice if he had won the tournament.

Arthur Daley

It looked well, watching it on Eurosport. Just a pity the media didn't seem to know or want to know it was on. This was remarked on by newstalk on Saturday as a sign that the game was in decline, but I think the media in Ireland should be doing something to promote events here too.

Not much mention of it on RTE sports that I could see, and when it's in Killarney people need advance notice if they choose to go down, so we could have done with some build up for a week or two beforehand.

I guess there is an onus on people to find some of these things out for themselves but sometimes it is rammed down our throat when events are happening, so you can't fail to be aware of them.

Still, the tournament looked like a success, probably the two most exciting players in the final, and a very strong semi final line up. Robertson getting some revenge over Trump for his crucible defeat.

zack01

I really think we missed a trick this weekend, Ireland had a great chance to showcase itself as a suitable venue for an annual PTC event let alone a full ranking event or even a chance of bringing back an invitation event in Goffs, but yet again the organisers as always fail to properly inform the public.

Yes there was an excellent turn out of amateur players from Dublin and beyond but it's the general public that should be made aware of these events.
I see it time and again with exhibitions around the country with last minute efforts to sell tickets, if the exhibition or tournament got the proper publicity than the tickets would be sold and the public would come.
Only last Monday i recieved a large envelope to my club with info for tickets and accomadation in Killarney, how can you expect the average person to make arrangements to get to Killarney in that short space of time, i had known about the PTC in Killarney for quite some time so i was able to give some of the snooker fans i know a heads up, in turn they had time to make plans and indeed travel to Killarney.

An exhibition in Mullingar tomorrow evening between Ken Doherty and John Higgins has been advertised on snooker sites and Facebook for quite some time and by doing it this way the promoter has at least given himself a chance of a successful evening.

And regarding the media, well they are as much to blame as anyone, two of the best players in the world played in the final last night yet along with empty seats at the venue they was'nt a mention of it on any of the sports bulletins or pages today, and if there was i missed it probably due to the fact it was a mere paragraph!

Yes the event was a relative success, a success if you were a compeditor maybe, but from a spectator point of view and i'm going by the say of two friends who attended it was'nt great, for instance putting the matches that featured Ken Doherty and another that featured Jimmy White on outside tables while the main tv table had players that attracted very few spectators is madness.

Snooker in Ireland is doing well, it's not in decline, entries for amatuer events are up, several new clubs have opened up recently and its here that the snooker fan and player hear about upcoming exhibitions, tournaments etc

So any event organisers out there, if your thinking of organising something contact the clubs, they are the grassroots of snooker in Ireland.

These comments are only my opinion, i know the organisers in Killarney tried and did their best and should be applauded but we just can't let chances like this to hold big events in Ireland go to waste.