1998 Irish Open

The 1998 Irish Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, held from 14 to 20 December 1998 at the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght, Republic of Ireland, of which only one edition was held. Mark Williams won the tournament by defeating Alan McManus 9–4 in the final.

1998 Irish Open

Tournament information
Dates	14–20 December 1998 (1998-12-14 – 1998-12-20)
Venue	National Basketball Arena
City	Tallaght
Country	Ireland
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£305,000
Winner's share	£50,000
Highest break	Mark Williams (WAL) (139)
Final
Champion	Mark Williams (WAL)
Runner-up	Alan McManus (SCO)
Score	9–4
← 1997 2001 →

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:^[1]

Winner: £50,000 Runner-up: £26,000 Semi-final: £13,000 Quarter-final: £7,555 Last 16: £3,750 Last 32: £3,100 Last 48: £1,800

Last 64: £1,250 Last 96: £890 Overseas play-off round: £890 Last 134: £205 Televised highest break: £3,000 Qualifying highest break: £1,000 Total: £305,000

Main draw

^[2]

	Last 32 Best of 9 frames					Last 16 Best of 9 frames					Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames					Semi-finals Best of 11 frames					Final Best of 17 frames
	John Higgins		5
	Tony Knowles		3
						John Higgins		3
						Stephen Lee		5
	Stephen Lee		5
	Quinten Hann		0
											Stephen Lee		2
											John Parrott		5
	Matthew Couch		5
	Alain Robidoux		1
						Matthew Couch		4
						John Parrott		5
	John Parrott		5
	Dominic Dale		4
																John Parrott		1
																Mark Williams		6
	Mark Williams		5
	Lee Walker		3
						Mark Williams		5
						Graeme Dott		0
	Graeme Dott		5
	Mark King		4
											Mark Williams		5
											Ken Doherty		1
	Bradley Jones		5
	Nigel Bond		1
						Bradley Jones		2
						Ken Doherty		5
	Ken Doherty		5
	Gerard Greene		4
																					Mark Williams		9
																					Alan McManus		4
	Jimmy Michie		5
	Ronnie O'Sullivan		4
						Jimmy Michie		0
						Billy Snaddon		5
	Billy Snaddon		5
	Anthony Hamilton		4
											Billy Snaddon		3
											Alan McManus		5
	Paul Davies		5
	James Wattana		4
						Paul Davies		4
						Alan McManus		5
	Alan McManus		5
	Dave Harold		4
																Alan McManus		6
																Tony Drago		3
	Peter Ebdon		5
	Jimmy White		4
						Peter Ebdon		4
						Tony Drago		5
	Tony Drago		5
	Karl Broughton		4
											Tony Drago		5
											Stephen Hendry		4
	Paul Hunter		5
	Steve Davis		4
						Paul Hunter		3
						Stephen Hendry		5
	Stephen Hendry		5
	Joe Perry		1

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Len Ganley National Basketball Arena, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 20 December 1998.
Mark Williams  Wales	9–4	Alan McManus  Scotland
Afternoon: 62–25, 64–8, 64–20 (64), 44–36, 78–4 (64), 135–0 (135), 47–60, 49–53 Evening: 7–91 (71),68–1 (53), 75–16 (62), 0–82 (82), 107–0 (65)
135	Highest break	82
1	Century breaks	0
6	50+ breaks	2

Century breaks

• 139, 133, 118, 103, 101 – Mark Williams
• 120 – Alan McManus
• 118, 102 – Bradley Jones
• 117 – James Wattana
• 109, 100 – Ken Doherty
• 106 – Tony Drago
• 104 – Anthony Hamilton
• 104, 100 – Stephen Hendry