2006 Welsh Open (snooker)

For the Darts tournament of the same name, see Welsh Open (darts).

The 2006 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 27 February and 5 March at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.

2006 Welsh Open

Tournament information
Dates	27 February – 5 March 2006 (2006-02-27 – 2006-03-05)
Venue	Newport Centre
City	Newport
Country	Wales
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£223,275
Winner's share	£35,000
Highest break	Robert Milkins (ENG) (144)
Final
Champion	Stephen Lee (ENG)
Runner-up	Shaun Murphy (ENG)
Score	9–4
← 2005 2007 →

Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he lost his last 32 match against Ian McCulloch.

Stephen Lee won his fourth ranking title by defeating World Champion Shaun Murphy 9–4.

Tournament summary

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion Shaun Murphy seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.

Prize fund

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

Winner: £35,000 Runner Up: £17,500 Semi Finalist: £8,750 Quarter Finalist: £6,500 Last 16: £4,275 Last 32: £2,750 Last 48: £1,725 Last 64: £1,325

Stage two highest break: £2000 Stage two maximum break: £20,000

Main draw

^[2][3]

	Last 48 Best of 9 frames					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
						1	Ronnie O'Sullivan	1
	17	Ian McCulloch	5			17	Ian McCulloch	5
											17	Ian McCulloch	5
	44	Dave Harold	3
											25	Robert Milkins	3
						13	Alan McManus	4
	25	Robert Milkins	5			25	Robert Milkins	5
																17	Ian McCulloch	2
		Judd Trump	3
																18	Anthony Hamilton	5
						12	Ken Doherty	5
	23	Michael Holt	5			23	Michael Holt	4
											12	Ken Doherty	3
	33	Dominic Dale	2
											18	Anthony Hamilton	5
						6	Paul Hunter	3
	18	Anthony Hamilton	5			18	Anthony Hamilton	5
																					18	Anthony Hamilton	5
	43	Fergal O'Brien	3
																					11	Stephen Lee	6
						8	Peter Ebdon	0
	21	Mark King	4			39	Joe Swail	5
											39	Joe Swail	2
	39	Joe Swail	5
											14	Graeme Dott	5
						14	Graeme Dott	5
	26	Nigel Bond	0				Liang Wenbo	3
																14	Graeme Dott	2
		Liang Wenbo	5
																11	Stephen Lee	5
						11	Stephen Lee	5
	24	Marco Fu	2			34	Drew Henry	2
											11	Stephen Lee	5
	34	Drew Henry	5
											38	Mark Selby	2
						4	Stephen Maguire	3
	27	Neil Robertson	3			38	Mark Selby	5
																										11	Stephen Lee	9
	38	Mark Selby	5
																										2	Shaun Murphy	4
						3	Stephen Hendry	3
	29	Barry Hawkins	5			29	Barry Hawkins	5
											29	Barry Hawkins	5
	60	David Roe	4
											32	Ryan Day	2
						9	Jimmy White	0
	28	John Parrott	1			32	Ryan Day	5
																29	Barry Hawkins	5
	32	Ryan Day	5
																31	James Wattana	3
						15	Joe Perry	2
	31	James Wattana	5			31	James Wattana	5
											31	James Wattana	5
	47	Ricky Walden	4
											7	John Higgins	4
						7	John Higgins	5
	19	Barry Pinches	4			68	Scott MacKenzie	2
																					29	Barry Hawkins	1
	68	Scott MacKenzie	5
																					2	Shaun Murphy	6
						5	Matthew Stevens	5
	22	David Gray	4			41	Mark Davis	0
											5	Matthew Stevens	1
	41	Mark Davis	5
											10	Mark Williams	5
						10	Mark Williams	5
	20	Ali Carter	4			69	Alfie Burden	3
																10	Mark Williams	2
	69	Alfie Burden	5
																2	Shaun Murphy	5
						16	Steve Davis	4
	21	Quinten Hann	w/d				Jamie Cope	5
												Jamie Cope	4
		Jamie Cope	w/o
											2	Shaun Murphy	5
						2	Shaun Murphy	5
	30	Andy Hicks	5			30	Andy Hicks	3
	49	Patrick Wallace	3

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Eirian Williams. Newport Centre, Newport, Wales, 5 March 2006.[2]
Stephen Lee (11)  England	9–4	Shaun Murphy (2)  England
Afternoon: 86–6, 74–0, 90–30, 120–0 (120), 47–75, 40–61, 0–90, 64–52 (Murphy 52) Evening: 88–0 (62), 39–64, 84–13, 64–52 (Murphy 52), 83–0 (71)
120	Highest break	52
1	Century breaks	0
3	50+ breaks	2

Qualifying

Qualifying for the tournament took place at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales between 24 January and 26 January 2006.^[3]

	Round 1 Best of 9 frames					Round 2 Best of 9 frames					Round 3 Best of 9 frames
	Andrew Norman		w/o			James Tatton		2			Dave Harold		5
	Moh Keen Ho		w/d			Andrew Norman		5			Andrew Norman		1
	Rod Lawler		3			Lee Walker		1			Adrian Gunnell		1
	Judd Trump		5			Judd Trump		5			Judd Trump		5
	Darren Morgan		5			Chris Norbury		5			Dominic Dale		5
	Hugh Abernethy		3			Darren Morgan		4			Chris Norbury		1
	Paul Wykes		0			Shokat Ali		3			Fergal O'Brien		5
	Gary Wilson		5			Gary Wilson		5			Gary Wilson		3
	Adam Davies		2			Matthew Couch		5			Joe Swail		5
	Gary Wilkinson		5			Gary Wilkinson		1			Matthew Couch		1
	Sean Storey		0			Jamie Burnett		0			Rory McLeod		3
	Liang Wenbo		5			Liang Wenbo		5			Liang Wenbo		5
	Paul Davies		5			Justin Astley		5			Drew Henry		5
	Nick Dyson		2			Paul Davies		3			Justin Astley		2
	Joe Delaney		5			Tom Ford		5			Mark Selby		5
	Alex Borg		2			Joe Delaney		4			Tom Ford		2
	David Roe		5			Lee Spick		4			Stuart Pettman		3
	James McBain		4			David Roe		5			David Roe		5
	Leo Fernandez		2			Jimmy Michie		1			Ryan Day		5
	Mark Allen		5			Mark Allen		5			Mark Allen		3
	Ding Junhui		w/o			Robin Hull		0			Ricky Walden		5
	Steve James		w/d			Ding Junhui		5			Ding Junhui		3
	Scott MacKenzie		w/o			Marcus Campbell		3			Tony Drago		3
	Jin Long		w/d			Scott MacKenzie		5			Scott MacKenzie		5
	David McDonnell		3			Mike Dunn		4			Mark Davis		5
	Bjorn Haneveer		5			Bjorn Haneveer		5			Bjorn Haneveer		4
	Alfie Burden		5			Brian Morgan		3			Michael Judge		4
	Stuart Mann		3			Alfie Burden		5			Alfie Burden		5
	Simon Bedford		2			Jamie Cope		5			Stuart Bingham		3
	David Gilbert		5			David Gilbert		3			Jamie Cope		5
	Joe Jogia		5			Patrick Wallace		5			Gerard Greene		2
	Habib Subah		1			Joe Jogia		1			Patrick Wallace		5

Century breaks

^[3]

Qualifying stage centuries

139 – Michael Judge 135, 125 – Scott MacKenzie 135, 104 – Lee Spick 131, 106, 104 – Ding Junhui 130, 124, 100 – Dave Gilbert 130 – Matthew Couch 124 – Dominic Dale 124 – Ricky Walden

119 – Fergal O'Brien 112, 108 – Stuart Bingham 111, 102 – Jamie Cope 111 – Patrick Wallace 106 – Dave Harold 103 – Andrew Norman 102 – Mark Allen 100 – David Roe

Televised stage centuries

144 – Robert Milkins 141 – Dave Harold 138 – Matthew Stevens 135, 122, 113, 100 – Ryan Day 134, 120, 106, 102 – Shaun Murphy 133 – Stephen Hendry 131 – Steve Davis 128, 104, 102 – Barry Hawkins

122, 110 – Ian McCulloch 120, 100 – Stephen Lee 120 – Joe Perry 111 – Neil Robertson 107 – Liang Wenbo 103 – Scott MacKenzie 100 – Anthony Hamilton 100 – John Higgins