1996 International Open

1996 Sweater Shop International Open

Tournament information
Dates	17–24 February 1996 (1996-02-17 – 1996-02-24)
Venue	Link Centre
City	Swindon
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£321,400
Winner's share	£60,000
Highest break	144
Final
Champion	John Higgins (SCO)
Runner-up	Rod Lawler (ENG)
Score	9–3
← 1995 1997 →

The 1996 International Open (officially the 1996 Sweater Shop International Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 24 February 1996 at the Link Centre in Swindon, England.

John Higgins defended his title by defeating Rod Lawler 9–3 in the final. This was the first time that Lawler reached the final of a ranking event.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:

• Winner: £60,000
• Runner-up: £32,000
• Semi-final: £16,000
• Quarter-final: £9,050
• Last 16: £4,550
• Last 32: £2,600
• Last 64: £1,900
• Last 96: £700

• Stage one highest break: £1,200
• Stage two highest break: £2,400
• Total: £321,400

Main draw

	Last 64 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	John Higgins	5
		Graeme Dott	0
						1	John Higgins	5
							Mark Williams	2
	18	Dene O'Kane	2
		Mark Williams	5
											1	John Higgins	5
											28	Neal Foulds	1
	28	Neal Foulds	5
		Pat Horne	1
						28	Neal Foulds	5
						12	Nigel Bond	2
	12	Nigel Bond	5
		Karl Payne	1
																1	John Higgins	5
																	Karl Broughton	2
	9	Darren Morgan	3
		Karl Broughton	5
							Karl Broughton	5
							Wayne Jones	4
	25	Willie Thorne	4
		Wayne Jones	5
												Karl Broughton	5
												Chris Small	3
	26	Steve James	3
		David McLellan	5
							David McLellan	4
							Chris Small	5
	7	Alan McManus	4
		Chris Small	5
																					1	John Higgins	6
																					20	Alain Robidoux	4
	5	John Parrott	4
		Stephen Lee	5
							Stephen Lee	5
						32	Dennis Taylor	0
	32	Dennis Taylor	5
		Tony Jones	3
												Stephen Lee	5
											31	Anthony Hamilton	2
	31	Anthony Hamilton	5
		Mark Bennett	2
						31	Anthony Hamilton	5
							Joe Johnson	4
	11	Peter Ebdon	4
		Joe Johnson	5
																	Stephen Lee	2
																20	Alain Robidoux	5
	14	Tony Drago	5
		Terry Murphy	2
						14	Tony Drago	5
							Mark Rowing	2
	24	Tony Knowles	4
		Mark Rowing	5
											14	Tony Drago	0
											20	Alain Robidoux	5
	20	Alain Robidoux	5
		Mike Hallett	1
						20	Alain Robidoux	5
							Fergal O'Brien	2
	4	Ronnie O'Sullivan	3
		Fergal O'Brien	5
																										1	John Higgins	9
																											Rod Lawler	3
	3	Steve Davis	3
		Jason Prince	5
							Jason Prince	2
							Nick Pearce	5
	21	Mick Price	4
		Nick Pearce	5
												Nick Pearce	5
											16	David Roe	2
	23	Gary Wilkinson	5
		Paul Wykes	3
						24	Gary Wilkinson	2
						16	David Roe	5
	16	David Roe	5
		Jim Chambers	2
																	Nick Pearce	5
																13	Dave Harold	2
	13	Dave Harold	5
		Mark Davis	2
						13	Dave Harold	5
							Drew Henry	4
	17	Andy Hicks	4
		Drew Henry	5
											13	Dave Harold	5
											29	Jason Ferguson	0
	29	Jason Ferguson	5
		Stefan Mazrocis	2
						29	Jason Ferguson	5
							Michael Judge	3
	6	James Wattana	3
		Michael Judge	5
																						Nick Pearce	5
																						Rod Lawler	6
	8	Jimmy White	1
		David Finbow	5
							David Finbow	5
							Mark King	3
	30	Dean Reynolds	0
		Mark King	5
												David Finbow	5
												Gary Ponting	2
	27	Brian Morgan	3
		Marcus Campbell	5
							Marcus Campbell	3
							Gary Ponting	5
	10	Ken Doherty	2
		Gary Ponting	5
																	David Finbow	1
																	Rod Lawler	5
	15	Terry Griffiths	3
		Billy Snaddon	5
							Billy Snaddon	5
						20	Joe Swail	1
	19	Joe Swail	5
		Barry Pinches	2
												Billy Snaddon	3
												Rod Lawler	5
	22	Martin Clark	0
		Rod Lawler	5
							Rod Lawler	5
						2	Stephen Hendry	3
	2	Stephen Hendry	5
		Brian Rowswell	1

Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Jan Verhaas. Link Centre, Swindon, England, 24 February 1996.
John Higgins Scotland	9–3	Rod Lawler England
46–74(56), 79–4, 71–48, 104(104)–0, 85(76)–13, 59–23, 83(59)–20, 0–85(77), 86(55)–10, 58–69, 100(100)–17, 65(55)–28
104	Highest break	77
2	Century breaks	0
6	50+ breaks	2

Century breaks

• 144, 129, 104, 100 – John Higgins
• 127, 106 – Dave Harold
• 124 – John Parrott
• 123 – Willie Thorne
• 119 – Ken Doherty
• 111 – Jim Chambers

• 108, 103 – Stephen Lee
• 107 – Wayne Jones
• 102 – David Finbow
• 102 – Terry Murphy
• 101 – Fergal O'Brien
• 100 – Peter Ebdon