The Home Nations Series is a snooker tournament series in the four home nations of the United Kingdom . It began in the 2016–17 snooker season , combining two existing tournaments, the Scottish Open and Welsh Open , with two newly created tournaments, the English Open and Northern Ireland Open .
27-651: On 29 April 2015, Barry Hearn , chairman of World Snooker announced that from the 2016–17 snooker season on, a "Home Nations Series" would be added to the season's calendar. The Home Nations Series includes the tournaments of the four individual countries of the home of snooker: the English Open , the Northern Ireland Open , the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open . There was a special bonus of £1 million on offer to
54-660: A council estate in Dagenham , Essex . His family moved to the Debden estate in Loughton. He was educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School . He worked and then ran a series of small businesses as a teenager, from washing cars to picking fruit and vegetables. After qualifying as an accountant , Hearn took over the role of finance director to a design company based in Kensal Green , called Deryck Healey Associates (circa 1973). He formed
81-617: A 9-ball pool tournament. It has become a major event on the professional pool calendar. Over the years, Matchroom's portfolio under Hearn grew, taking a majority stake in the Professional Darts Corporation in 2001, helping oversee a growth in the sport. Matchroom Sport also promote the World Cup of Pool , a national team scotch doubles event, and the World Pool Masters , an annual nine-ball event. In 2002,
108-453: A flat‑draw format. In the 2021–22 season , the last 128 round was modified slightly by being turned into a mini‑qualifying round, where players outside of the top 16 have to win a match in order to play at the final venue. The top 16 still play in the qualifying round, but their matches are held over to be played at the final venue instead. Starting from the 2024–25 season, all tournaments in
135-532: A new firm, Kensal House Investments, and DHA became Deryck Healey International (DHI). In the early 1970s, looking for a property investment, Hearn bought a snooker hall in Romford , Greater London . The same year, the BBC began promoting snooker on BBC2 in colour television , resulting in queues of people wanting to play snooker. Hearn and business partner Deryck John Healey then bought Lucania Billiard Halls, which formed
162-553: Is a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn . It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool , bowling , golf , fishing , darts , table tennis , poker and gymnastics . The company is based in Brentwood, Essex . Matchroom has had broadcasting agreements in the United Kingdom with DAZN , Sky Sports , ITV , and
189-469: Is also involved in many sports including boxing , snooker , darts , pool , tenpin bowling , golf , table tennis and fishing . Until April 2021 Hearn was the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation and until July 2010, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association . Until July 2014, he was the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C. Hearn was born in 1948 on
216-514: The BBC . Matchroom formed in 1982 concentrating on snooker management with the likes of Steve Davis , Dennis Taylor , and Jimmy White under contract. It sponsored two non- ranking tournaments, the Matchroom Professional Championship (1986–1988, restricted to its contracted players) and Matchroom League (1987–1994). A novelty song called " Snooker Loopy " by " Chas & Dave and The Matchroom Mob" reached number 6 in
243-405: The Q School order of merit. Up to and including the last 16, the matches are played as best‑of‑seven frames, in the quarter‑finals as best‑of‑nine, semi‑finals as best‑of‑eleven frames, and in the final best‑of‑seventeen. From inception, and until the 2024–25 season , the tournaments were generally played as
270-619: The UK Singles Chart in 1986, with five Matchroom players featured on backup vocals and in the video . Hearn's first foray into boxing promotion was the Frank Bruno vs. Joe Bugner heavyweight clash in 1987 in front of 35,000 people at White Hart Lane . The range of sports increased in 1994 with the Mosconi Cup , an event which sees teams from Europe and the United States compete in
297-653: The English and the Northern Ireland Open in the 2020–21 and the 2023–24 seasons. The Home Nations Series awards two wildcards to amateur players. The four national governing bodies select the wildcard players according to criteria that they have previously agreed with the WPBSA. The first round of the Home Nations was changed for the 2021-22 season , whereby the first round is now a qualification round for all players not in
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#1732890680451324-705: The basis of his future career, promoting snooker via colour television. Hearn began promoting sporting events in 1974, working with amateur snooker players Geoff Foulds, father of Neal Foulds , and Vic Harris . In 1976, he became manager of Steve Davis , who went on to win the World Championship six times. Hearn prospered from the snooker boom of the 1980s when he formed Matchroom with players Davis and Tony Meo . Later Matchroom snooker players include Terry Griffiths , Dennis Taylor , Willie Thorne , Neal Foulds , Jimmy White , Cliff Thorburn and Ronnie O'Sullivan . Hearn appeared alongside many Matchroom players in
351-461: The club's longest run in the bottom division (the fourth tier) of the Football League since its creation (in 1958). At the culmination of the 2005–06 season, Orient earned promotion to the third tier of English league football ( League One ), their first automatic promotion since the 1969–70 season. In April 2017, Hearn resigned as honorary president of Leyton Orient registering his disapproval of
378-794: The company formed PGA EuroPro Tour , the UK's leading developmental golf tour, in association with the PGA. Later, in the 2000s, came ten pin bowling's Weber Cup . In 2009, Barry Hearn became the majority shareholder in World Snooker Tour Ltd. Since then the sport has grown, with prize money increased and new events introduced worldwide. More recently, Matchroom has launched the World Championship of Ping Pong , Superstars of Gymnastics, British Basketball All-Stars, and British Fast5 Netball All-Stars. In May 2018, Matchroom Boxing agreed five-year deal with DAZN reportedly worth £740 million to promote 16 fights in
405-636: The couple have two children, Katie and Eddie Hearn . After nearly going bankrupt in the early 1990s, and suffering a heart attack in 2002, he returned and has become a multi-millionaire. Hearn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to sport. That year, Hearn was inducted into the Professional Darts Corporation Hall of Fame . Matchroom Sport Matchroom Sport
432-453: The first round will see those professionals seeded 65–96 playing in a match against those professionals seeded 97–128. The winners of that first round will play in a second round, where they will be facing professionals seeded 33–64, with the qualifying winners being placed randomly against the Top 32. The justification for the change in format
459-497: The game. The commercial business was separated from the regulatory body, the WPBSA . Hearn moved into boxing in 1987, his first promotion being the Frank Bruno versus Joe Bugner bout at White Hart Lane in October 1987. He offered the television rights to Greg Dyke of London Weekend Television for £200,000, who agreed to pay £250,000 because he did not believe Hearn could deliver for
486-484: The new owner, Francesco Becchetti, who he claimed had "not played by the rules" leaving Leyton Orient players and staff unpaid for March 2017. Hearn is an enthusiastic fisherman. After watching the first recording of Wrestle Mania in Ockenden , he pitched the idea of Fish-o-Mania to Greg Dyke at LWT. Turned down, he sold the idea to Sky Sports , establishing a successful now 19-year television franchise. Married to Susan,
513-569: The player who would win all four tournaments in the same season, but in 2020 it has been dropped in light of the then ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . So far, the highest number of tournaments won in the same season is two, with Mark Selby winning the English and the Scottish Open in the 2019–20 season , Gary Wilson winning the Scottish and the Welsh Open in the 2023–24 season , and Judd Trump winning
540-537: The quoted price. Hearn has since promoted many leading British and Irish boxers, including Chris Eubank , Nigel Benn , Lennox Lewis , Naseem Hamed , Steve Collins and Herbie Hide . Hearn withdrew his boxers Herbie Hide and Steve Collins from the High Noon in Hong Kong event at the last minute, scheduled on 22 October 1994, when promoter John Daly could not come up with the purses. Hearn said, "But to be honest I
567-480: The series were changed to adopt a tiered system, bringing them more into line with other events that have moved towards protecting higher ranked professionals. The new format means that the Top 32 players on the world rankings at the designated cut‑off point are automatically sent through to the Last 64 round and will not play a qualifying round. Everyone below the Top 32 will play in a two‑round qualifying format:
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#1732890680451594-528: The top 16. However, the top 16 would play their qualification round at the venue instead of elsewhere. The trophies of the individual tournaments are named after well-known snooker players of the respective countries: All tournaments within the series are ranking tournaments of the World Snooker Tour and are played with 128 players. After first nominating all professional players, the wildcard players will be nominated and finally top‑up players from
621-403: The video for " Snooker Loopy ", a hit for "rockney" pop rock duo Chas & Dave . In December 2009 Hearn was elected as the new WPBSA Chairman after Sir Rodney Walker failed to get re-elected and left his post. In June 2010, following a vote by the members, Hearn took over a 51% controlling interest in the organisation's commercial business World Snooker Limited with a view to revitalising
648-525: Was described by the World Snooker Tour as "giving the lower ranked players the opportunity to earn prize money through the earlier rounds and beyond, while ensuring that television audiences and ticket‑holders can see the leading players at the final venue." Barry Hearn Barry Maurice William Hearn OBE (born 19 June 1948 ) is a British sports promoter who is founder and president of Matchroom Sport . Through Matchroom, Hearn
675-510: Was hypnotised by Cult -leader Tony Quinn to not feel pain as "What a load of rubbish". Hearn was until April 2021 the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation , one of darts' two governing bodies, the sport having been split since the world's leading players left the British Darts Organisation in 1992. He made several attempts to buy out the rival body, which would reunify the game, but has been unsuccessful. Hearn
702-523: Was the chairman of the football league club Leyton Orient from 1995 to 2014. Before Hearn's takeover the club was facing a financial disaster due to the collapse of the then chairman Tony Wood's coffee business in Rwanda at the time of the Rwandan genocide . Hearn's intervention and financial input assured the club's future. Although Hearn has been successful in stabilising the club financially, his tenure included
729-533: Was very pleased with myself in Hong Kong. I stood my ground. How many others would have?" In April 2008 Hearn introduced the Prizefighter series , a knockout tournament featuring 8 different boxers. His son Eddie now manages the boxing side of the business. Hearn is credited as appearing in the film One Night in Millstreet . In the trailer for the film Hearn is seen dismissing claims made that boxer Steve Collins
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