The northern city of Gdynia hosted the first PTC (Players Tours Championship) series snooker tournament in its history Sept. 5-7. The event was one of 15 PTC tournaments this year. The prize money totaled 70,000 euros.

The 32 competitors at the PTC Gdynia Open included top snooker players such as current world standings leader Mark Selby, five-time world champion John Higgins, 2006 world champion Graeme Dott and 2007 champion Ken Doherty. Snooker fans in Gdynia also saw Chinese player Ding Junhui, known as the Star of the East, and 50-year-old Jimmy White, who draws crowds wherever he appears.

The winner was Australia’s Neil Robertson, 30, the world champion from two years ago. In the finals, he beat Jamie Burnett from Scotland 4:3. Robertson, who is number eight in the world standings, will have fond memories of Poland—last year, he won the Warsaw Classic snooker tournament.

Stanley Ruzam