Ronnie O’Sullivan won the inaugural John Virgo Trophy title with a 6-0 victory over John Higgins at Goffs in Ireland on Sunday.
In front of a big crowd at the iconic venue in County Kildare, the Rocket romped to glory by compiling breaks of 125, 96, 73, 68, and 65.
It marks a first piece of silverware for O’Sullivan, who has twice lost in ranking event finals this term, since his success at the 2024 World Masters of Snooker.
The triumph in the two-day invitational tournament, for which O’Sullivan pocketed the €20,000 top prize, comes just a week before the start of the 2026 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre.
While this event doesn’t have the prestige or importance of one the main tour, O’Sullivan will still be hoping to sustain that winning feeling when he heads to Sheffield in search of a record eighth world crown.
The 2026 John Virgo Trophy was quickly put on by promoter Jason Francis after the passing of the former player and broadcaster at the age of 79 in February.
The tournament adopted the television-friendly Snooker 900 format, which has grown steadily in popularity over the last few years.
A stellar main cast of O’Sullivan, Higgins, Mark Williams, and Stephen Hendry meant that there was much attention heading into the weekend’s play.
The festivities were supported by a celebration of Irish snooker as well, with a doubles match featuring Fergal O’Brien, Joe Swail, Michael Judge, and Joe Delaney on Saturday.
On Sunday, there was a mini event for promising juniors from the country while Coalisland’s Dennis Taylor put on a trickshot performance to keep the local crowd entertained.
Taylor and Virgo spent many years working together as commentators on the BBC and also on Francis’ Snooker Legends exhibition circuit.
It was a fitting tribute to Virgo, who reached a career-high ranking of number 10 in the world and won the 1979 UK Championship, but who was perhaps better known as the voice of snooker – particularly across the UK and Ireland.
There are bound to be plenty more John Virgo tributes during the upcoming World Snooker Championship, where the Salford man will of course be sadly missed.
The weekend’s action, meanwhile, also served as a reminder of how good a venue Goffs is and the kind of electric atmosphere it can produce.
Many people, both in Ireland and afar, would love to see a tournament on the World Snooker Tour return to the venue.
It was the regular host of the Irish Masters for more than two decades but last staged that event in 2000, and there hasn’t been a professional tournament of any kind in the Republic of Ireland since 2013.
“It is a shame we don’t come here at this venue or any tournament in southern Ireland,” O’Sullivan said. “The fans are always unbelievable.”
“This [the Irish Masters] was probably the best tournament on the calendar when we played in the 90s/2000s. It’s great to be back.”
Featured photo credit: WST
