# 1996–97 snooker season

The 1996–97 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between September 1996 and May 1997. The following table outlines the results of the finals for ranking events and the invitational events.

## Calendar
### World Snooker Tour

| Start | Finish | Country | Tournament name | Venue | City | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
| 9 Sep | 15 Sep | THA | Asian Classic | Riverside Montien Hotel | Bangkok | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Brian Morgan | 9–8 |
| 24 Sep | 29 Sep | SCO | Scottish Masters | Civic Centre | Motherwell | Peter Ebdon | Alan McManus | 9–6 |
| 5 Oct | 14 Oct | SCO | Benson & Hedges Championship | JP Snooker Centre | Edinburgh | Brian Morgan | Drew Henry | 9–8 |
| 8 Oct | 13 Oct | MLT | Malta Grand Prix | Jerma Palace Hotel | Marsaskala | Nigel Bond | Tony Drago | 7–3 |
| 16 Oct | 27 Oct | ENG | Grand Prix | Bournemouth International Centre | Bournemouth | Mark Williams | Euan Henderson | 9–5 |
| 29 Oct | 10 Nov | THA | World Cup | Amari Watergate Hotel | Bangkok | Scotland | Ireland | 10–7 |
| 15 Nov | 1 Dec | ENG | UK Championship | Guild Hall | Preston | Stephen Hendry | John Higgins | 10–9 |
| 9 Dec | 15 Dec | GER | German Open | NAAFI | Osnabrück | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Alain Robidoux | 9–7 |
| 2 Jan | 5 Jan | ENG | Charity Challenge | International Convention Centre | Birmingham | Stephen Hendry | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 9–8 |
| 24 Jan | 1 Feb | WAL | Welsh Open | Newport Leisure Centre | Newport | Stephen Hendry | Mark King | 9–2 |
| 2 Feb | 9 Feb | ENG | Masters | Wembley Conference Centre | London | Steve Davis | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 10–8 |
| 13 Feb | 22 Feb | SCO | International Open | A.E.C.C. | Aberdeen | Stephen Hendry | Tony Drago | 9–1 |
| 23 Feb | 2 Mar | MLT | European Open | Mediterranean Conference Centre | Valletta | John Higgins | John Parrott | 9–5 |
| 10 Mar | 16 Mar | THA | Thailand Open | Century Park Hotel | Bangkok | Peter Ebdon | Nigel Bond | 9–7 |
| 18 Mar | 23 Mar | IRL | Irish Masters | Goff's | Kill | Stephen Hendry | Darren Morgan | 9–8 |
| 27 Mar | 5 Apr | ENG | British Open | Plymouth Pavilions | Plymouth | Mark Williams | Stephen Hendry | 9–2 |
| 19 Apr | 5 May | ENG | World Championship | Crucible Theatre | Sheffield | Ken Doherty | Stephen Hendry | 18–12 |
| 12 May | 16 May | WAL | Pontins Professional | Pontins | Prestatyn | Martin Clark | Andy Hicks | 9–7 |
| 28 Dec | 18 May | ENG | European League | Diamond Centre | Irthlingborough | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Stephen Hendry | 10–8 |
* Ranking event
* Non-ranking event

### Seniors event

| Start | Finish | Country | Tournament name | Venue | City | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Ref. |
| 3 Mar | 14 Mar | ENG | Seniors Pot Black | Goodwood House | Chichester | Joe Johnson | Terry Griffiths | 2–0 | |

## Official rankings

The top 16 of the world rankings, these players automatically played in the final rounds of the world ranking events and were invited for the Masters.
| No. | Name | Points |
| 1 | Stephen Hendry | 36911 |
| 2 | John Higgins | 32341 |
| 3 | Peter Ebdon | 28115 |
| 4 | John Parrott | 24339 |
| 5 | Nigel Bond | 22669 |
| 6 | Alan McManus | 21492 |
| 7 | Ken Doherty | 21161 |
| 8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 21007 |
| 9 | Darren Morgan | 19142 |
| 10 | Steve Davis | 18252 |
| 11 | Dave Harold | 18247 |
| 12 | James Wattana | 17641 |
| 13 | Jimmy White | 16620 |
| 14 | Alain Robidoux | 16058 |
| 15 | Tony Drago | 16031 |
| 16 | Mark Williams | 15988 |