Malta Cup

The European Open was a professional snooker tournament. It was one of the eight ranking tournaments until the 2003/04 season.

Prior to the 1988/89 season, there were no events outside the United Kingdom, so the WPBSA decided to set up a tournament to be played in Europe. Under various sponsors, the tournament was played as a ranking tournament until the 1995/96 season. The tournament then lost ranking status, and was discontinued after 1996/97. The German Open, Irish Open and Malta Grand Prix were the ranking tournaments in Europe for the next few years, before the European Open was revived for 2001/02.

The European Open was superseded by the Malta Cup for the 2004/05 season. The event takes place at the Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso, Malta in February. Prize money for 2006 totalled £118,500, with the winner receiving £18,000.

In 2006 (the 2005/06 season), the tournament became the first ranking event in which the quarter-final line-up did not include any Englishmen. Previously, the fewest Englishmen to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament had been one, in the 1997 World Championship.