Waterford Crystal Cup
| Waterford Crystal Cup | |
|---|---|
| Irish | Corn Criostail Phort Láirge |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Abolished | 2015 |
| Region | Munster (GAA) |
| Last Title holders | Limerick (2nd title) |
| First winner | Limerick |
| Most titles | Tipperary (4 titles) |
| Sponsors | Waterford Crystal |
| TV partner(s) | TG4 |
The Waterford Crystal Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2006 to 2015 for the top inter-county teams and third-level institutes and universities in the province of Munster in Ireland.
The series of games were played during January and February. The prize for the winning team is a special piece of glassware donated by Waterford Crystal. This cup competition was always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the series of games.
The Waterford Crystal Cup was effectively a pre-season tournament. It allowed teams to blood new players and to experiment prior to the opening of the National Hurling League (for county teams) or Fitzgibbon Cup (for third-level teams).
History
The Waterford Crystal Cup was played for the first time in 2006. It replaced the informal Waterford Crystal South-East Hurling League which had been running since 1996 and was the brainchild of the Waterford County Board.
In 2016 it was replaced by the Munster Senior Hurling League, which only admits county teams.
Format
The Waterford Crystal Cup is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random - there are no seeds.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn a period of extra-time is played, however, if both sides are still level at the end a second replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.
Roll of honour
| Team | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
 Tipperary
|
4 | 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014 |
 Limerick
|
2 | 2006, 2015 |
 Clare
|
2 | 2009, 2013 |
 Waterford
|
2 | 2010, 2011 |
List of finals
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Score | Winning captain | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Limerick | 1-19 | Waterford Institute of Technology | 3-10 | T. J Ryan | Gaelic Grounds | [1] |
| 2007 | Tipperary | 1-17 | Cork | 2-11 | Brendan Cummins | Páirc Uí Chaoimh | [2] |
| 2008 | Tipperary | 3-13 | Waterford | 0-13 | Eoin Kelly | Páirc Shíleáin | [3] |
| 2009 | Clare | 1-12 | Tipperary | 1-7 | Gerry O'Grady | Páirc Uí Stuairt | [4] |
| 2010 | Waterford | 1-9 | University College Cork | 0-11 | Declan Prendergast | Fraher Field | [5] |
| 2011 | Waterford | 0-21 | Cork | 0-16 | Stephen Molumphy | Páirc Uí Rinn | [6] |
| 2012 | Tipperary | 1-21 | Clare | 2-12 | Brendan Cummins | O'Garney Park | [7] |
| 2013 | Clare | 1-21 | Tipperary | 1-13 | Patrick Donnellan | Semple Stadium | [8] |
| 2014 | Tipperary | 4-22 | Clare | 3-11 | James Woodlock | Gaelic Grounds | [9] |
| 2015 | Limerick | 3-20 | Cork | 1-16 | Donal O'Grady | Mallow | [10] |
References
- ^ "Clear win for Limerick in Crystal hurling final". RTÉ Sport. 10 February 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Tipperary claim first Waterford Crystal Cup". RTÉ Sport. 4 February 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Tipperary 3-13 Waterford 0-13". RTÉ Sport. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Clare beat Tipp to win Waterford Crystal Cup". Belfast Telegraph. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- ^ "Déise claim first ever Waterford Crystal Cup". breaking news.ie. 2010-02-07. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ^ "2011 Waterford Crystal Cup Final". Munster GAA. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Tipp win Waterford Crystal Cup". Irish Examiner. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Clare 1-21 Tipperary 1-13". GAA.ie. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Waterford Crystal Cup: triumphant Tipp lay down a marker". Hogan Stand. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "Success for Limerick Hurlers in Waterford Crystal Cup action". Irish Examiner. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.