The 2006 Malta Cup was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 30 January and 5 February 2006 at the Hilton Conference Center in Portomaso, Malta. Ken Doherty won in the final 9–8 against John Higgins. Higgins had recovered from 2–5 down to lead 8–5 but Doherty won the last four frames to win the title. This years tournament was also noteworthy for Ronnie O'Sullivan's decision not to compete, which cost him the World Number 1 ranking for the start of the following season and allowed Stephen Hendry to regain the number one position for the first time since 1999.