Snooker

Snooker player playing a shot with a rest
Highest governing body	World Snooker Association
First played	19th century
Characteristics
Categorization	Cue sport
Equipment	Snooker balls
Olympic	No But has IOC recognition

Snooker (British English pronunciation:  /ˈsnuːkər/^[1]) is a cue sport that is played on a green or other coloured baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. The (baize) cloth on a snooker table has a directional nap running from the balk end of the table towards the end with the (black ball) spot. This affects how a ball rolls depending on which direction it is hit or shot. A regular (full-size) table is 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m). It is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7).^[2] A player (or team) wins a frame (individual game) of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent(s), using the cue ball to pot the red and coloured balls. A player wins a match when a certain number of frames have been won.

Snooker, generally regarded as having been invented in India by British Army officers, is popular in many of the English-speaking and Commonwealth countries,^[3] with top professional players attaining multi-million pound career earnings from the game.^[4] The sport is now increasingly popular in China.^[5]

History[link]

Illustration of a game of three ball pocket billiards in early 19th century Tübingen, Germany

It is commonly accepted that snooker originated in the later half of the 19th century.^[6] Billiards had been a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India, and variations on the more traditional billiard games were devised. One variation, devised in the officers' mess in Jabalpur during 1874^[7] or 1875,^[6] was to add coloured balls in addition to the reds and black which were used for pyramid pool and life pool.^[8] The rules were formally finalized in 1884 by Sir Neville Chamberlain at Ootacamund. The word snooker also has military origins, being a slang term for first-year cadets or inexperienced personnel.^[6] One version of events states that Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain of the Devonshire regiment (not the later Prime Minister of the same name) was playing this new game when his opponent failed to pot a ball and Chamberlain called him a snooker.^[8] It thus became attached to the billiards game now bearing its name as inexperienced players were labelled as snookers.^[9]

One such effect of snooker in England was its growing popularity, but generally it was still a game for the gentry and many well established gentleman clubs which had a billiards table would not allow nonmembers inside to play. To accommodate the popularity of the game, smaller and more open snooker-specific clubs started to be formed.

The game of snooker grew in the later half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, and by 1927 the first World Snooker Championship^[6] had been organised by Joe Davis who, as a professional English billiards and snooker player, moved the game from a pastime activity into a more professional sphere.^[10] Joe Davis won every world championship until 1946 when he retired. The game went into a decline through the 1950s and 1960s with little interest generated outside of those who played. In 1959, Davis introduced a variation of the game, known as snooker plus, to try to improve the game's popularity by adding two extra colours. However, it never caught on.

A major advance occurred in 1969, when David Attenborough commissioned the snooker tournament Pot Black to demonstrate the potential of colour television, with the green table and multi-coloured balls being ideal for showing off the advantages of colour broadcasting.^[11][12] The TV series became a ratings success and was for a time the second most popular show on BBC Two.^[13] Interest in the game increased and the 1978 World Championship was the first to be fully televised.^[3][14] The game quickly became a mainstream sport^[15] in the UK, Ireland and much of the Commonwealth and has enjoyed much success in the last 30 years, with most of the ranking tournaments being televised. In 1985 a total of 18.5 million viewers watched the concluding frame of the world championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.^[16] In recent years the loss of tobacco sponsorship has led to a decrease in the number of professional tournaments, although some new sponsors have been sourced;^[17] and the popularity of the game in the Far East and China, with emerging talents such as Liang Wenbo and more established players such as Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, bodes well for the future of the sport in that part of the world.^[5][18]

The game[link]

Snooker table with balls placed in their starting positions

Game in progress on a half-size table. A red ball about to be potted.

The object of the game is to score more points than the opponent by potting object balls in a predefined order. At the start of a frame, the balls are positioned as shown and the players take turns to hit a shot in a single strike from the tip of the cue, their aim being to pot one of the red balls and score a point. Whenever a red ball is potted, the shooter is allowed to pot one of the colours. If successful, they score the value of the colour potted, and it is returned to its correct position on the table. This process continues until they fail to pot the desired ball, at which point their opponent comes back to the table to play the next shot. The game continues in this manner until all the reds are potted and only the 6 colours are left on the table; at that point the aim is to pot the colours in the order yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7 (unless sunken along with the cue ball on the last shot, then the penalty is the sum of the foul and the value of the black ball), with the balls not being returned to play. When the final ball is potted, the player with the most points wins.^[2]

Points may also be scored in a game when a player's opponent fouls. A foul can occur for numerous reasons, such as hitting a colour first when the player was attempting to hit a red, potting the cue ball, or failing to escape from "a snooker" (a situation where the previous player finished their turn leaving the cue ball in a position where the object ball cannot be hit directly). Points gained from a foul vary from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 7 if the black ball is involved.^[2]

One game, from the balls in their starting position until the last ball is potted, is called a frame. A match generally consists of a predefined number of frames and the player who wins the most frames wins the match overall. Most professional matches require a player to win five frames, and are called "Best of Nine" as that is the maximum possible number of frames. Tournament finals are usually best of 17 or best of 19, while the World Championship uses longer matches — ranging from best of 19 in the qualifiers and the first round proper, up to 35 frames in length (first to 18), and is played over two days.^[19]

Professional and competitive amateur matches are officiated by a referee who is the sole judge of fair play. The referee also respots the colours on to the table and calls out how many points the player has scored during a break. Professional players usually play the game in a sporting manner, declaring fouls the referee has missed, acknowledging good shots from their opponent, or holding up a hand to apologise for fortunate shots.

An extended spider, which can be used to bridge over balls obstructing a shot that is too far away to be bridged by hand

Other terminology used in snooker includes a player's break, which refers to the total number of consecutive points a player has amassed (excluding fouls) when at one visit to the table. A player attaining a break of 15, for example, could have reached it by potting a red then a black, then a red then a pink, before failing to pot the next red. The traditional maximum break in snooker is to pot all reds with blacks then all colours, which would yield 147 points; this is often known as a "147" or a "maximum".^[20]

Video of a snooker break-off shot

Accessories used for snooker include chalk for the tip of the cue, rests of various sorts (needed often, due to the length of a full-size table), a triangle to rack the reds, and a scoreboard. One drawback of snooker on a full-size table is the size of the room (22 by 16 feet (6.7 × 4.9 m)), which is the minimum required for comfortable cueing room on all sides.^[21] This limits the number of locations in which the game can easily be played. While pool tables are common to many pubs, snooker tends to be played either in private surroundings or in public snooker halls. The game can also be played on smaller tables using fewer red balls. The variants in table size are: 10 ft × 5 ft, 9 ft × 4.5 ft, 8 ft × 4 ft, 6 ft × 3 ft (the smallest for realistic play) and 4 ft × 2 ft. Smaller tables can come in a variety of styles, such as fold away or dining-table convertible.

Governance and tournaments[link]

Organization[link]

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA, also known as World Snooker), founded in 1968 as the Professional Billiard Players' Association,^[22] is the governing body for the professional game. Its subsidiary, World Snooker, based in Bristol, England, organises the professional tour. Over the years the board of the WPBSA has changed many times, which some argue is an indication of in-fighting within the sport.^[23][24][25] The amateur game is governed by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF).^[26]

Tournaments[link]

Professional snooker players can play on the World Snooker main tour ranking circuit. Ranking points, earned by players through their performances over the previous two seasons, determine the current world ranking.^[27] A player's ranking determines what level of qualification they require for ranking tournaments. The elite of professional snooker is generally regarded as the "Top 16" ranking players,^[28] who are not required to pre-qualify for any of the tournaments.^[29] The tour contains 96 players — the top 64 from the previous two seasons, the 8 highest ranked professional players on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit who are not in the top 64, 12 players from the Q School, and various regional, junior and amateur champions.^[30]

The most important event in professional snooker is the World Championship,^[31] held annually since 1927 (except during World War II and between 1958 and 1963). The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England since 1977, and was sponsored by Embassy from 1976 to 2005.^[17] Since 2005, tobacco companies have not been allowed to sponsor sporting events in the United Kingdom, and the World Championship had to find a new sponsor. It was announced in January 2006 that the 2006–2010 world championships would be sponsored by online casino 888.com. The Championship is currently sponsored by BetFred.com after 888.com pulled out of their five year sponsorship deal after three years.^[32] On 15 April 2009 the World Snooker Championship website announced that Betfred.com would be the new sponsor of the World Championship for the next four years.^[33][34]

The status of winning the World Championship is great, and it is the most highly valued prize in professional snooker,^[35] both in terms of financial reward (£250,000 for the winner)^[36] as well as ranking points and prestige. The World Championship is televised extensively in the UK by the BBC^[37] and gains significant coverage in Europe on Eurosport^[38] and in the Far East.

The group of tournaments that come next in importance are the other ranking tournaments. Players in these tournaments score world ranking points. A high ranking ensures qualification for next year's tournaments, invitations to invitational tournaments and an advantageous draw in tournaments.^[28] The most prestigious of these after the World Championship is the UK Championship. Third in line are the invitational tournaments, to which most of the highest ranked players are invited. The most important tournament in this category is The Masters,^[39] which to most players is the second or third most sought-after prize.^[40]

In an attempt to answer criticisms that televised matches can be slow or get bogged down in lengthy safety exchanges and that long matches causes problems for advertisers,^[41] an alternative series of timed tournaments has been organised by Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn. The shot-timed Premier League Snooker was established, with seven players invited to compete at regular United Kingdom venues, televised on Sky Sports. Players have twenty-five seconds to take each shot, with five time-outs per player per match. While some success has been achieved with this format it generally does not receive the same amount of press attention or status as the regular ranking tournaments.

There are also other tournaments that have less importance, earn no world ranking points and are not televised. These can change on a year-to-year basis depending on calendars and sponsors.

Criticism[link]

Multiple players, like Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Allen and Steve Davies, warn that there are so many tournaments that players burning out is a danger. 2012 O'Sullivan played fewer tournaments to be able to see his children, and is only ranked 9 now in the world rankings. ^[42]

Equipment[link]

This section requires expansion with: a sentence or two about the balls & table; link to the main articles on these topics..

Chalk and cue.

Chalk

The tip of the cue is "chalked" to ensure good contact between the cue and the cue-ball.

Cue

A stick, made of wood or fibreglass, the tip of which is used to strike the cue-ball.

Extension

A shorter baton that fits over, or screws into, the back end of the cue, effectively lengthening it. Is used for shots where the cue-ball is a long distance from the player.

Rest

A stick with an X-shaped head that is used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension.

Rest head adaptor

An attachment that slips onto a conventional rest head to make a spider or just to give a slightly different bridge.

Hook rest

Identical to the normal rest, yet with a hooked metal end. It is used to set the rest around another ball. The hook rest is the most recent invention in snooker.

Spider

Similar to the rest but with an arch-shaped head; it is used to elevate and support the tip of the cue above the height of the cue-ball.

Swan (or swan-neck spider)

This equipment, consisting of a rest with a single extended neck and a fork-like prong at the end, is used to give extra cueing distance over a group of balls.

Triangle/Rack

The piece of equipment is used for gathering the red balls into the formation required for the break to start a frame.

Extended rest

Similar to the regular rest, but with a mechanism at the butt end which makes it possible to extend the rest by up to three feet.

Extended spider

A hybrid of the swan and the spider. Its purpose is to bridge over large packs of reds. Is less common these days in professional snooker but can be used in situations where the position of one or more balls prevents the spider being placed where the striker desires.

Half butt

Usually housed underneath the side of the table, the half butt is a combination of a table length rest and cue which is rarely used unless the cue ball needs to be struck in such a way that the entire length of the table is the actual obstacle.

Ball marker

A multi-purpose instrument with a "D" shaped notch, which a referee can (1) place next to a ball, in order to mark the position of it. They can then remove the ball to clean it; (2) use to judge if a ball is preventing a colour from being placed on its spot; (3) use to judge if the cue ball can hit the extreme edge of a "ball on" when awarding a free ball (by placing it alongside the potentially intervening ball).

The Cloth

The cloth is usually a green baize with a directional nap. The nap will affect the direction of the cue ball depending on which direction the cue ball is shot and also on whether left or right side (spin) is placed on the ball. Even if the cue ball is hit in exactly the same way, the nap will cause a different effect depending on whether the ball is hit down table (towards the black ball spot) or up table towards the balk line. The cloth on a snooker table should never be vacuumed as this can destroy the nap, especially if the vacuum head has beater brushes. The best method is to brush the cloth in a straight line from the balk end to the far end. Multiple brush strokes are fine as long as they are are straight in direction (i.e. not across the table). Some table men will also then drag a dampened cloth wrapped around a short piece of board (like a two by four) to collect any remaining fine dust and help lay the nap down.

Notable players[link]

In the professional era that began with Joe Davis in the 1930s and continues up until the present day, a relatively small number of players have succeeded at the top level.^[43] Reaching and maintaining a place amongst the snooker elite is a tough task, with the standards of the game being such that it requires many years of dedication and effort as well as natural ability.^[44]

Certain players have tended to dominate the sport through the decades. John Pulman is generally regarded as the principal player through the 1960s, Ray Reardon through the 1970s, Steve Davis through the 1980s and Stephen Hendry through the 1990s, winning 6 (1970, 1973–1976 and 1978), 6 (1981, 1983, 1984 and 1987–1989) and 7 (1990, 1992–1996 and 1999) World Championships respectively. No one dominated in the 2000s, however Ronnie O'Sullivan won the title on four occasions (2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and Mark Williams and John Higgins won twice (2000, 2003 and 2007, 2009 respectively). Higgins has four world titles in total, having won his first title in 1998 and his fourth in 2011. The last successful title defence was in 1996 when Hendry won the sixth of his seven titles; his fifth in a row.^[45]

Variants[link]

• American snooker, a variant dating to 1925, usually played on a 10 by 5 foot table with 2 ¹⁄₈ inch balls, and a simpler rule set influenced by pool (it should be pointed out that despite its name, American snooker is not recognised by the United States Snooker Association).
• Power Snooker, a variant with only nine reds, in a diamond-shaped pack, instead of 15 in a triangle, and matches limited to 30 minutes.
• Sinuca brasileira, a Brazilian version with only one red ball, and divergent rules
• Six-red snooker, a variant played with only six reds in a triangular pack.
• Snooker plus, a variant with additional balls
• Ten-red snooker, a variant played with only ten reds in a triangle.
• Volunteer snooker, a variant from the early 1900s.

See also[link]

Snooker portal

• Snooker season 2011/2012
• Snooker world rankings 2011/2012
• Snooker world ranking points 2011/2012

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Snooker (category)

Look up snooker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikinews has news related to: Snooker

• World Snooker Association
• International Billiards & Snooker Federation
• European Billiards & Snooker Association
• Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports
• Scottish Snooker NGB for Snooker & Billiards in Scotland

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Matthew Stevens

Born	(1977-09-11) 11 September 1977 (age 34) Carmarthen
Sport country	Wales
Nickname	The Welsh Dragon
Professional	1994–
Highest ranking	4 (2005/06)
Current ranking	10
Highest break	147 (Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 12)
Century breaks	232
Tournament wins
Ranking	1
Non-ranking	6

Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player.^[1] Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of #4 for the 2005/2006 season, and is currently ranked inside of the elite top 16 at number 10. Stevens is known as a good breakbuilder, and has compiled over 200 competitive centuries so far during his career.^[2]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Stevens turned professional in 1994 and in his second season won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the 1996 Masters. At the Masters he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 6–5 to Alan McManus. The following season he also showed potential by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997/1998 season he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and UK Championship. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at the Crucible of the World Championship, beating Alain Robidoux and Mark King before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998 he reached his first ranking final at the UK Championship, losing 10–6 to John Higgins.

2000–2005[link]

In 2000, he won the Masters, with a 10–8 win over Ken Doherty in the final. Later that season at the World Championship he reached the first of his two World Championship finals to date. After victories over Tony Drago, Alan McManus, Jimmy White and Joe Swail he faced Mark Williams losing 16–18 after having led 10–6, 13–7 and then 14–10 with only the final session to play. Stevens became only the second player in the history of the world championship to lose in the final from holding a 4 frame overnight lead.

He has also been a beaten semi-finalist on three occasions in 2001, 2002 and 2004. In 2002 he looked certain to have won a place in the final leading Peter Ebdon 16–14 in their semi final tie, and just needed a relatively simple red in the 31st frame to leave his opponent needing snookers. Stevens missed the pot and Ebdon made a famous clearance to win the frame, and went on to take the next two to win the match 17–16.^[3]

Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship beating Stephen Hendry 10–8 in the final. He trailed Hendry 0–4, but remarkably he reeled off the next five frames. Hendry found his form again to lead 7–5, but Stevens was not to be denied and clinched a 10–8 victory, which remains the only ranking tournament victory of his career.^[4] However, he followed this with a run of nine successive first round defeats in best-of-nine matches, only interrupted by a run to the semi-final of the 2004 World Championship.

In 2005 he was again runner-up, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy in the final, having been up 10–6 and then 12–11 with only the final session to play. Again Stevens relinquished a 4 frame overnight lead to lose in the final, only the third time this had ever happened. The turning point was arguably the 22nd frame, in which Stevens had a shot at the final blue to leave Murphy needing snookers, but elected to play the shot left-handed rather than use the rest. He missed, and Murphy cleared the table to level the match at 11-11. Despite the disappointment, Stevens insisted that Murphy had simply been the better player and that he would eventually win the championship.

The following year, Stevens was beaten by Ken Doherty 13-8 in the second round, having gone into the final session level at 8-8.

2006–2010[link]

In 2007 he lost 12–13 to Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship having led 11–5 and 12–7, making him the first person to ever lose a best of 25 match from leading 12–7. The defeat left him ranked outside of the top 16 for the first time in 8 years. In 2008 he was defeated in the first round of the world championship for the first time in his career by defending champion John Higgins, and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season. The only highlight of the 2008/09 season was a run to the final of the Bahrain Championship, in which the unavailability of three leading players gave him a top sixteen seeding. He only reached the last sixteen of one other event, and failed to qualify for the World Championship after a defeat to Martin Gould. He finished the season with a drop of nine places to #26.

Stevens enjoyed a solid 2009/2010 season. He qualified for the Welsh Open by beating Barry Pinches 5–4. In the first round, he caused an upset by defeating Shaun Murphy 5–4. He faced Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in round two, and despite making two century breaks he lost the match 5–2. Stevens also lost a close match 10–9 to Marcus Campbell in the 2010 World Championship qualifiers, and thus did not make it to The Crucible for the second year in succession.

2010/2011[link]

Stevens made a promising start to the 2010/2011 season by qualifying for the Shangai Masters, beating Anda Zhang 5–2. In the first round he defeated Liang Wenbo 5–3. He caused another upset in the last 16 by beating Shaun Murphy. He played Ali Carter in the quarter-finals but lost 5–4 on the final black, despite leading 4–1.

Stevens continued his solid form by reaching the quarter-finals at the Welsh Open. He qualified by beating Anthony Hamilton 4-2. There he whitewashed number 5 seed Shaun Murphy 4-0 and in the last 16 he beat fellow Welshman and close friend Ryan Day 4-3. In the quarter-finals, Stevens was drawn against John Higgins, but was edged out 5-3. Despite these performances he still wasn't ranked in the top 16 and so had to qualify for the World Championship, where he managed to beat Fergal O'Brien 10–9 on the final black to qualify for the first time since 2008. He was eliminated by Mark Allen in the first round, losing 4 consecutive frames after leading 9-6. He then won the 2011 Championship League beating Mark Williams 3-1 in the semi-final and Shaun Murphy 3-1 in the final, to qualify for the Premier League.

His performances during the season were enough to see him return to the elite top 16 in the world rankings for the first time since 2006, meaning he would no longer need to play qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the ranking events.^[5]

2011/2012[link]

After losing in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open to Liang Wenbo, Stevens reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters by defeating Stephen Lee and Martin Gould. However, his run was ended by compatriot Mark Williams, who whitewashed him 0–5.^[6] A last 16 exit in the UK Championship to Ding Junhui followed, before Stevens reached his second ranking event quarter-final of the season in the German Masters courtesy of 5–1 victories over both Craig Steadman and Neil Robertson. He then lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–5.^[7]

Due to being ranked inside the top 16, Stevens played in his first Masters tournament since 2007 during the season and was beaten by John Higgins 2–6 in the first round.^[8] His first Premier League campaign since 2002 saw Stevens win 3 and lose 3 of the 6 matches he played to finish 7th in the 10 man league and therefore fail to make it to the play-offs.^[9] Stevens finished runner-up to O'Sullivan in Event 7 of the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship series and with last 16 finishes coming in Event 9 and Event 11, he was ranked 17th in the Order of Merit, inside the top 24 who qualified for the Finals.^[10] There he played Ricky Walden in the last 24 and lost 0–5 in 50 minutes.^[6]

Stevens was defeated in the second round of the Welsh Open and had successive first round losses in the World Open and China Open to go into the World Championship in less than auspicious form.^[6] However, Stevens had an excellent run as he reached his sixth semi-final in the event, and first since 2005.^[11] He reached the last four with wins over Marco Fu (10–3), Barry Hawkins (13–11) and Ryan Day (13–5, having won 11 consecutive frames).^[6][11] He played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-final and lost 10–17, meaning Stevens has not beaten his opponent in almost a decade.^[12] Stevens finished the season ranked world number 10, the highest he has ended the year since 2005.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Stevens was born in Carmarthen, Wales, attended an all Welsh speaking school – Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School – and is fluent in the language.

The unexpected death of his father, manager and friend Morrell in 2001 was tough on him.^[13] This caused Matthew to have an uneventful few seasons. Stevens and his wife Claire Holloway have two sons, Freddie and Ollie, who were born in 2004 and 2008 respectively.

Stevens was a close friend to Paul Hunter and was pallbearer at his funeral.^[14] He is also a celebrity Texas hold 'em poker player and in 2004 won the UK's richest poker tournament at just 27 years old, beating 15 time World Darts champion Phil Taylor to first place. Stevens had only been playing poker for 18 months before his victory.^[15][16]

Performance timeline[link]

Career finals[link]

Ranking event finals: 7 (1 title, 6 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–2) UK Championship (1–2) Other (0–2) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1998 UK Championship Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 6–10 Runner-up 2. 1999 UK Championship (2) Williams, MarkMark Williams 8–10 Runner-up 3. 2000 World Snooker Championship Williams, MarkMark Williams 16–18 Winner 1. 2003 UK Championship Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–8 Runner-up 4. 2005 Irish Masters O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan 8–10 Runner-up 5. 2005 World Snooker Championship (2) Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy 16–18 Runner-up 6. 2008 Bahrain Championship Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson 7–9 Non-ranking[link] Benson & Hedges Championship – 1995 Regal Scottish Masters – 1999 Benson & Hedges Masters – 2000 Northern Ireland Trophy – 2005 Pot Black – 2005 Championship League – 2011 Team events[link] Nations Cup with team Wales – 1999 References[link] ^ "Profile on World Snooker". World Snooker Association. 2010. http://www.worldsnooker.com/player_list-8138.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-02.  ^ "Chris Turners Snooker Archive – Top Century Makers". 2008. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Centuries.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-01.  ^ "Brave Ebdon sinks Stevens". BBC Sport. 2002-05-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/world_champs_2002/1965134.stm. Retrieved 2010-09-03.  ^ "Stevens clinches UK crown". BBC Sport. 2003-11-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3251450.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-02.  ^ a b "Ranking History". Snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ a b c d "Matthew Stevens 2011/2012". Snooker.org. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=9&season=2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Matthew Stevens to reach German Masters semis". BBC Sport. 3 February 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/16877955. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "Masters snooker: Neil Robertson & John Higgins through to quarter-finals". BBC Sport. 17 January 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/16598794. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "PartyCasino.com Premier League Finals". Snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=107. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Order of Merit". Snooker.org. 23 May 2012. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=10&season=2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.  ^ a b "World Snooker 2012: Matthew Stevens crushes Ryan Day". BBC Sport. 2 May 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17918430. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "World Snooker 2012: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Matthew Stevens". BBC Sport. 5 May 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17944229. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ "Profile on Sporting Life 2001/2002". Sporting Life. 2001/2002. http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/season01-02/profiles/mstevens/. Retrieved 2008-08-02.  ^ "Hundreds gather at Hunter funeral". BBC News / West Yorkshire. October 19, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/west_yorkshire/6066570.stm. Retrieved April 20, 2007.  ^ "Snooker star wins poker's big pot". BBC News. December 13, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4091481.stm. Retrieved 2007-04-20.  ^ "Matthew Stevens: Hendon Mob Poker Database". The Hendon Mob.com. http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=28026. Retrieved April 20, 2007.  External links[link] Official Site "Matthew Stevens". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2234598,00.html.  Official WPBSA player profile. Matthew Stevens at CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database Profile on Pro Snooker Blog Profile on Global Snooker v t e World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association top sixteen snooker players after the 2012 World Championship     Mark Selby Judd Trump Mark Williams Stephen Maguire John Higgins Shaun Murphy Neil Robertson Stephen Lee Ronnie O'Sullivan Matthew Stevens Ding Junhui Mark Allen Graeme Dott Martin Gould Ricky Walden Stuart Bingham Persondata Name Stevens, Matthew Alternative names Short description Date of birth 11 September 1977 Place of birth Carmarthen Date of death Place of death

Judd Trump

Trump with the 2011 UK Championship trophy
Born	(1989-08-21) 21 August 1989 (age 22) Bristol
Sport country	England
Nickname	Mr. Haircut 100[1] The Ace[2] Danny the Boy[2] Juddernaut [3]
Professional	2005–
Highest ranking	2
Current ranking	2
Career winnings	£560,266[4]
Highest break	144[5] PTC 2010/2011 – Event 2
Century breaks	153[5]
Tournament wins
Ranking	2
Minor-ranking	3
Non-ranking	2

Judd Trump (born 21 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open. Following this success in China, he reached the final of the 2011 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by John Higgins. He then went on to win the 2011 UK Championship where he defeated Mark Allen 10–8 in the final.

Amateur career[link]

Trump was English Under-13 and Under-15 champion, and reached the World Under-21 Championship semi-finals at the age of 14. At the same age, he became the youngest player ever to make a competitive 147, beating Jamie Jones's record.^[6]

Professional career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

In the 2005/06 season he joined the professional tour, and at the Welsh Open became the youngest player ever to qualify for the final stages of a ranking tournament. He reached the same last-48 stage for the China Open, losing 4–5 to Michael Holt, although this was designated the final qualifying round and was actually played in Prestatyn, Wales.

Trump became the third youngest player at the time ever to reach the World Championship, at the 2007 event, by beating James Wattana 10–5, (with champions Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively younger), and also with China's Liu Chuang and Belgium's Luca Brecel is one of only five 17-year-olds to feature at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. Trump played the 2005 champion and 6th seed, Shaun Murphy, in the first round, losing 6–10 despite having led 6–5.

Trump did not build on this form in the 2007/08 season, only reaching the last 32 of the Welsh Open by beating Joe Swail. He missed out on the World Championship after a 9–10 loss to Swail, having led 9–7.

Things changed for the 2008/09 season when Trump reached the venue stages of the first four events. At the Grand Prix he benefited from Graeme Dott's withdrawal before defeating Joe Perry 5–2 in the last 16, despite admitting to not playing well and Perry feeling that he had outplayed Trump.^[7] Then came the biggest win of his career so far, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–4 to reach the semi-final, in which he was defeated 6–4 by John Higgins. He beat double world champion Mark Williams to qualify for the 2008 Bahrain Championship. He won a qualifying tournament to gain entry into the 2009 Masters Tournament as the only qualifier, but was defeated by Mark Allen in the first round. He failed to qualify for the World Championship, losing 8–10 to Stephen Lee having led 6–3. Lee considered this match to be a local derby, as he is from nearby Trowbridge. He also noted that Trump had not followed the custom of apologising for fluked shots during the match, and concluded "all I've heard about for the last five years is how good he is. Today he blew a 6–3 lead and hopefully that will stick with him".^[8] Trump ended the season in the Top 32 of the rankings for the first time. He was coached for a short time by Tony Chappel.

Trump also qualified for the 2009 Premier League, by winning the 2009 Championship League. In the event he won four of his six matches, including a 4–2 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan and finished second in the League table. However, he lost 1–5 to O'Sullivan in his semi-final.

However, the 2009/2010 season in ranking events was less successful for Trump as he failed to progress beyond the last 32 in any of the tournaments. In January 2010, Trump joined Romford-based snooker agency Grove Leisure.^[9]

2010/2011[link]

In the 2010/2011 season, he reached his first professional ranking event final at the 2011 China Open. He defeated former Masters champion Mark Selby 10–8 to win his first major title,^[10] and provisionally climb into the top 16 of the world rankings. On his way to winning the China Open final, Trump also made his 100th competitive century break.

Trump had already qualified for the World Championship when he won the China Open, and was drawn against reigning champion Neil Robertson in the first round, whom he defeated 10–8.^[11] In subsequent rounds, he knocked out Martin Gould 13–6, Graeme Dott 13–5 and Ding Junhui 17–15 to qualify for his first World Championship final.^[12] In the final Trump lost 15–18 to John Higgins.^[13]

2011/2012[link]

Judd started the season with a 3–5 loss to Mark Davis in the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open first round.^[14] However, this disappointment was soon forgotten as he won the 2nd PTC of the Season, beating Ding Junhui 4–0 in the final at a virtual home venue of the South West Snooker Academy.^[15] Judd then lost 5–1 against Stuart Bingham in the Shanghai Masters first round.^[16] Trump finished runner-up to Neil Robertson in the 8th PTC event of the season^[17], but immediately rediscovered his winning touch by capturing Event 9 by defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–3 in the final in Antwerp, Belgium in just over an hours worth of play.^[18] He would later top the Order of Merit after all twelve PTC events had been played, thus qualifying for the 2012 Finals.^[19] He suffered a shock in the last 16 as world number 51 Xiao Guodong beat him 2–4, despite playing with a broken bone in his hand.^[20]

On 11 December 2011, Trump won his second ranking event tournament, the 2011 UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York. Trump beat Dominic Dale 6-4 in the last 32, before winning the final two frames of the second round to edge out Ronnie O'Sullivan, 6-5. After the match Trump claimed that he had been "outplayed" and was "lucky" to have got through.^[21] He then dispatched Stephen Maguire 6-3^[22] and faced Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. The semi-final was a tight and nervy affair, with Trump stating afterwards that he believed Robertson was trying to stifle his natural game by, "slowing it down" and "making things awkward", but nevertheless the Bristolian triumphed, 9-7 to reach his first UK final.^[23] In the final he played Mark Allen and trailed 1-3 early on in the best-of-19 frames match. However, Trump then produced a match-defining run of seven straight frames to take an 8-3 lead. Despite a strong fightback from Allen, who won five of the next six frames to trail just 8-9, Trump went on to clinch the 18th frame with a break of 91 and win the final by 10 frames to 8.^[24] Six-time winner of the event, Steve Davis, said that Trump's performances during the championship had shown that he was "spearheading his generation" of snooker players.^[25] The victory took him up to a career-high world ranking of 5.^[26]

He continued his fine form by reaching the semi-finals of the Masters in January. He beat Stuart Bingham in the first round and O'Sullivan once more in the quarters 6–2, to make his record against the four-time World Champion five wins and two defeats, from their seven meetings in tournament play.^[27] He played Robertson in the last four for the second successive major event and it was the Australian who exacted his revenge from the defeat suffered in York a month earlier, as he triumphed 6-3.^[28] He reached three quarter-finals in his next four ranking events to become the world number 2 in April, behind Mark Selby, meaning Trump had risen seven places in the rankings this season.^[29]

At the 2012 World Championship, he beat Dominic Dale in his first round match by a 10–7 scoreline, despite suffering from food poisoning.^[30] However, he was knocked out by Ali Carter 12–13 in the second round having let a 12–9 lead slip, ending his chances to become world number 1 this season.^[31]

Performance and rankings timeline[link]

1. ^ New players on the tour do not have a ranking.
2. ^ The event run under different name as LG Cup (2003/2004) and Grand Prix (2004/2005-2009/2010)
3. ^ The event run under different name as European Open (2001/2002-2003/2004)

Tournament finals[link]

Ranking finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–1) UK Championship (1–0) Other (1–0) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 2011 China Open Mark Selby 10–8 Runner-up 1. 2011 World Snooker Championship John Higgins 15–18 Winner 2. 2011 UK Championship Mark Allen 10–8 Minor-ranking finals: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)[link] Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 2010 Paul Hunter Classic Anthony Hamilton 4–3 Winner 2. 2011 Players Tour Championship – Event 2 Ding Junhui 4–0 Runner-up 1. 2011 Alex Higgins International Trophy Neil Robertson 1–4 Winner 3. 2011 Antwerp Open Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–3 Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)[link] Legend Masters (0–0) Premier League (0–0) Other (2–1) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 2008 Masters Qualifying Event Mark Joyce 6–1 Winner 2. 2009 Championship League Mark Selby 3–2 Runner-up 1. 2012 Championship League Ding Junhui 1–3 Pro-am finals: 2 (2 title)[link] Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 2003 Spring Open Mike Hallett 4–2 Winner 2. 2010 Austrian Open Neil Robertson 6–4 References[link] ^ "Player List – Judd Trump". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2009. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5mVT5H43u. Retrieved 3 January 2010.  ^ a b Fay, S. (2009). "Right on cue: Judd Trump". Yahoo! UK. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5mVTwCrnh. Retrieved 3 January 2011.  ^ "World Championship 2011: Judd 'The Juddernaut’ Trump is building the momentum to reach his first final" – The Telegraph ^ "Judd Trump Profile". Snooker Database. http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=29. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ a b "Judd Trump, Season 2011/2012". CueTracker - Snooker Database. http://www.cuetracker.net/pages/players.php?ID=1&season=2011/2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.  ^ Right Cue: Judd Trump[dead link] ^ Top Trump[dead link] ^ SNOOKER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – WILLIAMS CLAIMS CRUCIBLE PLACE[dead link] ^ Judd Trump joins the Grove ^ China Open champ Judd: My career begins now ^ Champ Crashes To Top Trump ^ "World Championship scores and schedule". BBC Sport (BBC). 22 April 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/9390290.stm. Retrieved 30 April 2011.  ^ Hart, Simon (2011-05-03). "John Higgins wins fourth title as Judd Trump captures Crucible crowd". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/8488851/World-Snooker-Championship-2011-John-Higgins-wins-fourth-title-as-Judd-Trump-captures-Crucible-crowd.html. Retrieved 2011-05-03.  ^ "Crucible finalist Trump knocked out Down Under after last 32 defeat to Davis Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2015995/Judd-Trump-beaten-Mark-Davis-Goldfields-Open.html#ixzz1gHF5grXo". London: Daily Mail. 18 July 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2015995/Judd-Trump-beaten-Mark-Davis-Goldfields-Open.html. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Judd Trump beats Ding Junhui to win PTC event". BBC Sport. 11 August 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/14488351.stm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "In-form Stuart Bingham to face John Higgins after Judd Trupp win". http://www.echo-news.co.uk/sport/other/9240764.In_form_Stuart_to_face_Higgins_after_Judd_win/. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "PTC8 2011 - Robertson Tops Trump". http://maximumsnooker.com/ptc8_2011_robertson_tops_trump.htm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "PTC9 2011 - Judd Ace In Antwerp". http://maximumsnooker.com/ptc9_2011_judd_ace_in_antwerp.htm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "PTC Order of Merit after PTC12". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/ae/98/0,,13165~170158,00.pdf. Retrieved 29 December 2011.  ^ "Xiao Knocks Out Trump". AOL. 16 March 2012. http://sportinglife.aol.co.uk/news/article/22893/7602214/xiao-knocks-out-judd-trump. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "O'Sullivan quit threat as Trump wins". BBC Sport. 7 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16059032.stm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Trump sinks Maguire to make semi-final". BBC Sport. 8 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16097110.stm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Trump defeats Robertson in semi-final". BBC Sport. 9 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16116320.stm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Judd Trump holds off fightback from Mark Allen to take williamhill.com UK Championship trophy in York". London: The Daily Telegraph. 11 December 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/8949995/Judd-Trump-holds-off-fightback-from-Mark-Allen-to-take-williamhill.com-UK-Championship-trophy-in-York.html. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Judd Trump beats Mark Allen to win title". BBC Sport. 11 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16131999.stm. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "World Rankings". http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/WorldRankingsArticle/0,,13165~2216576,00.html. Retrieved 12 December 2011.  ^ "Masters Snooker: Judd Trump beats Ronnie O' Sullivan". BBC Sport. 19 January 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16634261.stm. Retrieved 21 January 2012.  ^ "Masters Snooker: Neil Robertson/Shaun Murphy into final". BBC Sport. 21 January 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/16666412.stm. Retrieved 21 January 2012.  ^ "Judd Trump 2011/2012". Snooker.org. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=12&season=2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "Judd Trump overcomes food poisoning to beat Dominic Dale at the Crucible". The Guardian. 25 April 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/25/judd-trump-world-snooker-championship?newsfeed=true. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  ^ "World Snooker Championship 2012: Trump suffers shock defeat". BBC Sport. 30 April 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17887396. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  External links[link] "Judd Trump". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2234591,00.html.  Official WPBSA player profile. Global Snooker profile Pro Snooker profile v t e World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association top sixteen snooker players after the 2012 World Championship     Mark Selby Judd Trump Mark Williams Stephen Maguire John Higgins Shaun Murphy Neil Robertson Stephen Lee Ronnie O'Sullivan Matthew Stevens Ding Junhui Mark Allen Graeme Dott Martin Gould Ricky Walden Stuart Bingham Persondata Name Trump, Judd Alternative names Short description English snooker player Date of birth 21 August 1989 Place of birth Bristol Date of death Place of death