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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Stephen Lee

Stephen Lee at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic
Born	(1974-10-12) 12 October 1974 (age 37) Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Sport country	England
Professional	1992–
Highest ranking	5 (2000/2001, 2003/04)
Current ranking	8
Career winnings	GB£1,731,310[1]
Highest break	145 (2008 Northern Ireland Trophy)
Century breaks	160
Tournament wins
Ranking	5
Minor-ranking	1
Non-ranking	2

Stephen Lee (born 12 October 1974) is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, whose smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural in the game.^[2]. He entered the Top 16 during the 1997/1998 snooker season. He won four ranking titles between 1998 and 2006. His form declined dramatically in 2006 and dropped out the 16 after the 2007/2008 snooker season a run of 11 consecutive seasons (including 5 consecutive seasons in the top 8. He returned to the Top 16 during the 2011/2012 season. Lee has compiled 160 competitive century breaks during his career.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Lee turned professional after winning the English Amateur Championship in 1992. During his first season as a professional he had a run of 33 successive frames won during qualifying matches, an all-time professional record.^[3] He reached the Top 16 of the rankings five years later, despite never having reached the semi-finals of a ranking event at this point.^[4] He entered the Top 8 after winning his first ranking title during the 1998/1999 season.

1998–present[link]

His first ranking victory came at the Grand Prix, in 1998 defeating Dave Harold 6–4 in a hard-fought semi-final that saw Lee come from 3–0 and 4–1 down, before beating newcomer Marco Fu convincingly in the final, 9–2) and 2001. In the World Championship his best run has been to the semi-finals (in the 2003 event). His first ranking title and first two ranking semi-finals were all achieved without beating a top-16 player.^[4] After a failed drugs test in 2000 briefly upset his momentum,^[5] he scored more ranking points than any other player in the 2001/2002 season (winning the Scottish Open as well as the Grand Prix), thus briefly making him the provisional world #1 early in the following season. Lee was favourite to win the 2001 Masters, but lost 5–6 in the first round to John Parrott. He was part of the England team which won the 2001 Nations Cup.

Due to a dip in form, at the 2006 Welsh Open he came to the competition outside the provisional Top 16 after failing to win a ranking tournament for four years. He went on to win the tournament, beating the World Champion, Shaun Murphy 9–4 in the final.

For 2007/2008 he slipped to #13 in the rankings after reaching just one semi-final, partly due to missing the China Open for personal reasons.^[6] He nevertheless reached the final of the 2008 Masters, losing 3–10 to Mark Selby.^[7] Following a heavy defeat by Joe Swail in the first round of the 2008 World Championship, confirming his drop out of the top 16 of the rankings, Lee considered retiring from the game.^[8]

However, he did compete in the first ranking event of the 2008/2009 season, the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, and after convincing wins over Judd Trump and Stephen Hendry, he reached the last 16, where despite making three century breaks he lost 4–5 to eventual runner-up Dave Harold. He then failed to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, losing 4–5 to Tom Ford. He reached the 2009 World Championship by defeating Judd Trump in qualifying, but was beaten 10–4 in the first round by Ryan Day.

On 11 February 2010 Lee was arrested by West Midlands Police on suspicion of cheating, in relation to an investigation by the Gambling Commission over suspicious betting patterns.^[9]

During the 2010/2011 season Lee managed to regain some form including a win in Event 4 of the EPTC events. However, he drew John Higgins at both the UK Championship and World Championship, losing on both occasions with Higgins going on to win both events. At the China Open he drew Mark Williams and despite Williams making four centuries he won 5–4, making a 61 clearance to the black in the decider. He went on to the quarter-finals where he lost to Ding Junhui 5–2.^[10]

Return to form[link]

Lee began the 2011/2012 season ranked 18 and lost in qualifying for the Australian Goldfields Open and in the first round of the Shanghai Masters. However, he had an excellent run of form in the PTC Events by reaching the quarter-finals of Events 3 and 4 and going one better in Event 6, as he lost to Neil Robertson in the last 4. This meant that Lee returned to the top 16 in October, as he was ranked 13 and therefore gained automatic entry into the upcoming ranking events. He lost in the first round of the UK Championship and in the German Masters reached his first semi-final since the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy, but could not get past Ronnie O'Sullivan who won 6–4.^[11] He then made it to the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open where he was put off by a mobile phone ringing on his back-swing in a deciding frame against Ding Junhui and went on to lose the match.^[12] He used his frustration from the incident to good effect however, as he beat Dominic Dale, Robertson, Graeme Dott and Robert Milkins to reach the final of the World Open, his first since the 2006 Welsh Open. He played Mark Allen and was dominated throughout as he lost the match 1–10.^[13]

Lee enjoyed further success on the PTC calendar as he reached another semi-final to finish 14th on the Order of Merit and therefore qualified to the last 24 of the Finals.^[14] It was in the Finals where Lee won his first ranking title for six years as he dropped just three frame during the tournament, including 4–0 whitewashes over Mark Selby and in the final versus Robertson, where Lee became the first player to beat the Australian in a ranking event final.^[15] Lee's form in the second half of the season continued into the China Open as he registered his third ranking event semi-final of the year by defeating Judd Trump, but could not feature in three successive finals as he lost 2–6 to Stephen Maguire. His season did finish in disappointment though as he was beaten in the first round of the World Championship 6-10 by Andrew Higginson.^[16] Nevertheless, Lee climbed 10 places in the world rankings to end the season at number 8, the highest he has been since 2003.^[17]

Personal life[link]

He married long-term partner Laura in the summer of 2005 in Florida. He has four children – a daughter called Shana, son Connor and twin sons Ronnie and Alfie.^[2] He is noted for his unusually high weight for a professional sportsman, although he has attempted to reduce this by not binge-drinking or eating late at night.^[18]

Career finals[link]

Ranking event finals: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–0) UK Championship (0–0) Other (5–3) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1998 Grand Prix Fu, MarcoMarco Fu 9–2 Runner-up 1. 2000 Welsh Open Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 8–9 Winner 2. 2001 LG Cup (2) Ebdon, PeterPeter Ebdon 9–4 Runner-up 2. 2002 Thailand Masters Williams, MarkMark Williams 4–9 Winner 3. 2002 Scottish Open Gray, DavidDavid Gray 9–2 Winner 4. 2006 Welsh Open Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy 9–4 Runner-up 3. 2012 World Open Allen, MarkMark Allen 1–10 Winner 5. 2012 Players Tour Championship – Finals Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson 4–0 Minor-ranking wins[link] Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 2010 MIUS Cup Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire 4–2 Non-ranking tournaments[link] Millenium Cup – 1999 General Cup International – 2011 Team wins[link] Nations Cup with England team – 2000 References[link] ^ "Stephen Lee". Yahoo! UK. 2009. http://uk.yahoo.eurosport.com/snooker/person_prs28949.shtml. Retrieved 18 February 2010.  ^ a b "Stephen Lee". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2234700,00.html.  Official WPBSA player profile. ^ "Stephen Lee". www.snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/plr/Bio/slee.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-06.  ^ a b "Stephen Lee " Pro Snooker Blog". prosnookerblog.com. http://prosnookerblog.com/players/i-l/stephen-lee/. Retrieved 2010-11-19.  ^ Dee, John (2000-11-18). "Snooker: Legal twist in Lee drugs hearing". London: The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/2993125/Snooker-Legal-twist-in-Lee-drugs-hearing.html. Retrieved 2009-11-15.  ^ "Lee pulls out of China trip". worldsnooker.com. 2007-03-04. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080514121307/http://www.worldsnooker.com/news_latest-17765.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-06.  ^ "Mark Selby wins Masters and pockets a cheque for £150,000". Daily Mirror. 2008-01-21. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/sportsnews/topstories/2008/01/21/mark-selby-wins-masters-and-pockets-a-cheque-for-150-000-89520-20293487/. Retrieved 2008-06-06.  ^ "Beaten Lee considers retirement". London: BBC Sport. 2008-04-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7357853.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-06.  ^ "Snooker player Stephen Lee arrested in betting inquiry". London: BBC Sport. 12-02-2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/8512077.stm. Retrieved 12-02-2010.  ^ "China Open (2011)". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=27. Retrieved 23 February 2011.  ^ "O'Sullivan overcomes Stevens to reach semis". Eurosport. 4 February 2012. http://asia.eurosport.com/snooker/o-sullivan-continues-run_sto3138494/story.shtml. Retrieved 25 April 2012.  ^ "Ding Through As Lee Fumes About Phone". WPBSA. 17 February 2012. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~2615084,00.html. Retrieved 25 April 2012.  ^ "Mark Allen beats Stephen Lee 10-1 in World Open final". BBC Sport. 4 March 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17250516. Retrieved 25 April 2012.  ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 8 January 2012. http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=10&season=2011. Retrieved 31 March 2012.  ^ "Lee Ends Title Wait". Sporting Life. http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/calendar/11-12/players_tour_championship_finals.html. Retrieved 25 April 2012.  ^ "Widnes snooker star Andrew Higginson beat Stephen Lee to set up second-round clash with Jamie Jones in the Betfred.com World Championship". Liverpool Echo. 25 April 2012. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sports/2012/04/25/widnes-snooker-star-andrew-higginson-beat-stephen-lee-to-set-up-second-round-clash-with-jamie-jones-in-the-betfred-com-world-championship-100252-30833196/. Retrieved 25 April 2012.  ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp. Retrieved 23 May 2012.  ^ Clive Everton (2008-01-19). "Weight and expectation no problem for Lee". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jan/19/snooker.sport. Retrieved 2009-10-04.  External links[link] Stephen Lee at CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database Player profile on Global Snooker Player profile on Pro Snooker Blog 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 Lee, Stephen Alternative names Short description Date of birth 12 October 1974 Place of birth Trowbridge, Wiltshire Date of death Place of death

Xiao Guodong

Born	(1989-02-10) February 10, 1989 (age 23)
Sport country	China
Professional	2007–
Highest ranking	41 (May 2012)
Current ranking	41
Highest break	141 2007 Grand Prix - Qualification
Best ranking finish	Quarter-final 2012 PTC Finals

Xiao Guodong (Chinese: 肖国栋; pinyin: Xiāo Guódòng) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who turned professional for in 2007 by winning the Asian Under-21 Championships.

Career[link]

2007–2010[link]

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He appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat the then world number 50 Tom Ford 5-3, before losing 0-5 to Matthew Stevens.

In his first ranking tournament, the 2007 Grand Prix he finished 4th in his qualifying group by winning 3 out his 7 matches. In the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy he beat Leo Fernandez 5-1 and Jimmy White 5-0, before he lost to David Gilbert 2-5.

He lost his first match in the 2007 UK Championship to Kurt Maflin and to the same player in the 2008 China Open qualfiers too. In the Welsh Open he lost to fellow Chinese player Liu Song 2-5.

A victory over Munraj Pal in the 2008 World Championship qualifiers set up a match with David Roe, which he lost 5-10.

He won the Paul Hunter English Open in 2008.

In the 2009 China Open he beat Michael Holt 5-3 in the wild-card round, progressing to the first round proper where he beat fellow Chinese player Ding Junhui 5-3. This victory earned him the biggest match of his career so far, a second round match against Ronnie O'Sullivan. Despite going 1-3 down in the mid-session interval, he battled back in the next frame, where a controversial 28 points were awarded to him from fouls from one snooker, putting himself just one frame behind O'Sullivan at 2-3. Despite losing the following frame, Xiao won a breathtaking black ball game in the 7th frame to again go just one frame behind at 3-4. However, despite pulling himself back into the match, he lost the next frame and consequentally the match, as O'Sullivan made a 96 break.

On 10 July 2009, on the World Snooker website, he was voted in the top 5 players to watch out for in the 2009/2010 season.

2011/2012 season[link]

Xiao had a good season in the Players Tour Championship series of tournaments in the 2011/2012 season. He reached the quarter-finals of Event 1 and Event 6 and went one better in Event 2, where he was knocked out in the last 4 against compatriot Ding Junhui. The results ensured he reached the 2012 Finals by finishing eighteenth in the Order of Merit.^[1] He played in the Finals against the advice of doctors as he had broke a bone in his hand three weeks earlier whilst sleeping on it awkwardly, but despite this beat Dominic Dale 4–2 in the first round of the event.^[2][3] Xiao then pulled off the result of his career to date by defeating recent UK champion, Judd Trump 4–2 to advance to his first ever ranking event quarter-final, where he was beaten by Andrew Higginson 1–4.^[2][4]

Xiao could not qualify for any of the other ranking events during the season, coming closest in the UK Championship, where he lost to Tom Ford in the final qualifying round.^[4] He finished the season ranked world number 41, meaning he had risen 23 places during the year.^[5]

Performance and rankings timeline[link]

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

Tournament wins[link]

Amateur wins[link]

• ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship, 2007
• Chinese National Championship, 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile on World Snooker
• Profile on Global Snooker
• Profile on Pro Snooker Blog

Ding Junhui

Ding Junhui
Born	(1987-04-01) 1 April 1987 (age 25) Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Sport country	China
Nickname	Star of the East Enter The Dragon The Chinese Sensation
Professional	2003 – present
Highest ranking	4 (5 months)
Current ranking	11
Career winnings	UK£1,000,000+[1]
Highest break	147 (4 times)
Century breaks	221
Tournament wins
Ranking	5
Minor-ranking	1
Non-ranking	3

Medal record
Competitor for  China
Men's Snooker
World Games
Silver	2005 Duisburg	Individual
Asian Games
Gold	2002 Busan	Individual
Silver	2002 Busan	Team
Gold	2006 Doha	Individual
Gold	2006 Doha	Doubles
Gold	2006 Doha	Team
Silver	2010 Guangzhou	Individual
Gold	2010 Guangzhou	Team

Ding Junhui (Chinese: 丁俊晖; pinyin: Dīng Jùnhuī; born 1 April 1987 in Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles.^[2] As a prolific breakbuilder Ding has compiled more than 200 century breaks during his career.^[3]

In December 2006, he enrolled at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Business Administration and Management.^[4] He is a resident of England during the snooker season. He is good friends with fellow countryman Liang Wenbo and they are training partners in Sheffield World Snooker Academy.^[5]

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Ding started playing snooker at the age of nine, when his father took him to the Chinese national team training centre near Shanghai. His father persuaded his mother to sell their house in order for Ding to continue playing snooker as a career.^[6]

Ding shot to international prominence in 2002, when he won the Asian Under-21 Championship,^[7] the Asian Championship^[7] and the IBSF World Under-21 Championship (became the youngest ever winner of the World Under-21 Championship at the age of fifteen).^[7] He was unable to progress much in 2003, as both the Asian Championship and Under-21 Championship had to be cancelled because of the SARS virus crisis, but he was a semi-finalist in the IBSF World Under-21 championship,^[7] and was awarded a Main Tour concession by the WPBSA, which enabled him to turn professional in September 2003.^[7] In 2003, he became the number one ranked player in China.^[8]

2004–2006[link]

In February 2004, Ding was awarded a wildcard entry to the Masters in London, where, in the first round, he beat the world #16-ranked player, Joe Perry,^[9] before narrowly losing 5–6 in the second round to experienced top player Stephen Lee after holding a 5–2 lead over him.^[10] His performance favourably impressed many commentators, who since then rated him a likely future World Champion.

In March 2005, he celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, along the way defeating world top-16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty. In that final he played against then world no.-3-ranked Stephen Hendry, whom he beat by 9 frames to 5, to score his first ranking tournament win. 110 million people watched the final against Hendry on China's national sports channel CCTV-5 – by far the biggest TV audience ever recorded for a snooker match.^[11]

In December 2005, he beat another crop of world top-16 players, namely Jimmy White, the late Paul Hunter and Joe Perry once more on his way to reaching the final of another major tournament, the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York. This time he met the resurgent snooker legend Steve Davis, and defeated him by ten frames to six, in doing so becoming the first player from outside Britain or Ireland to win that particular title. Following this victory, his world ranking was provisionally raised from 60 (62 at the start of the season) to 31. At the end of the season, he was ranked 27th.

In the 2006 China Open he gave his home crowd a good run for their money, but lost 6–2 to eventual winner Mark Williams in the semi-finals.

On 19 August 2006, he beat Stephen Lee 6–1, and reached the final of the Northern Ireland Trophy, meeting Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final the following day. He beat O'Sullivan 9–6 to claim his third ranking tournament win,^[12] becoming only the third person ever to do so before his twentieth birthday,^[12] after O'Sullivan and John Higgins.^[12] This win pushed his provisional world ranking position up to fifth.

In December 2006, he won three gold medals at the Asian Games, winning the Single, Double and Team Snooker competitions. The following week, he reached, as the defending champion, the quarterfinal stage of the 2006 UK Snooker Championship,^[13] and subsequently lost to his practice partner and eventual winner, Peter Ebdon, by 9 frames to 5.^[13]

2007/2008[link]

On 1 January 2007, he narrowly defeated Cao Xinlong 5–4 to reach the final of the Chinese National Snooker Championship in East China's Yixing, Jiangsu province, his home town. The following day, he beat Xiao Guodong in the final by 6 frames to 2, in doing so becoming the national champion once again.^[14]

On 14 January 2007, Ding made a 147 break in the opening match of the Saga Insurance Masters against Anthony Hamilton.^[15] It was the first maximum in the competition since that of Kirk Stevens in 1984, which was also the only one up to then.^[15] Additionally, Ding is the youngest player to make a 147 during a televised session (a record previously held by Ronnie O'Sullivan),^[15] and became the first Chinese snooker player in the history of BBC's coverage to make a televised maximum.

He went on to make the final of the tournament,^[16] becoming the second youngest player to reach a Masters final. In it he made a confident start by winning the first two frames. However, O'Sullivan went on to produce what many regard as one of the finest displays of snooker ever seen on television. His dominance, along with the boisterous and hostile nature of the crowd, left Ding in tears during the twelfth frame, trailing 8–3 in the best of 19 frames contest. The latter appeared resigned to defeat, taking little time to consider his shot selection, and after the frame shook hands with O'Sullivan, after which the two walked arm in arm to the dressing room area, but because it had only been the last frame before the mid-session interval, and so indeed not the very last frame of the match, no-one knew if he had conceded the match, believed the match was over or was just congratulating O'Sullivan on his formidable play. He ultimately lost the match on the next frame, and later claimed that he thought the match was indeed a "best of 17".^[17]

He was next bumped out of two tournaments in a row in the first rounds, losing 5–2 to Stephen Maguire in the Malta Cup^[18] and 5–1 to Jamie Cope in the Welsh Open.^[19] By 14 March 2007, however, Ding had qualified for the televised final stages of the World Championships for the first time by beating Mark Davis in the final qualifying round.^[20] However, his losing streak in ranking tournaments that season continued with a 5–3 first round loss to Barry Hawkins in the China Open and a 10–2 loss against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Snooker Championship, but he still ended the season ranked in ninth place, his highest ever ranking.

The following season was consistent, reaching the last 16 of all but one ranking event, but he failed to reach a single semi-final, causing him to slip down two places, to number 11 in the world rankings. At the Crucible he managed to reach the second round for the first time, beating Marco Fu 10–9 in a high quality match, but he was unable to progress further, going down 13–7 to Stephen Hendry.

However, he started the next season on a high by winning the Jiangsu Classic, beating Mark Selby 6–5 in the final.

On 16 December, in his Second Round match against John Higgins at the UK Championship, Ding scored a maximum 147 break in the third frame of the match.^[21]

Currently, Ding Junhui holds the record for the most unanswered points (495) in any snooker tournament. This was during the Premier League Snooker against Stephen Hendry.^[22]

2009/2010[link]

Ding started the 2009/10 season well. He reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters, and the final of the Grand Prix at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, where he defeated Matthew Stevens 5–4 in the first round, Stephen Maguire 5–1 in the second round, Peter Ebdon 5–2 in the quarter-finals and Mark Williams 6–1 in the semi-finals. He lost to Neil Robertson 9–4 in the final.^[23]

Ding reached the final of the 2009 UK Championship after defeating Mike Dunn (9–5), Shaun Murphy (9–3), Ali Carter (9–8), and Stephen Maguire (9–5).^[24] He went on to defeat John Higgins in the final (10–8) to claim his second UK crown.^[25]

After losing his next two matches against Mark Selby (1–6) at the Masters and Jamie Cope (3–5) at the Welsh Open, Ding found his form, scoring nine centuries on his way to the China Open final, where he lost against Mark Williams (6–10), despite leading 5–4 at the end of first session.^[26] At the World Championship he defeated Stuart Pettman 10–1, but lost 10–13 against Shaun Murphy in the second round.

2010/2011[link]

Ding started the season at the Wuxi Classic, where he lost 8–9 in the final, despite at one point leading 8–2.^[27] Ding reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters and the quarter-finals of the World Open, where he lost 1–5 against Jamie Cope and 2–3 against Mark Williams respectively.^[28][29] Ding failed to defend his UK Championship title, when he lost 8–9 against Mark Allen.^[30]

Ding reached his second Masters Final in January 2011, after beating Jamie Cope 6–3 in the semi-final. Ding went on to win the Masters for the first time, beating Marco Fu 10–4 in the first ever all-Asian Masters final.^[31][32]

Ding also had a career best run at the 2011 World Snooker Championship. He beat Jamie Burnett 10–2 in the first round, advancing to the last 16 of the World Championship for the 4th straight year.^[33] Facing Stuart Bingham in the second round, he was down 9–12 at one point with the opponent needing just one frame for victory, but Ding made a comeback, winning four straight frames to win 13–12 to reach the quarter-finals of the world championship for the first time in his career.^[34] In his quarter-final with Mark Selby, Ding led Selby 10–6 after the first two sessions of the match. Selby built strong momentum by winning the first four frames of the last session to level at 10–10, but Ding eventually held on to win 13–10 to set up a semi-final against Judd Trump.^[35] In their semi-final, Ding and Trump were level at 12–12 after the third session. In the last session, Trump was the first to build momentum and led 14–12, but Ding pinched the next three frames with a 138 break to tie Mark King for highest tournament break and a 119 break. Ding lost the next three frames to lose the match by a 15–17 scoreline.^[36]

2011/2012[link]

Ding started the season at the Wuxi Classic, where he lost 5–6 against Mark Selby in the semi-finals,^[37] and for the first time couldn't reach the final of the tournament.^[38] At the World Cup Ding and Liang Wenbo partnered up to represent China. They won the final, 4–2 against Northern Ireland.^[39] He then lost in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open 2–5 against Stuart Bingham.^[40] At the second event of the Players Tour Championship Ding reached the final, but lost 0–4 against Judd Trump.^[41] Ding was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 2011 UK Championship by Neil Robertson, 6–2.^[42] He was defeated in the Masters by Ronnie O'Sullivan for the third time in his career, losing in the first round 4–6, meaning that he couldn't defend the title he won in 2011.^[43] Ding beat Mark Selby in the 2012 Welsh Open to win his fifth ranking tournament and a cheque for £30,000.^[44] Ding's form continued in claiming the 2012 Championship League tournament and a place in the 2012 Premier League^[45]. Ding reached the semi-finals of the China Open only to be put out by eventual winner Peter Ebdon, 3–6.^[46] Ding ended the season by going out in the first round of the World Championship, losing to Ryan Day 10–9 having been in the lead 9–6. After the match Ding criticised the condition of the tables at the event and the attitude of the audience, saying both were "rubbish".^[47] He finished the year ranked world number 11, meaning he had dropped 7 places during the season.^[48]

Achievements[link]

Ding Junhui has compiled more than 200 competitive century breaks.^[3] He has made four 147 maximum breaks in professional competition. The first at the 2007 Masters, which made him the youngest player to have made a televised 147 at the age of 19 years and 7 months. The second came at the 2008 UK Championship. The third came in the first round of the FFB Snooker Open in 2011.^[49] His fourth maximum came only two days after his third in a 4–1 victory against James Cahill.

In popular culture[link]

A 26-episode cartoon series Dragon Ball No.1 by Beijing-based D5 Studio, based on Ding's growth from a shy boy to a snooker star, was broadcast on TV in 2010.^[50]

Performance and rankings timeline[link]