Alexander Gordon Higgins was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was World Champion in 1972 and 1982, and runner-up in 1976 and 1980. He became the first qualifier to win the world title in 1972, a feat only two players have achieved since – Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005. He won the UK Championship in 1983 and the Masters in 1978 and 1981, making him one of eleven players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. He was also World Doubles champion with Jimmy White in 1984, and won the World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team.
Steve Davis is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles, and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons. He was runner-up to Dennis Taylor in one of snooker's most famous matches, the 1985 World Championship final, whose dramatic black-ball conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK records for any broadcast after midnight and any broadcast on BBC Two that stand to this day.
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
Mark James Williams is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003 and 2018. Often noted for his single-ball long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname "The Welsh Potting Machine".
John Higgins, is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry (36). Since turning professional in 1992, he has won four World Championships, three UK Championships, and two Masters titles for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him on a par with Mark Selby and behind only O'Sullivan (21), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15). A prolific break-builder, he has compiled over 900 century breaks and 12 maximum breaks in professional tournaments, in both cases second only to O'Sullivan. Higgins has achieved the world number 1 ranking position on four occasions.
Anthony Christian Meo is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Championship titles, partnering Davis, and the 1983 World Team Classic representing England alongside Davis and Tony Knowles.
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Snooker Championship title at his first attempt in 1969. He won the Championship title for the second time in 1971, and was the first player to win the championship at the Crucible Theatre when it moved there in 1977. Spencer was the inaugural winner of both the Masters and the Irish Masters tournaments, and was the first player to make a maximum break of 147 in competition, although this is not recognised as an official maximum because no check was carried out to establish whether the pockets on the table met the required specifications.
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Higgins 18–16 in the final to become the first world champion in snooker's modern era from outside the United Kingdom. He remains the sport's only world champion from the Americas. He was runner-up in two other world championships, losing 21–25 to John Spencer in the 1977 final and 6–18 to Steve Davis in the 1983 final. Ranked world number one during the 1981–82 season, he was the first non-British player to top the world rankings.
The Scottish Open is a ranking professional snooker tournament held in the United Kingdom. The tournament had many name changes in its history, as the tournament was formerly called International Open, Matchroom Trophy and Players Championship. Apart from a hiatus in the 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 seasons, the tournament remained a ranking event until 2003/2004. In the 2012/2013 season the tournament was added back to the calendar as part of the Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series. The most recent champion is Luca Brecel.
Stuart Bingham is an English professional snooker player who is a former World Champion and Masters winner.
Michael Judge is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest ranking, 24th, for the 2002–03 season. He returned to the professional tour having gained a two-year card at 2021 Q School.
The 1977 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 18 to 30 April 1977 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. John Spencer won his third World Snooker Championship title by defeating Cliff Thorburn by 25 frames to 21 in the final. It was the first time that the championship was held at the Crucible, which has remained as the venue for the Championship since then. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
Mark Davis is an English professional snooker player from St Leonards in Sussex. He became professional in 1991, and for many years was considered something of a journeyman; however, he vastly improved his game in the late 2000s, and as a result in 2012 made his debut in the top 16. The highlights of his career so far have been winning the Benson & Hedges Championship in 2002, and the six-red snooker world championships three times. Davis reached his first ranking event final in 2018, losing to Stuart Bingham in the final of the English Open. Prior to this he was widely considered to be the best player never to have reached a ranking final.
Rod Lawler is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".
The 1998 Liverpool Victoria UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England. The event started on 16 November 1998 and the televised stages were shown on BBC between 21 and 29 November 1998.
Peter Lines is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father of fellow professional snooker player Oliver Lines.
Dennis Taylor is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, when he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in one of the most famous matches in snooker history. Despite losing the first eight frames, Taylor recovered to win 18–17 in a dramatic duel on the last black ball. The final's conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK viewership records for any post-midnight broadcast and for any broadcast on BBC Two that still stand.
The 1996 Sweater Shop International Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 and 24 February 1996 at the Link Centre in Swindon, England.
The 1997 International Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 22 February 1997 at the AECC in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The 1994 International Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 19 February 1994 at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England.
John Higgins (SCO)
Steve Davis (ENG)
