Stephen Lee is an English former professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1992 and was ranked in the top 16 between the 1997/1998 and 2007/2008 snooker seasons, reaching a career-high of fifth in the rankings. He won five ranking titles between 1998 and 2006, reached the semi-finals of the 2003 World Championship and the final of the 2008 Masters. Thereafter, his form declined dramatically and as a result he dropped out of the top 16 after a run of eleven consecutive seasons, meaning he would no longer automatically qualify for tournaments. A return to form in the 2011–12 season saw Lee reach two consecutive finals in ranking tournaments and collect his fifth title, as well as regaining his top 16 seeding. Lee was a strong break-builder compiling 184 competitive century breaks during his career, and his smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural the game has seen.
The China Open is a professional snooker tournament. It is one of a number of ranking tournaments and began in 1997. The reigning champion is Neil Robertson.
Neal Foulds is an English former professional snooker player and six-time tournament winner, including the 1986 International Open, the 1988 Dubai Masters and the 1992 Scottish Masters, as well as the invitational Pot Black in 1992. He was the runner up for the UK Championships in 1986, the British Open in 1987 and reached the semi finals of the Masters on three occasions, as well as the World Championship. After his retirement, Foulds became a commentator for the BBC and is currently part of the presenting team for ITV and Eurosport.
Mike Hallett is an English former professional snooker player and commentator.
Anthony Knowles is an English former professional snooker player. He won the 1982 International Open and the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, and was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s. His highest world ranking was second, in the 1984/85 season.
Dean Reynolds is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001.
Gary Wilkinson is an English former professional snooker player.
Martin Clark is an English organiser of snooker tournaments and retired professional snooker player.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotional activities. The Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) was founded in 1946, and, after some years of inactivity, was revived in 1968 and renamed the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in 1970.
Andrew Higginson is an English professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
The Shanghai Masters is a professional snooker tournament. Originally a ranking event, it became a non-ranking invitation event in 2018. Ronnie O'Sullivan is the reigning champion. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the 2018 title, the first time it has been defended.
The 1997–98 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1997 and May 1998. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events. This was the first season since 1987–88 that Stephen Hendry failed to win at least one Triple Crown title, although he did reach two of the three Triple Crown finals.
The 2005–06 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 17 May 2005 and 10 May 2006. There were six ranking tournaments, and the British Open and Irish Masters tournaments were removed from calendar. The Northern Ireland Trophy was held for the first time as non-ranking tournament, and the Pot Black was held again after a 12-year hiatus.
The 2010–11 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 20 May 2010 and 2 May 2011. The German Masters was the first ranking tournament in Germany since the 1997/1998 season. The Grand Prix was renamed to World Open, and the format of the tournament was change with 32 amateurs joining the Main Tour professionals. The Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series was introduced to the calendar. These events were open to amateurs and professional with a separate Order of Merit. The top 24 in the Order of Merit qualified to the Finals, which was a ranking event. The Premier League was for the first time part of the Main Tour. The Jiangsu Classic was renamed to the Wuxi Classic, and other events were introduced to the calendar: the new cue sport Power Snooker, the World Seniors Championship, and Snooker Shoot Out. The Scottish Professional Championship was held for the first time since 1989.
The World Snooker Tour is a circuit of professional snooker tournaments organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). To compete on the tour, players must be WPBSA members.
Snooker world rankings 2012/2013: The professional world rankings for all the professional snooker players who qualified for the 2012–13 season are listed below. The rankings worked as a two-year rolling list. The points for each tournament two years ago were removed, when the corresponding tournament during the current season has finished. The following table contains the rankings, which were used to determine the seedings for certain tournaments.
The 1999 China International was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 8–14 March 1999 at the JC Mandarin Hotel in Shanghai, China. The tournament was the inaugural staging of the event as a ranking tournament, after the 1997 edition had previously been held as an invitational tournament. This edition was the seventh ranking event out of the 1998/1999 season.
The 1997 Riley Superstar International was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 14 and 16 August 1997 at the Guangdong Hotel, Guangzhou, China.
Snooker world rankings 2018/2019: The professional world rankings for all the professional snooker players, who qualified for the 2018–19 season, are listed below. The rankings work as a two-year rolling list. The points for each tournament two years ago are removed when the corresponding tournament during the current season finishes. The following table contains the rankings which were used to determine the seedings for certain tournaments. Note that the list given below are just those rankings that are used for seeding tournaments. Other rankings are produced after each ranking event which are not noted here.
James Wattana (147)
Steve Davis 
