Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport and widely regarded as the greatest Asian player of all time. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships. He has twice reached the final of the Masters, winning once in 2011. In 2016, he became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship.
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. This achievement puts him on a par with Mark Selby and behind only O'Sullivan (21), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15). A prolific break-builder, Higgins has compiled over 900 century breaks in professional competition, including 12 maximum breaks in professional tournaments, second only to O'Sullivan's 15. He has achieved the world number 1 ranking position on four occasions.
Alan McManus is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator and pundit for ITV and Eurosport on snooker coverage. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Dubai Classic and the 1996 Thailand Open, and competed in the World Championship semi-finals in 1992, 1993 and 2016. He also won the 1994 Masters, ending Stephen Hendry's five-year, 23-match unbeaten streak at the tournament with a 9–8 victory in the final. McManus announced his retirement on 9 April 2021 after losing 6–3 to Bai Langning in the second qualifying round of the 2021 World Snooker Championship.
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the tournament a record seven times, followed by Steve Davis with six titles and Stephen Hendry with five. Mark Allen is the reigning champion, winning his first title in 2022.
The World Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament. Throughout its history, the tournament has undergone numerous revamps and name changes. It started out in 1982 as the Professional Players Tournament, but for most of the 1980s and 1990s it was known as the Grand Prix. It was renamed the LG Cup from 2001 to 2003 before reverting to the Grand Prix until 2010. Since then it has been known as the World Open.
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player, who is a former world champion and former world number one. To date, he is the most successful player from outside the United Kingdom, and the only non-UK born to have completed snooker's Triple Crown, having won the World Championship in 2010, the Masters in 2012 and 2022, and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He has claimed a career total of 23 ranking titles, having won at least one professional tournament every year between 2006 and 2022.
Ryan Day is a Welsh professional snooker player. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled over 400 century breaks during his career, including four maximum breaks. He is a three-time World Championship quarter-finalist, has been ranked at no. 6 in the world and has won four ranking tournaments.
Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently fifth on the list of all-time ranking event winners with 26 ranking titles. He has also won four Triple Crown titles.
In snooker, a century break is a break of 100 points or more, compiled in one visit to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a mark of the highest skill in snooker. Ronnie O'Sullivan has described a player's first century break as the "ultimate milestone for any snooker player".
The 2005 UK Championship was a professional snooker tournament and the 2005 edition of the UK Championship. It was held at the Barbican Centre in York, North Yorkshire, England from 5 to 18 December 2005. The competition was the second of six World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association ranking events in the 2005–06 snooker season, the first of the three Triple Crown events, and the tournament's 29th edition. It preceded the Malta Cup and followed the Grand Prix. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Europe on the BBC and Eurosport.
The 2005 Masters was the 2005 edition of the non-ranking Masters professional snooker tournament. It was held from 13 to 20 February 2005 at the Wembley Conference Centre, London. The tournament was the 31st staging of the competition and was the sixth of nine World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) main tour events in the 2004/2005 season. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC and by Eurosport in Europe.
The 2008 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 2008 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 32nd consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible Theatre, and the seventh and final ranking event of the 2007–08 snooker season. The tournament was organised by World Snooker, and sponsored by betting company 888.com. The tournament featured a total prize fund of £1,050,000 with £250,000 being awarded to the winner.
The 2007 PartyBets.com Premier League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that was played from 6 September to 2 December 2007.
The 2011 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 16 April and 2 May 2011 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 35th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible and was the last ranking event of the 2010–11 snooker season. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and had a total prize fund of £1,111,000, with £250,000 going to the winner of the event. The tournament was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred.
The 2004 British Open was the 2004 edition of the British Open snooker tournament, held from 8 to 14 November 2004 at Brighton Centre, Brighton, England. John Higgins won the tournament, defeating Stephen Maguire nine frames to six in the all-Scottish final to lift his first ranking-event title since the 2001 edition of this event. In the semi-finals, Higgins defeated Shaun Murphy 6–0 and Maguire defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–1. The defending champion Stephen Hendry lost in the quarter-finals. Higgins made the highest tournament break with his two breaks of 144. The tournament was the second of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season, following the Grand Prix in October, which was won by O'Sullivan. It preceded the third ranking event of the season, the UK Championship.
The 2004 Snooker Grand Prix was the 2004 edition of the Grand Prix snooker tournament and was held from 2 to 10 October 2004 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan won the tournament defeating Ian McCulloch by nine frames to five (9–5) in the final. In the semi-finals O'Sullivan defeated Paul Hunter 6–3 and McCulloch beat Michael Judge 6–1. Mark Williams, who won the same event under the name LG Cup the year before, lost in the first round. John Higgins made the highest break with a 147. The 64-man tournament was the first of eight World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season and the next event following last season's World Championship, which was won by O'Sullivan. It preceded the second ranking event of the season, the British Open.
The 2017 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 2017 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 19th and final ranking event of the 2016–17 season which followed the China Open. It was the 41st consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible.
Ronnie O'Sullivan started his professional snooker career in 1992 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His play and accomplishments are described by some peers and pundits as being the greatest in the modern era of snooker. O'Sullivan is a seven-time world champion, and holds many records, including the fastest maximum break in professional competition; the highest number of century breaks; the highest number of maximum breaks, and the most Triple Crown event titles (21).
The 2020 World Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 3 to 9 February 2020 in the Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, England. It was the eleventh ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, and the first of three Coral Cup tournaments. The 2020 edition of the World Grand Prix was sponsored by the betting company Coral. The event had 32 participants, with players qualifying by virtue of their ranking points during the 2019–20 season. It had a prize fund of £380,000, with £100,000 going to the winner.
The 2020 Players Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 24 February to 1 March 2020 at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre in Southport, England. It was the 14th ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season and the second leg of the Coral Series. The tenth edition of the Players Championship, first held in 2011, the event was sponsored by sports betting company Coral, and broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, and Eurosport across Europe. The event featured 16 participants chosen from players who were the highest earners from the prior 13 ranking tournaments.
Barry Hawkins (ENG) (145)
John Higgins (SCO)
