Chris Wakelin

Last updated

Chris Wakelin
Chris Wakelin PHC 2016-1.jpg
Wakelin at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1992-03-16) 16 March 1992 (age 33)
Rugby, Warwickshire, England
Sport countryFlag of England.svg  England
Professional2013–present
Highest ranking 13 (August 2025)
Current ranking 14 (as of 2 September 2025)
Century breaks 128 (as of 21 September 2025)
Tournament wins
Ranking 1

Chris Wakelin (born 16 March 1992) [1] is an English professional snooker player from Rugby, Warwickshire. [2] He turned professional in 2013 and won his first ranking title at the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out. [3]

Contents

Career

Early career

Wakelin started playing snooker aged 8, when his parents Mark and Angie bought him his first mini snooker table, and by the time he was 11 he was successfully playing in the local league. [4] However, his career nearly came to a halt at the age of 17 when he had to start working full-time as an ASDA delivery driver to support himself financially, and only played snooker as a hobby. In 2012 Wakelin decided to give the game another go, but soon had to face more difficulties as family issues resulted in a severe depression: "I could line up but I just couldn’t pot. I thought I would never play again. But thankfully with the help of my friends I managed to turn it around." [5] Since then Wakelin reached the semi-finals of the 2013 English Amateur Championship, before making it through to the England's Under 21 final (where he would later beat Hammad Miah). [4] [6]

These results encouraged him to enter 2013 Q School in May. After having made it to the final round of the first event, he again reached the final round at the Event 3. There he faced former professional Adam Wicheard, who led 2‍–‍0 before Wakelin hit back to lead 3‍–‍2. Then, in the sixth frame when Wakelin had been already 23‍–‍0 up, Wicheard accidentally snapped his cue when leaning on it, and had to concede the match. [6] As a result, Wakelin won a tour card for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons.

2013–2017

Wakelin had a tough debut season as a professional as he lost his opening match in all the ranking tournaments aside from the UK Championship, where he defeated 22nd seed Ryan Day 6‍–‍5 before losing by the same scoreline to Jamie Burnett in the subsequent round. [7] He had better results in the minor-ranking European Tour events, reaching the last 32 of the Rotterdam Open before going all the way to the quarter-finals of the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup, where he lost 2‍–‍4 to Judd Trump. [7] Wakelin's season ended when he was edged out 9‍–‍10 by Paul Davison in the first round of World Championship qualifying, with him ranked world number 106 after his first year on tour. [8] [9]

Wakelin's second season on the tour was a vast improvement on his first. He beat Tom Ford 5–2 to qualify for the 2014 Wuxi Classic and in his first appearance in a ranking event outside of the UK he overcame Joe O'Connor 5‍–‍2, before losing 2‍–‍5 to Shaun Murphy. [10] At the minor-ranking Ruhr Open, Wakelin overcame Matthew Stevens 4‍–‍1 and then fought back from 0‍–‍3 and needing two snookers in the deciding frame to beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4‍–‍3. A 4‍–‍2 win over Fergal O'Brien saw him reach the quarter-finals where he lost 1‍–‍4 to Trump. [10] At the Indian Open, Wakelin beat Rhys Clark 4‍–‍2, Andrew Pagett 4‍–‍1 and Nigel Bond 4‍–‍1 to play in the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time. [11] He was 2‍–‍1 ahead of Michael White but lost 2‍–‍4. [12]

Wakelin's performances in the European Tour events this season saw him finish a lofty 22nd on the Order of Merit to earn a new two-year tour card. [13] It also gave him entry into the Grand Final where he whitewashed Robert Milkins 4‍–‍0, before Matthew Selt ousted Wakelin 4‍–‍2 in the second round. [14]

In June 2015, Wakelin saw off Alex Taubman 5‍–‍1, Craig Steadman 5‍–‍0, and Liam Highfield 5‍–‍2, to reach the final qualifying round of the Australian Goldfields Open, but he then lost 3‍–‍5 to Jamie Jones. [15] A 6‍–‍4 victory over Peter Lines saw him qualify for the International Championship, where he lost 4‍–‍6 to Barry Hawkins having led 3‍–‍1. [16] Wakelin beat Stevens 6‍–‍5 on the final black in the first round of the UK Championship and apologized to his opponent for an exuberant celebration at the end in a win he described as one of his best. [17] He was defeated 2‍–‍6 by Michael Holt in the second round. Wakelin qualified for the China Open by eliminating Kurt Maflin 5‍–‍3 and was edged out 4‍–‍5 by Selt in the first round. [18] After beating world number 25 and former practice partner Ben Woollaston 10‍–‍9, Wakelin looked set to reach the final qualifying round for the World Championship after leading Anthony Hamilton 4‍–‍0 and 9‍–‍6, but he went on to lose 9‍–‍10. [19]

Wins over Allan Taylor and Anthony McGill saw Wakelin set up a third-round encounter with Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2016 English Open. Wakelin recovered from 0‍–‍2 down to triumph 4‍–‍3 in a performance that included a century and two other breaks above 50. [20] He then edged past Xiao Guodong 4‍–‍3 after trailing 1‍–‍3 to play in the quarter-finals, where he lost 0‍–‍5 to Stuart Bingham. [21] [22] Wakelin was defeated 4‍–‍6 by Lines in the second round of the UK Championship and 0‍–‍4 by Anthony Hamilton in the third round of the Scottish Open. [23] Wakelin ended a season inside the top 64 for the first time as he was the world number 63. [24]

2018–2022

Wakelin qualified for the 2018 World Championship where he made his debut appearance at the Crucible Theatre. [1] He delivered a strong performance against Judd Trump in the first round; recovering from 3‍–‍6 and 4‍–‍8 down, Wakelin levelled the match at 8‍–‍8 before losing 9‍–‍10 on the deciding frame. He compiled a 141 break in the first session, the highest of his career. [25]

At the end of the 2017–18 season, Wakelin joined the top 50 players in the snooker world rankings. [1] He reached the quarter-final stage of the 2018 Riga Masters ranking tournament in Latvia by defeating Jamie Jones 4‍–‍0 and Mark King 4‍–‍3; he then lost 2‍–‍4 to Stuart Carrington in the quarter-finals. [26]

In 2021, Wakelin qualified for the main stage of the World Championship for the second time in his career, defeating Xiao Guodong 10‍–‍7 in the last qualifying round. [1] [27] He then endured a 4‍–‍10 first-round defeat to David Gilbert. [28] He qualified for the main stage of the World Championship for a third time in 2022 but was again eliminated in the first round, losing 6‍–‍10 to Yan Bingtao. [29] [30]

2023–present

Wakelin won his first ranking title in January 2023, beating Julien Leclercq in the final of the BetVictor Snooker Shoot Out, making a tournament-high break of 119 in the single-frame match. [31] [32] The £55,000 total prize money lifted Wakelin from 47th to 33rd in the world rankings. [33] [34] He beat former world champion Neil Robertson at the German Masters in February; however, his 16-match winning streak came to an end in the quarter-finals where he was defeated 2‍–‍5 by Robert Milkins. [1] [35] He reached his second ranking event final at the 2023 Northern Ireland Open in Belfast; after taking an early 2‍–‍1 lead against Judd Trump, he was eventually defeated 3‍–‍9. [36]

In September 2024, Wakelin was a semi-finalist at the English Open after beating Mark Allen 5‍–‍2 in the quarter-finals, [37] but he was heavily defeated 1‍–‍6 by Robertson in their semi-final match. [38] The following month, he progressed to the final of the International Championship in China, where he lost 7‍–‍10 to Ding Junhui after establishing a 1‍–‍4 lead in the first session. [39] His route to his third ranking event final included wins over Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and John Higgins, all former world champions. [40] The prize money from this tournament helped elevate him into the world's top 16 for the first time in his career. [1]

Wakelin reached the last 16 of the 2024 UK Championship where he was defeated 2‍–‍6 by Kyren Wilson. [41] He made his first-ever appearance in the Masters tournament in 2025 but lost in the first round 3‍–‍6 to Luca Brecel. [42]

Ranked World No.20, [43] Wakelin qualified for the 2025 World Championship, having failed to qualify for the main tournament for the previous two years. [44] He beat ninth seed Neil Robertson 10‍–‍8 in the first round for his first ever Crucible match victory. [44] [45] He then defeated eighth seed Mark Allen 13‍–‍6 in the last 16, after developing a 10‍–‍2 lead in the second session, [43] but was then knocked out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, 5‍–‍13, by amateur Chinese player Zhao Xintong. [46] [47]

Personal life

Wakelin worked full-time as a delivery driver for ASDA before joining the professional snooker tour. [48] Since 2021, Wakelin was involved with Strictly Christmas, a local spin-off of Strictly Come Dancing, raising money for Zoe's Place Baby Hospice in Coventry. [49] He credited his 2023 Shoot Out win to his running and ballroom dancing, saying: "Just being a part of that was life changing. We had visits to the hospice to see the children, staff and families to understand what it is we're raising money for. As cutting and difficult as it was to see, it inspired me to help out as much as I can." [50]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23 		2023/
24 		2024/
25 		2025/
26
Ranking [nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] 106 [nb 4] 83 63 48 48 57 60 43 29 24 16
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event RR RR 2R 3R 2R 2R
Saudi Arabia Masters Tournament Not Held 4R SF
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held 1R QF LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held QF 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQ 2R SF 2R
British Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQ 1R 3R
Xi'an Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 2R
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 2R 4R 2R 1R 1R 1R LQ F 2R
International Championship ALQLQ 1R 1R LQ 1R 1R Not Held 1R F
UK Championship A 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R LQLQ 2R
Shoot Out Non-Ranking Event 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 4R W 2R 1R
Scottish Open MRNot Held 3R 2R 1R 4R 2R 1R LQ QF QF
German Masters ALQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQ QF 1R 1R
World Grand Prix Not HeldNRDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ 1R 1R
Players Championship [nb 5] DNQDNQ 2R DNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ 1R 1R 1R
Welsh Open A 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R
World Open ALQNot HeldLQ 2R 1R LQNot Held 3R WD
Tour Championship Tournament Not HeldDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
World Championship ALQLQLQLQ 1R LQLQ 1R 1R LQLQ QF
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Ranking EventAANot HeldAA 2R
Champion of Champions NHAAAAAAAAAA 1R A
The Masters AAAAAAAAAAAA 1R
Championship League AAAAAAA RR AAA 2R WD
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic ALQ 2R Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open ALQLQLQTournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters ALQLQLQLQ 1R Non-RankingNot HeldNon-Ranking
Paul Hunter Classic Minor-Ranking Event 2R 4R 4R NRTournament Not Held
Indian Open NHLQ QF NHLQLQ 3R Tournament Not Held
China Open ALQLQ 1R LQ 2R 1R Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters [nb 6] Not HeldMinor-Ranking 1R LQ QF LQTournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not HeldNR 1R 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Gibraltar Open Not HeldMR 2R 1R 3R 2R QF 3R Tournament Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 2R Not Held
European Masters Tournament Not HeldLQ 2R 1R LQ 2R LQ 2R 2R Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot Out AA 2R ARanking Event
Six-red World Championship AAAAAAAANot Held 2R Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw#Rlost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ↑ He was an amateur
  3. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  4. ↑ Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points
  5. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2012/2013-2015/2016)
  6. ↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1. 2023 Snooker Shoot Out Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Julien Leclercq 1–0
Runner-up1. 2023 Northern Ireland Open Flag of England.svg Judd Trump 3–9
Runner-up2. 2024 International Championship Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ding Junhui 7–10

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2025 Pink Ribbon Flag of England.svg Craig Steadman 5–3

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2013English Under-21 Championship Flag of England.svg Hammad Miah 8–4 [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Chris Wakelin - World Snooker". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "Chris Wakelin Q&A". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Wakelin wins Shoot Out for first ranking title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Chris has staked it all on a pot of gold". Rugby Advertiser. 28 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Evans, Gregg (16 June 2013). "Chris takes his cue from bizarre accident". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Arrowsmith, Jamie (19 June 2013). "Wakelin set to star on the baize". Rugby Observer. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Chris Wakelin 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Steadman Sets Up Davis Meeting". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Chris Wakelin 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Wakelin Keeps Run Going". World Snooker. World Snooker. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "White Makes Semi Breakthrough". World Snooker. World Snooker. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "European Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Williams Fight Back Floors Selby". World Snooker. World Snooker. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Chris Wakelin 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Champion Ricky Walden beaten by Tian Pengfei in China". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 25 October 2015. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "UK Championship 2015: Chris Wakelin in pieces at black-ball win". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Snooker: Wakelin hopes to make the Crucible cut". Nuneaton News . Retrieved 25 April 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ "Snooker World Championship 2016: Wakelin suffers comeback defeat". Nuneaton News . Retrieved 25 April 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated by Chris Wakelin at the English Open, Judd Trump beats Martin Gould". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Xiao Guodong 3–4 Chris Wakelin". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  22. ↑ "Fairytale run in snooker's new English Open ends for Chris Wakelin after heavy defeat to Stuart Bingham". Rugby and Lutterworth Observer. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "Chris Wakelin 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  25. ↑ Phillips, Owen (27 April 2018). "World Snooker Championship 2018: Judd Trump beats debutant Chris Wakelin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  26. ↑ "Kaspersky Riga Masters (2018)". snooker.org. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  27. ↑ "Rugby snooker star says losing weight will help him climb rankings after first-round World Championship defeat". Rugby Observer . 19 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  28. ↑ "World Snooker Championship 2021: Tournament results, highest break and prize money". BBC Sport. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  29. ↑ Stuart, Paul (19 April 2022). "Rugby sharpshooter Chris Wakelin eyes maiden win at World Snooker Championship". Coventry Telegraph . Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  30. ↑ "China's Yan reaches last 16 at World Snooker Championship". China Daily . London, UK. Xinhua. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  31. ↑ "Snooker Shoot Out: Chris Wakelin beats Julien Leclercq to win first ranking title". BBC Sport. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  32. ↑ Livie, Alex (29 January 2023). "Chris Wakelin makes career breakthrough with Snooker Shoot Out final win over Julien Leclercq". TNT Sports UK . Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  33. ↑ Caulfield, David (29 January 2023). "Chris Wakelin 'couldn't be prouder' after Snooker Shoot Out success". SnookerHQ.com. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  34. ↑ "Snooker results: Chris Wakelin wins Snooker Shoot Out". Sporting Life. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  35. ↑ "2023 German Masters Results". snooker.org. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  36. ↑ "Northern Ireland Open: Judd Trump wins Alex Higgins Trophy with victory against Chris Wakelin". BBC Sport. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  37. ↑ "2024 English Open". snooker.org. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  38. ↑ "Robertson and Wu set up English Open final meeting". BBC Sport. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  39. ↑ Imber, Leon (10 November 2024). "International Championship: Ding Junhui completes comeback against Chris Wakelin to end five-year title drought". TNT Sports UK . Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  40. ↑ "Wakelin reaches International Championship final". BBC Sport. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  41. ↑ Baynes, Ciaran. "UK Championship LIVE - World champion Kyren Wilson cruises past Chris Wakelin, Michael Holt downs Jak Jones in decider". Eurosport. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  42. ↑ "Brecel Completes Stellar Last-Eight Line-Up". World Snooker Tour. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  43. 1 2 Emons, Michael (25 April 2025). "Maximum joy but Allen beaten by Wakelin at Crucible". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  44. 1 2 "Wakelin Holds Off Robertson Fightback". World Snooker Tour. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  45. ↑ "Mark Williams outlasts Wu Yize to make World Snooker Championship last 16". The Guardian. PA Media. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  46. ↑ "Zhao Continues To Chase History". World Snooker Tour. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  47. ↑ "China's Zhao storms into snooker worlds semis for first time". China Daily Asia . Xinhua. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  48. ↑ "Chris Wakelin". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  49. ↑ "Baize to the Ballroom for Wakelin". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  50. ↑ "Chris Wakelin: How ballroom dancing contributed to first ranking title". BBC Sport . Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
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