A Go professional is a professional player of the game of Go. The minimum standard to acquire a professional diploma through one of the major Go organisations is very high. The competition is tremendous, and prize incentives for champion players are very large. For example, the Honinbo Tournament has a grand prize of about $350,000.
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player and has been considered the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. He began playing snooker at age 9, and rose to international prominence in 2002 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship, the Asian Championship, and becoming the youngest winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship at age 15.
Stephen Gordon Hendry is a Scottish former professional snooker player and current commentator for the BBC and ITV. Widely regarded as one of the greatest snooker players ever, he is best known for dominating the sport in the 1990s, when he won the World Championship seven times, a record in the modern era. His first world title in 1990, at the age of 21, made him the youngest ever world champion, a record he still holds. He was ranked world number one for eight consecutive seasons between 1990 and 1998 and regained the number one ranking in 2007. He and Ronnie O'Sullivan jointly hold the record for the most ranking titles in the sport, with 36 each.
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 four 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 2011/2012 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 Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest running tournament behind the World Championship. It is one of the Triple Crown events, and although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit. The reigning champion is Judd Trump.
The dan (段) ranking system is used by many Japanese organizations and Korean martial arts to indicate the level of one's ability within a certain subject matter. As a ranking system, it was originally used at a go school during the Edo period. It is now also used in modern fine arts and martial arts.
Barry Hawkins is an English professional snooker player from Ditton in Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004/2005 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship, the quarter-finals of the 2004 British Open, and the semi-finals of the 2005 Welsh Open. He has now spent twelve successive seasons ranked inside the top 32. He reached his first ranking final and won his first ranking title at the 2012 Australian Goldfields Open.
Hideyuki Fujisawa, also known as Shuko Fujisawa, was a Japanese professional Go player. A younger uncle of another professional, Hosai Fujisawa.
Yoshio Ishida is a professional Go player.
Song Tae-kon is a Korean professional Go player.
Gu Li is a Chinese professional Go player.
Kaoru Iwamoto, also known as Honinbo Kunwa, was a Japanese professional Go player who achieved the rank of 9-dan.
Ryan Day is a Welsh professional snooker player. As a prolific break-builder, he has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career and one maximum break.
Qian Yuping is a Chinese professional Go player.
Shuzo Ohira was a professional Go player.
The 2007 SAGA Insurance Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 14 to 21 January 2007 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. It was the 33rd edition of the tournament. In a slight change for 2007, there were 19 competitors, as opposed to 18 up until 2006. The top 16 seeds for ranking events were automatically invited, while the other players entered a qualifying tournament for the right to one of three wild-card places. The two remaining places were granted by the game's governing body at their discretion to Jimmy White and Ding Junhui. Stuart Bingham won the qualifying tournament.
The 2005 UK Championship was the 2005 edition of the UK Championship, a professional snooker tournament that is one of the sport's three Triple Crown events. It was held at the Barbican Centre in York, North Yorkshire from 5 to 18 December 2005. The competition was the second of six World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2005/2006 season and the tournament's 29th edition. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Europe on the BBC and Eurosport.
Kyren Wilson is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010, after finishing fifth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. Wilson won his first ranking title at the 2015 Shanghai Masters when, ranked 54th in the world, he defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the final.
The 2016 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament, that took place from 16 April to 2 May 2016 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 40th consecutive year that the tournament had been held at the venue. It was the tenth and last ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.
Shaun Peter Murphy is an English professional snooker player, who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
