John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 31 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (41) and Stephen Hendry (36). He has won four World Championships, three UK Championships, and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him level with Mark Selby and behind only O'Sullivan (23), Hendry (18), and Steve Davis (15). He first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 world rankings and remained there continuously until September 2024, setting a record—at over 29 years—for the longest uninterrupted tenure as a top-16 player. He reached the world number one position four times.
Stephen Lee is an English former professional snooker player who is currently serving a 12-year ban from the sport that will end on his birthday in 2024. He turned professional in 1992, reached a career-high of fifth in the snooker world rankings for the 2000–01 season, and won five ranking titles. His best performances in Triple Crown events were reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Championship, where he lost to eventual champion Mark Williams, and reaching the final of the 2008 Masters, where he was runner-up to Mark Selby. He compiled 184 century breaks in professional competition and was noted for his smooth cue action.
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.
The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.
The Northern Ireland Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament held in Belfast as part of the four-event Home Nations Series. The players compete for the Alex Higgins Trophy, named for the late two-time world champion who was born and raised in Belfast. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 2016 and was won by Mark King.
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.
Liang Wenbo is a Chinese former professional snooker player. During his playing career, he won one ranking title at the 2016 English Open, twice won the World Cup for China in 2011 and 2017 with teammate Ding Junhui, and was runner-up at the 2009 Shanghai Masters and the 2015 UK Championship. He made 292 century breaks in professional competition, including three maximum breaks, and reached a career high of 11th in the snooker world rankings.
The 2010 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 17 April and 3 May 2010 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The final ranking event of the 2009-10 snooker season, it was the 34th year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, first held in 1927. 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.
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon is a Thai retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 as the Asian nomination following his run to the semi-finals of the 2010 Asian Championship. At the age of 17, he was the youngest player competing on the 2010/2011 main tour.
The 2014 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 February and 2 March 2014 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2013/2014 season, and the second time that BetVictor sponsored the event.
The 2014 China Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place between 31 March and 6 April 2014 at the Beijing University Students' Gymnasium in Beijing, China. It was the eleventh ranking event of the 2013–14 season.
Zhao Xintong is a Chinese former professional snooker player who served a 20-month ban from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association – the WPBSA – after committing offences relating to betting on snooker. This ban expired on 1 September 2024.
The 2016 Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 15 to 21 February 2016. It was the sixth ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.
The 2016–17 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 5 May 2016 and 1 May 2017.
The 2016 English Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 10 and 16 October 2016 at the EventCity in Manchester, England. It was the seventh ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2017 Welsh Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 19 February 2017 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. It was the fourteenth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2016 Scottish Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that began on 12 December and ended on 18 December 2016 at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the eleventh ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2020 Gibraltar Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 15 March 2020 at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar with qualifying rounds occurring on 11 and 12 March 2020. It was the fifteenth ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, and the final tournament in the European Series, following the German Masters, European Masters and Snooker Shoot Out. The event was the fifth Gibraltar Open tournament, first held in 2015. The event was organized by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and sponsored by BetVictor.
The 2024 English Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 12 to 22 September 2024 at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2024–25 season, the first of four tournaments in the season's Home Nations Series. The event was broadcast by Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe and by other broadcasters internationally. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £550,400, the Steve Davis trophy, and a place in the 2024 Champion of Champions invitational event.
Neil Robertson (AUS)
