Gary Wilkinson (snooker player)

Last updated

Gary Wilkinson
Born (1966-04-07) 7 April 1966 (age 58)
Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England
Sport countryFlag of England.svg  England
Professional1987–2006
Highest ranking 5 (1991/1992)
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)

Gary Wilkinson (born 7 April 1966) is an English former professional snooker player.

Contents

Career

Wilkinson turned professional in 1987. In 1988, he won the non-ranking WPBSA Invitation Event beating Alex Higgins 5–4 in the final. He climbed the rankings to reach the no. 5 spot in the world within four seasons. [1] One of his career highlights was at the 1989 UK Championship, where he led John Parrott 7–0 and 8–1 in their Last 16 match before falling over the line at 9–6, then whitewashing Jimmy White 9–0 in the quarter-finals, and then leading world number 1 Steve Davis 4–0, 6–2 and 8–7 in the semi-finals, before Wilkinson misread the score thinking that Davis didn't need snookers and went for a risky shot. It proved costly as Davis came back to get the snookers he needed, win that frame and then the deciding frame as Davis won 9–8. Wilkinson failed to sustain his late 1980s and early 1990s results and has never won a ranking tournament, losing in the final of the 1991 British Open 9–10 to Stephen Hendry, losing the 1992 Scottish Masters final 8–10 to Neal Foulds, as well as losing in four ranking semi-finals. While fancied to potentially go far at the 1991 World Championship, Wilkinson missed the chance of a 147 maximum break and a £100,000 prize in his first round match against Doug Mountjoy after missing the final yellow off its spot, and eventually lost 3–13 to Jimmy White in the quarter-finals in a surprisingly one-sided scoreline.

Wilkinson spent a decade in the top 32, but without reaching a ranking semi-final after 1992. He has made ten appearances in the World Championship, meaning that he has come through qualifying eight times. His best runs were to the quarter-finals in 1991 and 1995. After dropping off the main tour he played in the PIOS whilst also working as a tournament assistant for World Snooker. However, Wilkinson did capture one major title when he won the 1991 World Matchplay. During this peak moment of his career in December 1991, Wilkinson defeated Dean Reynolds 5–1, world champion John Parrott 9–8, Jimmy White 9–6 and then beat Steve Davis 18–11 in the final to win the 1991 World Matchplay title and the £70,000 winner's cheque. [2]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1987/
88
1988/
89
1989/
90
1990/
91
1991/
92
1992/
93
1993/
94
1994/
95
1995/
96
1996/
97
1997/
98
1998/
99
1999/
00
2000/
01
2001/
02
2002/
03
2003/
04
2004/
05
2005/
06
Ranking [3] [nb 1] [nb 2] 45 39 19 5 8 17 22 23 19 17 17 29 34 37 46 44 56 78
Ranking tournaments
Grand Prix [nb 3] 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R QF 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R LQ 1R 1R LQLQLQ
UK Championship 1R 2R SF 3R 2R 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R 3R 1R 1R LQ 1R LQLQLQLQ
Malta Cup [nb 4] NH 2R LQ 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQLQNHLQNot HeldLQLQLQLQLQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held QF 3R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQLQLQLQLQLQ
China Open [nb 5] Tournament Not HeldNRLQLQLQLQNot HeldLQLQ
World Championship LQ 1R 1R QF 1R 2R LQ QF 2R 1R LQLQ 1R LQLQ 1R LQLQLQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Pot Black Tournament Not Held QF SF 1R Tournament Not HeldA
The Masters AAA WR 1R QF LQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQAA
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters NRLQTournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open [nb 6] NRNH SF Tournament Not HeldNRTournament Not Held
Classic LQ 1R 3R QF 3R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic [nb 7] NHNR 2R SF 1R 3R LQ 1R 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
German Masters [nb 8] Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 2R NRTournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not HeldNon-Ranking Event 1R NRTournament Not Held
Thailand Masters [nb 9] Not Held SF 1R 1R 1R LQ QF LQ 1R 1R LQLQLQLQNRNot Held
Scottish Open [nb 10] 1R LQLQNot Held 1R 3R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQ 2R LQ 1R Not Held
British Open 3R 1R 1R F 3R 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R 3R 3R 1R 2R 1R LQLQLQNH
Irish Masters Non-Ranking EventLQ 1R LQNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
English Professional Championship 1R SF Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Not Held 3R Tournament Not Held
London Masters NHAA QF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters Not HeldRanking QF Ranking EventNRNot Held
Hong Kong Challenge AANHA QF Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held SF SF ATournament Not Held
Kent Classic AAAANH 1R Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters ANHAA SF F AAAAAAAAAANot Held
Belgian Masters Not HeldA QF QF Not HeldATournament Not Held
World Matchplay NHAA QF W QF Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters AAAA 1R 1R AAAAAAAAARanking EventNH
Pontins Professional AAAA SF QF SF SF AAAAATournament Not Held
Malta Masters Tournament Not Held QF Tournament 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 Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventevent is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. The event was also called the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)
  5. The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  6. The event was also called the Australian Masters (1986/1987–1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  7. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. The event was also called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  10. The event was also called the International Open (1987/1988–1989/1990 and 1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1. 1991 British Open Flag of Scotland.svg Stephen Hendry 9–10

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1988WPBSA Invitational Event 1 Ulster Banner.svg Alex Higgins 5–4
Winner2. 1991 World Matchplay Flag of England.svg Steve Davis 18–11
Runner-up1. 1992 Scottish Masters Flag of England.svg Neal Foulds 8–10

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1986Watney's Open Flag of England.svg Andrew Shaw3–1

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1985WPBSA Pro Ticket Series Event 4 Flag of England.svg Jim Chambers5–1
Runner-up1.2007 PIOS Event 1 Flag of England.svg Simon Bedford 3–6

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The 1994–95 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1994 and May 1995. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.

The 1995–96 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1995 and May 1996. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.

The 1983–84 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 July 1983 and 19 May 1984. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.

The 1985–86 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1985 and May 1986. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.

The 1988–89 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1988 and May 1989. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and invitational events.

The 1986–87 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 30 June 1986 and 30 May 1987. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and invitational events.

The 1987–88 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 29 June 1987 and 15 May 1988. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and invitational events.

The 1989–90 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1989 and May 1990. The following table outlines the results for ranking and the invitational events.

The 1991–92 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 30 May 1991 and 31 May 1992. The following table outlines the results for ranking and the invitational events.

The 1990–91 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1990 and May 1991. The following table outlines the results for ranking and the invitational events.

The 1980–81 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 18 June 1980 and 16 May 1981. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.

The 1978–79 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1978 and June 1979. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.

References

  1. Turner, Chris. "Historical World Rankings 1990/91 to 2004/05". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  2. Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 April 2018.