 | |
| Born | 4 July 1959 Australia |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Australia |
| Highest ranking | 91 |
Glen Wilkinson (born 4 July 1959) is an Australian professional snooker player from Miranda, New South Wales who is currently ranked the number ten snooker player in Australia. [1] He is also a National Director of Coaching for snooker in Australia. [2]
In 1983 Wilkinson got the highest break (105) in the Australian Open Championship in Gosford, New South Wales and the following year he went on to win the Open in Perth, Western Australia at the age of 25, again having the highest break of the tournament with 101. [3] A year later he turned professional and moved to England to compete, where he had moderate success reaching a world ranking of No. 91. Returning to Australia in 1990, he was runner-up in the Australian Open Championship in 1998 with the tournament now being held in Sydney each year. [3]
His next tournament win came in 1999 when he won the Rooty Hill Masters, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) South Pacific Snooker Championship and The New South Wales (NSW) Open Snooker Championship. In 2000 he successfully defended both his Rooty Hill Masters and The NSW Open Championship titles.
He won The NSW Open Championship again in 2001, 2002 and 2004. [4] He reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open Championship in 2001 [5] and 2004 [6]
However, between 2001 and 2004 it was the only title he won until 2005 when he won both the NSW Open Championship [7] and also the Central Coast Leagues Club Classic, held in Gosford, New South Wales beating Joe Minici in the final. [8] He was also runner-up in the Australian Open Championship, where he lost to Dene O'Kane of New Zealand in the final [3] and runner-up to Steve Mifsud in the Princes Coca-Cola Cup. [9] In the Kings Australia Cup he reached the semi-finals where he lost to eventual winner Neil Robertson. [10]
In 2006 at the age of 47, he won the inaugural Australian Masters Championship, beating Paul Asher in the final. [11] [12] He was also runner-up in three tournaments – the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Masters, [13] the Central Coast Leagues Club Classic, where he lost to Neil Robertson. [10] and the Fred Osbourne Memorial Snooker, losing to James Mifsud [14] as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open Championship, where he lost to Dene O'Kane, [15] the Princes Coca-Cola Cup where he lost to eventual winner Aaron Mahoney [16] the Lance Pannell Snooker Classic where he lost to Steve Mifsud, [17] the NSW Open Championship [18] and the Oceania Snooker Championship. [19] In the South Pacific Snooker Championship he reached the quarter-final stage before losing to eventual winner Paul Balzer. [20] [21]
In 2007 he had his most successful year to date, winning the Australian Open Championship, [3] the Australian National Championship held at the RACV Club in Melbourne beating Shawn Budd in the final, the Australian Masters Championship, beating Nathan Webb in the final [13] the Queensland Open, beating Steve Mifsud in the final. [22] and the NSW Open Championship. [23] He also reached the final of the Allied Metal Recyclers West Coast International where he lost to Neil Robertson. [24] In the Central Coast Leagues Club Classic he reached the semi-finals. [25] He also reached the semi-finals of the Lance Pannell Snooker Classic [26] and the Princes Coca-Cola Cup [27] He again reached the quarter-finals of the South Pacific Open Championship [28]
In 2008 Wilkinson won the Oceania Championship beating Chris McBreen in the final. [29] In the Kings Australia Cup he reached the semi-finals losing to Neil Robertson. [30] He also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Masters Championship [31] and the Lance Pannell Snooker Classic. [32] He is currently ranked at number two in Australia behind Steve Mifsud. [1]
Wilkinson is now one of two National Directors of Coaching along with Robby Foldvari, appointed by the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council. [2]
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.
Stephen Lee is an English former professional snooker player who is currently serving a 12-year ban from the sport. 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.
Peter David Ebdon is an English retired professional snooker player who is a former world champion and current coach. Ebdon won nine ranking titles during his career, placing him in joint 12th position on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. He won two Triple Crown titles, the 2002 World Snooker Championship and the 2006 UK Championship.
A maximum break is the highest possible break in a single frame of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points, followed by all six colours for a further 27 points. Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a highly significant achievement in the game of snooker, and may be compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling.
Dominic Dale is a Welsh professional snooker player, as well as snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Anthony Stephen Hamilton is an English professional snooker player. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's elite Top 16 and fifteen in the Top 32, reaching a career-high of number ten in the world in the 1999/2000 season. Hamilton is a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist, a Masters semi-finalist and he has compiled more than 300 century breaks during his long career. He won his first ranking title in 2017, beating Ali Carter 9–6 in the final of the German Masters, doing so at the age of 45.
Andrew Hicks is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ranking tournaments. A Masters semi-finalist in 1996, he was ranked within the world's top 32 players between 1995 and 2000, and again from 2005 to 2007, but was relegated from the main tour in 2013. He regained a two-year tour card in 2019.
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.
Alejandro Salvador "Alex" Pagulayan is a Filipino-born Canadian professional pool player. His nickname is "the Lion", given to him by the great Cliff Thorburn, former World Snooker champion. Pagulayan was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2012, Pagulayan became a citizen of Canada and now resides in Toronto.
Andrew Higginson is an English professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Martin Gould is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters.
Steve Mifsud is a Maltese Australian professional snooker player.
The 2008–09 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 June 2008 and 10 May 2009. Four players missed the fourth ranking event of the season, the Bahrain Championship, and therefore lost ranking points; this was due to a clash with some Premier League matches whose date had already been approved by the game's governing body.
Shawn Budd, is a professional snooker and pool player that has won major snooker and pool tournaments in Australia, New Zealand, England and America. He is the only Australian snooker player ever to win the Australian Open Snooker, Australian National Snooker, Australian 9-ball and 8-ball titles. Also he has won the Oceania Snooker championships and was runner up in the Oceania Billiards Championship in the same year. In 2002 he was a quarter finalist in the IBSF World Billiards Championships. In 1994 he won the Valley National Open 8-ball tournament in Las Vegas and in 2001 he won the Masters 8-ball event. The event is now called the World Pool Championships.
The 2007–08 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 16 June 2007 and 15 May 2008. This season saw the introduction of a new ranking tournament in Shanghai, while the Malta Cup lost its status as a ranking tournament.
Ng On-yee is a Hong Kong snooker player who has won three IBSF World Snooker Championships and three World Women's Snooker world championships. She held the number one position in the World Women's Snooker world ranking list from February 2018 to April 2019.
The 2011–12 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 1 June 2011 and 7 May 2012. The Brazil Masters became the first professional event held in South America, and the Australian Goldfields Open the first ranking event in Australia. The World Cup was held again after 1996. At the end of the season Ronnie O'Sullivan was named the World Snooker Player of the Year and the Snooker Writers Player of the Year, Judd Trump the Fans Player of the Year and Luca Brecel the Rookie of the Year. Stuart Bingham received the "Performance of the Year" for winning his first ranking event, the Australian Goldfields Open. Stephen Hendry's maximum break at the World Championship received "The Magic Moment" award. Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The 2011 Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 18 and 24 July 2011 at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia.
The 2014–15 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 8 May 2014 and 4 May 2015. The Riga Open was the first professional snooker tournament held in Latvia. The season also saw the first professional tournament in Portugal as the Lisbon Open took place.
Joe Grech was a Maltese snooker and billiards player. A professional snooker player for various years from 1988 to 2000, he won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in 1997. First competing as an amateur in the 1979s, he competed in amateur and professional snooker and billiards championships in a career spanning nearly 40 years. He won the Maltese English Billiards Championship on 21 occasions including 13 successive titles from 2003 to 2015.
