John Parrott

Last updated

John Parrott
MBE
John Parrott2.jpg
Parrott in October 2008
Born (1964-05-11) 11 May 1964 (age 60)
Liverpool, England
Sport countryFlag of England.svg  England
Nickname
  • The Entertainer [1]
  • Mr. JP [1]
Professional1983–2010
Highest ranking 2 (1989/90, 1992/931993/94)
Maximum breaks 1
Century breaks 221
Tournament wins
Ranking 9
World Champion 1991

John Stephen Parrott MBE (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a professional during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 consecutive seasons.

Contents

He twice reached the final of the World Snooker Championship. At the 1989 World Snooker Championship, he lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest defeat in a world championship final in modern times. Two years later, however, defeating Jimmy White in the final of the 1991 event. He also won against White later the same year, to win the 1991 UK Championship title. This made him only the third player to win both championships in the same calendar year (after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry); he is still one of only six players to have achieved this feat. The following year, Parrott lost in the final of the 1992 UK Championship, again to White. Parrott reached the final of the Masters three times, losing to Henry in every match.

He reached his highest place in the world rankings in 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94 where he was second. He is one of several players to have achieved more than 200 competitive century break during his career, with 221. Following his playing career, Parrott became a commentator and pundit for the BBC. In addition, he also presented horse racing and was a regular on BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.

Early life and career

John Parrott was born on 11 May 1964 at the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool. [2] Parrott grew up with his aunt and uncle following a split between his parents when he was 4. [3] :10 He was a keen bowls player until the age of 11, [4] as he was first introduced to snooker by his father. [3] :16 [5] He lost in the final of the English Under-16s Championship in 1979 and then again in 1980. [6] [7] [3] :34–37 The next year, he won the 1981 Pontins Junior Championship. In 1982, he won the Pontins Open, a tournament with over 1,000 entrants. [3] :44 The same year, he also won the televised Junior Pot Black championship. He turned professional in 1983 after winning 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur player, including a second Junior Pot Black title, [8] and finishing as runner-up in the English Amateur Championship. [9] [10]

Professional career

Parrott turned professional in 1983, aged 19, making his televised debut as a professional during the last 16 of the 1984 Classic. [3] :20 In the match, he defeated Alex Higgins 5–2. He then beat Tony Knowles in the next round before losing to Steve Davis in the semi-finals on a deciding frame . [11] [12] Parrott qualified for the World Snooker Championship on the first attempt, losing only three frames in qualification. He defeated Knowles, but lost in the quarter-finald to Dennis Taylor. He finished his first professional season ranked 20th in the world. [3] :54 In 1987, Parrott was placed within the top 16 in the world for the first time. [3] :54

At the 1988 Classic, Parrott reached his first ranking event final. Despite leading 1110, he lost 1113 to Steve Davis. [13] The following season, Parrott was runner-up in four events. He lost again to Davis in the final of the 1988 World Matchplay, to Stephen Hendry in the final of the invitational 1989 Masters, to Mike Hallett at the 1989 English Professional Championship and then at the 1989 World Snooker Championship. [3] :59–61


He took his first ranking title in the 1989 European Open, [14] and defended his title in 1990.

Parrott spent 14 consecutive seasons in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, 11 of them in the top 6. [4]

From 1984 to 2004 Parrott was ever-present at the World Championship, reaching at least the last 16 every year from 1984 to 1995, [4] but he failed to qualify in 2005. [15]

Following his 1991 victory he never again reached the semi-finals, but lost in the quarter-finals seven times between 1992 and 1999.

Overall, Parrott won a total of nine world ranking events, which as of November 2019 was 12th on the all-time list behind Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Jimmy White, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Peter Ebdon and Judd Trump. Winning both the World Championship and UK Championship in 1991 made him one of only six players to have won snooker's two most prominent ranking titles in the same year.

Parrott also reached the final of the Masters three times in four years, but lost to Stephen Hendry on each occasion.

Parrott came through the qualifying event for the World Championship a record ten times. In 2007 he reached the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time in seven years, after victories over James Leadbetter, David Gray and Steve Davis (10–9, having led 6–1 and 9–6). [16]

A record ten of Parrott's World Championship matches went to a final-frame decider, seven of which he won. He was also the first player to conduct a "whitewash" in the Crucible World Championship final stages, when he defeated Eddie Charlton 10–0 in the first round of the 1992 tournament. [17] For 27 years, he held the record for being the only player ever to achieve this, until Shaun Murphy defeated China's Luo Honghao 10–0 in the first round of the 2019 World Championship.

On 4 August 2009 at the qualifiers for the 2009 Shanghai Masters he lost 0–5 against Michael White.

Following his 6–10 defeat to young Chinese Zhang Anda in the 2010 World Championship Qualifiers, Parrott finished outside the top 64 in the end of season rankings and was not assured a place on the main tour for the 2010–11 season. [18] Later Parrott announced he was to retire from the professional game. [19]

Parrott played in the 2011 World Seniors Championship, where he lost in the semi-finals to Davis. [20] He also participated in the preliminary qualifying rounds of the 2012 World Snooker Championship for players who were members of the WPBSA but were not on the main tour, losing 0–5 to Patrick Wallace in Round 1. [21]

Television

Following his playing career, Parrott became a pundit and commentator on snooker for BBC Sport, often in partnership with Steve Davis.[ citation needed ] From 1996 to 2002, he was one of the team captains on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport , alongside association football player Ally McCoist. [22] As a supporter of horse racing, he was involved in the BBC's horse racing coverage as part of the presenting team. [23] [24]

Personal life

In 1996, Parrott was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for charitable services in Merseyside. [25] In 2008, he launched John Parrott Cue Sports, an online retailer selling snooker and pool cues and some snooker collectables. [26] This was re-branded John Parrott Sports in 2019. [27] Parrott is a supporter of Everton F.C. and brother-in-law of former Everton player Duncan Ferguson. [28] Parrott was made the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association in 2010. [29]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1983/
84
1984/
85
1985/
86
1986/
87
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
2006/
07
2007/
08
2008/
09
2009/
10
Ranking [30] [nb 1] [nb 2] 20 18 17 13 7 2 3 4 2 2 5 4 4 6 6 5 10 22 18 30 31 29 42 39 39 53
Ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not HeldLQALQ
Grand Prix [nb 3] 2R 2R 1R 2R SF 2R 3R QF 1R 2R SF 1R 1R SF QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R SF 1R 1R LQLQ 2R LQ
UK Championship NR 1R 2R SF QF QF 3R SF W F SF QF 3R QF 2R QF 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R QF 1R 1R LQWDLQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held SF QF 2R 1R F SF QF 2R 1R 1R LQLQ 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R LQLQ
China Open [nb 4] Tournament Not HeldNR QF 1R 2R 1R Not HeldLQLQLQLQWDLQ
World Championship 2R QF 2R 2R 2R F SF W QF QF QF QF 1R QF QF QF 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ 1R 2R LQLQLQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Premier League [nb 5] ANot HeldAA F RR A RR SF F RR RR RR AAAAAAAAAAAAA
The Masters AAAA SF F F QF F QF 1R 1R QF QF 1R 1R SF QF AAAALQAAAA
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Not HeldNon-Ranking QF Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open [nb 6] Non-Ranking EventNH 2R Not HeldNRTournament Not Held
Classic SF LQ 1R QF F QF 3R 2R QF Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic [nb 7] Tournament Not HeldNR SF 2R W W 2R 1R W 1R Tournament Not Held
German Masters [nb 8] Tournament Not Held 2R 1R F NRTournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not HeldNon-Ranking Event QF NRTournament Not Held
Thailand Masters [nb 9] Non-Ranking EventNot HeldWD QF 3R QF 2R 2R QF QF F SF 1R SF 1R NRNot HeldNRNot Held
Scottish Open [nb 10] ALQ QF 1R 3R 1R QF Not Held 2R W SF 1R QF 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
British Open [nb 11] NR 2R 3R 1R SF SF 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R SF QF 1R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking EventLQLQLQNHNRNot Held
European Open [nb 12] Tournament Not Held W W 1R SF 2R SF F W F NR SF Not HeldLQLQLQLQ 1R LQNRNot Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not HeldNRLQ 1R LQNH
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not HeldLQNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
UK Championship 1R Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters Not Held QF AARTournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open [nb 13] AA SF A QF NHRNot HeldAATournament Not Held
Fosters Professional [nb 14] NHA SF AA SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A QF QF SF W QF AAAAAAAAAAATournament Not Held
English Professional Championship NH 2R 2R QF 2R F Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters NHANot HeldA QF Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Grand Prix Tournament Not HeldA SF W Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
London Masters Tournament Not Held F F SF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters A RR AANot Held SF Ranking EventANot HeldANot Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held QF ATournament Not Held
Hong Kong Challenge [nb 15] A QF AAA QF NHA QF Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Kent Classic [nb 16] Not HeldA W AAANH W Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters Tournament Not Held W SF F Not HeldATournament Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held F F QF QF QF Tournament Not Held
Nescafe Extra Challenge Tournament Not HeldANH RR Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A 1R 1R Tournament Not Held QF SF 1R Tournament Not HeldAAANot Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held W AAAARATournament Not Held
Red & White Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
German Masters [nb 17] Tournament Not HeldRanking Event W Tournament Not Held
Champions Cup [nb 18] Tournament Not Held QF QF QF QF 1R RR AATournament Not Held
Scottish Masters AAA QF ANH SF QF QF QF QF 1R 1R SF SF QF QF AAATournament Not Held
Irish Masters AAAAA SF QF F SF SF QF SF 1R QF SF 1R SF AARanking EventATournament 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.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. The event run under different names as Professional Players Tournament (1983/1984) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  5. The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987-1991/1992) and European League (1992/1993-1996/1997
  6. The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  7. The event ran under different names such as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
  10. The event ran under different names such as International Open (1983/1984 to 1984/1985, 1986/1987 to 1996/1997), Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986) and Players Championship (2003/2004).
  11. The event was also known as the International Masters (1983/1984).
  12. The event ran under different names such as the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  13. The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  14. The event also ran as the Carlsberg Challenge (1984/1985–1986/1987) and the Carling Challenge (1987/1988)
  15. The event was also called the Hong Kong Masters (1983/1984–1988/1989)
  16. The event was also called the Kent Cup (1986/1987–1987/1988 & 1989/1990–1990/1991)
  17. The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  18. The event ran under a different name as the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 18 (9 titles)

Legend
World Championship (1–1)
UK Championship (1–1)
Other (7–7)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1. 1988 The Classic Flag of England.svg Steve Davis 11–13
Winner1. 1989 European Open Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Terry Griffiths 9–8
Runner-up2. 1989 World Snooker Championship Flag of England.svg Steve Davis 3–18
Winner2. 1990 European Open (2) Flag of Scotland.svg Stephen Hendry 10–6
Winner3. 1991 World Snooker Championship Flag of England.svg Jimmy White 18–11
Winner4. 1991 Dubai Classic Flag of England.svg Tony Knowles 9–3
Winner5. 1991 UK Championship Flag of England.svg Jimmy White 16–13
Runner-up3. 1992 Strachan Open Flag of Thailand.svg James Wattana 5–9
Winner6. 1992 Dubai Classic (2) Flag of Scotland.svg Stephen Hendry 9–8
Runner-up4. 1992 UK Championship Flag of England.svg Jimmy White 9–16
Winner7. 1994 International Open Flag of Thailand.svg James Wattana 9–5
Runner-up5. 1994 European Open Flag of Scotland.svg Stephen Hendry 3–9
Winner8. 1995 Thailand Classic (3) Flag of England.svg Nigel Bond 9–6
Runner-up6. 1996 Welsh Open Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Mark Williams 3–9
Winner9. 1996 European Open (3) Flag of England.svg Peter Ebdon 9–7
Runner-up7. 1997 European Open (2) Flag of Scotland.svg John Higgins 5–9
Runner-up8. 1997 German Open Flag of Scotland.svg John Higgins 4–9
Runner-up9. 1998 Thailand Masters Flag of Scotland.svg Stephen Hendry 6–9

Non-ranking finals: 22 (7 titles)

Non-ranking finals contested by John Parrott
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1. 1988 Kent Cup Flag of England.svg  Martin Clark  (ENG)5–1
Winner2. 1988 Pontins Professional Flag of England.svg  Mike Hallett  (ENG)9–1
Runner-up1. 1988 World Matchplay Flag of England.svg  Steve Davis  (ENG)5–9
Runner-up2. 1989 The Masters Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)6–9
Runner-up3. 1989 English Professional Championship Flag of England.svg  Mike Hallett  (ENG)7–9
Runner-up4. 1989 Matchroom League Flag of England.svg  Steve Davis  (ENG)Round-Robin
Runner-up5. 1989 London Masters Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)2–4
Runner-up6. 1989 World Matchplay (2)Flag of England.svg  Jimmy White  (ENG)9–18
Runner-up7. 1990 The Masters (2)Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)4–9
Runner-up8. 1990 London Masters (2)Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)2–4
Winner3. 1990 Belgian Masters Flag of England.svg  Jimmy White  (ENG)9–6
Winner4. 1990 Norwich Union Grand Prix Flag of England.svg  Steve Davis  (ENG)4–2
Runner-up9. 1991 Irish Masters Flag of England.svg  Steve Davis  (ENG)5–9
Runner-up10. 1991 Indian ChallengeFlag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)5–9
Runner-up11. 1992 The Masters (3)Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)4–9
Winner5. 1992 Kent Classic Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)6–5
Runner-up12. 1992 Belgian Masters Flag of Thailand.svg  James Wattana  (THA)5–10
Runner-up13. 1994 European League (2)Flag of Scotland.svg  Stephen Hendry  (SCO)7–10
Winner6. 1994 Malta Grand Prix Flag of Malta.svg  Tony Drago  (MLT)7–6
Runner-up14. 1995 Red & White ChallengeFlag of England.svg  Nigel Bond  (ENG)6–8
Winner7. 1998 German Masters Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Mark Williams  (WAL)6–4
Runner-up15. 2017 World Seniors Championship Flag of England.svg  Peter Lines  (ENG)0–4

Team finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipTeamOpponent(s) in the finalScore
Winner1. 2000 Nations Cup Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 6–4

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles)

Pro-am finals contested by John Parrott
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRef.
Winner1.1982 Pontins Spring Open Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Ray Reardon  (WAL)7–4 [31]
Runner-up1.1985 Pontins Spring Open Flag of England.svg Jim Chambers (ENG)6–7 [31]
Winner2.1986 Pontins Spring Open (2)Flag of England.svg Tony Putnam (ENG)7–6 [31]

Amateur finals: 8 (3 titles)

Amateur snooker finals contested by John Parrott
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRef.
Runner-up1.1979British Under-16 ChampionshipFlag of England.svg Tony Pyle (ENG)2–3 [6]
Runner-up2.1979Pontins Junior ChampionshipFlag of England.svg  Dave Gilbert  (ENG)1–3 [32] [33]
Runner-up3.1980British Under-16 Championship (2)Flag of England.svg  Terry Whitthread  (ENG)1–3 [7]
Winner1.1981Pontins Junior ChampionshipFlag of England.svg Don Tate (ENG)3–1 [32] [34]
Runner-up4.1982British Under-19 ChampionshipFlag of England.svg  Neal Foulds  (ENG)2–3 [35]
Winner2.1982 Junior Pot Black Flag of England.svg John Keers (ENG)156–70 [a] [8]
Runner-up5.1983 English Amateur Championship Flag of England.svg  Tony Jones  (ENG)9–13 [9]
Winner3.1983 Junior Pot Black (2)Flag of England.svg Steve Ventham (ENG) [a] [8]

Notes

    1. 1 2 Final decided on aggregate score over two frames

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    References

    Citations

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    2. Morrison 1988, p. 81.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Parrott, John (1991). Right on Cue : an Autobiography. London: Robson Books Ltd. ISBN   0-86051-778-0.
    4. 1 2 3 "Player Profile: John Parrott". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 December 2002.
    5. Williams & Gadsby 2005, p. 159.
    6. 1 2 "Off the cush". Daily Mirror. 5 April 1979. p. 26.
    7. 1 2 "The weekend's sport in detail". The Guardian. London. 31 March 1980. p. 21.
    8. 1 2 3 Morrison 1987, p. 101.
    9. 1 2 Morrison 1987, p. 37.
    10. Williams & Gadsby 2005, p. 159-160.
    11. Everton, Clive (16 November 1983). "Rankings upset". The Guardian . p. 23 via Newspapers.com.
    12. "Classic". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
    13. "Mercantile Credit Classic Winners". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016.
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