Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 season. He reached the final of the World Championship in 1995, where he lost 9–18 to Stephen Hendry. He won the 1996 British Open, defeating John Higgins 9–8.
After a strong amateur career,[4] Bond turned professional for the 1989–90 season. He reached his first ranking semi-final in his first season, and his first final in his second season, but his career peaked in the mid-1990s. In the first round of the 1994 World Championship, he pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in the event's history, rallying from 2–9 to defeat Cliff Thorburn 10–9 in what turned out to be Thorburn's last appearance at the Crucible. A year later, Bond reached the final after beating Stephen Lee, Alan McManus, Gary Wilkinson and Andy Hicks, but lost to Stephen Hendry 9–18. As a consequence of reaching the final, he climbed to number five in the world rankings for the 1996–97 season, and in that same season he acquired his only ranking tournament victory, the British Open, beating John Higgins 9–8 after needing a snooker in the final frame.[5] He won the World Snooker Association Performance of the Year award for this achievement, although he then failed to maintain this level of performance.
He reached at least the quarter-finals at the Crucible Theatre every year from 1993 to 1996, losing to Hendry every time, which added extra spice to their first-round match in 2006. After leading comfortably throughout the early stages of the match, Bond was pegged back to 7–7 and the match went to a final frame. With only the black remaining, and seven points up, Bond clipped it into the left corner pocket, only for the cue ball to go in-off in the right middle pocket, resulting in a re-spotted black (the first one ever to decide the final frame of a World Championship match), which Bond potted to take frame and match. The final score was 10–9, Bond's first win at the Crucible since 1999,[6] and his only last-16 run of that season.[7]
By the end of the 1990s, he was out of the top 16, and dropped out of the top 32 for the 2004–05 season. However, he reclaimed his place a year later, and remained there until 2010. In the 2007 World Championship he lost in the first round, 7–10 to Peter Ebdon.
A run to the last 16 of the 2007 UK Championship,[8] in which he came from 5–7 to win 9–7 against Ken Doherty in the last 32 before losing 6–9 to Ding Junhui in the last 16, was a precursor to Bond's first quarter-final run for five years, at the China Open. Victories over David Roe, Stephen Lee and Barry Pinches took him to a meeting with Stephen Maguire, who whitewashed him 5–0.
He opened the 2008–09 season with first-round defeats in the first five tournaments, but victory over Ebdon in the first round of the World Championship ensured that he held his top-32 status. This was, however, his last appearance at the main stages of the World Championship.
On 30 January 2011, Bond won the Snooker Shoot-Out event. This involved the top 64 players in the world playing 10-minute matches decided on a single frame. He picked up the £32,000 prize money as well as the Snooker Shoot-Out trophy, beating Robert Milkins 58–24 in the final.[9]
He once again qualified for the Australian Goldfields Open in the 2012–13 season, but lost to Robertson 1–5 in the last 32.[12] In December, he reached the World Open in Haikou, China, with wins over Jimmy White and Jamie Burnett. At the venue he saw off Zhu Yinghui 5–3 in the wildcard round and received a bye through to the last 16 due to the withdrawal of Ali Carter.[12] There he lost 1–5 to Judd Trump.[13] Bond was also crowned World Seniors champion during the season without dropping a frame in a total of seven matches, concluding with a 2–0 victory against Tony Chappel in the final.[14] His season ended when he was beaten 8–10 by McManus in the third round of World Championship Qualifying.[15] He dropped a solitary place during the year to end it ranked world number 46.[16]
He reached the final of the World Seniors Championship for the second year in a row in the 2013–14 season, losing 1–2 to Steve Davis.[17] He only won two matches at the main venue of ranking events all season, his best run coming in the China Open, where he beat Pinches 5–2 before losing to Selby 1–5 in the last 32.[18] He fell 11 spots from the start of the season to end it as the world number 57.[19]
He produced a comeback in the second round of the 2014 UK Championship, as from 0–5 down against world number five Barry Hawkins he took six successive frames to advance.[20] However, in the third round Anthony McGill recovered from 1–4 down to eliminate him 6–5.[21] The furthest Bond could progress in a ranking event this season was at the Indian Open, where he beat Ryan Day 4–1 and Dechawat Poomjaeng 4–3, before losing 1–4 to Chris Wakelin in the last 16.[22] He fell just outside the top 64 at the end of the year as he was ranked 65th, but he earned a two-year extension via the European Order of Merit.[23][24]
At the 2016 Indian Open, Bond defeated Ricky Walden 4–1, Sam Baird 4–2, John Astley 4–2 and Ebdon 4–3 to reach his first ranking event semi-final since 2002, where he lost 1–4 to Kyren Wilson.[25] He had started practising at the Snooker Academy in Sheffield with young Chinese players and stated that this has contributed to him regaining the hunger and passion to play snooker.[26] He would have a losing run of 10 successive matches shortly afterwards, but at the Gibraltar Open he beat five players to reach his second semi-final of the season, where he failed to pick up a frame in a defeat to Shaun Murphy.[27] Bond kept his place on the tour through the one-year ranking list.[28]
Bond made a surprise run to the quarter-finals of the 2019 UK Championship at the age of 54 winning a number of close matches. He defeated future world champion Luca Brecel 6–5 in his opening round followed by another 6–5 win over Louis Heathcote. His greatest victory en route to the quarter-finals was a 6–3 win against reigning world champion and world number 1 Judd Trump in the last 32 having trailed 3–1.[29] Bond lost 6–5 to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals having led Allen 3–1.[30]
Personal life
Bond has a son called Matthew with his wife Karen.
lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF
lost in the quarter-finals
SF
lost in the semi-finals
F
lost in the final
W
won the tournament
DNQ
did not qualify for the tournament
A
did not participate in the tournament
WD
withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held
means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event
means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event
means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event
means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event
means an event is/was a pro-am event.
↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
↑ Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points.
1 2 Players qualified One Year Ranking List started the season without ranking points.
↑ The event ran under different names such as International Open (1989/1990 to 1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004).
↑ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
↑ The event run under different name as Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
↑ The event ran under different names such as European Open (1989/1990-1996/1997, 2001/2002-2003/2004) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
↑ The event run under different names as Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
↑ The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
↑ The event ran under different names such as Hong Kong Open (1989/1990), Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996)
↑ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
↑ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
↑ The event run under different names as Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983-1983/1984), Grand Prix (1984/1985–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004), the World Open (2010/2011) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player who was World Snooker Champion in 1997. In addition to his ongoing playing career, he works as a regular commentator and pundit on televised snooker broadcasts. A director since 2012 of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, he also served from 2021 to 2024 as inaugural chairman of the WPBSA Players organisation.
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.
Alan McManus is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator and pundit for ITV and Eurosport on snooker coverage. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Dubai Classic and the 1996 Thailand Open, and competed in the World Championship semi-finals in 1992, 1993 and 2016. He also won the 1994 Masters, ending Stephen Hendry's five-year, 23-match unbeaten streak at the tournament with a 9–8 victory in the final. McManus announced his retirement on 9 April 2021 after losing 6–3 to Bai Langning in the second qualifying round of the 2021 World Snooker Championship.
Graeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship and the 2007 China Open, and was runner-up in the World Championships of 2004 and 2010. He reached number 2 in the world rankings in 2007, but a subsequent episode of clinical depression seriously affected his form, causing him to drop to number 28 for the 2009–10 season. He then recovered his form, regained his top-16 ranking, and reached a third World Championship final. In 2011, he published his autobiography, Frame of Mind: The Autobiography of the World Snooker Champion.
Mark King is an English former professional snooker player.
Fergal O'Brien is an Irish retired professional snooker player who competed on the World Snooker Tour from 1991 to 2024. He won one ranking title during his career, defeating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final of the 1999 British Open. He was runner-up at the 2001 Masters, where he lost the final 9–10 to Paul Hunter. His best performance at the World Snooker Championship was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2000 event, where he lost 5–13 to eventual champion Mark Williams. He reached his highest world ranking of ninth in the 2000–01 season, but spent only three seasons of his 33-year career ranked inside the top 16. He retired from professional competition at the end of the 2023–24 season, intending to remain active in the sport as a coach and a commentator for Eurosport.
David Harold is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter". He was also the first player on the television circuit to sport a plaster on his chin as a guide for his cue, which is a practice now adopted by Graeme Dott. As an amateur he played as David Harold, but after turning professional in 1991 he was registered as Dave Harold.
Barry Pinches is an English former professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a former top 32 player and ranking-event quarter-finalist. He has compiled over 100 century breaks in his career. He has also made one maximum break.
Dominic Dale is a Welsh professional snooker player, as well as snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Michael Holt is an English professional snooker player from Nottingham. A former world Top 20 player, he won one ranking event – the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out – and two minor-ranking tournaments. He was runner-up at two ranking events – the 2016 Riga Masters and the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out. Holt also reached the semi-finals of the 2013 Shanghai Masters as well as five other quarter-finals.
Jamie Burnett is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
Barry Hawkins is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 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. Hawkins reached his first ranking final and won his first ranking title at the 2012 Australian Goldfields Open.
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.
Robert Milkins is an English professional snooker player known for quick play. Milkins has been a member of snooker's main tour since regaining a tour card in 1998.
Alfred Burden is an English professional snooker player from London.
Anthony McGill is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus.
Yu Delu is a former professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. He is currently serving a 10 years and 9 months ban for match-fixing from 25 May 2018 until 24 February 2029. The ban was announced on 1 December 2018 after the result of a lengthy investigation.
Adam Duffy is an English professional snooker player.
Stuart Carrington is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Steven Hallworth and Ian Glover in Grimsby.
James Cahill is an English professional snooker player from Blackpool. Cahill first turned professional in 2013, aged 17, after winning the European Under 21 Championships, but returned to amateur status in 2017.
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