 Lines at the 2014 Paul Hunter Classic | |
| Born | 16 June 1995 Seacroft, Leeds, England [1] |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 2014–present |
| Highest ranking | 53 (December 2016) [2] |
| Current ranking | 83 (as of 13 October 2024) |
| Best ranking finish | Semi-final (2024 British Open) |
Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. [3] He is the son of former professional snooker player Peter Lines. [1]
Lines switched sports from football to snooker at aged 14. His progression continued by entering into the Players Tour Championship events in 2011, [4] but made little impact in the 2011/2012 season. [4] 2012/2013 saw major improvement [4] and a notable 4–3 over Joe Perry in 2012 UKPTC 3. [1] [4] He also entered Q School for the first time in May 2013 in the hope of qualifying on the main but failed to do after securing four wins in the three events. [4] Despite not qualifying for the main tour, Lines’ performances in Q School were enough to earn him a top up place in the qualifying round of the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open, his first senior ranking event. He won in the opening round, beating fellow Leeds-based player David Grace 5–4, but suffered a 5–4 reverse in the second round last-96 stage to Zhang Anda of China. [5] [6] For the rest of the season, Lines continued to enter PTC and amateur events, with his most notable result being a 4–2 over professional Scott Donaldson in the 2013 Ruhr Open. [7] [8]
In 2014, Lines won a place on the professional World Snooker Tour for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons after beating Josh Boileau 6–1 in the final of the 2014 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships. [9] [10]
His first match as a professional was a successful one, beating Dave Harold 5–4 in the qualifying stages of the Wuxi Classic, [11] but he lost 5–1 to amateur Oliver Brown at the venue stage. [12] He had a run to the last 16 stage of the opening Asian PTC event of the season in the Yixing Open, but failed to qualify for the Australian Goldfields Open and Shanghai Masters. [13] In qualifying for the International Championship Lines beat world champion and world number one Mark Selby 6–4 from 4–0 down at the mid-session interval. [14] He continued to impress at the Haining Open by reaching his first professional semi-final after dispatching Ryan Day 4–2 with breaks of 120 and 113. [15] He then edged out Jimmy Robertson 4–3, but was whitewashed 4–0 in the final by Stuart Bingham. [16] He came through a wildcard match at the International, but lost 6–3 to Rod Lawler in the first round. [13] Lines’ Asian final helped him finish fifth on their Order of Merit to make his debut in the Grand Final, where he was eliminated 4–1 by Matthew Selt in the opening round. [17] His first season as a professional concluded with a 10–7 defeat against Mark Davis in the second round of World Championship qualifying. [13] He finished his first season as a professional ranked world number 78. [18]
Lines signed up with Django Fung, who manages players such as Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump, and Lines hoped it would help him further his career. [19] A 4–2 win over Ali Carter saw Lines reach the last 16 of the Riga Open, but he lost 4–0 to Liang Wenbo. He qualified for the International Championship by beating Gary Wilson 6–3 and then won a match at a ranking event for the first time in his career by eliminating Noppon Saengkham 6–4, before losing by a reversal of this scoreline to David Gilbert. [20] He made it through to the second round of the UK Championship with a 6–2 victory over Cao Yupeng, but was then whitewashed 6–0 by world number one Mark Selby. [21] A second last 16 showing in the European Tour events came at the Gibraltar Open and was ended by Alfie Burden, but Lines finished 35th on the Order of Merit. [22] He also got into the top 64 at the end of the season for the first time as he was ranked 61st in the world. [23]
At the 2016 Indian Open, Lines reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time by beating Graeme Dott 4–1 and Andrew Higginson 4–2, but lost 4–2 to Shaun Murphy. After defeating Martin O'Donnell at the UK Championship, Lines knocked out world number three Judd Trump 6–2 and said it was the first time he had played well in a televised match. [24] He reached the last 16 for the second time this season by dispatching Jimmy Robertson 6–0, but could not pick up a frame himself as Marco Fu won 6–0. [25] After losing 4–0 in the third round of the Scottish Open, Lines lost five of his six matches in the remainder of the season. [26]
At the 2024 British Open, Lines would reach his first ever ranking Semi-Final bettering his Dad's best ever performance at an ranking tournament, He would lose 6-0 to John Higgins.
| Tournament | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | 2019/ 20 | 2020/ 21 | 2021/ 22 | 2022/ 23 | 2023/ 24 | 2024/ 25 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking [27] [nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 78 | 61 | 62 | [nb 4] | 78 | [nb 5] | 72 | 57 | 59 | [nb 4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | RR | 2R | RR | RR | RR | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xi'an Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Tournament Not Held | 2R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English Open | Not Held | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | |||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | LQ | 2R | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Not Held | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | 3R | |||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | Not Held | 1R | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 4R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open | Not Held | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Open | A | Not Held | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | NH | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship [nb 6] | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic | A | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Non-Ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | Minor-Ranking | 1R | 1R | 1R | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | A | LQ | NH | 3R | LQ | 3R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters [nb 7] | NH | Minor-Rank | LQ | 2R | 2R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Championship | Not Held | NR | 1R | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | QF | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gibraltar Open | Not Held | MR | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | QF | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters | Not Held | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | NH | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Six-red World Championship | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | 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. | |||
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2014 | Haining Open | Stuart Bingham | 0–4 |
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2014 | European Under-21 Snooker Championship |  Josh Boileau | 6–1 |
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.
David Morris is an Irish former professional snooker player. In the 2015-2016 he was ranked as Ireland's number 3 player, after Fergal O'Brien and Ken Doherty.
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.
Tom Ford is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. Ford has reached three ranking finals - the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic, the 2023 German Masters and the 2023 International Championship - plus seven further ranking semi-finals.
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.
Xiao Guodong is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. He won his first ranking event 17 years after first turning professional at the 2024 Wuhan Open, beating Si Jiahui 10–7 in only the third all-Chinese ranking event final. He also took part in the first ever all-Chinese ranking event final, when he lost 6–10 to Ding Junhui in the 2013 Shanghai Masters.
Jamie Jones is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. At the age of 14 he was the youngest ever player to make a maximum 147 break in competition, a record that has since been beaten by Judd Trump. At the 2012 World Snooker Championship, Jones reached his first ranking quarter-final. He made his second appearance in the quarter-finals of a Triple Crown tournament at the 2016 UK Championship.
Matthew Selt is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh in the Pontin's International Open Series in 2006/2007. Selt played in his first professional final in 2014 at the minor-ranking Lisbon Open, which he lost to Stephen Maguire, and has reached five quarter-finals in full ranking events. Selt won his first ranking title when he beat Lyu Haotian in the 2019 Indian Open final.
Andrew Pagett is a Welsh professional snooker player.
Noppon Saengkham is a Thai professional snooker player. Since turning professional in 2010, he has reached one ranking final in which he finished as runner-up to Gary Wilson.
Liam Highfield is an English former professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He plays left-handed.
Hossein Vafaei is an Iranian professional snooker player. He is the first professional player from Iran. He won his first ranking title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out, beating Mark Williams 1–0 (71–0) in the final.
Ian Burns is an English professional snooker player.
Michael Leslie is a Scottish former professional snooker player.
Elliot Slessor is an English professional snooker player.
Allan Taylor is an English professional snooker player, who comes from Basildon, Essex but resides in Southend. He used to work at a police station in Birkenhead, supporting the police force by studying CCTV footage.
Zak Surety is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Stuart Bingham and Allan Taylor.
Steven Hallworth is an English former professional snooker player. He is the only ever qualified professional from Lincoln. He is a practice partner of Stuart Carrington.
Mitchell Mann is an English professional snooker player.
Oliver Brown is an English former professional snooker player. He turned professional at the start of the 2022/2023 season. He earned a two-year tour card after winning the men's EBSA European Snooker Championship in October 2021.
