The World Snooker Tour produces annual awards in several categories, including player of the year. [1] [2]
The Association of Snooker Writers, founded by a group of journalists who wrote about snooker in 1981, [3] first instituted awards for players and others associated with the game in 1983. [3] From 1985, the awards were taken over by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. [4] In 1998, the journalists' group was reformed as the Snooker Writers' Association, and the awards were in that body's name for several years. [5] [6] The awards are now administered by the World Snooker Tour. [2]
The World Snooker hall of fame was instituted in 2011, with eight winners of multiple world snooker championships as the initial inductees. [1]
| Year | Awardee(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Joe Davis, Fred Davis, John Pulman, Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Alex Higgins, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry | [35] |
| 2012 | Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan | [36] |
| 2013 | Terry Griffiths, Joe Johnson, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon, Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott, and Neil Robertson | [37] |
| 2014 | Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn | [39] |
| 2015 | John Parrott and Mark Selby | [41] |
| 2016 | Stuart Bingham, Rex Williams and Sindhu Pulsirivong | [42] |
| 2017 | Jimmy White and Clive Everton | [44] |
| 2018 | Ding Junhui and Barry Hearn | [46] |
| 2021 | Judd Trump and Brandon Parker | [49] |
| 2022 | Reanne Evans and Allison Fisher | [2] |
| 2023 | John Virgo | [50] |
| 2024 | Luca Brecel and Daniel Blunn | [51] |
| 2025 | Kyren Wilson | [52] |
| Year | Awardee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Mike Watterson | |
| 1984 | Clive Everton | |
| 1985 | Del Simmonds | Promoter and administrator |
| 1986 | Rex Williams | |
| 1987 | Barry Hearn | |
| 1988 | Howard Kruger | Manager of several leading players |
| 1990 | John Spencer | |
| 1991 | Eddie Charlton | |
| 1994 | Ray Reardon | |
| 1996 | Rick Waumsley | BBC snooker coverage |
| 1998 | Jonathan Martin | BBC Sport |
| 1999 | Jim Elkins | Tournament director for the Masters |
| 2000 | David Vine; Len Ganley | |
| 2001 | John Williams |
| Year | Awardee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 (performance) | Joe Johnson | Reaching the World Snooker Championship final in two consecutive years |
| 1988 (performance) | Steve James | Performance at the 1988 World Snooker Championship |
| 1995 (performance) | Stephen Hendry | Seven century breaks in the 1995 World Snooker Championship final |
| 1996 (performance) | Nigel Bond | Winning British Open final after needing a snooker in the final frame [29] |
| 1996 (achievement) | Mark Williams | Winning the Welsh Open while ranked 39th [29] |
| 1997 | Ken Doherty | Winning the 1997 World Snooker Championship |
| 1998 | Mark Williams | Recovering from 0–6 to win Masters final on re-spotted black |
| 1999 | Stephen Hendry | Winning a seventh World Snooker Championship |
| 2000 | Joe Swail | Reaching the 2000 World Snooker Championship semi-finals |
| 2001 | Paul Hunter | Winning the 2001 Masters final from 3–7 behind |
| 2002 | Peter Ebdon | Winning the 2002 World Snooker Championship |
| 2003 | Ken Doherty | Winning the 2003 World Snooker Championship semi-final against Paul Hunter |
| 2004 | Jimmy White | First ranking title for eleven years |
| 2005 | Shaun Murphy | Winning the 2005 World Snooker Championship |
| 2006 | Graeme Dott | Winning the 2006 World Snooker Championship |
| 2007 | Andrew Higginson | Reaching the 2007 Welsh Open final |
| 2008 | Mark Selby | Winning the Masters at his first attempt |
| Year | Awardee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mike Green | Retiring secretary of the WPBSA |
| 1987 | Jackie Rea | 40 years as a professional player |
| 1988 | Fred Davis | Playing professionally at the age of 75 |
| 1989 | Nick Hunter | BBC snooker producer |
| 1993 | John Pulman | Former world champion [24] |
| 1995 | John Higgins | Winner of three ranking titles in a season |
| 1996 | Ted Lowe | BBC commentator, 50 years associated with snooker [29] |
| 1996 | Peter Dyke | Promoter, who recommended to Embassy that they should sponsor the World Championship [29] |
| 1997 | Mark Wildman | Services to English billiards |
| 1998 | Jimmy White | Defeat of Stephen Hendry at the 1998 World Snooker Championship |
| 2000 | Steve Davis | 20 years as a top-16 ranked player |
| 2001 | John Dee | Snooker journalist |
| 2004 | Peter Dyke | Promoter |
| 2005 | John Spencer | Professional player, administrator and commentator |
| 2006 | Richard Balani | Promoter of snooker events in Malta |
| 2007 | Clive Everton | Journalist and commentator |
| 2008 | Barry Hearn | 30 years as a tournament promoter and manager of snooker players |
Sources