1.
Skellingthorpe
–
Skellingthorpe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 3,465. It is situated 3 miles west from Lincoln city centre, the village of Doddington and Doddington Hall lie 1 mile to the south-west. Birchwood estate, built in the 1970s on the site of RAF Skellingthorpe, is 1 mile to the south-east, a small paleolith was found in gravel at Skellingthorpe by Randall Davies and presented to the British Museum in 1922, hinting at some ancient tribe in the area. The earliest origins of the village are unknown, Roman engineers building the canal now called the Foss Dyke would have been in the vicinity c. 120 AD. This is evidenced by the discovery of a Roman bowl in the parish, other Roman-era discoveries have been made, a copper alloy bell was found to the east of the village in Main Drain, and thirteen coins were unearthed in 1978. The Reverend G. S. Streathfeild suggests that Skellingthorpe itself may have originated with Danish occupiers, the earliest known spelling of the manors name suggests an enclosure in marsh associated with a man named Sceld. Around 1953 a blue and white ring (dated by the British Museum to c. 875 AD was found in Stoney Yard, another theory for Skellingthorpes name that has been suggested is that it derives from the Anglo-Saxon words scilling and thorf - the shilling village. The Domesday Book records Skellingthorpe as Scheldinchope, observing that it contained 12 carucates of land, worked by 18 villeins, the suggestion is that Skellingthorpe consisted of 960 acres of plough land, plus common pasture, common land, woodland and wasteland. A meadow one mile long and two furlongs and a half broad is also mentioned here, the Domesday Survey also noted that the ‘Soke’ of the manor of Skellingthorpe was claimed by one Balwin the Fleming, along with the manor of Doddington. His claim was disallowed, however, the finding that the manor belonged ‘rightfully’ to the Abbot of Westminster. There has been a place of worship in the village since the beginning of the 13th century, patent Rolls for the year 1258 refer to the ‘Presentation of Master Raymond, the Queen’s physician, to the church of Skeldinghop in the king’s gift’. In the Middle Ages the manor of Skellingthorpe was held by the Norman Wak, or Wake, during the Wakes time, the Lincoln Assize of 29 April 1263 recorded a bitter dispute between ‘Henry, prior of St Katherine’s-without-Lincoln’ and ‘Brian, son of John’. The argument stemmed from the prior apparently being bound to service which Baldwin Wak demanded of him’ respecting his ‘free tenement’ of land granted to the aforementioned Brian at Whisby. This Brian and Baldwin Wake seem to have been partisans, for Wake confiscated the prior’s property, the squabble appears to have ended with the assizes taking the side of the prior, however, forcing ‘Brian’ to accept the Whisby lands were the property of the former. What Baldwin Wake thought about his authority being over-ruled was not recorded, one event that was likely to have caused profound excitement in the parish was the death in 1290 of Queen Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I. Queen Eleanor died at Harby, Nottinghamshire, and her body was borne first to Lincoln, famously, ‘Eleanor Crosses’ were subsequently erected at each stopping point to mark the stages of her return to the capital. The exact route that Eleanor’s body would have taken from Harby to Lincoln is unclear, although the cortege must have passed round the manor of Skellingthorpe
2.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
Pound sterling
–
It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
4.
Glossary of cue sports terms
–
There are also hybrid pocket/carom games such as English billiards. The terms American or US as applied here refer generally to North American usage, similarly, British terms predominate in the world of snooker, English billiards and blackball, regardless of the players nationalities. The term blackball is used in this glossary to refer to both blackball and eight-ball pool as played in the Commonwealth, as a shorthand, 1-cushion See the Straight rail billiards main article for the game sometimes called one-cushion. 1-pocket See the One-pocket main article for the game, 3-ball See the Three-ball main article for the game. 3-cushion See the Three-cushion billiards main article for the game, 4-ball See the Yotsudama main article for the modern Asian game often called four-ball. See the American four-ball billiards main article for the nineteenth-century game, 5-pins See the Five-pin billiards main article for the formerly Italian, now internationally standardized game, or Danish pin billiards for the five-pin traditional game of Denmark. 6-ball See the Nine-ball#Six-ball sub-article for the game, 8-ball See the Eight-ball main article for the game. See the 8 ball entry, under the E section below, See 8 ball for derivative uses. 9-ball See the Nine-ball main article for the game, See the 9 ball entry, under the N section below, for the ball. 9-pins See the Goriziana main article for the game sometimes called nine-pins, 10-ball See the Ten-ball main article for the game. Above Used in snooker in reference to the position of the cue ball and it is above the object ball if it is off-straight on the baulk cushion side of the imaginary line for a straight pot. It is also common to use the term high instead, gambling or the potential for gambling. Lively results on a ball, usually the cue ball, from the application of spin, added Used with an amount to signify money added to a tournament prize fund in addition to the amount accumulated from entry fees. A match format in which a player has to establish a lead of a number of frames in order to win. Aiming line An imaginary line drawn from the path an object ball is to be sent. Anchor To freeze a ball to a cushion, such a ball may be said to be anchored and this term is largely obsolete balkline billiards jargon. Anchor nurse A type of shot used in carom billiards games. It developed to curtail the effectiveness of the nurse, which in turn had been invented to thwart the effectiveness of Parkers box in stopping long
5.
Century break
–
In snooker, a century break is a score of 100 points or more within one visit at the table without missing a shot, and requires potting of at least 25 consecutive balls. Over 20,000 century breaks have been recorded by snooker players throughout professional tournaments, Ronnie OSullivan holds the record for the most career centuries, with over 800 century breaks. A century break is a score of 100 points or more within one visit at the table, the player does this by potting red balls and coloured balls alternately, and when no reds are left, potting the coloured balls in order of their increasing value. Points for a shot by the opponent do not count in a players break. If for example only the colour would be used instead of the black ball. This means that only a century break is possible in a frame of snooker under a limited number of combinations. To score one, there must be at least ten reds on the table when the comes to play since if there are only nine reds left. An exception exists if the opponent fouls and leaves the incoming player snookered on all the remaining reds, Breaks above 147 are possible when an opponent fouls and leaves a free ball with all fifteen reds still remaining on the table. This has happened once in professional competition, when Jamie Burnett made a 148 at the qualifying stage of the 2004 UK Championship. A century of centuries refers to a total of 100 breaks of at least 100 points each, only 15 players had reached this milestone in professional snooker tournaments by December 2001. Only Neil Robertson has achieved the Holy Grail of one hundred 100s in a single season, the following players are reported to have passed 100 breaks and at least the given threshold above this. Career Joe Davis compiled the first televised century break in 1962, the record for most century breaks scored in official tournament play is held by Ronnie OSullivan with over 850. The record was held by Stephen Hendry who compiled 775 centuries over the course of his career. The first player to record 1000 centuries in public performance was Horace Lindrum, stacey Hillyard became the first female to record a competitive century in January 1985. The quickest recorded century break in tournament play was by Tony Drago at 1996 UK Championship, the youngest player to record a century break is Michael White at the age of nine in March 2001. Season The first player to reach 50 centuries in a season was Hendry, judd Trump took the record with 61 centuries in the 2012/2013 season and the record was broken for the fourth successive season in 2013/2014 when Neil Robertson overtook Trumps tally. In total, Robertson compiled 103 century breaks throughout the season, event The most centuries made by a player in a single match during a professional tournament is seven and the record is shared by Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui. Hendry set the record during the final of the 1994 UK Championship, during this match, Hendry compiled six centuries in a span of eight frames
6.
Snooker
–
Snooker is a cue sport which originated in India in the latter half of the 19th century. It is played on a covered with a green cloth, or baize, with pockets at each of the four corners. Using a cue and 22 coloured balls, players must strike the ball to pot the remaining balls in the correct sequence. An individual game, or frame, is won by the player who scores the most points, a match is won when a player wins a predetermined number of frames. In the 1870s, billiards was a sport played by members of the British Army stationed in India. Snooker gained its own identity in 1884 when officer Sir Neville Chamberlain, while stationed in Ooty, devised a set of rules that combined pyramid, the word snooker was a long used military term used to describe inexperienced or first year personnel. The game grew in popularity in England, cemented by the formation of the Billiards Association and it is now governed by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The World Snooker Championship has taken place since 1927, with Joe Davis becoming a key figure in the growth of the sport with 15 championship wins from 1927 to 1946. Top professional players now compete regularly around the world and attain multi-million-pound career earnings, the sport has become increasingly popular in China. The origin of snooker dates back to the half of the nineteenth century. In the 1870s, billiards was a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India, one such variation originated at the officers mess of the 11th Devonshire Regiment in Jabalpur in 1875, which combined the rules of two pocket billiards games, pyramid and life pool. The former was played with fifteen red balls and one positioned in a triangle, while the latter involved the potting of designated coloured balls. The name instantly stuck with the players, in 1887, snooker was given its first definite reference in England in a copy of Sporting Life which caused a growth in popularity. Chamberlain came out as the inventor in a letter to The Field published on 19 March 1938,63 years after the fact. To accommodate the growing interest, smaller and more open snooker-specific clubs were formed, in 1919, the Billiards Association and the Billiards Control Board merged to form the Billiards Association and Control Club and a new, standard set of rules for snooker first became official. Davis won every championship until 1946 when he retired. The game went into a decline through the 1950s and 1960s with little interest generated outside of those who played, in 1959, Davis introduced a variation of the game, known as snooker plus to try to improve the games popularity by adding two extra colours. The TV series became a success and was for a time the second most popular show on BBC Two
7.
Pool (cue sports)
–
An obsolete term for pool is six-pocket. There are hundreds of pool games, some of the more well known include eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool, one-pocket, and bank pool. There are also hybrid games combining aspects of both pool and carom billiards, such as American four-ball billiards, cowboy pool, and bottle pool. The OxfordDictionaries. com definition no longer provides the obsolete meaning found in the print edition. With one black ball and a cue ball on a table with pockets. Pool is played on a six pocket table, modern pool tables generally range in size from 3.5 feet by 7 feet, to 4.5 feet by 9 feet. The balls range from 2.25 inches in diameter to 2.375 inches in diameter, under the WPA/BCA equipment specifications, the weight may be from 5.5 to 6 oz. with a diameter of 2.25 in. Modern cue sticks are generally 58.5 inches long for pool while cues prior to 1980 were designed for straight pool and had a length of 57.5 inches. By comparison, carom billiards cues are shorter with larger tips. In the United States, the most commonly played game is eight-ball, in the United Kingdom the game is commonly played in pubs, and it is competitively played in leagues on both sides of the Atlantic. The most prestigious tournaments including the World Open are sponsored and sanctioned by the International Pool Tour, Rules vary widely from place to place. Pool halls in North America are increasingly settling upon the World Pool-Billiard Association International Standardized Rules, but tavern eight-ball, typically played on smaller, coin-operated tables and in a winner keeps the table manner, can differ significantly even between two venues in the same city. The growth of local, regional and national amateur leagues may alleviate this confusion eventually, Nine-ball uses only the 1 through 9 balls and cue ball. It is a game, The player at the table must make legal contact with the lowest numbered ball on the table or a foul is called. The game is won by pocketing the nine ball. Nine-ball is the predominant professional game, though as of 2006–2008 there have been suggestions that this may change. There are many local and regional tours and tournaments that are contested with nine-ball, the World Pool-Billiard Association and its American affiliate, the Billiard Congress of America, publish the World Standardized Rules. The European professional circuit has instituted rules changes to make it difficult to achieve a legal break shot
8.
Mark Selby
–
Mark Anthony Selby is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. He is the reigning World Snooker and UK champion, having won titles for a second time in 2016, and is the current world number one. Selby joined the professional snooker tour in 1999 at the age of 16. In 2007, he was runner-up to John Higgins at the World Snooker Championship and his other ranking titles include the Welsh Open in 2008, the Shanghai Masters in 2011, the German Masters in 2015, the China Open in 2015 and the International Championship in 2016. Known as a patient, tough competitor with strong safety play and his nickname, The Jester from Leicester, was given to him by snooker compere Richard Beare after Willie Thorne came up with it during commentary. Selby is also a pool player and he is the 2006 WEPF eight-ball pool world champion and the 2015 Chinese Pool World Championship finalist. Selby was born in Leicester, England, malcolm Thorne, the brother of Leicester-born snooker player Willie Thorne, spotted Selbys snooker ability and provided Selby practice so he could practise every day after school. Selbys father died of cancer when Mark was 16, two months before he joined the professional tour. Mark showed potential as a teenager, but did not consistently shine until his twenties and he began his career on the UK Tour in 1998, at the time the second-level professional tour. He reached his first ranking final aged 19, the Regal Scottish in 2003, where he finished runner-up to David Gray, losing 9–7 in the final. Before that, he had already reached the semi-finals of the 2002 China Open. Selby reached the qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship in 2002 and 2003 losing both times. In the 2007 World Championships, Selby beat Stephen Lee 10–7 in the first round and he then defeated former World Champion Peter Ebdon 13–8, with five centuries to reach the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final, he beat Ali Carter 13–12, from 11–8 up and 11–12 down and he went on to reach the final by beating Shaun Murphy 17–16 from 14–16 down, in another deciding frame which he won thanks to a 64 break. Thus he entered the session only 10–12 down and closed to within one frame at 13–14. It was noted by eventual world champion John Higgins, amongst others, in his victory speech and these performances in the 2006/07 season earned Selby a place in the top 16 for the very first time for the 2007/08 season, where he was ranked 11th. After a moderate start to the season, Selby had a run in the second highest ranking tournament. He led eventual winner Ronnie OSullivan 7–5, fell 7–8 behind, in the deciding frame, however, OSullivan made a 147 break to win 9–8
9.
Ronnie O'Sullivan
–
Ronald Antonio OSullivan, OBE is an English professional snooker and pool player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sports history and he is noted for his rapid playing style, mercurial temperament, and his ambivalent relationship with the sport, from which he has taken prolonged sabbaticals and repeatedly threatened to retire. Ronnie is based at the Legends Snooker Academy in Leytonstone, England, a childhood snooker prodigy, OSullivan made his first century break at age 10, and his first maximum break at age 15. He turned professional in 1992, at the age of 16 and he is also the youngest player to have won the Masters, having captured his first title in 1995 at the age of 19 years and 69 days. His record in Triple Crown events now stands at five World Championship, a record seven Masters, OSullivan has held the world number one ranking on multiple occasions, most recently during the 2009/2010 season. His other achievements include ten Premier League titles and winning the Nations Cup with England in 2000, known as a prolific break-builder, OSullivan holds the record for the most competitive century breaks with 868. OSullivans achievements in snooker began at an early age and he made his first century break at the age of 10, completed his first total clearance at age 12, and became British Under-16 Champion at age 13. He made his debut in The Thames Snooker Classic when he was 14. He compiled his first maximum break in the final of the 1991 British Amateur Championships at age 15 and he turned professional in 1992, aged 16. OSullivan began the 1992/1993 season by winning 74 of his first 76 professional matches, including a streak of 38 successive victories. At the qualifying stage of the Grand Prix he defeated Jason Curtis 5–0 in a time of 43 minutes 36 seconds, after this Alan Hughes gave him the nickname The Rocket. In September 1992, at the age of 16, he became the youngest player ever to qualify for the World Championship. He made his Crucible debut on 18 April 1993 at the age of 17 years and 134 days and he lost 7–10 to Alan McManus in the first round. OSullivan was named the WPBSAs Young Player of the Year for 1993, in the 1993/1994 season OSullivan defeated Hendry 10–6 in the final of the UK Championship to win his first ranking title. At the age of 17 years and 358 days he became the youngest ever winner of a ranking tournament. He faced Hendry again in the final of the European Open and he won his second ranking title at the British Open by defeating James Wattana 9–4 in the final. He reached the round of the World Championship but lost 3–13 against John Parrott. Having started the season ranked number 57 in the world, he ended it ranked number 9 and he captured his first Masters title by defeating John Higgins 9–3 in the final, becoming the youngest player ever to win the tournament at the age of 19 years and 69 days
10.
Joel Walker (snooker player)
–
Joel Walker is an English former professional snooker player. In 2010 he won the Rileys Future Stars competition and turned professional in 2012 through Q School, in 2010 Walker won Rileys Future Stars competition, and won £5,000 and coaching sessions with Ronnie OSullivan. The same year he was invited to compete in the World Open and he defeated Julian Logue 3–1 in the first qualifying round, but lost 1–3 against Tony Drago in the next round. Walker also competed at the Players Tour Championship, with his best result coming at the event in Sheffield. He finished 137th on the Order of Merit and he tried unsuccessfully to turn professional through the Q School, with his best result coming in the second tournament, where he reached the last 16, but lost 1–4 against Simon Bedford. Walker competed at the Players Tour Championship also in the 2011/2012 season and his best result came at the second and third UK event, where he reached the last 128, but lost 1–4 against Stephen Lee and 0–4 against Ding Junhui respectively. He finished 531st on the Order of Merit, Walker turned professional in 2012 after coming through Event 3 of the Q School and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 snooker seasons. He won five matches in the event, culminating in a 4–0 victory against Justin Astley. Walkers first match as a professional was a 5–4 win over Cao Yupeng, Walker lost to Peter Lines by the same scoreline in the next round. He did not win a match for a ranking event during the rest of the season. He was placed 76th on the PTC Order of Merit, in his opening match, Walker defeated Ian Burns 5–2 to qualify for the 2013 Wuxi Classic in China. In Walkers first appearance in the draw of a ranking event, he defeated Alex Davies 5–2 in the first round to progress to the last 32 stage. Walker failed to qualify for the four ranking tournaments. He led world number three Ding Junhui 4–2 and missed chances to wrap up a win which would have doubled his previous career prize money earnings to be defeated 5–4. However, he performed well throughout the season in the European Tour events, reaching the last 16 of the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup. As a result, he finished 35th on the Order of Merit to claim the second of eight spots which were available to non-qualified players to play on the tour for the 2014/2015. The first ranking event Walker could qualify for during the 2014/2015 season was the International Championship thanks to a 6–4 win over Ken Doherty. Walker drew Martin Gould in the first round and made a century and he eliminated Alan McManus 6–1 and Tom Ford 6–3 at the UK Championship and then led world number 11 Stuart Bingham 3–0, but went on to lose in a deciding frame
11.
Players Tour Championship
–
The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification was based on performance in the other PTC events, each regular event lasted for at least three days, with qualifying days for amateurs should the event be oversubscribed. Each event costs £100 to enter, and Main Tour players can gain ranking points in the events, the inaugural series ran from late June, with six events at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, one in Gloucester and another five in mainland Europe. The finals took place in March featuring the best 24 players who had won the most money, the prize money at each event was £50,000 or €50,000 at the regular events, with a total of £200,000 available in the Finals. The first event was held in the World Snooker Academy from 25 to 27 June 2010, in the first season the six events at the Academy were sponsored by Star Xing Pai. The prize money for the Finals was increased to £250,000 in 2011/2012, originally the events played outside Sheffield were called Euro Players Tour Championship, but this distinction was abandoned for the second season. In the 2012/2013 season the Players Tour Championship was expanded, the PTCs would no longer take place at the World Snooker Academy and instead were played at the South West Snooker Academy. In addition there was a decrease of PTCs being played in England, reduced to four events, from this season the European events formed the European Tour, their prize money was increased to €70,000, and they were sponsored by Betfair. The seedings of the final were based on the combined list of both Order of Merits, the prize money of the Finals was also increased to £300,000, excluding the £1,000 prize money for Ding Junhuis maximum break. In the 2013/2014 season the number of minor-ranking PTC events was reduced to twelve, the number of events played in England was further decreased to two, and the number of Asian events was raised to four. From this season the events held in Asia formed the Asian Tour, the prize money of the continental European Tour events was increased to €125,000. The calculation method of the European Tour Order of Merit was also changed this season, the previously used €1=£1 system was changed to accommodate the increasing prize money of the continental European events. World Snooker decided to use the €1. 2=£1 conversion rate, in the 2014/2015 season the number of minor-ranking PTC events was further reduced to only nine events. There are no events played in England, and the number of Asian events was reduced to three after the event, originally planned to be held in August, had to be cancelled. The prize money of the Grand Final was increased to £350,000, the PTC has been both criticised and supported by players. The PTC was criticised by players for its comparatively low prize fund. The events offered a top prize of just £10,000 while the first professional round offered no money at all. OSullivan likened the experience of competing on the PTC to being raped, stephen Maguire echoed OSullivans sentiments, commenting that players were left out of pocket unless they did really well, and that he felt like a prostitute being forced to play in the events
12.
Kurt Maflin
–
Kurt Graham Maflin is an English-Norwegian professional snooker player. A strong break-builder, Maflin is among 21 players to have made multiple 147 breaks in professional competition, Maflin began playing snooker at the age of four, achieving a high break of 25 by the time he was five. He increased his time spent at the table practising, as a rated top junior player, Maflin represented England in the 1999 Home International series in Prestatyn, North Wales, where England were victorious. After meeting the top players, Maflin and Taylor managed to win £4,300 for the charity. Maflin also appeared twice on BBC1s popular snooker game show series Junior Big Break, Stars of the Future in 1997 and he began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2000, at the time the second-level professional tour. In 2001, Maflin reached the final of the English Open Championship and was runner-up in the European Championship Final staged in Riga, the same year he won his place on World Snookers Main Tour becoming the second youngest professional snooker player in the world at the time. Despite reaching the last 48 of the Welsh Open before losing to Tony Drago and he managed to win Event 4 and was back into Main Tour for the 2003/04 season, but again couldnt hold his place. He moved to Norway with his partner, female snooker player Anita Rizzuti, and nearly gave up snooker and he said he would sponsor me if I made a century break in the final of one of the Norwegian league matches, Maflin explained. I got a 137 in the first frame and never looked back since, Maflin returned to serious competition for the 2006 Challenge Tour. He won this to return to the Main Tour for 2007/08 season and he also won the gold medal at the 2006 IBSF World Championships in Amman, Jordan, beating Daniel Ward 11–8 in the final. On his way to victory, Maflin won 15 consecutive matches, however, his results in the ranking tournaments were disappointing, aside from last 48 appearance at the China Open. Following the black-ball defeat to Gareth Coppack in the first round match of the World Championship he was relegated from the tour, Maflin spent 2008/09 season trying to re-qualify to the tour via PIOS, but he missed the opportunity by just 20 points, finishing 10th. He followed it by another near-miss the next season, finishing 15th, to make things worse, Maflin suffered a car crash which left him with a six-inch metal plate and seven screws in his shoulder. Nevertheless, he recovered to enter the 2010 EBSA European Play-Offs, in the last 32 he led Ding Junhui 4–1 but eventually lost 4–5. Maflin then lost a decider to Xiao Guodong in the World Championship qualifying, Maflin was relegated from the tour, however this time he made an immediate return through brand new Q School tournament, having won all his matches in the Event 3. In the 2011/2012 season Maflin reached the qualifying round of the Shanghai Masters. He was placed 60th on the PTC Order of Merit, Maflin finished the season ranked world number 72, out of the top 64 who retain their places for the 2012/2013 season. However, due to his performances in the PTC events he has earned a spot on the tour for snooker season 2012/13, Maflin won three matches to reach the final round in qualifying for two of the first five ranking events of the 2012/2013 season
13.
Mark Williams (snooker player)
–
Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname The Welsh Potting Machine and he has been ranked the world number 1 for a total of three seasons in his career. The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 18 ranking tournaments, including the UK Championship twice and he has also won the Masters on two occasions, in 1998 and 2003. Williams most successful season in his career to date was the 2002/2003 season, when he won the treble of tournaments, the UK Championship, the Masters. He is the player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. Following his second World Championship his form declined, and he dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007/2008 season, as a prolific break-builder, Williams has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career. Williams was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, and started playing snooker at an early age and he scored his first century when he was 13. He won his first junior event when he was 11 and it was then that he realised that he wanted to pursue a career as a snooker player and he was encouraged to play by his father Dilwyn, who was a miner. When he was 15 he did a 12-hour shift down the mines, Williams was also a promising Amateur boxer, being undefeated in 12 fights as a schoolboy, but he decided to pursue his snooker career instead. He turned professional in 1992 and finished his first season ranked 119th, Williams first ranking tournament win came in January 1996, when he claimed the Welsh Open title, beating John Parrott 9–3 in the final. In April 1997, he won the British Open, beating Stephen Hendry 9–2 in the final. He also beat Hendry in the final to win his first Masters title in February 1998, winning on the final black 10–9 after recovering from 6–9 down, in the 1998 World Championship, he reached the semi-finals, losing 14–17 to Ken Doherty. He was runner-up next year to Hendry, the 1999/2000 season was a very successful one for Williams, winning both the UK Championship and the World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title and three positions, allowed him to capture the world number 1 position for the first time. In the World Championship final he came from 7–13 behind his fellow countryman and he also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against John Higgins, coming from 10–14 down to win 17–15. This was enough to retain his number 1 ranking, although his title defence at the World Championship fell in the round with a 12–13 defeat to Joe Swail. However, he lost to the same player 9–13 in the round of the World Championship. Another strong performance came in 2002/2003 season when he won the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship titles
14.
Zak Surety
–
Zak Surety is an English former professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Stuart Bingham and Allan Taylor, Surety lost his first five matches as a professional, before beating Mark King 6–3 to qualify for the International Championship where David Gilbert defeated him 6–4 in the first round. He was knocked out in the first round of the UK Championship and Welsh Open by Michael Holt and Graeme Dott respectively but qualified for the China Open by seeing off Li Hang 5–4. Surety won three frames in a row to beat Joe Swail 5–4 to reach the last 32 of an event for the first time. Milkins cut the gap to 4–3, before Surety saw his best chance to win come in the frame when he opened it with a 65 break, but he went on to lose it. Milkins apologised to Surety for his behaviour during the match afterwards, suretys debut campaign ended with a 10–8 defeat to Zhou Yuelong in the first round of World Championship qualifying, which saw him placed 97th in the world rankings. All players on the snooker tour receive entry to the first round of the UK Championship and Welsh Open and he lost 6–4 to Jack Lisowski in the first round of the UK and 4–1 to Joe Swail in the first round of the Welsh. Surety dropped off the tour after being unable to break into the top 64 in the rankings during his two year stay and he entered Q School in an attempt to win his place back. In the second event he lost 4–1 in the round to David John. Profile on worldsnooker. com Profile on Pro Snooker Blog
15.
2014 UK Championship (snooker)
–
The 2014 Coral UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 25 November and 7 December 2014 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. It was the ranking event of the 2014/2015 season. Ronnie OSullivan made the 109th official maximum break during his last 16 match against Matthew Selt and this was OSullivans 13th official 147 break and also the fourth maximum break in the 2014/2015 season and the third time in a row, that a maximum was made in a UK Championship. Neil Robertson was the champion, but he lost 5–6 against Graeme Dott in the last 16. This result led to Ding Junhui becoming the first Asian player to reach the number one ranking. Ronnie OSullivan won his fifth UK Championship and his 27th ranking title by defeating Judd Trump 10–9 in the final
16.
Shaun Murphy (snooker player)
–
Shaun Murphy is an English professional snooker player, who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed The Magician, Murphy is noted for his cue action. Born in Harlow and raised in Irthlingborough, Murphy turned professional in 1998 and his victory at the World Championship was considered a major surprise as he was only the third qualifier to lift the title. He has also won seven non-ranking tournaments, including the 2015 Masters, Murphy has won over £3 million in prize money and has compiled more than 400 century breaks in his professional career. His highest world ranking was number three, which he maintained for three seasons following 2007/2008, and he is ranked number four. Born in Harlow, England, Murphy began playing snooker at the age of eight after his parents bought him a table for Christmas. He made his first century break at the age of 10 and practised at the Rushden Snooker Centre, where such as Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams. At the age of 13, he secured a five-year £5, 000-a-year sponsorship deal with the Doc Martens shoe company and stated his ambitions of winning the World Championship and he turned professional in 1998 at the age of 15. Murphy was coached by Steve Prest until the 2006/2007 season, willie Thorne and Ray Reardon also gave him guidance, and when he was 15, he was given the latters old cue by his father. Murphy began his career on the UK Tour in 1998, at the time the professional tour. He was runner-up in the event on the UK tour for the 1997/1998 season and, for the 2000/2001 season, won the third and fourth events on the Challenge Tour. In 2000, he received the World Snooker Newcomer of the Year award and one of six Young Player of Distinction of the Year awards from the World Professional Billiards, in 2000, he won the English Open Championship. Murphy won his first professional tournament at the 2000 Benson & Hedges Championship, defeating Mark Davis 6–1 in the semi-final, and Stuart Bingham 9–7 in the final, recovering from 2–5 down. In the 2001 tournament, he showed promise in his first televised match, defeating world number 15, Marco Fu and he made his first maximum break in the 2001 Benson & Hedges Championship. Murphy first reached the stages of a ranking event at the 2002 World Championship, hosted at the Crucible Theatre. For the 2003/2004 season, Murphy was ranked number 64 and qualified for the stages of three ranking tournaments. In the LG Cup, Murphy defeated Steve Davis 5–4 in the second round, after the victory over Davis, Murphy said This is one of the greatest days in my snooker career. In the British Open, he defeated Dave Harold 5–1 in the first round, in the Players Championship—the new name of the Scottish Open—he lost 3–5 to eventual champion Jimmy White in the second round
17.
Michael White (snooker player)
–
Michael White is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. At the age of nine he became the youngest player to have made a break in competitive play. White won his first, and to date, only ranking event title at the 2015 Indian Open, White first showed potential by becoming the youngest player to make a century break, a 105 in March 2001, when aged nine. In 2001, he was invited to the Crucible, where John Parrott commented and he won a number of junior and later amateur events, and in 2006 became the youngest ever winner of the IBSF World Grand Prix, winning it aged 14. He also won the European under-19 Championship, beating Vincent Muldoon in the final, previously Shaun Murphy had been allowed to play aged 15. In his first professional match, the Masters qualifying, he shocked Leicester player Tom Ford 4–0 and his first season on the Main Tour was relatively unsuccessful, winning only four matches in the seven ranking events. In his first ranking tournament, the Grand Prix, he finished last in his group, beating Tony Drago and his most successful run was beating Shailesh Jogia 10–4 in the first round of the World Championship qualifiers, but he lost 10–4 to Barry Pinches in the next. These results meant that he dropped off the Main Tour and he regained a place on the Main Tour for the 2009/2010 Season by finishing top of the Welsh rankings. In the qualifiers for the 2009 Shanghai Masters he beat world champion John Parrott 5–0 before losing 5–3 to Mark Davis. His best run during the season was to the last 48 of the UK Championship, with victories over Daniel Wells, Jin Long and this meant that by the end of the season he had done enough to retain his tour status. He started the new season by winning three qualifying matches in the 2010 Shanghai Masters, including a 5–1 win over Dominic Dale and he won two matches, before losing in the third qualifying round on two further occasions during the season. At the minor-ranking Euro PTC Event 3 White beat the likes of Tom Ford and Marco Fu to reach the quarter-finals and he went on to finish 51st on the PTC Order of Merit and 71st in the world rankings. White narrowly missed out on a place in the 2012 Players Tour Championship Finals as he finished 25th on the Order of Merit, with only 24 players qualifying for the event. His placing was largely thanks to a run in Event 7, where his hopes of a first professional title were ended by Ronnie OSullivan. Even though he could not qualify for a ranking event throughout the season he ended it at a career high world ranking of 54. White beat Craig Steadman and Ken Doherty to qualify for the UK Championship and he kept true to his word by beating Zhang Anda 10–5 and Andrew Higginson 10–4 to qualify for the first round of the biggest tournament in snooker, the World Championship. He beat compatriot and two-time winner of the event Mark Williams in the opening round 10–6 and he beat fellow qualifier Dechawat Poomjaeng 13–3 in the last 16 and faced Ricky Walden in his first ranking event quarter-final, losing 6–13. White increased his ranking to world number 34, a climb of 20 spots during the season which was the most of any player on tour, White had an extremely consistent 2013/2014 season as he played in the first round of 10 of the 12 ranking events
18.
2015 World Snooker Championship
–
The 2015 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament, that took place from 18 April to 4 May 2015 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 39th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible and was the last ranking event of the 2014/2015 season, Betfred sponsored the event for the first time in three years, having previously sponsored the tournament from 2009 to 2012. The final was officiated by Olivier Marteel, who became the first Belgian to do so, Mark Selby was the defending champion, but he lost 9–13 in the second round to Crucible debutant Anthony McGill. Selby fell to the Crucible curse, becoming the 16th first-time champion unable to defend his title at the venue, at the age of 38, Bingham became the oldest player to win the title since Ray Reardon in 1978. The tournament set a new record for the most century breaks made at the Crucible, the previous record of 83 centuries was set in 2009. The final was the first not to feature Ronnie OSullivan since 2011, players from 24 countries took part in the tournament. Representatives of 9 different countries reached the final 32, ten former world champions competed in the tournament. Peter Ebdon, Steve Davis, and Ken Doherty lost in the qualifying rounds, six other former champions automatically qualified by virtue of their top-16 seedings. The top 16 seeds automatically qualified for the last 32, defending champion Mark Selby was seeded 1, while other seeded places were allocated based on the latest world rankings. The one exception was Ali Carter, who was seeded 13, despite being ranked 31 and this meant that Michael White, ranked 16, had to play in the qualifying tournament. For the first time, players ranked 17–32 had to win three qualifying matches, rather than one, a change that was seen as unfair by some players in the top 32, including Graeme Dott. Despite losing 1–10 to Kurt Maflin, Steve Davis became the first player to compete in 100 World Championship matches, first-round debutants at the Crucible were Englands Craig Steadman and Stuart Carrington, Scotlands Anthony McGill, and Norways Kurt Maflin. McGill and Carrington had both played at the Crucible before, in the Junior Pot Black in 2006, Mark Selby narrowly escaped a first-round exit, recovering from 8–9 down against Maflin to clinch a 10–9 win. Ali Carter, back at the Crucible after extensive treatment for cancer, Mark Selby succumbed to the Crucible curse, losing 9–13 to Anthony McGill to become the 16th first-time champion who failed to defend his title since the tournament moved to the Crucible in 1977. Ding Junhui defeated John Higgins 13–9 to reach only his third quarter-final in nine years, Barry Hawkins reached the quarter-finals after defeating Mark Allen 13–11, coming back from 8–11 behind in the final session. Stuart Bingham reached his second Crucible quarter-final, winning seven out of the last eight frames to defeat Graeme Dott 13–5. Three of the four second round matches ended with 13–5 wins for Ronnie OSullivan over Matthew Stevens, Shaun Murphy over Joe Perry. Judd Trump defeated Hong Kongs Marco Fu 13–8, a controversial incident occurred in the fifth frame of the match, when OSullivan placed his chalk on the table and used it to line up a shot
19.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
–
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is a professional snooker player from Thailand. Un-Nooh first entered the tour for the 2009/10 season by winning the 2008 IBSF World Snooker Championship. He dropped off the tour after just one season. He received the Thai nomination to compete on the tour for the 2012/2013 season. As a new player on the tour he needed to win four matches to reach the stage of the ranking events. Un-Nooh lost in the qualifying round in three of the first four ranking of the season. In September, it was announced that his match at the Players Tour Championship – Event 3 against Steve Davis was under investigation due to unusual betting patterns. Un-Nooh moved from an 8/11 odds-on favourite to 11/8 against just before the match started, in November, World Snooker released a statement to confirm that there was insufficient evidence and no further action would be taken against Un-Nooh. He reached the qualifying round for the UK Championship and the World Open. Un-Nooh played in nine of the ten Players Tour Championship Events during the season and his season ended when he was beaten 3–10 by Ben Woollaston in the third round of World Championship Qualifying, which saw him finish the year ranked world number 69. Un-Nooh lost in the rounds for the first four ranking events of the 2013/2014 season. In his first appearance in the draw of a ranking event he thrashed Zhang Anda 6–1. However, the experience seemed to kick start Un-Noohs season as in 2014 he played at the stage of four of the remaining six ranking events. At the World Open, Un-Nooh led Stephen Maguire 3–0, before the number eight rallied to win four frames in a row. The match went into a frame in which Un-Nooh made a break of sixty only for Maguire to get a chance to win. He then reached the last 16 of an event for the first time by beating Andrew Higginson 5–1 and lost 5–2 to Graeme Dott. Un-Nooh advanced to the last 32 of the China Open by whitewashing 1997 world champion Ken Doherty 5–0 and his performances during the campaign saw him end it in the top 64 in the world rankings for the first time as he was placed 59th. Un-Nooh qualified for the International Championship for the year in a row
20.
2016 German Masters
–
The 2016918. com German Masters professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 3–7 February 2016 at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany. It was the ranking event of the 2015/2016 season. The defending champion Mark Selby lost 3–5 against Stephen Maguire in the last 16, martin Gould won the first ranking title of his professional career, defeating Luca Brecel 9–5 in the final. German referee Maike Kesseler officiated at her first ranking final, the breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below, These matches are being held between 17 and 20 December 2015 at the Robin Park Arena and Sports Centre in Wigan, England. All matches are best of 9 frames, media related to German Masters 2016 at Wikimedia Commons
21.
Stuart Bingham
–
Stuart Bingham is an English professional snooker player and a former World Snooker Champion. As an amateur, he won the 1996 IBSF World Snooker Championship and he first entered the top 32 in the world rankings for the 2006/2007 season, and first reached the top 16 during the 2011/2012 season. Bingham won the first ranking title of his career at the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open and he followed this by winning the World Championship in 2015, which British media said completed an astonishing transition from journeyman to king of the Crucible. With that, he joined Ken Doherty as the players to have won world titles at both amateur and professional levels. He claimed a ranking title by winning the 2017 Welsh Open. Bingham has also been runner-up in three ranking events, the 2012 Wuxi Classic, the 2013 Welsh Open, and the 2016 World Grand Prix. He has also won the non-ranking 2012 Premier League Snooker and the 2015 Championship League, a prolific break-builder, he has compiled more than 300 century breaks during his career, including three maximum breaks. He also qualified for the tournament in 2002 by beating Nigel Bond, Bingham played Ken Doherty in the first round and almost made the fifth 147 break at the Crucible, but missed the final pink in an attempt that would have been worth £167,000. He went on to lose the match 8–10, in the 2004/2005 season his best runs were two last-sixteen runs in ranking events, including losing in a final frame decider to Ding Junhui in the China Open. In 2005/2006, he had one of his most consistent seasons and he reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix tournament, beating then world champion Shaun Murphy along the way. He got to the stage of the UK Championship, losing in a final frame decider to Joe Perry. He also won the tournament for the Masters, scoring a 147 break along the way. He then beat Steve Davis in the round, before losing to Peter Ebdon 4–6. He made a start to the 2007/08 season, reaching the quarter finals of the Shanghai Masters. After finishing 4th in his group in the Grand Prix he then lost his first match in the Northern Ireland Trophy, in the Maplin UK Championship he managed to reach the last 16, losing to Shaun Murphy 9–3, after victories over Fergal OBrien and Steve Davis again. He also reached the stage of the Welsh Open, beating Stephen Maguire 5–4, after being 3–0 down, in the last 32. 2008/2009 was a disappointment for Bingham, who lost his first match in four of the eight events. He was drawn against number 1 Ronnie OSullivan in the first round of the 2009 World Championship, Bingham reached the Quarter final stages of the 2010 UK Championship having defeated OSullivan 9–6 and then Marco Fu 9–2 in previous rounds before losing 9–7 to Northern Irelands Mark Allen
22.
Daniel Wells (snooker player)
–
Daniel Wells is a Welsh professional snooker player, from Neath. He has twice come through Qualifying School to play on the snooker tour. He was awarded the inaugural Paul Hunter Scholarship and this gave him the chance to practise in the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, alongside professional players, such as Peter Ebdon and Ding Junhui. He first qualified for the Main Tour for the 2008/2009 season by finishing ranked fifth on the International Open Series rankings. He had consistent results on his first spell on the tour, winning his first qualifying match in most events. This was followed by a run to the qualifying round of the Bahrain Championship where he lost to veteran John Parrott 3–5. An impressive run to the last 16 of the Masters Qualifying tournament included a 5–4 win over Crucible quarter-finalist Liang Wenbo and he followed this with a defeat to Li Hang in the first qualifying round of UK Championship 3–9. However, at the World Championship, Wells needed a run of results to ensure his place on the tour for the following season. A sequence of 10–9 wins over Li Hang, Ian Preece, in his 4 qualifying matches, he played the maximum 76 frames. His ranking rose to No.70 as a result of his exploits that season, Wells started the new season with a win over fellow Welshman Ian Preece 5–3 in the Shanghai Masters before losing to Joe Delaney in the next round by the same scoreline. In the UK Championship, he narrowly lost 8–9 to fellow Welshman Michael White, in his home championship, the Welsh Open, Wells narrowly lost in the first qualifying round to James Wattana 4–5. Another first qualifying round defeat in the China Open meant that Wells was again in danger of losing his place on the tour. Wells failed to repeat his exploits of the season in the World Championship as he lost 7–10 to former world No.12 David Gray in the first qualifying round. This meant that he fell off the tour and he regained a place on the main tour for 2011/2012 by finishing top of the Welsh rankings. Wells also won the European Snooker Championships and the European Team Championships, as an unranked player on the tour Wells would need to win four qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the ranking events. However, he managed to win three matches during the season, including going without a single victory in the 11 of 12 Players Tour Championship events that he played. He finished the season without a ranking and had to enter Q School in an attempt to earn a place on the tour for the 2012/2013 season. In May, Wells won five matches at the second Q School event concluding with a 4–3 win over Michael Wasley to earn a place on the tour for the two seasons
23.
Darryl Hill (snooker player)
–
Darryl Hill is an English Born professional Manx snooker player. In 2014 Hill entered the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships as the one ranked entrant. Hill beat Robert Milkins 6–4 to qualify for the 2015 International Championship, on his debut at the main stage of a ranking event he was defeated 6–2 by Jimmy Robertson. He played at the UK Championship and Welsh Open for the first time, losing 6–3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the former, list of Manx people Darryl Hill at CueTracker. net, Snooker Results and Statistic Database
24.
Nigel Bond
–
Nigel Bond is an English professional snooker player. Bond has competed on the tour since 1989, and was ranked within the worlds top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996/1997 season. He reached the final of the World Championship in 1995, where he lost 9–18 to Stephen Hendry and he retained his place in the top 64 until 2015. He was born in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, after a strong amateur career, Bond turned professional for the 1989–1990 season. He reached his first ranking semi-final in his first season, and his first final in his second season, a year later, Bond reached the final after beating Stephen Lee, Alan McManus, Gary Wilkinson and Andy Hicks, but lost to Stephen Hendry 18–9. This was his only run of the season. He reached at least the quarter finals at the Crucible Theatre every year from 1993 to 1996, losing to Stephen Hendry every time, after leading comfortably throughout the match Bond was pegged back to 7–7, and the match went to a final frame. Final score 10–9, Bonds first win at the Crucible since 1999, by the end of the 1990s, Bond was out of the top 16, and dropped out of the top 32 for the 2004–2005 season. However, he reclaimed his place a year later, and he has remained ever since as of 2009. In the 2007 World Championship he lost in the first round, victories over David Roe, Stephen Lee and Barry Pinches took him to a meeting with Stephen Maguire, which he lost 5–0. He opened the 2008/09 season with first-round defeats in the first five tournaments, 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 and he picked up the £32,000 prize money as well as the Snooker Shoot-Out trophy, beating Robert Milkins 58–24 in the final. Bond started the 2011/2012 season very well by qualifying for the first two ranking event tournaments, the Australian Goldfields Open and the Shanghai Masters and he lost to Neil Robertson and Mark Selby respectively in the first round. He also qualified for the World Open, but was defeated by amateur player Lu Ning in the wildcard round, Bond finished the season ranked world number 45. Bond once again qualified for the Australian Goldfields Open in the 2012/2013 season, 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, there he lost 1–5 to Judd Trump. Bond was also crowned World Seniors champion during the season without dropping a frame in a total of seven matches, Bonds season ended when he was beaten 8–10 by Alan McManus in the third round of World Championship Qualifying. He dropped a place during the year to end it ranked world number 46
25.
Gerard Greene
–
Gerard Eamonn Greene is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player. He represented Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast, alongside this, Greene reached a ranking semi-final, at the 2007 Grand Prix, losing to the eventual champion Marco Fu, and five quarter-finals. Representing Northern Ireland with teammate Mark Allen, he reached the final of the 2011 World Cup, where they lost to China. Greene qualified for the World Championship five times without winning a match at the Crucible Theatre, although he drew the defending champion – John Higgins in 1999. He was ranked within the worlds top 64 players from 1997 until he fell off the tour, losing his professional status. Greene turned pro and joined the ranks in 1993/94 at the age of 20. In 1995/96 he got to the stages of three events and was up 38 places to 72nd in the World Rankings. He also reached the last 32 of the LG Cup and he was briefly provisionally in the top 16 but then suffered a mid season slump. Things picked up a later in the campaign and he was assured of a place in the top 32 for the first time at number 26. He returned to the top 32 after 2006/2007, the highlight being a run to the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy and he reached his first ranking semi-final at the 2007 Grand Prix. Greene came through Group B which included Ronnie OSullivan, Steve Davis, Dominic Dale and qualifiers Tom Ford and he beat Davis and Dale 4–0, Ford 4–3 and Joyce 4–2, his only defeat coming at the hands of Ronnie OSullivan, 4–2. He defeated qualifier Ricky Walden 5–0 in the last 16 with breaks of 101 and 91, in his quarter-final he faced Joe Perry, who he defeated 5–3 with breaks of 68,57,123 and rounding of the match with a 53. Eventual champion Marco Fu edged him out 6–5 in the semi-final, for a while before this tournament, he had no snooker club to practice in. Showing his best form for years, he reached the Quarter-final of the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy. Then he beat former World Champions Mark Williams and Ken Doherty on the way and his run ended in the hands of Mark Allen, who he lost to 5–3. He lost form in 2008 however, failing to qualify for the World Championship after a 2–10 defeat to journeyman Mark Davis, greenes 2008/2009 season was solid but unspectacular. He won his match in six of the seasons eight tournaments. Crucially, he qualified for the World Championship by defeating Liu Song and he was beaten 10–5 by Ali Carter in the first round
England