Ken Doherty

Kenneth Doherty (born 17 September 1969), better known as Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player who also works as a commentator and pundit on televised snooker broadcasts. From Ranelagh in Dublin, he is the sport's only world champion from the Republic of Ireland, having won the title in 1997, and one of only five players from outside the United Kingdom to have won the title in the modern era. He is the only player to have won the world amateur and world professional title, having also been world U-21 champion.

After moving from Dublin to London to pursue his snooker career, Doherty won the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur Championship in 1989. He turned professional the following year and reached the first of his 17 ranking finals at the 1992 Grand Prix, losing 9–10 to Jimmy White. He won the first of his six ranking titles several months later at the 1993 Welsh Open, beating Alan McManus 9–7 in the final, which helped him enter the top 16 for the first time in the 1993–94 world rankings. At the 1997 World Snooker Championship, he ended Stephen Hendry's record 29-match winning streak at the Crucible with an 18–12 victory in the final.

Doherty has been runner-up at two other World Championships. As defending champion at the 1998 event, he had an opportunity to break the Crucible curse but lost the final 12–18 to John Higgins. Facing Mark Williams in the 2003 final, Doherty recovered from 2–10 behind to tie the scores at 11–11 but lost 16–18. In other Triple Crown events, he has been UK Championship runner-up three times (losing 5–10 to Hendry in 1994, 1–10 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2001 and 9–10 to Williams in 2002), and Masters runner-up twice (losing 8–10 to Higgins in 1999 and by the same score to Matthew Stevens in 2000).

Doherty won his most recent ranking title at the 2006 Malta Cup, where he defeated Higgins 9–8 in the final. He achieved his career highest ranking of second in the 2006/2007 rankings. After 15 consecutive seasons within the top 16, he fell to 18th place in the 2008/2009 rankings and 44th place in the 2009/2010 rankings, after which he has never regained his top-16 standing. Since the end of the 2016–17 season, he has finished outside the top 64 in the world rankings multiple times; he has remained on the professional tour though invitational tour cards, the most recent of which was issued in June 2024 for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Doherty also competes on the World Seniors Tour, where he won the 2018 UK Seniors Championship and has twice been runner-up at the World Seniors Championship, in 2020 and 2024. Since 2012, he has been a director of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association; he also served from 2021 to 2024 as inaugural chair of the WPBSA Players organisation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life

Born on 17 September 1969, Doherty grew up in a working-class Catholic family in Ranelagh, Dublin, with his three siblings, two older brothers and a younger sister. He first became interested in snooker when he started to watch the BBC programme Pot Black with his father at eight years old. At the time, Doherty particularly admired Alex Higgins. He received a miniature snooker table as a Christmas present, and soon afterwards began playing on full-sized tables at Jason's Snooker Hall in Ranelagh.<ref>Template:Harv</ref> When he was 13 years old, his father died from a heart attack. Shortly afterwards, he won the Irish Under-16 Championship. After leaving school, he moved to London to pursue his snooker career, receiving free accommodation and practice time at Ilford Snooker Centre courtesy of Irish professional Eugene Hughes. He won the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur Championship in 1989, and turned professional the following year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Doherty appeared in two quarter-finals in his first season as a professional, at the 1991 Classic and the 1991 Irish Masters, being beaten 5–3 by Jimmy White on both occasions. In the following snooker year, he won the qualifying event for the 1992 Masters, though there he lost 1–5 to John Parrott in the first round. He also made it to the semi-finals of the 1992 British and Strachan Open, and reached the final of the 1992 Irish Masters. He was a finalist at the 1992 Grand Prix as well, narrowly losing 10–9 to Jimmy White. In the same event a year later, Doherty lost in the final again, this time 6–9 to Peter Ebdon.<ref name="DohertyEbdon" />

Doherty's first ranking title was the 1993 Welsh Open,<ref name="DohertyWelshOpen" /><ref name="Snooker player profile - Ken Doherty" /> enough to take him into the top 16 in the world, where he remained until the 2007–08 season. He also won the 1993 Irish Professional Championship,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was a semi-finalist at the 1993 International Open, and a quarter-finalist again at the 1993 Irish Masters. More quarter-final appearances followed at the 1994 Masters and the 1994 World Championship, his only run past the second round in the latter before 1997,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and later on in the 1994 Dubai Classic,<ref name="DohertyDubai">Template:Cite news</ref> repeating his result from the previous edition of the event, down to the scoreline as he was beaten 5–4 both times. These weren't his only replicated outcomes, he also won the 1994 Pontins Professional just like he did last year, as well as the 1994 Scottish Masters<ref name="DohertyDubai" /> after winning it in 1993<ref name="Snooker player profile - Ken Doherty" /> too.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In November he made it to the final of the 1994 UK Championship, which he lost 5–10 to Stephen Hendry,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> then in December he reached the quarter-final stage of the 1994 European Open, where he was defeated 5–3 by Nigel Bond. In the second half of the season, he was in yet another quarter-final at the 1995 Irish Masters, and in two finals, at the 1995 Pontins Professional and the 1995 European League.

Doherty became only the third player from outside the United Kingdom (after Australian Horace Lindrum in 1952 and Canadian Cliff Thorburn in 1980) to win the World Championship when he beat Stephen Hendry 18–12 in the 1997 final, at the age of 27. He also reached the World Championship final in 1998, losing to John Higgins,<ref name="Snooker player profile - Ken Doherty" /> and in 2003, losing narrowly to Mark Williams. The latter run was noted for some outstanding comebacks, including final-frame wins over Graeme Dott and Shaun Murphy, a 13–8 win over Higgins in a match where Doherty raced ahead 10–0 but Higgins fought back to 10–7, and a semi-final fightback from 9–15 to beat Paul Hunter 17–16. In that championship, Doherty played more frames than anyone before or since. In the final, Williams led 11–4, but Doherty fought back to 12–12 and 16–16. In frame 33, Doherty missed the penultimate red with a clearance easily available. Williams won that crucial frame and the next to prevail 18–16.<ref name="Doherty20th">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty narrowly failed to achieve a maximum break when he missed a routine final black off its spot in the 15th frame of the 2000 Benson & Hedges Masters final against Matthew Stevens, a match Doherty eventually lost 10–8. This one pot would have seen him win an £80,000 sports car. However, his 140 break at least brought him the consolation of the £19,000 highest break prize.<ref name="Doherty20th" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He did make a 147 break two years later though, when he won the Cue Club Pro-Am tournament in Killarney in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made light of his prize on television shortly afterwards, which was allegedly €300, a BMX bicycle and a toy Ferrari car.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His first official maximum was compiled in 2012, during a first round win against Julian Treiber at the Paul Hunter Classic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2001 Doherty became one of the few players who have won back-to-back ranking events, as he won the Welsh Open<ref name="DohertyWelshOpen">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Thailand Masters,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while also reaching the final of the next tournament, the Regal Scottish Open.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="DohertyEbdon">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Snooker player profile - Ken Doherty">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the 2005 World Championship, Doherty beat Barry Pinches in the first round 10–5, winning the last 8 frames,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but was knocked out in the second round by Alan McManus 13–11.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Following an average start to the 2005–06 season, Doherty won the Malta Cup in February 2006, beating John Higgins in the final. Doherty had trailed 8–5 at one stage but managed a stirring comeback, winning four frames in a row. He called the victory, which bridged a five-year gap, his "most important tournament win since the World Championship".<ref>Doherty wins Malta Cup final RTÉ Sport. Published 5 February 2006</ref><ref name="Doherty fightback stuns Higgins">Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty started brightly in the 2006 World Championship, winning his first match by defeating Barry Hawkins 10–1, then he beat Matthew Stevens 13–8, playing superbly to win the last five frames. He was the favourite in his quarter-final match against Marco Fu but lost 13–10. It was 8–8 as the final session started, but Doherty struggled despite winning a frame in which he required three snookers. Although he led 7–6, 8–7, 9–8 and 10–9, he could never quite take decisive advantage to win the match. Doherty admitted afterwards that he "blew it" but that he still had "a couple more years" to come back and win the title.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He ended the 2005–06 season as the world number 2, his highest ranking ever.

He made a solid start to the 2006–07 season by reaching the quarter-final at what is the closest thing to a home tournament for him, the Northern Ireland Trophy at Belfast's Waterfront Hall. He followed this up with a last-16 defeat at the Grand Prix in Aberdeen and the UK Championship in York. He reached the quarter-finals of the next two tournaments, the Masters and the Malta Cup. He lost in the first round of the World Championship and, although clearly disappointed, the Dubliner vowed to continue.<ref>Doherty falls to qualifier Allen RTÉ Sport, Published 24 April 2007</ref> He was provisional world number 1 for most of 2006–07, but finished the season as 4th in the rankings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In October 2006, he won the invitational Irish Professional Championship for a second time, having previously captured the title in 1993. He beat Michael Judge 9–4 in the final. A year later he defended his title with a resounding 9–2 victory over Fergal O'Brien. He followed this up a week later by becoming the first Irishman to win the Pot Black Invitational tournament, beating Shaun Murphy 76–31 in the one-frame final.<ref name="Pot Black 2007">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty did not start the 2007–08 season well, winning only one match during the first four ranking tournaments. However, he did reach the semi-finals of the Masters with victories over Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy,<ref name="'Crafty' Ken Doherty reaches Masters semi-finals">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> before losing to eventual champion Mark Selby. He then reached the final of the Malta Cup for a record fifth time, defeating John Higgins in the semi-finals, before losing to Murphy in the final. Unfortunately for Doherty, neither of these events are ranking events, meaning his performances did nothing to keep him in the top rankings for the 2008–09 season. Defeat to Liang Wenbo in the first round of the World Championship ensured that he dropped out of the top 16 after 15 years, and he started the new season 32nd on the provisional one-year list. A run of qualifying defeats saw him drop as low as 38th before the UK Championship.Template:Citation needed

Doherty's poor run of form continued during the 2008–09 season during which he won only two matches. For the first time since 1993, he failed to qualify for the World Championship, having been beaten in the final qualifying round by Gerard Greene.<ref name="GS quali">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Snooker.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Doherty's form saw an upturn in the 2009–10 season, with a rise back into the top 32 in the rankings, up from 44th to 30th; this was due to a quarter-final appearance in the 2009 Shanghai Masters, and a last-16 appearance in the 2009 Grand Prix. Doherty defeated six-time World Championship finalist Jimmy White 10–3, and two-time Crucible semi-finalist Joe Swail 10–1 to mark his return to the World Championship for the first time since 2008. In an amusing moment, Doherty got down on his knees and kissed the carpet upon his return to the venue. However, he lost his first-round match 10–4 to reigning Masters champion Mark Selby.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The 2010–11 season proved to be a mixed campaign for Doherty, who made it to the last 32 of the 2010 World Open, yet missed out on qualifying for the 2011 German Masters, the 2011 Welsh Open and crucially, blowing a 6–3 lead, losing 10–6 to Jimmy Robertson in the final stage of qualifying for the 2011 World Championship, meaning he had only reached the Crucible once out of his previous three attempts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Ken Doherty PHC 2011-1.jpg

2011 Paul Hunter Classic

Doherty had an excellent start to the 2011–12 season as he qualified for the Australian Goldfields Open, where he reached his first ranking event semi-final since 2006. He beat Mark Selby 5–3 in the quarter-finals, sealing the match with a clearance which he described as the best of his career. Doherty also stated that he almost quit the game in 2009, following his downturn in form which saw him drop to world number 55.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He failed to replicate his form in the semi-finals, however, as he was beaten 2–6 by Mark Williams.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the remainder of the season Doherty qualified for the German Masters and the Welsh Open, but was defeated in the first round by Williams and Mark Allen respectively, without picking up a frame.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also reached the final of the non-ranking Irish Classic, losing 2–5 to Fergal O'Brien.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Ken Doherty PHC 2012-1.jpg

2012 Paul Hunter Classic

He was ranked 32nd in the world going into the 2012 World Championship qualifiers, where he faced Anthony Hamilton. The match went into a deciding frame with Doherty 40 points behind, but he profited from a Hamilton error to produce a match-winning clearance to win 10–9, and earned a first-round match against Neil Robertson.<ref name="rte.ie">Template:Cite news</ref> He lost 4–10, and finished the season ranked world number 35.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Doherty began the 2012–13 season by losing 4–5 to Stuart Bingham in the second round of the Wuxi Classic, and 3–5 to Martin Gould in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open.<ref name="2012/13">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He went on to reach the quarter-finals of the event, losing 0–4 to Mark Selby.<ref name="2012/13"/> Doherty was defeated in qualifying for the Shanghai Masters and the 2012 UK Championship, and failed to advance beyond the wildcard round of the International Championship.<ref name="2012/13"/> At the fifth European Tour Event, the Scottish Open, he saw off the likes of Luca Brecel and Ryan Day to reach the semi-finals where he lost 2–4 to Ding Junhui.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Doherty was eliminated in the first round of the German Masters by Peter Lines, but then had his best run of the season at the Welsh Open.<ref name="2012/13"/> He beat four-time world champion John Higgins 4–1 and Tom Ford 4–3 to make it through to the quarter-finals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He led Stuart Bingham 2–0, but a series of missed pots saw Doherty lose his confidence and he went on to lose 3–5.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His aforementioned run to the semi-finals of the Scottish Open helped him finish 16th on the PTC Order of Merit to qualify as one of the top 26 players for the Finals, but he lost 2–4 to Kurt Maflin in the first round.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Doherty almost pulled off one of his trademark comebacks against Matthew Selt in the final round of the World Championship qualifying, as from 4–9 down he levelled at 9–9, but he lost the deciding frame.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The result meant that this was the first season where Doherty had not featured in any of snooker's Triple Crown events. Doherty increased his ranking by eight spots during the season to finish it ranked world number 27.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Doherty qualified for all but two of the ranking events in the 2013–14 season, but couldn't advance beyond the second round in any of them.<ref name="2013/14">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April, he qualified for the World Championship after a 10–5 win against Dechawat Poomjaeng in the final qualifying round.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Doherty was the oldest player in the draw in his 19th Crucible appearance, and after trailing Stuart Bingham 5–4 in the opening session of their first round match, Doherty produced his best snooker to take all six frames in the next session and win a match at the Crucible for the first time since 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then lost 13–8 to Alan McManus, the second oldest player in the event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty won three qualifying matches and a wildcard round to be at the 2014 Shanghai Masters, where he met Mark Selby in the first round, losing 5–2.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The only other tournament Doherty could advance to the last 32 in this season was the 2014 UK Championship by overcoming Mitchell Mann and Michael White, but he was beaten 6–1 by Ricky Walden. He was knocked out of the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship by Fergal O'Brien.<ref name="2014/15">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He reached the final round of World Championship qualifying following wins over Reanne Evans and Lee Walker, but was thrashed 10–3 by Mark Davis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Doherty was placed 45th in the world rankings at the end of the season, the lowest he had been since 1991.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A 6–0 thrashing at the hands of Peter Ebdon ended Doherty's International Championship run at the first round stage, and he lost 6–3 to Mark Davis in the second round of the 2015 UK Championship, having whitewashed Tony Drago 6–0 in the opener. His best results in the season were a pair of last 32 exits at the German Masters and Welsh Open, losing 5–1 to Stephen Maguire and 4–2 to Joe Perry respectively.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His end of season ranking of 57 was the lowest of his 26-year professional career.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had two last 16 showings during 2016–17, and would have dropped off the tour at the end of the season as he was outside of the top 64 in the world rankings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the day before the 2017 World Championship started, it was announced that Doherty would receive an invitational tour card for the next two years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty played against Ronnie O'Sullivan, the defending champion, in the second round of the 2018 UK Championship. Doherty was sharp throughout the first half of the first session, leading 3–1, then he extended his lead further to 4–1, but O'Sullivan fought back to win the next 4 frames. Doherty was able to force a decider, but ultimately just one error from him was enough for his opponent to finish the frame, to prevent Doherty from causing a considerable upset in the tournament where many seeds fell to lower-ranked players already,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and more would follow. Doherty would be the only player that came close to defeating the eventual champion, as the other matches, with the exception of the final, produced very one-sided results.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty's loss in the 2020 World Championship qualifying meant that he finished the season outside the top 64 and fell out of the tour. However, he was given an invitational tour card to continue playing professional snooker in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same occurred at his loss in the 2022 World Championship qualifying, for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and at the end of the 2023–24 season, when Doherty had dropped to 79 in the world rankings, but was able to remain on the World Snooker Tour after being given a further two-year invitational card by the governing body.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Playing style

Despite being most renowned as an intelligent tactician, he is a heavy scorer as well when amongst the balls at close quarters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This relatively cautious approach has led to the nickname "Crafty Ken".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

For most of his career, Doherty played with a warped cue randomly selected from the cue rack in Jason's, a club where he practised. He humorously revealed that the club manager originally wanted £5 for it, but Doherty haggled him down to £2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifiers, Doherty switched to a different cue for the first time in his professional career, likening the change to a "new romance".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Media work

Doherty works on TV coverage of snooker matches with the BBC snooker coverage team. He became a regular commentator for the BBC starting with the 2009 Masters, following the side-lining of veteran expert Clive Everton. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began working on ITV's snooker coverage.

Doherty guested as a presenter on the Morning Show on East Coast FM. He presents a sports programme on Sunshine 106.8FM on Saturday mornings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Doherty married Sarah, who is originally from India, in December 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple resided in Rathgar, Dublin, and have a son, born in 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2022, Doherty revealed that he and his wife had separated amicably.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He now lives in England.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty was nearly blinded in 2002 in a bathroom accident; after slipping, he struck an ornament, which narrowly missed his left eye. However, the distinctive scar on his right cheek dates back to his seventh birthday, when he fell off a shed roof onto a metal dustbin.<ref name="DohertyRanelaghman">Template:Cite news</ref>

Doherty and his family are of Roman Catholic faith, with his mother, Rose usually praying while Ken was playing matches.Template:Cn

In May 2007, Doherty appeared on RTÉ's spoof show Anonymous, heavily disguised as a priest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ostensibly he was a beginner at snooker and received some tips from Alex Higgins, who was initially fooled by the make-up and Doherty's hopeless play. However, as "Fr Donoghue" began to clear the table, Higgins' suspicions were aroused and Doherty was eventually rumbled. Doherty's disguise was enough to fool his mother and his wife.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2020, Doherty made a cameo appearance along with Jack Lisowski and Liang Wenbo in the snooker movie Break.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Doherty has been a WPBSA player director since 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament	1990/ 91	1991/ 92	1992/ 93	1993/ 94	1994/ 95	1995/ 96	1996/ 97	1997/ 98	1998/ 99	1999/ 00	2000/ 01	2001/ 02	2002/ 03	2003/ 04		2004/ 05	2005/ 06	2006/ 07	2007/ 08	2008/ 09	2009/ 10	2010/ 11	2011/ 12	2012/ 13	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<ref name="Ranking history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref group="nb">From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season</ref>	<ref group="nb" name="UR">New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking</ref>	51	21	11	7	9	7	3	4	7	7	4	5	6		7	11	2	4	18	44	30	29	35	27	33	45	57	<ref group="nb" name="INT">Players issued an invitational tour card began the season without ranking points</ref>	65	56	<ref group="nb" name="INT"/>	73	<ref group="nb" name="INT"/>	76	<ref group="nb" name="INT"/>
Ranking tournaments
Championship League	Tournament Not Held																		Non-Ranking Event													3R	2R	RR	RR	A
Xi'an Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held																																			LQ
Saudi Arabia Masters	Tournament Not Held																																			1R
English Open	Tournament Not Held																											1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	A
British Open	1R	SF	QF	3R	2R	3R	1R	SF	2R	3R	2R	3R	2R	2R		3R	Tournament Not Held																2R	LQ	1R	LQ
Wuhan Open	Tournament Not Held																																		LQ	LQ
Northern Ireland Open	Tournament Not Held																											2R	3R	1R	4R	2R	LQ	LQ	1R	WD
International Championship	Tournament Not Held																							WR	LQ	LQ	1R	1R	A	1R	1R	Not Held			LQ	LQ
UK Championship	LQ	LQ	2R	3R	F	QF	SF	2R	3R	3R	2R	F	F	2R		2R	QF	3R	1R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	1R	3R	2R	1R	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	A
Shoot Out	Tournament Not Held																					Non-Ranking Event						4R	1R	2R	2R	3R	3R	2R	1R	WD
Scottish Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)</ref>	Not Held		SF	2R	3R	1R	2R	QF	SF	3R	F	2R	SF	SF		Tournament Not Held								MR	Not Held			1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	LQ	WD
German Masters<ref group="nb" name="GER">The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)</ref>	Tournament Not Held					F	2R	SF	NR	Tournament Not Held												LQ	1R	1R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	1R	LQ	1R	1R
Welsh Open	NH	2R	W	3R	1R	2R	3R	1R	1R	3R	W	F	QF	3R		QF	3R	3R	3R	LQ	LQ	LQ	1R	QF	2R	2R	3R	1R	1R	2R	2R	2R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ
World Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the Grand Prix (1990/1991–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)</ref>	LQ	2R	F	F	3R	3R	3R	1R	2R	QF	QF	2R	2R	SF		2R	2R	2R	RR	LQ	2R	1R	LQ	LQ	2R	Not Held		LQ	1R	LQ	1R	Not Held			LQ	LQ
World Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held																									NR	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
Players Championship<ref group="nb">The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011–2015/2016)</ref>	Tournament Not Held																					DNQ	DNQ	1R	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
Tour Championship	Tournament Not Held																													DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
World Championship	1R	LQ	LQ	QF	1R	2R	W	F	QF	2R	QF	QF	F	1R		2R	QF	1R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters	LQ	1R	1R	QF	1R	1R	SF	SF	F	F	QF	1R	SF	QF		1R	1R	QF	SF	LQ	LQ	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Championship League	Tournament Not Held																		2R	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
World Seniors Championship	NH	A	Tournament Not Held																			QF	A	A	A	SF	1R	A	A	NH	A	F	QF	1R	F	1R
Former ranking tournaments
Classic	QF	3R	Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)</ref>	NH	SF	MR	NR	Tournament Not Held
Asian Classic<ref group="nb">The event was called the Dubai Classic (1990/1991–1994/1995) and the Thailand Classic (1995/1996)</ref>	1R	2R	2R	QF	QF	1R	SF	Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking Event					W	NR	Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the Asian Open (1990/1991–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/97)</ref>	LQ	2R	2R	2R	2R	F	2R	SF	QF	SF	W	QF	NR	Not Held			NR	Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters	Non-Ranking Event												1R	SF		2R	NH	NR	Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy	Tournament Not Held																NR	QF	3R	2R	Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship	Tournament Not held																			1R	Tournament Not held
Wuxi Classic<ref name="WUC" group="nb">The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)</ref>	Tournament Not Held																			Non-Ranking Event				2R	1R	1R	Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open<ref name="AUS" group="nb">The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)</ref>	Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking		Tournament Not Held																SF	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters	Tournament Not Held																		1R	LQ	QF	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	A	Non-Ranking		Not Held			Non-Ranking
Paul Hunter Classic<ref group="nb">The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)</ref>	Tournament Not Held															Pro-am Event						Minor-Ranking Event						A	3R	A	NR	Tournament Not Held
Indian Open	Tournament Not Held																								1R	1R	NH	LQ	3R	LQ	Tournament Not Held
China Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							NR	QF	LQ	2R	QF	Not Held			SF	SF	QF	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	1R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	2R	Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)</ref>	Tournament Not Held																									Minor-Rank		3R	SF	A	A	Tournament Not Held
China Championship	Tournament Not Held																											NR	1R	1R	WD	Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series	Tournament Not Held																															RR	Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters	Tournament Not Held																																LQ	Not Held
Gibraltar Open	Tournament Not Held																										MR	WD	4R	3R	1R	2R	2R	Not Held
WST Classic	Tournament Not Held																																	A	Not Held
European Masters<ref group="nb" name="EUR">The event was called the European Open (1992/1993–1996/1997), the Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)</ref>	3R	LQ	1R	2R	QF	2R	SF	NH	QF	Not Held		SF	2R	1R		2R	W	QF	NR	Tournament Not Held								LQ	2R	1R	LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	1R	NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
World Masters	2R	Tournament Not Held
Top Rank Classic	Tournament Not Held				RR	Tournament Not Held
Red & White Challenge	Tournament Not Held					SF	Tournament Not Held
Superstar International	Tournament Not Held							SF	Tournament Not Held
German Masters<ref name="GER" group="nb" />	Tournament Not Held					Ranking Event			SF	Tournament Not Held												Ranking Event
Pontins Professional	A	A	W	W	F	W	SF	SF	QF	QF	Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held				A	SF	QF	W	F	R	RR	Tournament Not Held
Champions Cup<ref group="nb">The event was called the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)</ref>	Tournament Not Held				1R	SF	QF	SF	SF	RR	RR	SF	Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters	A	A	A	W	W	QF	QF	QF	1R	QF	SF	QF	1R	Tournament Not Held
World Champions v Asia Stars	Tournament Not Held															RR	Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy	Tournament Not Held																1R	Ranking Event			Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters	QF	F	QF	1R	QF	SF	1R	W	QF	1R	1R	SF	Ranking Event				NH	QF	Tournament Not Held
Euro-Asia Masters Challenge	Tournament Not Held													F	W	Not Held			SF	Tournament Not Held
Irish Professional Championship	NH	1R	W	Tournament Not Held													F	W	W	Tournament Not Held
Pot Black	A	A	A	1R	Tournament Not Held												A	SF	W	Tournament Not Held
Malta Cup<ref group="nb" name="EUR"/>	Ranking Event							NH	R	Not Held		Ranking Event							F	Tournament Not Held								Ranking Event
World Series Jersey	Tournament Not Held																			QF	Tournament Not Held
World Series Warsaw	Tournament Not Held																			F	Tournament Not Held
World Series Grand Final	Tournament Not Held																			2R	Tournament Not Held
World Series Killarney	Tournament Not Held																				SF	Tournament Not Held
Masters Qualifying Event<ref group="nb">The event was called the Benson & Hedges Championship (1990/1991–2002/2003)</ref>	3R	W	MR	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A		NH	A	A	A	SF	1R	Tournament Not Held
Legends of Snooker	Tournament Not Held																				F	Tournament Not Held
Irish Classic	Tournament Not Held																		A	W	RR	A	F	Tournament Not Held
Premier League<ref group="nb">The event was called the Matchroom League (1990/1991–1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993–1996/1997)</ref>	A	A	A	A	F	W	SF	W	RR	A	A	A	A	A		A	A	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A	Tournament Not Held
Shoot Out	4R	Tournament Not Held																				3R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	Ranking Event
Paul Hunter Classic	Tournament Not Held															Pro-am Event						Minor-Ranking Event						Ranking Event			1R	Tournament Not Held
Template:Nowrap	Tournament Not Held																			3R	3R	RR	NH	2R	2R	2R	2R	A	A	A	RR	Not Held		RR	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
DQ	disqualified from the tournament

NH / Not Held				event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event				event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event				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.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 17 (6 titles)

Legend
World Championship (1–2)
UK Championship (0–3)
Other (5–6)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1992	Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–10
Winner	1.	1993	Welsh Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–7
Runner-up	2.	1993	Grand Prix (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	6–9
Runner-up	3.	1994	UK Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	5–10
Runner-up	4.	1995	German Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	3–9
Runner-up	5.	1996	Thailand Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	8–9
Winner	2.	1997	World Snooker Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	18–12
Runner-up	6.	1998	World Snooker Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	12–18
Winner	3.	2000	Malta Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–3
Winner	4.	2001	Welsh Open (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–2
Winner	5.	2001	Thailand Masters	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–3
Runner-up	7.	2001	Scottish Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–9
Runner-up	8.	2001	UK Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1–10
Runner-up	9.	2002	Welsh Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–9
Runner-up	10.	2002	UK Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–10
Runner-up	11.	2003	World Snooker Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	16–18
Winner	6.	2006	Malta Cup	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–8

Minor-ranking finals: 1

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1993	Strachan Challenge – Event 3	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–9

Non-ranking finals: 35 (20 titles)

Legend
The Masters (0–2)
Premier League (2–1)
Other (18–12)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	1991	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–3
Runner-up	1.	1992	Irish Masters	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	6–9
Winner	2.	1993	Pontins Professional	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–3
Winner	3.	1993	Irish Professional Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–2
Winner	4.	1993	Scottish Masters	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	10–9
Winner	5.	1994	Pontins Professional (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–5
Winner	6.	1994	Scottish Masters (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–7
Runner-up	2.	1995	European League	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2–10
Runner-up	3.	1995	Pontins Professional	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	8–9
Winner	7.	1996	European League	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	10–5
Winner	8.	1996	Pontins Professional (3)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–7
Winner	9.	1997	Malta Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–5
Winner	10.	1998	Irish Masters	Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan	Template:Nowrap
Winner	11.	1998	Premier League (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	10–2
Runner-up	4.	1998	Malta Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	6–7
Runner-up	5.	1999	The Masters	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	8–10
Runner-up	6.	2000	The Masters (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	8–10
Runner-up	7.	2003	Euro-Asia Masters Challenge – Event 1	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–6
Winner	12.	2003	Euro-Asia Masters Challenge – Event 2	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	5–2
Runner-up	8.	2005	Irish Professional Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–9
Winner	13.	2006	Irish Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–4
Winner	14.	2007	Irish Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	9–2
Winner	15.	2007	Pot Black	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1–0
Runner-up	9.	2008	Malta Cup	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	3–9
Winner	16.	2008	Irish Classic	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	5–2
Runner-up	10.	2008	World Series of Snooker Warsaw	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–6
Winner	17.	2009	Pro Challenge Series – Event 2	Template:Flagicon Martin Gould	6–2
Runner-up	11.	2009	Legends of Snooker	Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry	3–5
Runner-up	12.	2011	Irish Classic	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2–5
Runner-up	13.	2017	UK Seniors Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2–4
Winner	18.	2018	UK Seniors Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–1
Runner-up	14.	2020	World Seniors Championship	Template:Flagicon Jimmy White	4–5
Winner	19.	2024	Seniors 900	Template:Flagicon Jimmy White	2–1
Runner-up	15.	2024	World Seniors Championship	Template:Flagicon Igor Figueiredo	2–5
Winner	20.	2024	Seniors 900	Template:Flagicon Tony Drago	2–1

Team finals: 2

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Team	Opponent(s) in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1996	World Cup	Template:Flagcountry	Template:Flagcountry	7–10
Runner-up	2.	2001	Nations Cup	Template:Flagcountry	Template:Flagcountry	2–6

Pro-am finals: 14 (7 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	1988	Pontins Spring Open	Template:Flagicon Colin Morton	7–5
Runner-up	1.	1989	Pontins Spring Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–7
Winner	2.	1996	Pontins Spring Open (2)	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–3
Winner	3.	1997	Pontins Spring Open (3)	Template:Flagicon Paul Bunyard	7–6
Winner	4.	2002	Cue Club Pro-Am	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	5–2<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	5.	2003	Liam O'Connor Memorial	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	6–2<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	6.	2003	Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy	Template:Flagicon Joe Swail	6–5<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	2.	2005	Swiss Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	3–5<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	3.	2006	Pontins Pro-Am - Event 1	Template:Flagicon Jamie Cope	2–4<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	7.	2006	Pontins World Series Grand Final	Template:Flagicon Ricky Walden	4–2<ref name="web.archive.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	4.	2007	Paul Hunter Classic	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	0–4
Runner-up	5.	2007	Swiss Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	0–5<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	6.	2009	Pontins Pro-Am - Event 4	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–5<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	7.	2009	Pontins World Series Grand Final	Template:Flagicon Stuart Bingham	1–3<ref name="web.archive.org" />

Amateur finals: 7 (6 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1985	Irish Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Gay Burns	6–11
Winner	1.	1987	Irish Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Richard Nolan	8–7
Winner	2.	1987	All-Ireland Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Seamus McClarey	5–3<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Winner	3.	1989	Irish Amateur Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Anthony O'Connor	8–5
Winner	4.	1989	World Under-21 Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	11–5
Winner	5.	1989	All-Ireland Amateur Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Harry Morgan	5–2<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Winner	6.	1989	World Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	11–2

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:WST player
• Template:Snooker.org player