Gary Wilkinson (snooker player)

Gary Wilkinson
Born (1966-04-07) 7 April 1966 (age 58)
Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England
Sport country England
Professional1987–2006
Highest ranking5 (1991/1992)
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)

Gary Wilkinson (born 7 April 1966) is an English former professional snooker player.

Career

Wilkinson turned professional in 1987. In 1988, he won the non-ranking WPBSA Invitation Event beating Alex Higgins 5–4 in the final. He climbed the rankings to reach the no. 5 spot in the world within four seasons.[1] One of his career highlights was at the 1989 UK Championship, where he led John Parrott 7–0 and 8–1 in their Last 16 match before falling over the line at 9–6, then whitewashing Jimmy White 9–0 in the quarter-finals, and then leading world number 1 Steve Davis 4–0, 6–2 and 8–7 in the semi-finals, before Wilkinson misread the score thinking that Davis didn't need snookers and went for a risky shot. It proved costly as Davis came back to get the snookers he needed, win that frame and then the deciding frame as Davis won 9–8. Wilkinson failed to sustain his late 1980s and early 1990s results and has never won a ranking tournament, losing in the final of the 1991 British Open 9–10 to Stephen Hendry, losing the 1992 Scottish Masters final 8–10 to Neal Foulds, as well as losing in four ranking semi-finals. While fancied to potentially go far at the 1991 World Championship, Wilkinson missed the chance of a 147 maximum break and a £100,000 prize in his first round match against Doug Mountjoy after missing the final yellow off its spot, and eventually lost 3–13 to Jimmy White in the quarter-finals in a surprisingly one-sided scoreline.

Wilkinson spent a decade in the top 32, but without reaching a ranking semi-final after 1992. He has made ten appearances in the World Championship, meaning that he has come through qualifying eight times. His best runs were to the quarter-finals in 1991 and 1995. After dropping off the main tour he played in the PIOS whilst also working as a tournament assistant for World Snooker. However, Wilkinson did capture one major title when he won the 1991 World Matchplay. During this peak moment of his career in December 1991, Wilkinson defeated Dean Reynolds 5–1, world champion John Parrott 9–8, Jimmy White 9–6 and then beat Steve Davis 18–11 in the final to win the 1991 World Matchplay title and the £70,000 winner's cheque.[2]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		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
Ranking[3][nb 1] [nb 2] 45 39 19 5 8 17 22 23 19 17 17 29 34 37 46 44 56 78
Ranking tournaments
Grand Prix[nb 3] 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R QF 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship 1R 2R SF 3R 2R 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R 3R 1R 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Malta Cup[nb 4] NH 2R LQ 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ NH LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held QF 3R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
China Open[nb 5] Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ
World Championship LQ 1R 1R QF 1R 2R LQ QF 2R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Pot Black Tournament Not Held QF SF 1R Tournament Not Held A
The Masters A A A WR 1R QF LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters NR LQ Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 6] NR NH SF Tournament Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
Classic LQ 1R 3R QF 3R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 7] NH NR 2R SF 1R 3R LQ 1R 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 2R NR Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9] Not Held SF 1R 1R 1R LQ QF LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ NR Not Held
Scottish Open[nb 10] 1R LQ LQ Not Held 1R 3R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQ 2R LQ 1R Not Held
British Open 3R 1R 1R F 3R 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R 3R 3R 1R 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ NH
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ 1R LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
English Professional Championship 1R SF Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Not Held 3R Tournament Not Held
London Masters NH A A QF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters Not Held Ranking QF Ranking Event NR Not Held
Hong Kong Challenge A A NH A QF Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held SF SF A Tournament Not Held
Kent Classic A A A A NH 1R Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A NH A A SF F A A A A A A A A A A Not Held
Belgian Masters Not Held A QF QF Not Held A Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay NH A A QF W QF Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A 1R 1R A A A A A A A A A Ranking Event NH
Pontins Professional A A A A SF QF SF SF A A A A A Tournament Not Held
Malta Masters Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Performance table legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi–finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held 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 event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ^ The event was also called the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. ^ The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)
  5. ^ The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  6. ^ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1986/1987–1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  7. ^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. ^ The event was also called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. ^ The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  10. ^ The event was also called the International Open (1987/1988–1989/1990 and 1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1991 British Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–10

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 WPBSA Invitational Event 1 Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 5–4
Winner 2. 1991 World Matchplay England Steve Davis 18–11
Runner-up 1. 1992 Scottish Masters England Neal Foulds 8–10

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1986 Watney's Open England Andrew Shaw 3–1

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1985 WPBSA Pro Ticket Series Event 4 England Jim Chambers 5–1
Runner-up 1. 2007 PIOS Event 1 England Simon Bedford 3–6

References

  1. ^ Turner, Chris. "Historical World Rankings 1990/91 to 2004/05". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  2. ^ Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 April 2018.