Chris Melling (snooker Player)
Christopher Melling (born 27 January 1979) is an English professional pool and snooker player and former world number 1 at World Rules British Eight-Ball. He won the WEPF World Eightball Championship twice, in 2001 and 2003. He was ranked #1 in 2003 by the World Eightball Pool Federation. Melling has also twice won the International Pool Masters (2001 and 2002) and the European Professional title (2002). He was the first player to win two International Tour events back to back. His entrance by walk-on music is from the song “ Wannabe” by Spice Girls. Melling is also the only cue sports player to hold professional status in English 8 ball, American pool and snooker. Career In 2001, Melling reached the last 16 of the 2001 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, beating Steve Davis along the way. Melling tours worldwide to pursue his 9-ball pool career. In October 2010 he won his first European 9-Ball event - the Portugal Open. On 12 June 2011 Melling was crowned China ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, who provide the event's official website branded as World Pool Championship. The championship is divided into men's, women's and wheelchair divisions. History In the summer of 1989, the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) began plans for a world championship tournament. The group sent invitations, rules, sports regulations and by-laws. Reception was positive, and a provisional Board was created. In March 1990, the inaugural WPA World Nine-ball Championship was held in Bergheim, Germany. The playing field included 32 men and 16 women in separate divisions, and has since become an annual event. The event was organised solely by the WPA from this inauguration through 1999. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daniel Wells (snooker Player)
Daniel Wells (born 31 July 1988) is a Welsh former professional snooker player from Neath. He has twice come through Qualifying School to play on the professional snooker tour. Career Early career He was awarded the inaugural Paul Hunter Scholarship. 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 2008–09 season by finishing ranked fifth on the International Open Series rankings. 2008/2009 He had consistent results on his first spell on the main tour, winning his first qualifying match in most events, apart from defeat in the first qualifying round to Stefan Mazrocis in the Grand Prix. This was followed by a run to the penultimate 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 quar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 season. He reached the final of the World Championship in 1995, where he lost 9–18 to Stephen Hendry. He won the 1996 British Open, defeating John Higgins 9–8. Having reached three other ranking tournament finals, Bond won the 2011 Snooker Shoot-Out and, in 2012, defeated Tony Chappel to win the World Seniors Championship. He fell off the tour following his loss to Lukas Kleckers in the first qualifying round for the World Championship in 2022, and subsequently announced his retirement. Career Bond 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, but his career ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2015 Welsh Open (snooker)
The 2015 BetVictor Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 16 to 22 February 2015. The tournament was staged in Cardiff for the first time since 2004, having moved from Newport. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he lost 3–4 against Matthew Stevens in the last 32. The best-performing Welsh player was Mark Williams, who reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in 12 years. He lost 5–6 to Ben Woollaston, who reached the first ranking final of his professional career. John Higgins defeated Woollaston 9–3 in the final to win the Welsh Open for a record fourth time and claim his first ranking title in two and a half years. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: *Winner: £60,000 *Runner-up: £30,000 *Semi-finals: £20,000 *Quarter-finals: £10,000 *Last 16: £5,000 *Last 32: £2,500 *Last 64: £1,500 *Highest break: £2,000 *Total: £300,0 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zhou Yuelong
Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open. Career Between 2011 and 2014, Zhou was regularly selected to play in the wildcard round of Chinese ranking events. He could only win two of the nine he played in and was knocked out in the first round in both of those. Zhou won the 2013 IBSF World Snooker Championship which enabled him to join the snooker tour for the 2014–15 season. 2014/2015 season Zhou turned pro in 2014. His first win as a professional came at attempt number one as he defeated Alfie Burden 5–3 to qualify for the 2014 Wuxi Classic, where he lost 5–3 to Graeme Dott in the first round. Zhou defeated compatriot Liang Wenbo 6–2 to qualify for the International Championship and won his first ever match at a ranking event by eliminating Chris Melling 6–1, before being edged o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Luca Brecel
Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made his debut at the 2012 World Championship aged 17 years and 45 days, almost two months younger than Hendry in 1986. In 2017, Brecel became the first player from mainland Europe to win a ranking event when he defeated Shaun Murphy in the final of the China Championship. He reached his first Triple Crown final at the 2021 UK Championship, but lost 5–10 to Zhao Xintong. He claimed his second ranking title a week later, defeating John Higgins 9–5 to win the 2021 Scottish Open. Amateur career Brecel started playing snooker when he was nine, and scored his first competitive century break at 12. In April 2009, he became the youngest European Under-19 champion at 14 years of age in a victory against Michael Wasley in Saint Petersburg. In the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 International Championship
The 2014 International Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 26 October and 2 November 2014 at the Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, China. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2014/2015 season. Ding Junhui was the defending champion, but he lost 5–6 against amateur Wang Zepeng in the qualifying round. Ricky Walden won his third ranking title by defeating Mark Allen 10–7 in the final. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: * Winner: £125,000 * Runner-up: £65,000 * Semi-final: £30,000 * Quarter-final: £17,500 * Last 16: £12,000 * Last 32: £7,000 * Last 64: £3,000 * Televised highest break: £1,000 * Total: £625,000 Wildcard round These matches were played in Chengdu on 26 October 2014. Main draw Final Qualifying These matches took place between 22 and 25 September 2014 at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England. All matches were best of 11 frames. Ce ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 Wuxi Classic
The 2014 Wuxi Classic, Sports Lottery Cup Wuxi Classic was a professional Snooker world rankings, ranking snooker tournament held between 23 and 29 June 2014 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first ranking event of the Snooker season 2014/2015, 2014/2015 season. Neil Robertson defended his title, which he won in 2013 Wuxi Classic, 2013, by defeating Joe Perry (snooker player), Joe Perry 10–9 in the final. This was Robertson's 10th ranking title. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: *Winner: Pound sterling, £85,000 *Runner-up: £35,000 *Semi-final: £21,000 *Quarter-final: £12,500 *Last 16: £8,000 *Last 32: £6,500 *Last 64: £3,000 *Televised highest break: £2,000 *Total: £478,000 Wildcard round These matches were played in Wuxi on 23 June 2014. Main draw Final Qualifying These matches were held between 24 and 28 May 2014 at South West Snooker Academy, The Capital Venue in Gloucester, England. All ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple crown event, the World Snooker Championship, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of No. 4 for the 2005/2006 season. Stevens has compiled more than 300 century breaks during his career. Career Early career Stevens became a professional snooker player in 1994; in his second season, he won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the Masters, where he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 5–6 to Alan McManus. He also showed potential the following season by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997–98 season, he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and the UK Championship, achieving the highest break of the tournament at the latter. He also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2003 UK Championship
The 2003 Travis Perkins UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 18 and 30 November 2003 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. The event was broadcast on the BBC between 22 and 30 November 2003 and was the third ranking event of the 2003/2004 season. This marked the first event of three consecutive events sponsored by building merchant Travis Perkins. Mark Williams was the defending champion, but he lost his last 32 match against Fergal O'Brien. Matthew Stevens won his first ranking title when by defeating five times UK champion Stephen Hendry 10–8. In the final Hendry failed a 147 attempt, when he missed the yellow while on 120. The highest break of the tournament was 143 made by Ali Carter. Tournament summary Defending champion and World Champion Mark Williams was the number 1 seed. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings. Main draw Final Century breaks Televised stage centuries ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Professional Billiards And Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotional activities. The Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) was founded in 1946, and, after some years of inactivity, was revived in 1968 and renamed the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in 1970. It owns a 26 per cent share of World Snooker, which organises the professional snooker ranking circuit events. It also supports World Women's Snooker and World Disability Billiards and Snooker, and English billiards through World Billiards. Overview According to its financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2019, the principal activities of the WPBSA are "the governance of professional snooker and billiards through the regulation and application of the rules of the association, the development of snooker and bil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2015–16 Snooker Season
The 2015–16 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 7 May 2015 and 2 May 2016. The World Grand Prix became a ranking event featuring the top 32 players on a one-year money list, having been a non-ranking event the previous season. New professional players Countries: * * * * * * * * * * * The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2015 World Championship, and the 30 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season. The top eight players from the European Tour Order of Merit and top four players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, who had not already qualified for the Main Tour, also qualified. Another two players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further eight places were available through the Q School. The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body nominations. Hossein Vafaei's two-year tour card wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |