Darryl Hill (born 30 April 1996 in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
) is an English-born former professional
Manx
Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man:
* Manx people
**Manx surnames
* Isle of Man
It may also refer to:
Languages
* Manx language, also known as Manx ...
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
player.
Career
In 2014, Hill entered the
EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships
The EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships is the premier amateur junior snooker tournament in Europe. The event series is sanctioned by the European Billiards & Snooker Association. It took place first in 1997 and is held annually since the ...
as the number one ranked entrant, but lost in the third round to
Ashley Carty
Ashley Carty (born 17 July 1995) is a former professional snooker player based in Thurcroft, Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then ...
. The following year, Hill made it to the final, where he defeated Louis Heathcote 6–3 to win the
2015 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships; as a result, he was given a two-year card on the professional
World Snooker Tour for the
2015–16 and
2016–17 seasons.
Hill beat
Robert Milkins
Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998.
Milkins ...
6–4 to qualify for the
2015 International Championship
The 2015 International Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 25 October and 1 November 2015 at the Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre in Daqing, China. It was the third ranking event of the 2015/2016 seas ...
. 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 and 4–1 to
Graeme Dott in the latter. Hill received a bye in the first round of the
China Open, due to
Mark Selby withdrawing, and won a second-round ranking event match for the first time by beating
James Wattana
James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm'', then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm'' in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker pl ...
5–3, before losing by a reversal of this scoreline to
Dominic Dale. At the end of the season, Hill was awarded the World Snooker Rookie of the Year award.
Hill lost his first 12 matches of the
2016–17 season, which included a 4–5 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan having led the match 2-0 and 4–3 in the German Masters, before finally picking up a win in February at the
Welsh Open as he beat
Dechawat Poomjaeng 4–1. He lost 4–1 to
Ali Carter in the next round. Hill was eliminated in the third round of the
Shoot-Out by
Li Hang and dropped off the tour at the end of the season, after he only won one match in the two Q School events.
On the Isle of Man, Hill was named the 2015 Under 21 Sportsman of the Year at the Isle of Man Sports Awards Ceremony and in 2017, he became the first snooker player to be inducted into the Manx Sporting Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Hill has worked at the Mann Cat Sanctuary since the age of nine to the present day. Hill is also a keen musician and has commercially released his own music.
During Hill's second year on the professional snooker tour he was plagued with health problems and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. At the end of the season he took some time out from the game to concentrate on his health. He has since returned to compete in World and European amateur events.
In the summer of 2020, he plans to open his own cuesports centre on the Isle of Man, named The Cue Zone IOM.
Performance and rankings timeline
Career finals
Amateur finals: 6 (4 titles)
References
External links
Darryl Hillat ''worldsnooker.com''
Darryl Hillat ''CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Darryl
Manx snooker players
Living people
1996 births
Snooker players from Leeds
Manx sportsmen