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

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

Wilkinson turned professional in 1987. In 1988, he won the non-ranking WPBSA Invitation Event beating

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

5–4 in the final. He climbed the rankings to reach the no. 5 spot in the world within four seasons. One of his career highlights was at the 1989 UK Championship, where he led

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

7–0 and 8–1 in their Last 16 match before falling over the line at 9–6, then whitewashing

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

9–0 in the quarter finals, and then leading world number 1

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

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 Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

, losing the

1992 Scottish Masters The 1992 Regal Scottish Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 23 and 27 September 1992 at the Motherwell Civic Centre in Motherwell, Scotland. Neal Foulds won the tournament by defeating Gary Wilk ...

final 8–10 to

Neal Foulds Neal Foulds (born 13 July 1963) is an English former professional snooker player and six-time tournament winner, including the 1986 International Open, the 1988 Dubai Masters and the 1992 Scottish Masters, as well as the invitational Pot Blac ...

, 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 Doug Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the ...

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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, 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 is a golf sports video game that was released by Irem to Arcade game, arcades in 1990. A version of the game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as well as an arcade sequel, ''Major Title 2: Tournament Leader'', were released in 1992. The ...

when he won the 1991 World Matchplay. During this peak moment of his career in December 1991, Wilkinson defeated

Dean Reynolds Dean Reynolds (born 11 January 1963 in Grimsby) is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001. Career Before turning professional, Reynolds won the first-ever Junior Pot Black in 1981, b ...

5–1, world champion

9–8,

9–6 and then beat

18–11 in the final to win the 1991 World Matchplay title and the £70,000 winner's cheque.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Gary 1966 births English snooker players Living people People from Kirkby-in-Ashfield