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

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

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 The 1989 UK Championship (officially the 1989 StormSeal UK Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 November and 3 December 1989 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. StormSeal became th ...

, 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 commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

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 The 1991 British Open (officially the 1991 Pearl Assurance British Open) was a professional Snooker world rankings, ranking snooker tournament, that was held from February to March 1991 at the Derby Assembly Rooms, Assembly Rooms in Derby, Englan ...

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 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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

, 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 t ...

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 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 SNES game ...

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

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