Robbie McGuigan (born 7 July 2004) is a professional snooker player from Northern Ireland. In 2023, he became a three-time Northern Ireland Amateur champion, whilst still a teenager.

Early life

From County Antrim, McGuigan attended

Antrim Grammar School Antrim Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in Northern Ireland. It is in County Antrim, in the North Eastern Region of the Education Authority. It is more commonly known by locals as "AGS". It has two neighbouring schools, Parkhall ...

. He hit his first 147 break at thirteen years-old.

Career

In 2019 McGuigan made his debut at a ranking event when he was given a wildcard aged fifteen years-old to the

2019 Northern Ireland Open The 2019 Northern Ireland Open (also known as the 19.com Northern Ireland Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 11 to 17 November 2019 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The fourth edition of the No ...

. He lost to his countryman Patrick Wallace. The following year he lost in the final of the Northern Ireland Amateur snooker final, on a deciding frame, 10–9 to Declan Lavery. In 2021, McGuigan became the youngest ever Northern Ireland Amateur snooker champion when he defeated Rab McCullough, 10–4 in the final. At 17 years and eleven months he was two and a half months younger than the previous youngest winner

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

had been.

2021-22

In March 2022, still aged seventeen, he defended his Northern Ireland title, again beating McCullough in the final, but by a 10–6 margin. In that same month, March 2022 he won the final event of the WPBSA Q Tour season with a 5–3 victory over Scotland's Michael Collumb at the event held at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, coming back from 3–0 down.

2022-23

In October 2022, he defeated compatriot Joel Connelly 4–0 in the preliminary round of the

2022 Northern Ireland Open The 2022 Northern Ireland Open (officially the 2022 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 23 October 2022 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Organised by the World Sn ...

before losing in the final round of qualifying. In May 2023, he won the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship title for a third consecutive year, defeating Raymond Fry 10–8 in the final.

2023-24

McGuigan won the first two amateur tournaments of the 2023–24 season held in Northern Ireland. Awarded a wildcard to the

2023 Northern Ireland Open The 2023 Northern Ireland Open (officially the 2023 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 29 October 2023 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Organised by the World Snoo ...

in October 2023, he defeated Muhammad Asif to qualify for the main stages of the event in Belfast. In the next round, McGuigan faced experienced campaigner Anthony McGill, McGuigan led 3–1 in the best of seven frame match and McGill required three snookers on the colours to stay in the match, before mounting a comeback to win the frame on a re-spotted black and went on to defeat McGuigan 4–3. Given a wildcard to the

2023 UK Championship The 2023 UK Championship (officially the 2023 MrQ UK Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 25November to 3December 2023 at the York Barbican in York, England. The 47th edition of the UK Championship, first he ...

as the reigning Northern Ireland champion, he beat veteran Irishman Fergal O'Brien 6–2 in the first qualifying round, before losing by the same score in the following round to Dylan Emery. In March 2024, he defeated Craig Steadman 5–4 in the final to win the EBSA European Snooker Championship and a tour card for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.

2024-25

He made a successful start to his pro career at the 2024 Championship League in Leicester in June 2024, beating Sanderson Lam 3-0 and qualifying from his round robin group.

Personal life

The son of Kyla McGuigan, he is a supporter of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. His sister Harleigh was born in July 2017. His stepfather was snooker player

until 2020.

Performance and rankings timeline

Amateur finals: 10 (6 titles)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGuigan, Robbie 2004 births Living people Snooker players from Northern Ireland Sportspeople from Antrim, County Antrim People educated at Antrim Grammar School