Stacey Hillyard (born 5 September 1969) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

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 ...

player, who won the 1984 amateur

World Women's Snooker Championship The World Women's Snooker Championship (formerly known as the Women's World Open Championship from 1976 to 1981 and the World Ladies Snooker Championship from 1983 to 2018) is the leading tournament on the World Women's Snooker Tour. The reigning ...

at the age of 15, making her the youngest winner of the tournament. She reached the final of the competition on five further occasions.

Biography

Hillyard started playing snooker on a full size table at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

club in Winton, aged 12. She played her first competitive women's snooker event in 1982, and lost on the final to the reigning world champion

Sue Foster Sue Foster is an English former snooker player. She won the Women's World Snooker Championship in 1983.World Cham ...

. Hillyard won the 1984 Amateur

aged 15, defeating Canadian player Natalie Stelmach 4–1 in the final. Although Hillyard reached the final five additional times, she did not win the event again. Three of the finals were lost to

Allison Fisher Allison Fisher (born 24 February 1968) is an English professional pool and former professional snooker player. Biography Fisher was born on 24 February 1968 in Cheshunt and grew up in Tonbridge, Kent and lived later in Peacehaven, East Susse ...

, the dominant player of the era. In 1985 in Bournemouth, Hillyard, still 15, became the first woman to compile a century break (114) in a competitive snooker match. When the

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 promotion ...

(WPBSA) opened membership for events to anyone over the age of 16 in 1990, Hillyard was one of six women to join, along with

Ann-Marie Farren Ann-Marie Farren (born 29 August 1971) is an English former snooker player. She won the World Ladies Snooker Championship in 1987, at the age of 16, and was runner-up in 1988 and 1989. Biography Farren started playing aged seven, on a 4 ...

, Georgina Aplin,

Karen Corr Karen Corr (born 10 November 1969) is a Northern Irish professional pool and former snooker and English billiards player. She was inducted in the BCA Hall of Fame in 2012. Early life Corr was born on 10 November 1969 in Ballymoney, Northern Ire ...

, and Maureen McCarthy, whilst 443 men joined at the same time. At the 1991 Dubai Classic, Hillyard started in the second qualifying round, and defeated

Dermot McGlinchey Dermot McGlinchey (born 9 May 1973) is a former professional snooker player from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United King ...

, Paul Hefford, Chris Carpenter, to progress to the 5th round, in which she lost 1–5 to

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 Worl ...

. Her last year on the WPBSA circuit was the

1994–95 snooker season The 1994–95 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1994 and May 1995. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events. __TOC__ Calendar Official rankings The t ...

, concluding with a 0–5 loss to Andrew Duff in the first qualifying round for the

1995 British Open The 1995 British Open (officially the 1995 Castella Classic British Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that was held from 1–9 April 1995 at the Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth, England. John Higgins won the tournament by defea ...

. On 23 February 1992, Hillyard recorded a new highest break in competitive women's snooker, making 137 during the General Portfolio Women's Classic held in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

. Away from snooker, she served as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Career finals

{, width=100% , valign=top width=40% align=left , {, class="wikitable" , - bgcolor="#eeeeee" , Legend , - bgcolor="#e5d1cb" , World Championship (1–5) , - , Other (3–7) {, class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" , - !scope="col" width="60", Outcome !scope="col" width="25", No. !scope="col" width="50", Year !scope="col" width="340", Championship !scope="col" width="180", Opponent in the final !scope="col" align="center" width="30", Score !scope="col" class="unsortable" width="30", Ref. , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 1. ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship (Amateur) , , align="center", 4–1 , align="center", , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 1. ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship , , align="center", 1–5 , align="center", , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 2. ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship , , align="center", 1–5 , align="center", , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 3. ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship , , align="center", 4–7 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 1. , 1991 , Romford Classic , , align="center", 3–2 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 1. ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, World Masters (Women's singles) , , align="center", 2–6 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 2. , 1992 , Harlekin European Masters , , align="center", 5–6 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 3. , 1992 , Edwardian Classic , , align="center", 0–3 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 4. , 1992 , Saffron Classic , , align="center", 0–3 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 5. , 1993 , New Berkshire Classic , , align="center", 1–3 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 2. , 1993 , Pontins UK Championship , , align="center", 4–3 , align="center", , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 4. ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship , , align="center", 3–9 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 3. , 1993 , Regal Masters , , align="center", 4–3 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 6. , 1994 , Pontins UK Championship , , align="center", 3–4 , align="center", , - style="background:#e5d1cb;" !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 5. ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, World Women's World Snooker Championship , , align="center", 3–7 , align="center", , - !scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 7. , 1994 , Llanelli Classic , , align="center", 2–4 , align="center", Doubles and team events * 1991 World Masters Women's Doubles – winner (with

) *1991 World Mixed Doubles Final – Runner-up (with

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 ...

) – lost 4–5 to

and

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillyard, Stacey English snooker players Female snooker players 1969 births Living people