Gary_Wilkinson_(snooker_player)

Gary Wilkinson (snooker player)

Gary Wilkinson (snooker player)

English snooker player

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

Quick Facts Born, Sport country ...

Career

Wilkinson turned professional in 1987. In 1988, he won the non-ranking WPBSA Invitation Event beating Alex Higgins 5–4 in the final. He climbed the rankings to reach the no. 5 spot in the world within four seasons.[1] One of his career highlights was at the 1989 UK Championship, where he led John Parrott 7–0 and 8–1 in their Last 16 match before falling over the line at 9–6, then whitewashing Jimmy White 9–0 in the quarter-finals, and then leading world number 1 Steve Davis 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, 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, Wilkinson missed the chance of a 147 maximum break and a £100,000 prize in his first round match against Doug Mountjoy 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, 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 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 John Parrott 9–8, Jimmy White 9–6 and then beat Steve Davis 18–11 in the final to win the 1991 World Matchplay title and the £70,000 winner's cheque.[2]

Performance and rankings timeline

More information Tournament, 1987/88 ...
More information Performance table legend ...
NH / Not Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventevent is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. [N 1]
    From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. [N 2]
    New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. [N 3]
    The event was also called the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. [N 4]
    The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)
  5. [N 5]
    The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  6. [N 6]
    The event was also called the Australian Masters (1986/1987–1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  7. [N 7]
    The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. [N 8]
    The event was also called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. [N 9]
    The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  10. [N 10]
    The event was also called the International Open (1987/1988–1989/1990 and 1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1991 British Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–10

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 WPBSA Invitational Event 1 Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 5–4
Winner 2. 1991 World Matchplay England Steve Davis 18–11
Runner-up 1. 1992 Scottish Masters England Neal Foulds 8–10

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1986 Watney's Open England Andrew Shaw 3–1

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1985 WPBSA Pro Ticket Series Event 4 England Jim Chambers 5–1
Runner-up 1. 2007 PIOS Event 1 England Simon Bedford 3–6

References

  1. [1]
    Turner, Chris. "Historical World Rankings 1990/91 to 2004/05". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  2. [2]
    Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. [3]
    "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
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