Gary Wilkinson

Gary Wilkinson
birthday	7th April 1966 (age 54)
nationality	England
professional	1987-2006
Prize money	£ 883,247
Highest break	143
Century Breaks	69
Main tour successes
World championships	-
Ranking tournament victories	-
Minor tournament victories	-
World rankings
Highest WRL place	5 ( 91/92 )

Gary Wilkinson (born April 7, 1966 in Kirkby-in-Ashfield ) is an English snooker player who played on the Snooker Main Tour for 19 years from 1987 to 2006 .

Career

Beginnings

In 1984 Wilkinson first took part in the WPBSA Pro Ticket Series tournaments, but he was eliminated in the early rounds. A year later he reached the semi-finals twice, which he lost first to Anthony Harris and then to Terry Parsons , and was able to defeat Jim Chambers in the fourth and final event in the final . In 1986 he won the national Watney Open and lost in the final of the North English Amateur Championship. In 1987 he turned pro on the Snooker Main Tour .

First professional years

Right in the first ranking tournament, the International Open , of the season , Wilkinson reached the main round, where he was eliminated by Stephen Hendry . At the Grand Prix he defeated two up-and-coming players with Dene O'Kane and Silvino Francisco and made it to the round of 16, where he lost 3: 5 to Steve Newbury from Wales. After a second elimination in the first main round at the UK Championship and a qualifying defeat at the Classic , he moved to the main round of the English Professional Championship , where he was directly defeated by Neal Foulds . At the British Open he reached his second round of 16, which he lost 5-1 to Jimmy White . At the Snooker World Championship he was eliminated in the first qualifying round with 9:10.

The next season , Wilkinson won his first professional title. At the first event of the WPBSA non-ranking series, he kicked Steve Campbell , Warren King , Peter Francisco and David Roe from the tournament. In the final he met two-time world champion Alex Higgins , but he remained unimpressed and won 5: 4. Inspired by this, Wilkinson reached the second main round at the Grand Prix , which he lost 2: 5 to Rex Williams . After an early elimination at the Canadian Masters and a knockout loss in the second non-ranking event against Alex Higgins, he also moved into the round of 32 at the UK Championship , where he lost to World Champion Steve Davis . His second semifinal participation of his career occurred at the English Professional Championship , where he survived both qualifying rounds and reached the semifinals after a surprising victory against John Virgo , which he lost 3-5 against eventual winner Mike Hallett . He also reached the round of 32 at the European Open , where he lost 2: 5 to eventual tournament winner John Parrott . At the snooker world championship he defeated the six-time world champion Ray Reardon and Tony Drago in qualification , so that he moved into the main round of the World Cup for the first time. He lost 9:10 to Stephen Hendry , but he reached number 39 in the world.

Rise to the expanded world elite

His third professional season should be groundbreaking for him. He reached the semifinals in the first two ranked tournaments of the season, which he lost at the Hong Kong Open to Dene O'Kane and at the Asian Open to Stephen Hendry , who later in the season with his victory at the World Cup started a new era in Started snooker. At the Grand Prix and the Dubai Classic he also reached the round of 32. He reached another semifinal participation at the prestigious UK Championship , where he was eliminated 8: 9 in the decider against Steve Davis . At the Classic he reached the round of 16, which was lost 2: 5 to Wayne Jones . At the end of the season he reached the main round of the snooker world championship for the second time by defeating ex-world champion John Spencer in the decisive round . In the first main round he was eliminated from John Virgo . At the end of the season he was listed at number 19 in the world rankings, which made him climb to the top 32 within three years.

After two opening defeats at invitation tournaments at the beginning of the 1990/91 season , Wilkinson moved into the round of 16 at the Grand Prix , but lost 5-0 to Jimmy White . At the Dubai Classic he made it to the semi-finals, which he lost to Steve Davis . At the UK Championship he moved into the round of 16, where he was eliminated by Danny Fowler . After two quarter-finals in invitation tournaments, including the World Matchplay 1990 , he was able to reach a quarter-finals again at the Classic 1991 by defeating Dennis Taylor and James Wattana , which he lost 3: 5 against Neal Foulds . At the World Masters he defeated two good players in the 2000s and 2010s, Peter Ebdon and Alan McManus . He continued his winning streak with a 6: 3 against the German Mike Henson and ended in the round of 16 with a 5-7 defeat against Tony Drago . At the prestigious Masters he was allowed to take part in the wildcard round , where he lost 3: 5 to Tony Meo . He finally made it into the top of the world at the British Open : He kicked John Campbell , Silvino Francisco , James Wattana, Tony Jones and in the semifinals Jimmy White from the tournament, so that he was in the final of a ranking tournament for the first time. He fought against Stephen Hendry and even took the lead several times, but in the end Hendry won 9:10. His best season he concluded with a quarter-finals participation in the Snooker World Championship , where he was eliminated with 3:13 against Jimmy White. On the world rankings, he finished the season in 5th place.

Establishment in the top 20

At the beginning of the 1991/92 season Wilkinson was invited to a number of invitation tournaments, in which he lost several times in the quarter- or semi-finals. In the first ranking tournaments he lost in the early main rounds, for example at the UK Championship in the round of 32 against Tony Drago . In the 1991 World Matchplay he defeated Dean Reynolds , John Parrott and Jimmy White , so he reached the final. There he defeated Steve Davis 18:11 and won £ 70,000 . At the Classic , Wilkinson moved again into a round of 16 of a ranking tournament, which he lost to James Wattana . Thanks to his world ranking position, he was invited to the Matchroom League , where he was eliminated from the group stage with just five wins from twelve games. After an opening defeat at the Asian Open against Steve Campbell , he lost to Alain Robidoux in the first round of the 1992 Masters . At the end of the season he succeeded in participating in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open and taking part in the round of 16 of the British Open . At the Snooker World Championship he lost in the first round to Willie Thorne , so that he deteriorated in the world rankings by three position to eighth.

The next season began for Wilkinson with a final at the Scottish Masters , where he knocked three world champions out of the tournament with Terry Griffiths , Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis . In the final he was defeated by Neal Foulds 8:10. At the first ranking tournament of the season, the Dubai Classic , he reached the round of 16, where he was eliminated by Mick Price . At the Grand Prix he was able to defeat the then newcomer Ronnie O'Sullivan , but then lost to John Higgins . At the UK Championship and the Welsh Open he reached the second round twice, but was eliminated by Alan McManus and Ken Doherty . At the Masters , he managed a 5-0 win over Alain Robidoux in the round of 16 , then lost to Stephen Hendry. After three first round defeats in ranked tournaments, he managed to win the opening game against Dean Reynolds at the World Snooker Championship , but in the round of 16 he lost to Nigel Bond . In the world rankings he fell from the top 16 to 17th place, the former he should not reach in his career.

Drop out of the top 20 in the world rankings

After two defeats at the start of the season , he reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix , where he lost to Peter Ebdon . By early 1994, Wilkinson reached the round of the last 32 of ranked tournaments only twice, both times he failed to Alan McManus . At the International Open he reached the second round, which he lost to Joe Swail . By the end of the season he was eliminated in the early rounds, and he also missed the main round of the World Snooker Championship . At the last tournament of the season, the Pontins Professional , he reached the semi-finals, which he lost to Ken Doherty . The results of the season were reflected on the ranking list, he slipped from the top 20 to 22nd.

The next season was also miserable until the beginning of 1995. He only reached the round of 32 in ranked tournaments several times. The temporary turnaround he made at the Thailand Open , where he made it to the quarterfinals and lost there against the eventual winner James Wattana . After a first round defeat at the British Open , he reached the quarterfinals of the World Snooker Championship , which he lost 7:13 to Nigel Bond . At the end of the season, Wilkinson reached the semifinals of the Pontins Professional again , this time losing to Peter Ebdon . In the world rankings, he deteriorated by one place.

Return to the top 20

After a subdued start to the 1995/96 season with participation in the round of 32 of the Thailand Open , he reached the second round at the UK Championship , which he lost 9-2 to Stephen Hendry . At both the German Open and the Welsh Open , he reached the round of 32, which he lost to James Wattana and Terry Murphy . At the British Open and the World Snooker Championship he also reached the round of 16, but John Parrott and Stephen Hendry were able to defeat him. At the end of the season, Wilkinson improved to 19th place.

In the next season he continued his streak of success. At the Asian Classic he made it to the round of 16, which he lost to Alan McManus . He reached the round of 32 at the Grand Prix , the UK Championship and the German Open , but Alain Robidoux , Alan McManus and Stephen Hendry were able to defeat him. After an opening defeat at the Welsh Open , he reached the round of 32 at the International Open , which he lost 3: 5 to Stephen Hendry. He repeated his entry into that round at the Thailand Open , this time losing to Dave Harold . At the British Open he reached the round of 16, which he lost to Mark Williams . At the end of the season he reached the main round of the World Snooker Championship , but he lost 5:10 to Darren Morgan . In the world rankings he was able to improve to 17th place.

His tenth professional season began with an opening defeat at the Grand Prix against Alfie Burden . But at the UK Championship and the German Open , Wilkinson made it to the round of 16, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan and to Jamie Burnett . After two entries into the round of 32 at the Welsh Open and the Scottish Open , he reached that same round for the third time in a row at the Thailand Masters . He reached his third round of 16 in his anniversary season at the British Open , where he failed to Mark Williams . He missed the main round of the World Snooker Championship with a 9-10 defeat by Simon Bedford . He ended the season unchanged at 17th place in the world rankings.

Crash in the world rankings

At the start of the 1998/99 season , Wilkinson reached the round of 16 of the Grand Prix , which he beat Jamie Burnett 0-5 . At the Benson & Hedges Championship he reached the round of 32, where he was eliminated by Marcus Campbell . But from the UK Championship to the China International held in March 1999 , he lost all opening games. At the British Open he made it to the round of 16, but after missing the main round of the World Snooker Championship with a 9:10 against Ian McCulloch , he fell to 29th place in the world rankings.

At the British Open 1999 and the subsequent Grand Prix , the first two ranking tournaments of the 1999/2000 season , Wilkinson reached the round of 32, where he met Mark Williams on both occasions , who later in the year won both the UK Championship and May 2000 should win the World Snooker Championship. After a series of early tournament defeats, he reached the round of 32 again at the 2000 Malta Grand Prix , this time losing to Ken Doherty 5-1. He also lost to Doherty at the Scottish Open in the same round. At the end of the season he was able to qualify for the main round of the Snooker World Championship by a 10: 9 win over Jason Ferguson , where he was defeated by John Parrott 9:10. At the end of the season he flew out of the top 32 in the world rankings for the first time since 1988/89 at position 34.

Last successes on the main tour

At the start of the next season , Wilkinson reached the first round of the British Open , where he lost 3-5 against Dominic Dale . After a qualifying defeat at the Grand Prix , he reached the semi-finals at the Benson & Hedges Championship , where he lost 4-5 to Stuart Bingham . After a defeat in qualifying for the UK Championship , he lost at the China Open in the round of 48. In 2001, he lost his opening game in three ranking tournaments, first at the World Snooker Championship, the second qualifying round, in which he was eliminated by Michael Holt . He lost three places in the world rankings and ended the season in 37th place.

Right in the first ranking tournament of the 2001/02 season , the British Open , he reached the round of 32, where he was eliminated 5-0 by Ronnie O'Sullivan . At the LG Cup - the continuation of the Grand Prix - he reached the first round (round of the last 48) of the main round. After two early defeats, he also moved into the UK Championship in the same round, and three months later at the Thailand Masters . At the Scottish Open he reached the round of 32, this time defeating Jimmy White 0-5. At the end of the season in Sheffield he lost in the penultimate qualifying round against the Finn Robin Hull . It then fell to 48th place on the world rankings.

At the start of the 2002/03 season , Wilkinson reached the round of 48 at the LG Cup , where he lost 3-5 to Tony Drago . Then he did not make it through the round of 64 until the Welsh Open 2003 , where he at least made it one round. After two further defeats in the beginning, the qualification for the snooker world championship was due. In the round of the last 64 he met Dave Finbow , whom he defeated 10: 7. In the next round he met Fergal O'Brien , with whom he delivered a close match. But Wilkinson won 10: 8 and moved into the main round for the ninth time. He lost 7:10 to Stephen Hendry in the first main round. It should be the last time that he reached a World Cup main round.

Last professional years

At number 46 in the world rankings, he lost his opening games in the first six tournaments of the season . Only at the Irish Masters he survived his opening game and also the qualification, but in the first main round he was eliminated against Jimmy White . At the next tournament, the Players Championship , he reached the round of 48, where he lost to Dominic Dale . At the Snooker World Championship he lost in the penultimate qualifying round with 4:10 against Nick Dyson . In the world rankings, he was based on position 56.

In the 2004/05 season Wilkinson only won one game of nine games, so he slipped to 78th place in the world. He was only able to remain on the main tour through the one-year ranking.

After a number of participations in the events of the PIOS tour, in which he could reach a quarter-finals, he moved to the UK Championship in the second qualifying round, where he lost to Jamie Burnett . He survived the Malta Cup qualification but lost to John Parrott in the round of 48 . After another defeat in the round of 80 at the Welsh Open and an opening defeat at the China Open , he lost to David Roe in the first qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship . It should be his last professional match after 19 years, because world number 85 was not enough to qualify for the next season.

Further career

During the 2006/07 season, Wilkinson played at the PIOS Tour events . With two quarter-finals and one further round of 16, he landed in 15th place in the ranking, which was not enough for a Main Tour ticket. He also tried his luck there the next season. In the first tournament he made it to the final, which he lost 3: 6 to Simon Bedford . In the other tournaments he did not get out of the round of 32, so he only ended up in 16th place in the ranking. In the following two seasons he only took part in a PIOS event once, both times he lost his opening match.

In 2011 he took part in the World Seniors Championship , where he lost to eventual winner Darren Morgan after qualifying in the first main round . The following year he was eliminated in the third qualifying round against Nigel Bond , who also emerged as the winner of the tournament. In 2013 he lost in the second qualifying round, in 2015 and 2016 in the fourth.

He also works for the World Snooker Association as a tournament assistant.

successes

output	year	competition	Final opponent	Result
Amateur tournaments
winner	1985/4	WPBSA Pro Ticket Series	Jim Chambers	6: 4
Second	2007	PIOS tour 2007/08	Simon Bedford	3: 6
National competitions
winner	1986	Watney Open	Andrew Shaw	3: 1
Second	1986	North English Amateur Championship	Geoff Grennan	2: 8
Non-ranking and invitation tournaments
winner	1988/1	WPBSA non-ranking	Alex Higgins	5: 4
winner	1991	World Matchplay	Steve Davis	18:11
Second	1992	Scottish Masters	Neal Foulds	8:10
Ranked tournaments
Second	1991	British Open	Stephen Hendry	9:10

Web links

• Profile of Gary Wilkinson on CueTracker
• Gary Wilkinson in snooker Database (English)
• Profile on snooker.org

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Gary Wilkinson - Professional Results. (No longer available online.) Cuetracker.net, formerly in the original ; accessed on November 8, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Early day motion 406. (No longer available online.) Parliament.uk, formerly in the original ; accessed on November 8, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
3. ↑ PIOS ranking - 2006/2007 season. (No longer available online.) Brownball.de, 2007, archived from the original on March 14, 2012 ; accessed on November 9, 2018 (English).  
4. ↑ PIOS ranking 2007/08. (No longer available online.) Brownball.de, 2008, archived from the original on March 14, 2012 ; accessed on November 9, 2018 (English).  
5. ↑ Ron Florax: Gary Wilkinson - Season 1985-1986 - Non-professional Results. (No longer available online.) Cuetracker.net, formerly in the original ; accessed on November 8, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )