World Snooker Tour awards

The World Snooker Tour makes annual awards in several categories, including player of the year, and established a Hall of Fame in 2011.^[1][2]

The Association of Snooker Writers, a grouping of journalists who wrote about snooker, was founded in 1981.^[3] In 1983, they instituted awards for players and others associated with the game, and made another set of awards in 1984.^[3] From 1985, the awards were taken over by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.^[4] In 1998, the journalists' group was reformed as the Snooker Writers' Association, and the awards were in that body's name for several years.^[5][6] The awards are now administered by the World Snooker Tour.^[2]

Player of the year and miscellaneous awards

World Snooker Tour Awards

Awarding body	Year	Player of the Year	Young Player of the Year	Other awards	Ref.
Association of Snooker Writers	1983	Steve Davis	no award	Personality of the Year: Bill Werbeniuk	[3]
	1984	Steve Davis	no award	Personality of the Year: Dennis Taylor	[3]
WPBSA	1985	Dennis Taylor			[4]
	1986	Steve Davis and Joe Johnson	Stephen Hendry	Personality of the Year: Joe Johnson	[4][7]
	1987	Steve Davis	Stephen Hendry	Overseas Player of the Year: Dene O'Kane	[8][9]
	1988	Steve Davis	Stephen Hendry	Personality of the Year: Terry Griffiths; Overseas Player of the Year: Tony Drago; Frame of the year: Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White (Last frame of the final, 1988 World Snooker Championship); Break of the year: 140, Steve Davis at the 1987 Fidelity International, and Steve James at the 1988 World Snooker Championship; Performance of the year: Steve James, 1988 World Snooker Championship; Billiards player of the year: Norman Dagley	[10][11]
	1989	Steve Davis	Martin Clark[lower-alpha 1]	Match of the year: John Parrott v Steve James (1989 World Snooker Championship); Billiards player of the year: Mike Russell	[12][13]
	1990	Stephen Hendry			[14]
	1991	Stephen Hendry			[15]
	1992	Stephen Hendry	Peter Ebdon[lower-alpha 1]		[16]
	1993	Stephen Hendry			[17]
	1994	Ronnie O'Sullivan	Fergal O'Brien		[18]
	1995	Stephen Hendry		Achievement of the year: John Higgins	[19]
	1996	Stephen Hendry			[8][20]
	1997	Stephen Hendry			[21]
Snooker Writers' Association	1998	John Higgins	Paul Hunter	Match of the Year: Mark Williams v Stephen Hendry (1998 Masters)	[8][6]
	1999	Stephen Hendry	Marco Fu		[22]
	2000	Mark Williams
	2001	Ronnie O'Sullivan
	2002	Stephen Lee			[23]
WPBSA	2003	Mark Williams
	2004	Ronnie O'Sullivan	Stephen Maguire		[24]
	2005	Ronnie O'Sullivan
	2006	John Higgins
	2007	Neil Robertson
	2008	Ronnie O'Sullivan
	2009	John Higgins
2010: no awards
World Snooker	2011	John Higgins	Jack Lisowski[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: John Higgins; Players Player of the Year: Mark Williams; Performance of the Year: Judd Trump; Magic Moment: Rory McLeod	[25]
	2012	Ronnie O'Sullivan	Luca Brecel[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Performance of the Year: Stuart Bingham; Magic Moment: Stephen Hendry	[26]
	2013	Mark Selby	Ian Burns[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Performance of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Magic Moment: Jimmy Robertson	[27][28]
	2014	Ronnie O'Sullivan	John Astley[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Ding Junhui; Performance of the Year: Mark Selby; Magic Moment: Mark Selby	[29][30]
	2015	Stuart Bingham	Oliver Lines[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Stuart Bingham; Performance of the Year: Joe Perry; Magic Moment: Ronnie O’Sullivan	[31]
	2016	John Higgins	Darryl Hill[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Performance of the Year: Mark Selby; Magic Moment: Ali Carter; Lifetime award: Steve Davis	[32][33]
	2017	Mark Selby	Yan Bingtao[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Performance of the Year: Anthony Hamilton; Magic Moment: Mark King	[34][28][35]
	2018	Mark Williams	Xu Si[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Mark Williams; Performance of the Year: Mark Williams; Magic Moment: Michael Georgiou	[36]
	2019	Judd Trump	Joe O'Connor[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Snooker Writers' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Performance of the Year: James Cahill; Magic Moment of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan	[37]
	2020	Judd Trump	Louis Heathcote[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Performance of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Magic Moment of the Year: John Higgins	[38]
	2021	Judd Trump	Pang Junxu[lower-alpha 2]	Fans' Player of the Year: Judd Trump; Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year: Mark Selby; Performance of the Year: Mark Selby; Magic Moment of the Year: Neil Robertson	[39]
	2022	Neil Robertson	Wu Yize[lower-alpha 2]	Fan's player of the year: Zhao Xintong; Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Performance of the year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Magic Moment of the Year: Neil Robertson	[2]
	2023	Mark Allen	Julien Leclercq[lower-alpha 2]	Fan's player of the year: Mark Allen; Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year: Mark Allen; Performance of the year: Luca Brecel (2023 World Snooker Championship final); Magic Moment of the Year: Mark Selby (Maximum break at the 2023 World Snooker Championship); Breakthrough of the year: Si Jiahui	[40]
	2024	Ronnie O'Sullivan	He Guoqiang[lower-alpha 2]	Fan's player of the year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year: Ronnie O'Sullivan; Performance of the year: Kyren Wilson (2024 World Snooker Championship); Magic Moment of the Year: Shaun Murphy (Maximum break at the 2023 (Dec) Shoot Out); Breakthrough of the year: Zhang Anda (2023 International Championship)	[41]

Services to snooker award

Services to Snooker Awards^[8]

Year	Awardee	Notes
1983	Mike Watterson
1984	Clive Everton
1985	Del Simmonds[lower-alpha 3]
1986	Rex Williams
1987	Barry Hearn
1988	Howard Kruger[lower-alpha 4]
1990	John Spencer
1994	Ray Reardon
1996	Rick Waumsley[lower-alpha 5]
1998	Jonathan Martin[lower-alpha 6]
1999	Jim Elkins[lower-alpha 7]
2000	David Vine; Len Ganley
2001	John Williams

Achievement of the year

Achievement of the year awards^[8]

Year	Awardee	Notes
1987	Joe Johnson	Reaching the World Snooker Championship final in two consecutive years
1988	Steve James	Performance at the 1988 World Snooker Championship
1995	Stephen Hendry	Seven century breaks in the 1995 World Snooker Championship final
1996	Nigel Bond	Winning British Open final after needing a snooker
1997	Ken Doherty	Winning the 1997 World Snooker Championship
1998	Mark Williams	Recovering from 0–6 to win Masters final on re-spotted black
1999	Stephen Hendry	Winning a seventh World Snooker Championship
2000	Joe Swail	Reaching the 2000 World Snooker Championship semi-finals
2001	Paul Hunter	Winning the 2001 Masters final from 3–7 behind
2002	Peter Ebdon	Winning the 2002 World Snooker Championship
2003	Ken Doherty	Winning the 2003 World Snooker Championship semi-final against Paul Hunter
2004	Jimmy White	First ranking title for eleven years
2005	Shaun Murphy	Winning the 2005 World Snooker Championship
2006	Graeme Dott	Winning the 2006 World Snooker Championship
2007	Andrew Higginson	Reaching the 2007 Welsh Open final
2008	Mark Selby	Winning the Masters at his first attempt

Special awards

Special Awards^[8][3]

Year	Awardee	Notes
1984	Mike Green	Retiring secretary of the WPBSA
1987	Jackie Rea	40 years as a professional player
1988	Fred Davis	Playing professionally at the age of 75
1989	Nick Hunter	BBC snooker producer
1995	John Higgins	Winner of three ranking titles in a season
1996	Ted Lowe	BBC commentator
1997	Mark Wildman	Services to English billiards
1998	Jimmy White	Defeat of Stephen Hendry at the 1998 World Snooker Championship
2000	Steve Davis	20 years as a top-16 ranked player
2001	John Dee	Snooker journalist
2004	Peter Dyke	Promoter
2005	John Spencer	Professional player, administrator and commentator
2006	Richard Balani	Promoter of snooker events in Malta
2007	Clive Everton	Journalist and commentator
2008	Barry Hearn	30 years as a tournament promoter and manager of snooker players

Hall of fame

The World Snooker hall of fame was instituted in 2011, with eight winners of multiple world snooker championships as the initial inductees.^[1]

Hall of Fame^[8]

Year	Awardee(s)	Ref.
2011	Joe Davis, Fred Davis, John Pulman, Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Alex Higgins, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry	[25]
2012	Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan	[26]
2013	Terry Griffiths, Joe Johnson, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon, Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott, and Neil Robertson	[27]
2014	Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn	[29]
2015	John Parrott and Mark Selby	[31]
2016	Stuart Bingham, Rex Williams and Sindhu Pulsirivong	[32]
2017	Jimmy White and Clive Everton	[34]
2018	Ding Junhui and Barry Hearn	[36]
2021	Judd Trump and Brandon Parker	[39]
2022	Reanne Evans and Allison Fisher	[2]
2023	John Virgo	[40]
2024	Luca Brecel and Daniel Blunn	[41]

Notes

1. Newcomer of the year
2. Rookie of the Year
3. Promoter and administrator
4. Manager of several leading players
5. BBC snooker coverage
6. BBC Sport
7. Tournament director for the Masters

References

1. "Awards for Higgins, Williams and Trump". Snooker Scene. June 2011. p. 33.
2. "Neil Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan pick up World Snooker Tour awards". Sporting Life. 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
3. Morrison 1987, p. 9.
4. Morrison 1987, p. 159.
5. Mossop, James (21 December 1998). "Davis trio seek a clearance". Irish Independent. p. 31.
6. Dee, John (8 October 1998). "Benson and Hedges row leads to snub". The Daily Telegraph. p. 43.
7. "WPBSA awards and golf day". Cue World. November 1986. pp. 18–19.
8. Turner, Chris. "Snooker Writers Association Awards". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013.
9. "Honour roll". The Times. 14 September 1987. p. 40.
10. "WPBSA". Cue World. February 1989. p. 16.
11. Acteson, Steve (12 December 1988). "Davis is first £100,000 winner". The Times. p. 35.
12. "Davis again". The Times. 11 September 1989. p. 46.
13. "Good time had by some". Snooker Scene. July 1989. p. 21.
14. "The new king of the frame game". The Times. 18 December 1990. p. 32.
15. "In brief: snooker". The Times. 19 October 1991. p. 35.
16. "Hendry and Lowe gain honours". The Times. 17 October 1992. p. 35.
17. "Hendry takes award". The Times. 23 October 1993. p. 43.
18. "Ronnie scoops top award". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 27 October 1994. p. 25.
19. "Sport in brief". Daily Record. 14 October 1995. p. 49.
20. "Award for Hendry". The Times. 25 May 1996. p. 38.
21. "Hendry honour". The Times. 11 October 1997. p. 39.
22. "Sport in Brief: Snooker". The Times. 28 December 1999. p. 39.
23. Yates, Phil (25 September 2002). "White extends his time in Glasgow". The Times. p. 42.
24. Yates, Phil (6 October 2004). "Calcuating Davis sets the pace". The Times. p. 34.
25. "Higgins Voted Player Of Year". World Snooker. 7 May 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011.
26. "Rocket Named Player Of Year". World Snooker. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012.
27. "Selby Named Player Of The Year". World Snooker. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
28. "Selby beats O'Sullivan to top player award". The Times. 10 May 2013. p. 62.
29. "O'Sullivan named Player Of The Year". World Snooker. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
30. "O'Sullivan's double". The Times. 9 May 2014. p. 64.
31. "Bingham named Player Of The Year". World Snooker. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
32. "Higgins named snookers's Player Of The Year". World Snooker. 5 May 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
33. Temlett, Michael (13 May 2016). "Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins named snooker player of the year". Daily Record. Scotland. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
34. "Selby Named Player Of The Year". World Snooker. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
35. "Sports round-up". The Times. Malta. 6 May 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
36. "O'Sullivan and Williams dominate awards". World Snooker. 10 May 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
37. "World champion Judd Trump named Player of the Year at World Snooker Awards". Sporting Life. 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
38. "Judd Trump named snooker's Player of the Year". Sky Sports. 24 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
39. "Judd Trump named snooker's player of the year for third time". Sky Sports. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
40. Stead, Marcus (June 2023). "WST Annual Awards". Snooker Scene. p. 5.
41. Walker-Roberts, James (10 May 2024). "RONNIE O'SULLIVAN WINS WST PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD, KYREN WILSON, SHAUN MURPHY ALSO SCOOP PRIZES". Eurosport.

Sources

• Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker – revised edition. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-600-55604-6.

External links

• Who's in the Snooker Hall of Fame (2022) (World Snooker)
• Virgo Joins Snooker Hall of Fame (2023) (World Snooker)