John Parrott

English snooker player (born 1964) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Stephen Parrott (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player who won the 1991 World Snooker Championship. He came to prominence in the mid to late 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 consecutive seasons. Following his playing career, he became a snooker commentator and pundit.

Born (1964-05-11) 11 May 1964 (age 61)
Liverpool, England
Sport country England
Nickname
Professional1983–2010
Quick facts Born, Sport country ...
John Parrott
MBE
Parrott in October 2008
Born (1964-05-11) 11 May 1964 (age 61)
Liverpool, England
Sport country England
Nickname
Professional1983–2010
Highest ranking2 (1989/90, 1992/93–1993/94)
Maximum breaks1
Century breaks221
Tournament wins
Ranking9
World Champion1991
Close

He twice reached the final of the World Snooker Championship. At the 1989 World Snooker Championship, he lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest defeat in a world championship final in modern times. Two years later, however, he defeated Jimmy White in the final of the 1991 event. He also won against White later the same year, to win the 1991 UK Championship title. This made him only the third player to win both championships in the same calendar year (after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry); he is still one of only six players to have achieved this feat. The following year, Parrott lost in the final of the 1992 UK Championship, again to White. Parrott reached the final of the Masters on three occasions, losing to Hendry each time.

Parrott reached his highest place in the world rankings in 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94 where he was second. He is one of several players to have achieved more than 200 competitive century breaks during his career, with 221. Following his playing career, Parrott became a commentator and pundit for the BBC. In addition, he was a regular team captain on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.

Early life and career

John Parrott was born on 11 May 1964 at the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool.[2] Parrott grew up with his aunt and uncle following a split between his parents when he was 4.[3]: 10  He was a keen bowls player until the age of 12,[4] as he was first introduced to snooker by his father.[3]: 16 [5] "I used to play crown green bowls with my dad but one day it was pouring with rain, so we went for a game of snooker. I was only twelve but after that I played snooker every night" Parrott said about his career starting.[6] He lost in the final of the British Under-16s Championship in 1979 and then again in 1980.[7][8][3]: 34–37  The next year, he won the 1981 Pontins Junior Championship. In 1982, he won the Pontins Open, a tournament with over 1,000 entrants.[3]: 44  The same year, he also won the 1982 Junior Pot Black championship.[9][10] He turned professional in 1983 after winning 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur player, including the 1983 Junior Pot Black title,[11] and finishing as runner-up in the English Amateur Championship.[12][13]

Professional career

World championship win (1983–1991)

Parrott turned professional in 1983, aged 19, making his televised debut as a professional during the last 16 of the 1984 Classic.[3]: 20  In the match, he defeated Alex Higgins 5–2. He then beat Tony Knowles in the next round before losing to Steve Davis in the semi-finals on a deciding frame.[14][15] Parrott qualified for the World Snooker Championship on the first attempt, losing only five frames in qualification for the 1984 World Snooker Championship.[16] He defeated Knowles, but lost in the quarter-finals to Dennis Taylor. He finished his first professional season ranked 20th in the world.[3]: 54  In 1987, Parrott was placed within the top 16 in the world for the first time.[3]: 54 

At the 1988 Classic, Parrott reached his first ranking event final. Despite leading 11‍–‍10, he lost 11‍–‍13 to Steve Davis.[17] The following season, Parrott was runner-up in a number of professional events. He lost again to Davis in the final of the 1988 World Matchplay and second to him at the 1989 Matchroom League,[18] to Stephen Hendry in the final of the invitational 1989 Masters and 1989 London Masters, and to Mike Hallett at the 1989 English Professional Championship.[3]: 59–61  He also reached the final to play Davis at the 1989 World Snooker Championship.[3]: 59–61  In the first to 18 match, Parrott trailed 2‍–‍5,[19] but won only one more frame in the match, losing 3‍–‍18.[20] The loss was the largest in any World Championship final.[21] With the match finishing early, Parrott had to play an exhibition match in place of the final session.[22] Parrott finished the season at his highest placement in the snooker world rankings, second in the world, only behind Davis.[23]

Parrott won his first ranking title at the 1989 European Open, defeating Terry Griffiths in the final 9‍–‍8.[24][25] He successfully defended his title at the 1990 event, defeating Stephen Hendry 10‍–‍6 in the final.[26] Parrott reached the final of the 1990 Masters for a second time, losing again to Hendry.[27] He finished the season at the 1990 World Snooker Championship losing in the semi-final 11‍–‍16 to Hendry.[28]

Parrott reached the final of the World Championship again in 1991. Defeating Nigel Gilbert, Tony Knowles, Griffiths and Davis, he played Jimmy White in the final.[29] He took a 7‍–‍0 lead,[30] winning the match 18‍–‍11.[29] Parrott's first session was described by commentator Ted Lowe as "the finest session by one player" they had ever seen.[31][30] Following the World Championship win, the following season, Parrott won the 1991 Dubai Classic over Knowles 9‍–‍3.[32] He also won his second Triple Crown event - the 1991 UK Championship.[33] After defeating David McDonnell, Willie Thorne, Dean Reynolds and James Wattana, he met White in the final, defeating him 16‍–‍13.[34] He was just the third person to win hold both the UK and World Championships sequentially.[35] Parrott finished the 1991–92 season once again second in the world rankings.[36]

Later career (1992-2000)

In 1992, Parrott reached four major finals. He retained the Dubai Classic, defeating Hendry on a deciding frame,[37] but lost both the UK Championship and Masters to White and Hendry, respectively.[38][39] This was the last time Parrott reached the final of the Masters. Having won both the UK and World Championships, he was unable to complete the Triple Crown during his career.[40] Parrott also reached the final of the 1992 Strachan Open losing to James Wattana.[41] He finished the season again in second in the world rankings for the third and final time.[42] At the 1992 World Snooker Championship, he was the first player to conduct a "whitewash" in the Crucible World Championship final stages, when he defeated Eddie Charlton 10–0 in the first round.[43] For 27 years, he held the record for being the only player ever to achieve this, until Shaun Murphy defeated China's Luo Honghao 10–0 in the first round of the 2019 World Championship.[44] In defence of his World Championship, Parrott reached the quarter-final, losing to Alan McManus 13-12.[45]

The following season, Parrott won the 1994 International Open, defeating Wattana in the final.[46] Later in 1994, he reached the final of the European Open for the third time, this time losing to Hendry.[47] The following season, Parrott won the 1995 Thailand Classic for the third time, defeating Nigel Bond in the final.[48] Parrott reached the final of the European Open for a fourth time, winning the 1996 European Open with a victory in the final over Peter Ebdon.[49] Over the next two seasons, Parrott reached the final of three more rankings events. He lost the 1997 European Open, 1997 German Open finals both to John Higgins and the 1998 Thailand Masters to Hendry.[50] This was the last ranking event final of Parrotts career. He spent 14 consecutive seasons in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, from 1987 until 2001, 11 of which were in the top 6.[4] He won the non-ranking 1998 German Masters event, defeating Williams in the final 6‍–‍4.[51] Parrott captained an England team at the 2000 Nations Cup made up of O'Sullivan, Stephen Lee and White which won the event, defeating the Welsh team 6‍–‍4.[52]

Retirement and legacy

At the 2007 World Snooker Championship he reached the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time since 2000, after victories over James Leadbetter, David Gray to qualify, he defeated Steve Davis.[53] He lost to Shaun Murphy in the last 16 and never appeared in the final stages of the event again.[54][55] Following his 6–10 defeat to young Chinese player Zhang Anda in the qualification for the 2010 event, Parrott finished outside the top 64 in the end of season rankings and was not assured a place on the main tour for the 2010–11 season.[56] Later Parrott announced he was to retire from the professional game.[57] Parrott finished his career with 221 century breaks.[58]

Following his professional career, Parrott entered the 2011 World Seniors Championship, where he lost in the semi-finals to Davis.[59] He also participated in the preliminary qualifying rounds of the 2012 World Snooker Championship as an amateur losing 0–5 to Patrick Wallace in Round one.[60] He reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Seniors Championship, losing to professional player Mark Williams 0‍–‍2.[61] He reached the final of the 2017 World Seniors Championship losing 0‍–‍3 to Peter Lines.[62] Parrott retired from the seniors tour after the 2022 World Seniors Championship, with a parade with the World Snooker Championship after the event.[63][64]

Ronnie O'Sullivan wrote that he considered Parrott to be a "great match player [with] plenty of bottle" that, before the emergence of the "Class of '92 (snooker)", was the only player that would go "toe to toe" with Hendry.[65] In their 2005 book Masters of the Baize, Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby described Parrott as a "solid and belligerent player, with a delightfully smooth cue action".[66] Robert Philip of The Daily Telegraph wrote approvingly in 2007 of how Parrott had prioritised his family above playing, and speculated that had he not done so, Parrott could have won further world championships.[67]

Television

Following his playing career, Parrott became a pundit and commentator on snooker for BBC Sport.[68] From 1996 to 2002, he was one of the team captains on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport, alongside association football player Ally McCoist.[69] As a supporter of horse racing, he was involved in the BBC's horse racing coverage as part of the presenting team.[70][71]

Personal life

In 1996, Parrott was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for charitable services in Merseyside.[72] In 2008, he launched John Parrott Cue Sports, an online retailer selling snooker and pool cues and some snooker collectables.[73] This was re-branded John Parrott Sports in 2019.[74] Parrott is a supporter of Everton F.C. and brother-in-law of former Everton player Duncan Ferguson.[75] Parrott was made the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association in 2010.[76]

Performance and rankings timeline

More information Tournament, 1983/84 ...
Tournament 1983/
84		 1984/
85		 1985/
86		 1986/
87		 1987/
88		 1988/
89		 1989/
90		 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10
Ranking[77][nb 1] [nb 2] 20 18 17 13 7 2 3 4 2 2 5 4 4 6 6 5 10 22 18 30 31 29 42 39 39 53
Ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ A LQ
Grand Prix[nb 3] 2R 2R 1R 2R SF 2R 3R QF 1R 2R SF 1R 1R SF QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R SF 1R 1R LQ LQ 2R LQ
UK Championship NR 1R 2R SF QF QF 3R SF W F SF QF 3R QF 2R QF 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R QF 1R 1R LQ WD LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held SF QF 2R 1R F SF QF 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ
China Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held NR QF 1R 2R 1R Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ WD LQ
World Championship 2R QF 2R 2R 2R F SF W QF QF QF QF 1R QF QF QF 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Premier League[nb 5] A Not Held A A F RR A RR SF F RR RR RR A A A A A A A A A A A A A
The Masters A A A A SF F F QF F QF 1R 1R QF QF 1R 1R SF QF A A A A LQ A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Not Held Non-Ranking QF Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 6] Non-Ranking Event NH 2R Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
Classic SF LQ 1R QF F QF 3R 2R QF Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held NR SF 2R W W 2R 1R W 1R Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held 2R 1R F NR Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event QF NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9] Non-Ranking Event Not Held WD QF 3R QF 2R 2R QF QF F SF 1R SF 1R NR Not Held NR Not Held
Scottish Open[nb 10] A LQ QF 1R 3R 1R QF Not Held 2R W SF 1R QF 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
British Open[nb 11] NR 2R 3R 1R SF SF 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R SF QF 1R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ NH NR Not Held
European Open[nb 12] Tournament Not Held W W 1R SF 2R SF F W F NR SF Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ NR Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR LQ 1R LQ NH
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
UK Championship 1R Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters Not Held QF A A R Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 6] A A SF A QF NH R Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Fosters Professional[nb 13] NH A SF A A SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A QF QF SF W QF A A A A A A A A A A A Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship NH 2R 2R QF 2R F Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters NH A Not Held A QF Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Grand Prix Tournament Not Held A SF W Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
London Masters Tournament Not Held F F SF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters A RR A A Not Held SF Ranking Event A Not Held A Not Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held QF A Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Challenge[nb 14] A QF A A A QF NH A QF Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Kent Classic[nb 15] Not Held A W A A A NH W Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters Tournament Not Held W SF F Not Held A Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held F F QF QF QF Tournament Not Held
Nescafe Extra Challenge Tournament Not Held A NH RR Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A 1R 1R Tournament Not Held QF SF 1R Tournament Not Held A A A Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held W A A A A R A Tournament Not Held
Red & White Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held Ranking Event W Tournament Not Held
Champions Cup[nb 16] Tournament Not Held QF QF QF QF 1R RR A A Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A A A QF A NH SF QF QF QF QF 1R 1R SF SF QF QF A A A Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A A SF QF F SF SF QF SF 1R QF SF 1R SF A A Ranking Event A Tournament Not Held
Close
More information Performance Table Legend ...
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
Close
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. [1]
    From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. [2]
    New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. [3]
    The event ran under different names as Professional Players Tournament (1983/1984) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. [4]
    The event ran under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  5. [5]
    The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987-1991/1992) and European League (1992/1993-1996/1997
  6. [6]
    The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  7. [7]
    The event ran under different names such as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. [8]
    The event ran under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. [9]
    The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
  10. [10]
    The event ran under different names such as International Open (1983/1984 to 1984/1985, 1986/1987 to 1996/1997), Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986) and Players Championship (2003/2004).
  11. [11]
    The event was also known as the International Masters (1983/1984).
  12. [12]
    The event ran under different names such as the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  13. [13]
    The event also ran as the Carlsberg Challenge (1984/1985–1986/1987) and the Carling Challenge (1987/1988)
  14. [14]
    The event was also called the Hong Kong Masters (1983/1984–1988/1989)
  15. [15]
    The event was also called the Kent Cup (1986/1987–1987/1988 & 1989/1990–1990/1991)
  16. [16]
    The event ran under a different name as the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 18 (9 titles)

More information Legend ...
Legend
World Championship (1–1)
UK Championship (1–1)
Other (7–7)
Close
More information Outcome, No. ...
Ranking event finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref
Runner-up 1. 1988 The Classic England Steve Davis 11–13 [78]
Winner 1. 1989 European Open Wales Terry Griffiths 9–8 [79]
Runner-up 2. 1989 World Snooker Championship England Steve Davis 3–18 [80]
Winner 2. 1990 European Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–6 [81]
Winner 3. 1991 World Snooker Championship England Jimmy White 18–11 [82]
Winner 4. 1991 Dubai Classic England Tony Knowles 9–3 [83]
Winner 5. 1991 UK Championship England Jimmy White 16–13 [84]
Runner-up 3. 1992 Strachan Open Thailand James Wattana 5–9 [85]
Winner 6. 1992 Dubai Classic (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8 [86]
Runner-up 4. 1992 UK Championship England Jimmy White 9–16 [87]
Winner 7. 1994 International Open Thailand James Wattana 9–5 [88]
Runner-up 5. 1994 European Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 3–9 [89]
Winner 8. 1995 Thailand Classic (3) England Nigel Bond 9–6 [90]
Runner-up 6. 1996 Welsh Open Wales Mark Williams 3–9 [91]
Winner 9. 1996 European Open (3) England Peter Ebdon 9–7 [92]
Runner-up 7. 1997 European Open (2) Scotland John Higgins 5–9 [93]
Runner-up 8. 1997 German Open Scotland John Higgins 4–9 [94]
Runner-up 9. 1998 Thailand Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9 [95]
Close

Non-ranking finals: 24 (9 titles)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Non-ranking finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref
Winner 1. 1982 Zimbabwe Open  Neal Foulds (ENG) 6–5 [96]
Winner 2. 1983 Zimbabwe Open  Joe Johnson (ENG) 7–1 [97]
Winner 3. 1988 Kent Cup  Martin Clark (ENG) 5–1 [98]
Winner 4. 1988 Pontins Professional  Mike Hallett (ENG) 9–1 [99]
Runner-up 1. 1988 World Matchplay  Steve Davis (ENG) 5–9 [100]
Runner-up 2. 1989 The Masters  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 6–9 [101]
Runner-up 3. 1989 English Professional Championship  Mike Hallett (ENG) 7–9 [102]
Runner-up 4. 1989 Matchroom League  Steve Davis (ENG) Round-Robin [103]
Runner-up 5. 1989 London Masters  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 2–4 [104]
Runner-up 6. 1989 World Matchplay (2)  Jimmy White (ENG) 9–18 [105]
Runner-up 7. 1990 The Masters (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 4–9 [106]
Runner-up 8. 1990 London Masters (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 2–4 [107]
Winner 5. 1990 Belgian Masters  Jimmy White (ENG) 9–6 [108]
Winner 6. 1990 Norwich Union Grand Prix  Steve Davis (ENG) 4–2 [109]
Runner-up 9. 1991 Irish Masters  Steve Davis (ENG) 5–9 [110]
Runner-up 10. 1991 Indian Challenge  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 5–9 [111]
Runner-up 11. 1992 The Masters (3)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 4–9 [112]
Winner 7. 1992 Kent Classic  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 6–5 [113]
Runner-up 12. 1992 Belgian Masters  James Wattana (THA) 5–10 [114]
Runner-up 13. 1994 European League (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 7–10 [115]
Winner 8. 1994 Malta Grand Prix  Tony Drago (MLT) 7–6 [116]
Runner-up 14. 1995 Red & White Challenge  Nigel Bond (ENG) 6–8 [117]
Winner 9. 1998 German Masters  Mark Williams (WAL) 6–4 [118]
Runner-up 15. 2017 World Seniors Championship  Peter Lines (ENG) 0–4 [119]
Close

Team finals: 1 (1 title)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Team event finals contested by Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Team Opponent in the final Score Ref
Winner 1. 2000 Nations Cup  England  Wales 6–4 [52]
Close

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Pro-am finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1982 Pontins Spring Open  Ray Reardon (WAL) 7–4 [120]
Runner-up 1. 1985 Pontins Spring Open  Jim Chambers (ENG) 6–7 [120]
Winner 2. 1986 Pontins Spring Open (2)  Tony Putnam (ENG) 7–6 [120]
Close

Amateur finals: 8 (3 titles)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Amateur snooker finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Runner-up 1. 1979 British Under-16 Championship  Tony Pyle (ENG) 2–3 [7]
Runner-up 2. 1979 Pontins Junior Championship  Dave Gilbert (ENG) 1–3 [121][122]
Runner-up 3. 1980 British Under-16 Championship (2)  Terry Whitthread (ENG) 1–3 [8]
Winner 1. 1981 Pontins Junior Championship  Don Tate (ENG) 3–1 [121][123]
Runner-up 4. 1982 British Under-19 Championship  Neal Foulds (ENG) 2–3 [124]
Winner 2. 1982 Junior Pot Black  John Keers (ENG) 156–70[a] [11]
Runner-up 5. 1983 English Amateur Championship  Tony Jones (ENG) 9–13 [12]
Winner 3. 1983 Junior Pot Black (2)  Steve Ventham (ENG) [a] [11]
Close

Notes

  1. [a]
    Final decided on aggregate score over two frames

References

Further reading

External links

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI