Top 10 richest snooker players in the world as of 2022: Snooker is a cue sport that was first played by British Army officers stationed in India in the second half of the 19th century. It is 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.
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Using a cue stick, the individual players or teams take turns to strike the white cue ball to pot the other twenty-one snooker balls in the correct sequence, accumulating points for each pot. An individual frame of snooker is won by the player who has scored the most points.
A snooker match ends with one of the players having won a predetermined number of frames.
Snooker gained its identity in 1875 when army officer Sir Neville Chamberlain, stationed in Ootacamund, Madras, and Jubbulpore, devised a set of rules that combined black pool and pyramids. The word snooker was a well-established derogatory term used to describe inexperienced or first-year military personnel.
Top 10 richest snooker players in the world as of 2022
Snooker earnings vary depending on the level and skill of the player. The most talented players who excel in the game pocket a handsome amount compared to the other players. Here is the list of the top 10 wealthiest snooker players in the world.
- Steve Davis – $33.7 million
63-year-old Steve Davis is the richest snooker player in the world. He was born in London, England, in 1957. Steve Davis holds almost every title and achievement available in the snooker sport. This makes him the most successful snooker player ever.
David was ranked number one in the world for seven seasons in a row. Steve has also won the World Championship on six occasions. He also topped the list of the best professional snooker players for seven straight years.
In 2010 Davis made a record 30th crucible appearance at the age of 52. He is the only snooker player to be crowned the BBC sports personality of the year.
Currently, he is working as the television analyst and commentator for the BBC’s professional snooper coverage. His net worth is estimated at $33.6 million. The money includes the prize money he received playing snooker. He also pockets a significant sum from other businesses.
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- Stephen Hendry – $32.4 million
Stephen Gordon Hendry, nicknamed the Golden Boy, is a Scottish professional snooker player. He was born on January 13, 1969, in the Queensferry in the United Kingdom. He turned into a pro snooker player at the age of 16.
Hendry was the player who bagged the World Championship title in 1990 at the age of 21. This made him the youngest ever world champion, a record that he still holds. He is the most successful player in the modern era of snooker championship.
Stephen won seven world titles, including five in a row between 1990 and 1999. He topped the chart of the best professional snooker player for eight long seasons.
The Scottish player has an impressive net worth of $32.4 million and is one of the wealthiest snooker players. He has boosted his bank account with the prize money he has received in his career and by working as a commentator for BBC and ITV.
- Dennis Taylor – $23.2 million
The Northern Irish retired snooker player is third on the list of the wealthiest snooker players. He was born on January 19, 1949, in Coal Island.
Dennis is best known for winning in the 1985 world snooker championship, where he recovered from 0-8 defeat Steve Davis 18-17 during the finals.
He has won two ranking events, including the World Championships in 1985. You will be surprised to know that he was ready to quit snooker the year before he became world champion because of the death of his mum.
Dennis remains to be the best Irish snooker player to date, even though he retired from the game several years back. His net worth is estimated at $23.2 million. He is also working as a snooker commentator at BBC.
- Jimmy White – $19.4 million
James Warren White, famously known as the People’s Champion, is an English senior snooker player. He was born on May 2, 1962, in London in the United Kingdom. Jimmy became interested in snooker before his teenage years and could often practice at a local hall instead of attending school.
He is a two-time winner of both the World Cup and the British Open. He was the first left-handed snooker player to break a record at the international championship.
His other achievements include the UK championships, the Masters, and the Nations Cup. He has reached six World Championship finals but has never won a single title. The closest he came was in 1994 when he lost to Stephen Hendry. His net worth is estimated at $19.4 million.
- Cliff Thorburn – 15.5 million
Cliff is a retired Canadian professional snooker player. He was born on January 16, 1948. Cliff is famous for winning the World Championship title in 1980.
He got interested in the game when he was still a teenager, and in his early 20s, he moved to the UK to pursue a professional career in snooker sport.
Cliff was nicknamed the ‘Grinder’ because of his slow, determined style of play. He was the first-ever non-British to win the World Snooker Championship in 1980 after defeating Alex Higgins.
In 2001, he was honored by being included in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. His net worth is estimated to be $15.5 million.
- Ronnie Sullivan – $14.2 million
Ronnie is the most successful snooker player of all time. He was born on December 5, 1975. Ronnie showed an interest in snooker games when he was still very young. He began his professional snooker player career in the year 1992.
Since 2000 Ronnie has won the most world titles. Ronnie won his first World Championship in 2001 and went on to win the title in 2004 and 2008. Ronnie holds the record for the most rankings at 38, after winning the 2020 world snooker championship. This is higher when compared to that Stephen Hendry which stands at 36. His net worth stands at $14.2 million in 2021.
- John Parrott – $11.6 million
John was born on May 11, 1964, and he was a familiar face in the snooker sport during the 1980s and 1990s.
He is the ruling and the only English professional snooker player who set the record of winning two titles, the World Championship title and the UK Championship title, in the same year.
He remained within the top 16 of the world’s rankings for fourteen consecutive seasons, 11 of them in the top 6.
He also reached the final of the Masters three times in four years but lost to Stephen Hendry on each occasion. Overall, Parrott won a total of nine world-ranking events. His net worth stands at $11.6 million. He has amassed his net worth playing snooker and working on television.
- John Higgins – $11.2 million
John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player. He was born on May 18, 1975. Since he turned as a professional snooker player in 1992, he has won 31 ranking titles, including three UK Championships, four World Championships, and two Masters.
He became prominent in the 1994-95 seasons when he was only 19 years. At this age, he won his first ranking tournament at the Grand Prix, defeating Dave Harold 9-6 in the final.
Higgins reached three consecutive World Championship finals between 2017 and 2019 but lost to Mark Selby in 2017, Mark Williams in 2018, and Judd Trump in 2019. His net worth is estimated at $11.2 million.
- Willie Thorne – $10.3 million
Willie Joseph Thorne was born on March 4, 1954, and died on June 17, 2020, at the age of 66. Even though Willie is dead, his name still features on the list of the wealthiest snooker players in the world.
He was an English professional snooker player who won one ranking title, the 1985 classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK championships losing 16-14 to Steve Davis after leading 13-8. He also worked as a snooker commentator at BBC after retiring as a player.
Willie was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2020 and wasn’t responding to treatment. His net worth was estimated at $10.3 million before his death.
- Mark Williams – $9 million
The Welsh professional snooker player is a three-time world champion. He won the World Championships in 2000, 2003, and 2018. Mark is renowned for his single ball long potting ability, and this has earned him the nickname ‘‘the Welsh potting machine”.
He became the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win all the three Triple Crown events in one season. He is also the first left-handed player to win the World Championship.
Mark has won 23 ranking tournaments overall, including two UK championships. His net worth is estimated at $9 million. The richest snooker players in the world have amassed a significant amount of wealth over the course of a career.
Their net worth status is a source of inspiration to the young players who dream of boosting their bank accounts with the prize money from the snooker sport. It pays to be a snooker player!
