John Parrott facts for kids
Parrott in October 2008
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| Born | 11 May 1964 Liverpool, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 1983–2010 |
| Highest ranking | 2 (1989/90, 1992/93–1993/94) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 9 |
| World Champion | 1991 |
John Stephen Parrott MBE (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a professional during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 consecutive seasons.
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, defeating 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[update] 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 three times, losing to Henry in every match.
He 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 break during his career, with 221. Following his playing career, Parrott became a commentator and pundit for the BBC. In addition, he also presented horse racing and was a regular on BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.
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Early life and career
John Parrott was born on 11 May 1964 at the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool. Parrott grew up with his aunt and uncle following a split between his parents when he was 4. He was a keen bowls player until the age of 11, as he was first introduced to snooker by his father. He lost in the final of the English Under-16s Championship in 1979 and then again in 1980. The next year, he won the 1981 Pontins Junior Championship. In 1982, he won the Pontins Open, and won the televised Junior Pot Black championship. He turned professional the following year after winning 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur player, including a second Junior Pot Black title, and finishing as runner-up in the English Amateur Championship.
Professional career
Parrott turned professional in 1983, aged 19, making his televised debut as a professional during the last 16 of the 1984 Classic. 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. Four years later, at the same event, he reached his first ranking event final, losing to Steve Davis. He took his first ranking title in the 1989 European Open, and defended his title in 1990.
Parrott spent 14 consecutive seasons in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, 11 of them in the top 6.
From 1984 to 2004 Parrott was ever-present at the World Championship, reaching at least the last 16 every year from 1984 to 1995, but he failed to qualify in 2005.
Following his 1991 victory he never again reached the semi-finals, but lost in the quarter-finals seven times between 1992 and 1999.
Overall, Parrott won a total of nine world ranking events, which as of November 2019 was 12th on the all-time list behind Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Jimmy White, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Peter Ebdon and Judd Trump. Winning both the World Championship and UK Championship in 1991 made him one of only[update] six players to have won snooker's two most prominent ranking titles in the same year.
Parrott also reached the final of the Masters three times in four years, but lost to Stephen Hendry on each occasion.
Parrott came through the qualifying event for the World Championship a record ten times. In 2007 he reached the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time in seven years, after victories over James Leadbetter, David Gray and Steve Davis (10–9, having led 6–1 and 9–6).
A record ten of Parrott's World Championship matches went to a final-frame decider, seven of which he won. He was also 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 of the 1992 tournament. 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.
On 4 August 2009 at the qualifiers for the 2009 Shanghai Masters he lost 0–5 against Michael White.
Following his 6–10 defeat to young Chinese Zhang Anda in the 2010 World Championship Qualifiers, 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. Later Parrott announced he was to retire from the professional game.
Parrott played in the 2011 World Seniors Championship, where he lost in the semi-finals to Davis. He also participated in the preliminary qualifying rounds of the 2012 World Snooker Championship for players who were members of the WPBSA but were not on the main tour, losing 0–5 to Patrick Wallace in Round 1.
Television
Following his playing career, Parrott became a pundit and commentator on snooker for BBC Sport, often in partnership with Steve Davis. 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. As a supporter of horse racing, he was involved in the BBC's horse racing coverage as part of the presenting team.
Personal life
In 1996, Parrott was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for charitable services in Merseyside. In 2008, he launched John Parrott Cue Sports, an online retailer selling snooker and pool cues and some snooker collectables. This was re-branded John Parrott Sports in 2019. Parrott is a supporter of Everton F.C. and brother-in-law of former Everton player Duncan Ferguson. Parrott was made the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association in 2010.
Performance and rankings timeline
| 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 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Tournament Not Held | NR | SF | 2R | W | W | 2R | 1R | W | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | A | A | SF | A | QF | NH | R | Not Held | A | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fosters Professional | 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 | 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 | 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 | Tournament Not Held | Ranking Event | W | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions Cup | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
| PA / Pro-am Event | means an event is/was a pro-am event. | |||
Career finals
Ranking finals: 18 (9 titles)
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (1–1) |
| UK Championship (1–1) |
| Other (7–7) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1988 | The Classic |  Steve Davis |
11–13 |
| Winner | 1. | 1989 | European Open |  Terry Griffiths |
9–8 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1989 | World Snooker Championship | Steve Davis |
3–18 |
| Winner | 2. | 1990 | European Open (2) |  Stephen Hendry |
10–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 1991 | World Snooker Championship | Jimmy White |
18–11 |
| Winner | 4. | 1991 | Dubai Classic | Tony Knowles |
9–3 |
| Winner | 5. | 1991 | UK Championship | Jimmy White |
16–13 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1992 | Strachan Open |  James Wattana |
5–9 |
| Winner | 6. | 1992 | Dubai Classic (2) | Stephen Hendry |
9–8 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 1992 | UK Championship | Jimmy White |
9–16 |
| Winner | 7. | 1994 | International Open | James Wattana |
9–5 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1994 | European Open | Stephen Hendry |
3–9 |
| Winner | 8. | 1995 | Thailand Classic (3) | Nigel Bond |
9–6 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 1996 | Welsh Open | Mark Williams |
3–9 |
| Winner | 9. | 1996 | European Open (3) | Peter Ebdon |
9–7 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 1997 | European Open (2) | John Higgins |
5–9 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 1997 | German Open | John Higgins |
4–9 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 1998 | Thailand Masters | Stephen Hendry |
6–9 |
Non-ranking finals: 22 (7 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1988 | Kent Cup | Martin Clark (ENG) |
5–1 |
| Winner | 2. | 1988 | Pontins Professional | Mike Hallett (ENG) |
9–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1988 | World Matchplay | Steve Davis (ENG) |
5–9 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1989 | The Masters |  Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
6–9 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1989 | English Professional Championship | Mike Hallett (ENG) |
7–9 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 1989 | Matchroom League | Steve Davis (ENG) |
Round-Robin |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1989 | London Masters | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
2–4 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 1989 | World Matchplay (2) | Jimmy White (ENG) |
9–18 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 1990 | The Masters (2) | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
4–9 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 1990 | London Masters (2) | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
2–4 |
| Winner | 3. | 1990 | Belgian Masters | Jimmy White (ENG) |
9–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 1990 | Norwich Union Grand Prix | Steve Davis (ENG) |
4–2 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 1991 | Irish Masters | Steve Davis (ENG) |
5–9 |
| Runner-up | 10. | 1991 | Indian Challenge | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
5–9 |
| Runner-up | 11. | 1992 | The Masters (3) | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
4–9 |
| Winner | 5. | 1992 | Kent Classic | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
6–5 |
| Runner-up | 12. | 1992 | Belgian Masters |  James Wattana (THA) |
5–10 |
| Runner-up | 13. | 1994 | European League (2) | Stephen Hendry (SCO) |
7–10 |
| Winner | 6. | 1994 | Malta Grand Prix |  Tony Drago (MLT) |
7–6 |
| Runner-up | 14. | 1995 | Red & White Challenge | Nigel Bond (ENG) |
6–8 |
| Winner | 7. | 1998 | German Masters |  Mark Williams (WAL) |
6–4 |
| Runner-up | 15. | 2017 | World Seniors Championship | Peter Lines (ENG) |
0–4 |
Team finals: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2000 | Nations Cup | England |
Wales |
6–4 |
Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1982 | Pontins Spring Open | Ray Reardon (WAL) |
7–4 | |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1985 | Pontins Spring Open | Jim Chambers (ENG) |
6–7 | |
| Winner | 2. | 1986 | Pontins Spring Open (2) | Tony Putnam (ENG) |
7–6 |
Amateur finals: 8 (3 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1979 | British Under-16 Championship | Tony Pyle (ENG) |
2–3 | |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1979 | Pontins Junior Championship | Dave Gilbert (ENG) |
1–3 | |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1980 | British Under-16 Championship (2) | Terry Whitthread (ENG) |
1–3 | |
| Winner | 1. | 1981 | Pontins Junior Championship | Don Tate (ENG) |
3–1 | |
| Runner-up | 4. | 1982 | British Under-19 Championship | Neal Foulds (ENG) |
2–3 | |
| Winner | 2. | 1982 | Junior Pot Black | John Keers (ENG) |
156–70 | |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1983 | English Amateur Championship | Tony Jones (ENG) |
9–13 | |
| Winner | 3. | 1983 | Junior Pot Black (2) | Steve Ventham (ENG) |
See also
In Spanish: John Parrott para niños
