John Parrott facts for kids
Parrott in October 2008
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| Born | 11 May 1964 Liverpool, England |
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| 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 (born 11 May 1964) is a famous English former professional snooker player. He is best known for winning the 1991 World Snooker Championship. John became very well known in the mid-1980s.
He stayed among the top 16 players in the world for 14 years in a row. After he stopped playing professionally, he became a snooker commentator and expert for TV.
John Parrott played in the final of the World Snooker Championship twice. In 1989, he lost to Steve Davis in a match that was a record for the biggest difference in score. But two years later, in 1991, he won the World Championship by beating Jimmy White.
Later that same year, he also won the 1991 UK Championship title, again defeating Jimmy White. This made him one of only a few players to win both the World and UK Championships in the same year. He reached the final of the Masters tournament three times, but lost to Stephen Hendry each time.
John Parrott reached his highest world ranking of second place three times. He made over 200 "century breaks" during his career, which means scoring 100 points or more in one turn. After retiring from playing, he became a commentator for the BBC. He also presented horse racing shows and was a regular on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.
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Early Life and Becoming a Pro
John Parrott was born in Liverpool, England, on 11 May 1964. He grew up with his aunt and uncle from the age of four. John loved playing bowls until he was 11, when his father introduced him to snooker.
He reached the final of the British Under-16s Championship twice, in 1979 and 1980. The next year, he won the 1981 Pontins Junior Championship. In 1982, he won the Pontins Open, a big tournament with over 1,000 players. That same year, he also won the televised Junior Pot Black championship. He became a professional player in 1983. This was after he won 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur.
John Parrott's Professional Snooker Career
John Parrott became a professional snooker player in 1983 when he was 19 years old. His first televised match as a professional was in 1984. In that match, he beat famous player Alex Higgins. He then went on to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
John also qualified for the World Snooker Championship on his first try. He reached the quarter-finals that year. He finished his first professional season ranked 20th in the world. By 1987, he was among the top 16 players in the world for the first time.
In 1988, John reached his first "ranking event" final. A ranking event is a tournament where players earn points that affect their world ranking. He lost to Steve Davis in a close match. The next year, John was a runner-up in four different tournaments. He lost to Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Mike Hallett in various finals.
He also played against Steve Davis in the final of the 1989 World Snooker Championship. John lost the match 3–18, which was the biggest loss in a World Championship final. After this, John finished the season as the world number two player, right behind Steve Davis.
John won his first ranking title at the 1989 European Open. He beat Terry Griffiths in a very close final. He won the same tournament again in 1990, defeating Stephen Hendry. John reached the final of the 1990 Masters for a second time, but lost to Hendry again. He finished the 1990 season by reaching the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship.
John Parrott reached the World Championship final again in 1991. He played against Jimmy White in the final. John started strong, leading 7–0, and went on to win the match 18–11. After winning the World Championship, John also won the 1991 Dubai Classic and his second "Triple Crown" event, the 1991 UK Championship. He beat Jimmy White again in that final. This made him only the third player ever to win both the UK and World Championships in the same year. John finished the 1991–92 season as the World Number two again.
In 1992, John reached four major finals. He won the 1992 Dubai Classic again, beating Stephen Hendry. However, he lost both the 1992 UK Championship and the Masters to Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry. This was the last time John reached the Masters final. He also reached the final of the 1992 Strachan Open, losing to James Wattana. He finished this season as world number two for the third and final time.
The next season, John won the 1994 International Open, beating James Wattana in the final. Later in 1994, he reached the final of the European Open for the third time, but lost to Stephen Hendry. However, John did win the European Open the following season by defeating Peter Ebdon in the final. In the same season, John won the 1995 Thailand Classic for the third time, beating Nigel Bond.
Over the next two seasons, John reached the final of three more ranking events. He lost the 1997 European Open and 1997 German Open finals to John Higgins. He also lost the 1998 Thailand Masters final to Stephen Hendry. This was the last ranking event final of John Parrott's career. He spent 14 years in a row in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, from 1987 until 2001. For 11 of those years, he was in the top 6. He was also the captain of the England team that won the 2000 Nations Cup.
At the 2007 World Snooker Championship, he reached the last 16 for the first time since 2000. He also made history in 1992 by being the first player to win a World Championship match 10–0, which is called a "whitewash." He held this record for 27 years until Shaun Murphy did it again in 2019.
After losing a qualifying match for the 2010 World Snooker Championship, John Parrott's ranking dropped. He then announced that he would retire from professional snooker. He later played in the 2011 World Seniors Championship, reaching the semi-finals.
Famous snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan said that John Parrott was a "great match player" who was very brave. He felt that John was the only player who could truly challenge Stephen Hendry before other top players came along.
Television Work
After his playing career, John Parrott became a snooker expert and commentator for BBC Sport. From 1996 to 2002, he was one of the team captains on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport. He was on the show with football player Ally McCoist. John also loves horse racing, and he was part of the presenting team for the BBC's horse racing coverage.
Personal Life
In 1996, John Parrott was given an MBE award by the Queen. This was to recognize his charity work in Merseyside. In 2008, he started his own online store called John Parrott Cue Sports, which sold snooker and pool equipment. This business was renamed John Parrott Sports in 2019.
John Parrott is a big fan of Everton F.C., a football club. He is also the brother-in-law of former Everton player Duncan Ferguson. In 2010, John became the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association.
John Parrott is married and has two grown-up children.
Career Wins and Losses
John Parrott had a very successful career, winning many tournaments. He won 9 "ranking titles," which are the most important tournaments for a player's world ranking. He also won 9 "non-ranking titles," which are important tournaments but don't affect a player's ranking points.
His biggest wins include:
- The 1991 World Snooker Championship
- The 1991 UK Championship
- The European Open (three times)
- The Dubai Classic (twice)
- The 1994 International Open
- The 1995 Thailand Classic
He also won several non-ranking events like the Zimbabwe Open (twice), the 1988 Kent Cup, the 1988 Pontins Professional, the 1990 Belgian Masters, the 1990 Norwich Union Grand Prix, the 1992 Kent Classic, and the 1994 Malta Grand Prix. In 1998, he won the 1998 German Masters.
John also won two professional-amateur (pro-am) events and three amateur titles, including the Junior Pot Black twice.
See also
In Spanish: John Parrott para niños
