Robin Hull facts for kids
Hull at the 2017 Paul Hunter Classic
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| Born | 16 August 1974 Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland |
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| Sport country |  Finland |
| Professional | 1993–1997, 1998–2008, 2011/2012, 2013–2019 |
| Highest ranking | 32 (2003/2004) |
| Current ranking | 99 (as of 8 May 2018) |
| Best ranking finish | Quarter-final (x3) |
Robin Hull (born August 16, 1974) is a former professional snooker player from Finland. For a long time, he was the only player from the Nordic countries competing on the main professional snooker tour.
Hull is known for being a great break-builder. This means he was very good at scoring many points in a single turn. He has made over 150 competitive century breaks (scoring 100 or more points in one visit to the table). This is a high number for a player who was never in the top 16 of the world rankings.
He is also one of the few players who almost made a maximum break (the highest possible score of 147) in a tournament, but missed the very last black ball.
Contents
Snooker Career
Early Success and World Championship Debut
Robin Hull turned professional in 1992. During the 2001–02 season, he had a great run in the 2001 UK Championship, one of snooker's biggest events.
Later that season, he qualified for the 2002 World Championship. To get there, he had to beat the famous player Steve Davis. In the main tournament, he played against Graeme Dott but lost 6–10. His strong performances helped him get into the top 32 in the world rankings the next season.
Health Challenges and Comebacks
A serious illness kept Hull away from snooker for much of the 2003–04 season. Despite this, he still managed to reach his first-ever quarter-final at the 2003 Welsh Open. He reached the quarter-finals again at the 2006 Malta Cup.
His health problems continued to affect his career. He had to pull out of the qualifying rounds for the 2007 World Championship because of an irregular heartbeat. In 2008, he decided to retire from professional snooker due to these health issues.
However, Hull didn't stay away for long. In 2011, he returned to the professional tour. He had to stop again because of money problems, but he never gave up.
Return to the World Stage
In 2013, Hull won the EBSA European Snooker Championships. This victory earned him a spot back on the main professional tour for the 2013–14 season.
His best performance came during the 2014 World Championship qualifiers. He won three tough matches to play at the famous Crucible Theatre for the second time. There, he faced the world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and lost 4–10.
The next year, he qualified for the World Championship again. He beat three opponents to secure his place, which also kept him in the top 64 of the world rankings. He lost to Shaun Murphy in the first round.
Winning the Snooker Shoot-Out
In 2016, Hull won the Snooker Shoot-Out tournament. This event is very different from regular snooker. Each match is only one frame that lasts for 10 minutes, making it fast and exciting.
Hull beat Luca Brecel in the final to win the title. The prize of £32,000 was the biggest single prize of his career. This victory also allowed him to play in the 2016 Champion of Champions tournament, where he competed against the best players in the world.
After a few more seasons, Hull retired from the professional tour in 2019.
Personal Life
Hull was born and grew up in Finland. His mother is Finnish and his father is English.
Career Finals
Here is a list of some of the most important finals Robin Hull played in during his career.
Non-ranking finals: 2 (2 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2002 | WPBSA Open Tour Event 3 |  Colm Gilcreest |
5–4 |
| Winner | 2. | 2016 | Snooker Shoot Out |  Luca Brecel |
1–0 |
Pro-am finals: 2 (1 title)
A pro-am tournament is where professional players compete alongside amateur players.
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2000 | Austrian Open |  Matthew Couch |
5–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2010 | Finnish Challenge |  Mark Williams |
1–6 |
Amateur finals: 12 (11 titles)
These are finals from tournaments Hull played in before he was a professional or during breaks from the tour.
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1992 | IBSF World Under-21 Championship | Patrick Delsemme |
11–7 |
| Winner | 2. | 1992 | Finnish Amateur Championship |  Jyri Virtanen |
5–0 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1993 | EBSA European Championship | Neil Mosley |
6–8 |
| Winner | 3. | 1997 | EBSA European Championship |  Kristján Helgason |
7–3 |
| Winner | 4. | 2005 | Finnish Amateur Championship (2) | Risto Värynen |
5–4 |
| Winner | 5. | 2009 | Finnish Amateur Championship (3) | Kimmo Lang |
4–0 |
| Winner | 6. | 2011 | Finnish Amateur Championship (4) | Antti Mannila |
4–0 |
| Winner | 7. | 2013 | Finnish Amateur Championship (5) | Kimmo Lang |
5–0 |
| Winner | 8. | 2013 | EBSA European Championship (2) | Gareth Allen |
7–2 |
| Winner | 9. | 2014 | Finnish Amateur Championship (6) | Kimmo Lang |
5–4 |
| Winner | 10. | 2018 | Finnish Amateur Championship (7) | Antti Tolvanen |
4–1 |
| Winner | 11. | 2020 | Finnish Amateur Championship (8) | Heikki Niva |
4–0 |
