John Parrott

John Parrott
MBE
John Parrott in October 2008
Born (1964-05-11) 11 May 1964
Liverpool, England
Sport country  England
Nickname
  • The Entertainer
  • Mr JP
  • the Carrot
Professional 1983–2010
Highest ranking 2 (1989/90, 1992/93–1993/94)
Career winnings GB£3,160,747[1]
Highest break 147: 1992 Matchroom League
Century breaks 221
Tournament wins
Ranking 9
Non-ranking 7
World Champion 1991

John Parrott, MBE (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality, remembered as one of the best players in the early 1990s.

Parrott won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times. He repeated his win over White to add the UK Championship title later that year, and is one of only five players to win both championships in the same calendar year. He spent three successive seasons at number 2 in the world rankings, and having compiled 221 centuries is one of several players to have compiled more than 200 competitive centuries during his career.

Early career

Until the age of 12 Parrott was a keen bowls player[2] but then discovered snooker and has been a keen player ever since. At the age of 15 his talent was spotted by Phil Miller who would become his long-term manager in 1980. Parrott was successful at an early age. He lost in the final of the English Under-16s Championship in 1980 and won the Ponts Junior Championship in 1981. He was Pontins Open Champion in 1982, Junior Pot Black champion in 1982 after narrowly defeating Mark 'Lightning' Lockwood and success followed in 1983, and turned professional the following year after winning a record 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur player.[3]

Professional career

Parrott turned professional in 1983 and he made his televised debut as a professional during the 1984 Classic in which he played Alex Higgins in the last 16 of the competition in front of a packed house at Warrington near his home town of Liverpool. He then caused a stir when he won the match 5–2. He then beat Tony Knowles in the next round before losing to Steve Davis in the semi-finals. By then, bookmakers had him tipped to be the World Snooker Champion within five years (it took him seven years). He took his first ranking title in the 1989 European Open, and defended his title in 1990.

Parrott also boasts 14 consecutive seasons in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, eleven of them in the top 6.[2]

From 1984 to 2004 Parrott was ever-present at the World Championship, reaching at least the last 16 every year from 1984 to 1995,[2] but he failed to qualify in 2005.[4] Since his 1991 victory he has never again reached the semi-finals, but lost in the quarter-finals seven times between 1992 and 1999.

Overall, Parrott has won a total of nine world ranking events, which is eleventh 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 and Peter Ebdon. Also, his 1991 triumphs in the World Championship and UK Championship make him one of only five players to win both of snooker's two most prominent ranking titles in the same year.

Parrott has come through the qualifying event for the World Championship a record 10 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).[5]

A record ten of Parrott's World Championship matches have gone to a final-frame decider – he has won 7 of these. Also, John Parrott is the only player to have recorded a "whitewash" in the World Championship final stages – he beat Eddie Charlton 10–0 in the first round in 1992.

Because of Hendry's dominance, Parrott was the runner-up at the Masters on three occasions within a four-year span, and never won the title.

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 2010/2011 season.[6] Later Parrott announced he was to retire from the professional game. He told the Daily Mail:

If I'm off the tour, it’s fairly certain that I'll retire. I certainly won't be playing any lower down. [...] If I lose my card, that's me gone. I still have the utmost respect for the game. I've just lost in the World Championship and I'm not going to spit the dummy out. But I don't enjoy the hours of practice any more.[7]

Parrott did however participate in the preliminary qualifying rounds of the 2012 World Snooker Championship, losing 0–5 to Patrick Wallace in Round 1.

Television work

Parrott is a studio expert on snooker for BBC Sport, often partnered with Steve Davis, and also does much of their tutorial and playing guidance. He was one of the team captains on A Question of Sport, alongside footballer and pundit Ally McCoist from 1996 to 2002.

He is also a strong follower of horse racing and was part of the presenting team for the BBC's horse racing coverage.[8]

Personal life

Parrott is a supporter of Everton.[9]

In 1996 Parrott was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

In 2008 Parrott launched John Parrott Cue Sports, an online retailer selling snooker and pool cues and some snooker collectibles.[10]

In 2011 it was announced that Parrott was to be the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA).[11]

In 2018, his son started a job at DLG. Some say this is one of his biggest achievements.

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
Ranking[12][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 13] A A SF A QF NH R Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 14] Tournament Not Held QF Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship NH 2R 2R QF 2R F Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters RR A A A Not Held SF Ranking Event A Not Held A Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held F F QF QF QF Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A 1R 1R Tournament Not Held QF QF 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
German Masters[nb 15] Tournament Not Held Non-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
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 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.
RV / Ranking & Variant Format Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking & variant format 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.
VF / Variant Format Eventmeans an event is/was a variant format event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ↑ The event run under different names as Professional Players Tournament (1983/1984) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. ↑ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  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. ↑ The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  7. ↑ The event ran under different names such as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. ↑ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  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. ↑ 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. ↑ The event was also known as the International Masters (1983/1984).
  12. ↑ The event ran under different names such as the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  13. ↑ The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  14. ↑ The event run under different names as Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  15. ↑ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  16. ↑ The event ran under a different name as the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 18 (9 titles, 9 runners-up)

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 England Steve Davis 11–13
Winner 1. 1989 European Open Wales Terry Griffiths 9–8
Runner-up 2. 1989 World Snooker Championship England Steve Davis 3–18
Winner 2. 1990 European Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–6
Winner 3. 1991 World Snooker Championship England Jimmy White 18–11
Winner 4. 1991 Dubai Classic England Tony Knowles 9–3
Winner 5. 1991 UK Championship England Jimmy White 16–13
Runner-up 3. 1992 Strachan Open Thailand James Wattana 5–9
Winner 6. 1992 Dubai Classic (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8
Runner-up 4. 1992 UK Championship England Jimmy White 9–16
Winner 7. 1994 International Open Thailand James Wattana 9–5
Runner-up 5. 1994 European Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 3–9
Winner 8. 1995 Thailand Classic (3) England Nigel Bond 9–6
Runner-up 6. 1996 Welsh Open Wales Mark Williams 3–9
Winner 9. 1996 European Open (3) England Peter Ebdon 9–7
Runner-up 7. 1997 European Open (2) Scotland John Higgins 5–9
Runner-up 8. 1997 German Open Scotland John Higgins 4–9
Runner-up 9. 1998 Thailand Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9

Non-ranking finals: 22 (7 titles, 15 runner-ups)

Legend
The Masters (0–3)
Premier League (0–2)
Other (7–10)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 Kent Cup England Martin Clark 5–1
Winner 2. 1988 Pontins Professional England Mike Hallett 9–1
Runner-up 1. 1988 World Matchplay England Steve Davis 5–9
Runner-up 2. 1989 Matchroom League England Steve Davis [n 1]
Runner-up 3. 1989 The Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9
Runner-up 4. 1989 English Professional Championship England Mike Hallett 7–9
Runner-up 5. 1989 London Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 2–4
Runner-up 6. 1989 World Matchplay (2) England Jimmy White 9–18
Runner-up 7. 1990 The Masters (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 4–9
Runner-up 8. 1990 London Masters (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 2–4
Winner 3. 1990 Norwich Union Grand Prix England Steve Davis 4–2
Winner 4. 1990 Belgian Masters England Jimmy White 9–6
Runner-up 9. 1991 Irish Masters England Steve Davis 5–9
Runner-up 10. 1991 Indian Challenge Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–9
Runner-up 11. 1992 The Masters (3) Scotland Stephen Hendry 4–9
Winner 5. 1992 Kent Classic Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–5
Runner-up 12. 1992 Belgian Masters Thailand James Wattana 5–10
Runner-up 13. 1994 European League (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 7–10
Winner 6. 1994 Malta Grand Prix Malta Tony Drago 7–6
Runner-up 14. 1995 Red & White Challenge England Nigel Bond 6–8
Winner 7. 1998 German Masters Wales Mark Williams 6–4
Runner-up 15. 2017 World Seniors Championship England Peter Lines 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, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1982 Pontins Spring Open Wales Ray Reardon 7–4[13]
Runner-up 1. 1985 Pontins Spring Open England Jim Chambers 6–7[13]
Winner 2. 1986 Pontins Spring Open (2) England Tony Putnam 7–6[13]

Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1983 English Amateur Championship England Tony Jones 9–13
Winner 1. 1986 Junior Pot Black England John Keers 169–70[n 2]
Winner 2. 1986 Junior Pot Black (2) England Steve Ventham 1–1[n 3]

Notes

  1. ↑ No play-off was held and the title was decided on league table only.
  2. ↑ Final decided on aggregate score over two frames
  3. ↑ Match decided on pink ball game

References

  1. ↑ http://cuetracker.net/Players/john-parrott/Career-Total-Statistics
  2. 1 2 3 "Player Profile: John Parrott". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 December 2002.
  3. ↑ John Parrott MBE Archived 26 May 2012 at Archive.is
  4. ↑ John Parrott Sporting Life
  5. ↑ Parrott edges out colleague Davis BBC Sport, 22 April 2007
  6. ↑ Everton, Clive (4 March 2010). "Jimmy White out of snooker world championship after Ken Doherty defeat". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Parrott could call it a day". Sky Sports. 4 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  8. ↑ 2010 Grand National in HD – a first for UK horse racing BBC Press Office, 29 March 2010
  9. ↑ "Why I love... Everton". BBC Sport. 13 March 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  10. ↑ John Parrott Cue Sports
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  12. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20120228200841/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pontins.html

Further reading

  • Parrott, John (1991). Right on Cue : an Autobiography. London: Robson Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86051-778-0.

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