Chris Wakelin (born 16 March 1992)[1] is an English professional snooker player from Rugby, Warwickshire. He practices in Bar 8 in Rugby.[2] He turned professional in 2013 and won his first ranking title at the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out.[3]
 Wakelin at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic | |
| Born | 16 March 1992 Rugby, Warwickshire, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 2013–present |
| Highest ranking | 20 (April 2024) |
| Current ranking | 24 (as of 7 May 2024) |
| Century breaks | 101 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
Career edit
Early career edit
Wakelin started playing snooker aged 8, when his parents Mark and Angie bought him his first mini snooker table, and by the time he was 11 he was successfully playing in the local league.[4] However, his career nearly came to a halt at the age of 17 when he had to start working full-time as an ASDA delivery driver to support himself financially, and only played snooker as a hobby. In 2012 Wakelin decided to give the game another go, but soon had to face more difficulties as family issues resulted in a severe depression: "I could line up but I just couldn’t pot. I thought I would never play again. But thankfully with the help of my friends I managed to turn it around."[5] Since then Wakelin reached the semi-finals of the 2013 English Amateur Championship, before making it through to the England's Under 21 final (where he would later beat Hammad Miah).[4][6]
These results encouraged him to enter 2013 Q School in May. After having made it to the final round of the first event, he again reached the final round at the Event 3. There he faced former professional Adam Wicheard, who led 2–0 before Wakelin hit back to lead 3–2. Then, in the sixth frame when Wakelin had been already 23–0 up, Wicheard accidentally snapped his cue when leaning on it, and had to concede the match.[6] As a result, Wakelin won a tour card for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons.
2013/2014 season edit
Wakelin had a tough debut season as a professional as he lost his opening match in all the ranking tournaments aside from the UK Championship, where he defeated 22nd seed Ryan Day 6–5 before losing by the same scoreline to Jamie Burnett in the subsequent round.[1] He had better results in the minor-ranking European Tour events, reaching the last 32 of the Rotterdam Open before going all the way to the quarterfinals of the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup, where he lost 4–2 to Judd Trump.[1] Wakelin's season ended when he was edged out 10–9 by Paul Davison in the first round of World Championship qualifying, with him ranked world number 106 after his first year on tour.[7][8]
2014/2015 season edit
Wakelin's second season on the tour was a vast improvement on his first. He beat Tom Ford 5–2 to qualify for the 2014 Wuxi Classic and in his first appearance in a ranking event outside of the UK he overcame Joe O'Connor 5–2, before losing 5–2 to Shaun Murphy.[9] At the minor-ranking Ruhr Open, Wakelin overcame Matthew Stevens 4–1 and then fought back from 3–0 and needing two snookers in the deciding frame to beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–3. A 4–2 win over Fergal O'Brien saw him reach the quarter-finals where he lost 4–1 to Judd Trump.[9] At the Indian Open, Wakelin beat Rhys Clark 4–2, Andrew Pagett 4–1 and Nigel Bond 4–1 to play in the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time.[10] He was 2–1 ahead of Michael White, but would lose 4–2.[11]
Wakelin's performances in the European Tour events this season saw him finish a lofty 22nd on the Order of Merit to earn a new two-year tour card.[12] It also gave him entry into the Grand Final where he whitewashed Robert Milkins 4–0, before Matthew Selt ousted Wakelin 4–2 in the second round.[13]
2015/2016 season edit
Wakelin saw off Alex Taubman 5–1, Craig Steadman 5–0 and Liam Highfield 5–2 to reach the final qualifying round of the Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 5–3 to Jamie Jones.[14] A 6–4 victory over Peter Lines saw him qualify for the International Championship, where he lost 6–4 to Barry Hawkins having led 3–1.[15] Wakelin beat Matthew Stevens 6–5 on the final black in the first round of the UK Championship and apologized to his opponent for an exuberant celebration at the end in a win he described as one of his best.[16] He was defeated 6–2 by Michael Holt in the second round. Wakelin qualified for the China Open by eliminating Kurt Maflin 5–3 and was edged out 5–4 by Matthew Selt in the first round.[17] After beating world number 25 and former practice partner Ben Woollaston 10–9, Wakelin looked set to reach the final qualifying round for the World Championship after leading Anthony Hamilton 4–0 and 9–6, but went on to lose 10–9.[18]
2016/2017 season edit
Wins over Allan Taylor and Anthony McGill saw Wakelin set up a third round encounter with Ronnie O'Sullivan in the third round of the English Open. Wakelin recovered from 2–0 down to triumph 4–3 in a performance that included a century and two other breaks above 50.[19] He then edged past Xiao Guodong 4–3 after trailing 3–1 to play in the quarterfinals, where he lost 5–0 to Stuart Bingham.[20][21] Wakelin was defeated 6–4 by Peter Lines in the second round of the UK Championship and 4–0 by Anthony Hamilton in the third round of the Scottish Open.[22] Wakelin ended a season inside the top 64 for the first time as he was the world number 63.[23]
Personal life edit
Wakelin worked full-time as a delivery driver for ASDA before joining the professional snooker tour.[24] Since 2021, Wakelin was involved with Strictly Christmas, a local spin-off of Strictly Come Dancing, raising money for Zoe's Place Baby Hospice in Coventry.[25] He credited his 2023 Shoot Out win to his running and ballroom dancing, saying: "Just being a part of that was life changing. We had visits to the hospice to see the children, staff and families to understand what it is we're raising money for. As cutting and difficult as it was to see, it inspired me to help out as much as I can."[26]
Performance and rankings timeline edit
| 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. | |||
- ^ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
- ^ He was an amateur
- ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
- ^ Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points
- ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2012/2013-2015/2016)
- ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
Career finals edit
Ranking finals: 2 (1 title) edit
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2023 | Snooker Shoot Out |  Julien Leclercq | 1–0 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2023 | Northern Ireland Open | Judd Trump | 3–9 |
Amateur wins edit
- English Under-21 Open – 2013
References edit
- ^ a b c "Chris Wakelin 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Chris Wakelin Q&A". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Wakelin wins Shoot Out for first ranking title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Chris has staked it all on a pot of gold". Rugby Advertiser. 28 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ Evans, Gregg (16 June 2013). "Chris takes his cue from bizarre accident". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b Arrowsmith, Jamie (19 June 2013). "Wakelin set to star on the baize". Rugby Observer. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ "Steadman Sets Up Davis Meeting". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Chris Wakelin 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Wakelin Keeps Run Going". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "White Makes Semi Breakthrough". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "European Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Williams Fight Back Floors Selby". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Chris Wakelin 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Champion Ricky Walden beaten by Tian Pengfei in China". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "UK Championship 2015: Chris Wakelin in pieces at black-ball win". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Snooker: Wakelin hopes to make the Crucible cut". Nuneaton News. Retrieved 25 April 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Snooker World Championship 2016: Wakelin suffers comeback defeat". Nuneaton News. Retrieved 25 April 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated by Chris Wakelin at the English Open, Judd Trump beats Martin Gould". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Xiao Guodong 3–4 Chris Wakelin". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Fairytale run in snooker's new English Open ends for Chris Wakelin after heavy defeat to Stuart Bingham". Rugby and Lutterworth Observer. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Chris Wakelin 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "Chris Wakelin". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Baize to the Ballroom for Wakelin". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Chris Wakelin: How ballroom dancing contributed to first ranking title". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
External links edit
- Chris Wakelin at the World Snooker Tour