 Wilson at the2016 Paul Hunter Classic | |
| Born | (1985-08-11)11 August 1985 (age 40) Wallsend, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Nickname | The Tyneside Terror[1] |
| Professional | 2004–2006, 2013–present |
| Highestranking | 10 (April 2024) |
| Current ranking | 15 (as of 9 November 2025) |
| Maximum breaks | 6 |
| Century breaks | 285 (as of 26 November 2025) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 3 |
Gary Wilson (born 11 August 1985) is an English professionalsnooker player fromWallsend inNorth Tyneside, Tyne and Wear.
After showing promise from a young age, Wilson won the IBSF World U-21 Championship before turning professional in 2004. He dropped off the tour in 2006, however, and did not regain his professional status until 2013. During his second period as an amateur, Wilson won the English Amateur Championship in 2012 and reached the final of the World Amateur Championship the same year.
Noted for his cue ball control and break-building ability, Wilson has won threeranking titles, theScottish Open in2022 and2023, and the2024 Welsh Open. He was also runner-up at the2015 China Open and the2021 British Open, as well as reaching the semi-final of the2019 World Championship as a qualifier.
Wilson started playing snooker aged three and soon started showing promise.[2] At the age of 8 he had already been put into a team performing in the local league, despite some clubs refusing to allow a child to play. Aged 9, he made his first century, and appeared for the first time at theBBC1's snooker game show seriesJunior Big Break: Stars of the Future (he would make two more appearances on the show). He played exhibition matches withJohn Parrott andWillie Thorne, and defeatedJimmy White andRonnie O'Sullivan in level matches. Wilson went on to win a number of national titles, including the UK Under-18 championship twice, and was widely regarded as one of the most promising junior players in the country.[3]
In 2003, Wilson made his international debut at the European U-19's Championship in Latvia. The same year he started his professional career by playingChallenge Tour, the second-level professional tour at the time, and won the fourth event in 2004 to finish fourth in the rankings and secure his place on the main tour for2004–05 season.[4] Wilson's biggest achievement that year, however, was the victory at the World Under-21 Snooker Championship in Ireland. Having won all seven of his round robin matches while dropping only two frames, he went all the way to the final, defeating the likes ofPankaj Advani,Aditya Mehta andLiang Wenbo. In the final Wilson saw offKobkit Palajin with breaks of 142 and 135 to win 11–5.
In his debut season Wilson reached the last 48 of theIrish Masters and last 64 of theChina Open.[5] These results were just enough to ensure that he would remain on tour for another year. The next season, Wilson reached the last 64 stage twice, but the rest of his performances were unsuccessful, and following defeat toJames Tatton in theWorld Championship qualifying, he fell off the tour.[6] In 2013 Wilson commented: "At the end of it, when you looked at the rankings it was only by one match and I was gutted. The thing is, at the time, and this is not an excuse, the game was nowhere near as popular as now. It was going through a really bad patch and there were only six tournaments in all compared to now when there are 20–25 tournaments per season. It meant if you had two bad tournaments and you were not doing too well you did not have much time to recover. It is so different now."[2]
Wilson was to spend the next four years attempting to regain his tour place via thePIOS tour, having come close to finishing inside the top 8 on several occasions. He was forced to start working as a taxi driver at the time to make a living.[2]
Following the introduction of theQ School, Wilson again came close to winning a tour card, reaching the fourth round twice in 2011 and once in 2012. He also took part in the 2012IBSF World Championship in Bulgaria, having finished top of the English amateur rankings. He reached the final but lost 8–10 toMuhammad Asif. During the2011–12 season Wilson entered a number ofPTC events, defeating the likes ofPeter Ebdon andMarco Fu, and reaching the last 32 twice. The next season was even better, as he performed consistently and reached the last 16 ofScottish Open; as a result he finished third among the amateur players on the Order of Merit, and finally regained his tour place after seven years.[7] Wilson said, "I knew if I went quite far in that last event I would be able to turn professional off that, so losing the world amateur final did not end my dreams".[2]
Wilson had one of the strongest starts to the season among the new players on tour. In the first tournament, theWuxi Classic, he defeatedJames Wattana to qualify for his second ever venue appearance; there he would lose in a deciding frame toDavid Morris.[8]After failing to qualify for both theAustralian Open and theShanghai Masters, Wilson had his best result to date at the inauguralIndian Open, defeatingJimmy White,Dominic Dale andMarco Fu on the way to the last 16, where he lost again in the deciding frame, this time toMichael White.[9] Following his first round defeat at theInternational Championship to Wattana, Wilson went on to reach the last 32 of both theUK Championship and theGerman Masters. During the qualifying match for the latter tournament againstRicky Walden in December, Wilson made his firstmaximum break in professional competition.[10] He also performed successfully at theEuropean Tour events, winning his first round matches at every tournament. The highlight was his first ever semi-final at theRotterdam Open where he was leading eventual tournament winnerMark Williams 3–1 but lost 4–3.[11] Thanks to these performances, Wilson finished 24th on theOrder of Merit to qualify for theFinals, where he was whitewashed 4–0 by Fu. Wilson's season came to a disappointing end as he was beaten 10–4 byJames Cahill in the opening round ofWorld Championship qualifying.[8] However, he had made enough money during the year to give up his taxi driver job and concentrate on playing snooker full-time in the future.[12]
Wilson qualified for the2014 Wuxi Classic, the opening ranking event of theseason, where he lost 5–3 toAlan McManus in the first round.He couldn't regain his momentum from last year as he failed to progress beyond the last 64 stage of any tournament in the first half of the season.[13] Wilson's breakthrough came in February at theWelsh Open, as he defeatedZhang Anda,John Astley andJoe Perry. He then knocked outNeil Robertson 4–2 to reach his first major quarter-final, stating afterwards that he had proven that he could handle the big occasions.[12] Wilson took an early 2–1 lead againstBen Woollaston, but lost four frames in a row to be beaten 5–2.[14] In the opening round of theIndian Open, Wilson was edged out 4–3 byAdam Duffy.[13]
At theChina Open, Wilson eliminatedLiang Wenbo 5–3,Ricky Walden 5–2 andDechawat Poomjaeng 5–1 to play in his second ranking event quarter-final in under two months.[13] Despite defeatingBarry Hawkins 5–3, Wilson said that he was struggling with his game but hoped to find his form in the semi-finals against home favourite and reigning championDing Junhui.[15] He fell 3–1 down, but moved 5–3 ahead with four breaks of 50 or above. Ding took the match into a deciding frame in which Wilson made a 72 to set up a meeting with reigning world championMark Selby in the final, in which Wilson was heavily beaten 10–2.[16] Wilson said later that he didn't feel the occasion got to him, but simply missed the majority of chances that came his way and cued across the ball many times.[17] His last match of the season was a 10–7 loss toLi Hang in the second round ofWorld Championship qualifying.[13] Wilson's successful year resulted in him increasing his ranking by 34 places in 12 months to end the season as 34th in the world.[18]
Wilson could not build on last year's exploits during the2015–16 season. He lost in the qualifiers for the first three ranking events. He beatMartin O'Donnell 6–3 at theUK Championship, before being defeated 6–4 byMartin Gould in the second round. Wilson reached the same stage of theWelsh Open, but lost 4–1 toLiang Wenbo. He qualified for theChina Open, but he was knocked out 5–3 byStephen Maguire in the opening round.[19]
At theIndian Open, Wilson overcameZhao Xintong 4–1 andAnthony Hamilton 4–2, but lost 4–2 toAkani Songsermsawad. His only last 16 appearance of the season came at theNorthern Ireland Open, courtesy of knocking outPeter Lines 4–0,Andrew Higginson 4–3 andSam Baird 4–3, before he was defeated 4–3 byMark Allen. Wilson qualified for theChina Open and beatGraeme Dott 5–3, but then was beaten 5–1 byShaun Murphy.[20]
Wilson qualified for the2017 World Championship. Making his second 147 in the fourth frame of his first round qualifier againstJosh Boileau, he edged through 10–9. In the second qualifying round he defeated Peter Lines 10–7, thenMichael White 10–3. In his three matches he made eight centuries, more than double that of any other player. He rated the achievement of qualifying bigger than reaching the final of the China Open in 2015.[21] On his debut in the event he playedRonnie O'Sullivan, and rallied from 5–1 to be down only 5–4 after the first session. He fell 9–5 behind, before winning two frames in a row, but O'Sullivan then got the frame he needed to progress 10–7. Wilson made two century breaks during the match.[22]
Wilson was a quarter-finalist at the2017 Paul Hunter Classic, but lost 4–2 toJamie Jones. In the second half of the season, he made it to the semi-finals of the2018 Welsh Open,[23] where he was defeated 6–2 byJohn Higgins.[24]
Early in the season, Wilson made two quarter-final appearances, at the non-rankingHaining Open,[25] and right after that at the rankingWorld Open.[26] At the2019 Snooker World Championship Wilson defeatedLuca Brecel,Mark Selby andAli Carter before losing 17–11 to eventual winnerJudd Trump in the semi-finals.[27]
Wilson reached a quarter- and a semi-final in both the first and the second half of the season. In August, in the quarter-final stage of the2019 International Championship he facedMark Selby,[28] who narrowly knocked him out by the scoreline of 6–5. A month later, Wilson reached the semi-final of the2019 Six-red World Championship, losing toStephen Maguire 7–5.[29] At the start of the next year, Wilson suffered another 6–5 defeat, this time byZhou Yuelong, at the2020 European Masters semi-final.[30] Next month he exited the2020 World Grand Prix at the quarter-finals, losing toTom Ford 5–2.[31]
At theWST Pro Series, Wilson made his third careermaximum break when he was playing againstLiam Highfield in the group stage. This was the first maximum break in the history of the event.[32]
Wilson was a runner-up toMark Williams at the2021 British Open, losing by the scoreline of 4–6.[33] This was Wilson's second ranking final appearance. At the2021 UK Championship, he made his fourthmaximum break in his first round match againstIan Burns.[34]
Wilson secured his first ranking title at the2022 Scottish Open, defeatingJoe O'Connor 9–2 in the final.[35] He also made it to the quarter-finals of the2023 Players Championship by beatingDing Junhui 6–3,[36] but there he suffered a 1–6 loss toKyren Wilson.[37]
Wilson successfully defended his title at the2023 Scottish Open, with a 9–5 victory overNoppon Saengkham in the final,[38] then went on and also won the last tournament in theHome Nations Series, the2024 Welsh Open, beatingMartin O'Donnell 9–4.[39] This made him the third player, afterMark Selby andJudd Trump, to win two Home Nations events in one season. During the Welsh Open, Wilson made his fifthmaximum break in the second frame of his semi-final match againstJohn Higgins, after attempting a maximum in the first frame already.[40] He was a quarter-finalist at the2024 World Grand Prix as well, but lost 1–5 toRonnie O'Sullivan,[41] the eventual winner of the tournament. Wilson's result was the same at the2024 Players Championship, being defeated 4–6 byMark Allen.[42] In the2024 Tour Championship he made it to the semi-final stage, where once again he faced O'Sullivan and lost to him 7–10.[43] At the2024 World Championship, Wilson lost in the first round toStuart Bingham 5–10.[44]
In the last 32 of the2024 UK Championship, Wilson was beaten 1–6 byMichael Holt.[45] At the2025 Masters, Wilson lost in the first round toShaun Murphy 3–6. Afterwards he said "My game's shot" as he revealed his frustrations with his recent form.[46]
In August, Wilson reached the final of theWuhan Open where he was defeated in a final-frame decider 9–10 byXiao Guodong.[47]
| Tournament | 2003/ 04 | 2004/ 05 | 2005/ 06 | 2011/ 12 | 2012/ 13 | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | 2019/ 20 | 2020/ 21 | 2021/ 22 | 2022/ 23 | 2023/ 24 | 2024/ 25 | 2025/ 26 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[48][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 79 | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 68 | 34 | 42 | 57 | 40 | 20 | 18 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 11 | 18 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | RR | RR | 2R | RR | 2R | RR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Tournament Not Held | 6R | 5R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | 1R | F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | F | 2R | 2R | LQ | 2R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xi'an Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | 2R | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | 4R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | LQ | 2R | 1R | 3R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | QF | Not Held | 2R | QF | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | LQ | LQ | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open[nb 4] | A | Not Held | MR | Not Held | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | W | W | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | Not Held | A | A | 2R | LQ | A | LQ | 2R | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | QF | DNQ | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship[nb 5] | Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | QF | QF | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | LQ | LQ | A | A | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | W | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Open[nb 6] | A | LQ | 1R | A | A | LQ | Not Held | 1R | 1R | QF | LQ | Not Held | LQ | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | SF | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | SF | LQ | 1R | LQ | 2R | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Not Held | Ranking Event | A | A | Not Held | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champion of Champions | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | LQ | A | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | RR | RR | RR | RR | RR | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic | Not Held | NR | A | 1R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | Not Held | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Not Held | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Non-Ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | NH | Pro-am | Minor-Ranking Event | 2R | QF | 2R | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 1R | NH | 3R | 2R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open | NH | LQ | LQ | A | A | 1R | F | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters[nb 7] | Tournament Not Held | Minor-Rank | 1R | 1R | LQ | 3R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Championship | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | 2R | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | RR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gibraltar Open | Tournament Not Held | MR | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 2R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | SF | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters[nb 8] | A | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | 2R | SF | WD | 1R | 2R | LQ | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General Cup[nb 9] | NH | RR | NH | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Not Held | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | NH | Pro-am | Minor-Ranking Event | Ranking Event | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Six-red World Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | SF | Not Held | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haining Open | Tournament Not Held | Minor-Rank | A | 1R | QF | A | NH | A | A | 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. | |||
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2015 | China Open | Mark Selby | 2–10 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2021 | British Open |  Mark Williams | 4–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 2022 | Scottish Open | Joe O'Connor | 9–2 |
| Winner | 2. | 2023 | Scottish Open(2) |  Noppon Saengkham | 9–5 |
| Winner | 3. | 2024 | Welsh Open | Martin O'Donnell | 9–4 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2025 | Wuhan Open |  Xiao Guodong | 9–10 |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2003 | Challenge Tour – Event 2 |  Hugh Abernethy | 0–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 2004 | Challenge Tour – Event 4 | Jin Long | 6–4 |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2007 | World Mixed Doubles Championship | Pam Wood | Joe Perry Leah Willett | 1–3[49] |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2002 | English Under-18 Championship | Matthew Selt | 8–5[50] |
| Winner | 2. | 2003 | English Under-18 Championship(2) | Jamie O'Neill | 8–4[50] |
| Winner | 3. | 2004 | IBSF World Under-21 Championship | Kobkit Palajin | 11–5 |
| Winner | 4. | 2012 | English Amateur Championship | Martin O'Donnell | 10–9 |
| Winner | 5. | 2012 | EBSA Qualifying Tour – Belgium | Elliot Slessor | 3–0 |
| Runner–up | 1. | 2012 | IBSF World Snooker Championship |  Muhammad Asif | 8–10 |
