 Paul Hunter Classic 2014 | |
| Born | (1996-04-26)26 April 1996 (age 29) Rheinfelden,Aargau |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Switzerland |
| Nickname | Federer of the Baize[1] |
| Professional | 2013–2015, 2017–present |
| Highestranking | 41 (October 2021) |
| Current ranking | 118 (as of 8 February 2026) |
| Best ranking finish | Semi-final (2017 English Open) |
Alexander Ursenbacher (born 26 April 1996) is aSwiss professionalsnooker player fromRheinfelden. He is the first snooker player from Switzerland to have competed professionally (former professional Darren Paris represented England, in the mid-1990s, before moving to Switzerland).
Having qualified for the main tour through the2013 Q School, where he defeatedPaul Wykes in his quarter-final match, Ursenbacher lost his professional status upon the expiry of his two-year tour card in 2015, but regained it two years later after defeatingJackson Page 6–4 in the final of the2017 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship. He lost his tour card again when he ended the2022–23 season at 86th place in the snooker world rankings.[2] However, he managed to immediately regain his professional status by prevailing in the first Q School Event of 2023.[3]
Ursenbacher started playing snooker in 2008. He has won a host of junior titles in his native Switzerland and has won the national championship twice, due in large part to his stays at Snooker Academies inSheffield andGloucester and individual training by former World Championship semi-finalistIan McCulloch.
He turned professional by coming through the2013 Q School. After an early defeat in Event One, he played superbly throughout Event Two, losing just one frame in four matches and scoring a top break of 140. He beat nine-time Ladies' World ChampionReanne Evans 4–1, then in the final round he saw off experienced former proPaul Wykes 4–0.[4]
Ursenbacher experienced a tough start to his debut season as a professional, losing his first seven matches. His first win came in November at the minor-rankingKay Suzanne Memorial Cup against former world championKen Doherty, and he was close to following it with another defeat of a world champion in the form ofPeter Ebdon in the next round, ultimately losing 4–3.[5]He failed to win another match until the season-endingWorld Championship, where he came back from 6–2 down to win 10–7 againstDavid Morris.[6] He lost in the next round 10–5 toThepchaiya Un-Nooh.[5]
Ursenbacher qualified for the first ranking event of the2014–15 season, the2014 Wuxi Classic, by beatingKyren Wilson 5–4, but had to withdraw from the tournament due to being unable to enter China because of a visa problem. He defeatedMartin O'Donnell 5–4 in the first round of qualifying for theAustralian Goldfields Open, before losing 5–2 toLyu Haotian and then lost a further 14 consecutive matches to be relegated from the tour as the world number 119.[7][8] Ursenbacher won five games in the first event of the2015 Q School to reach the final round where he lost 4–1 toDaniel Wells.[9][10] In the second event he was eliminated in the last 32 by Joe Roberts.[7]
Out of the threeEuropean Tour events Ursenbacher entered in the2015–16 season, he reached the first round of theRuhr Open, where he lost 4–3 toRod Lawler. He was knocked out in the opening round of the first2016 Q School event, but in the second event he won five matches to stand just a game away from rejoining the professional tour. Ursenbacher lost it 4–2 againstAlex Borg.[11]
In March 2017 he won theEBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship inNicosia and with it re-qualified for theMain Tour.[12] The victory also allowed Ursenbacher to get an invitation to theWorld Championship qualifying rounds; he defeatedRobert Milkins 10–6 andScott Donaldson 10–9 to reach the final round (he was the only amateur present at this stage), where he lost 10–4 toYan Bingtao.[13]
Ursenbacher recorded his best result to date by reaching the semi-finals of the2017 English Open, defeating former world championShaun Murphy along the way; he lost 3–6 toKyren Wilson. Ursenbacher's form declined after that, however, and he failed to win a single match for the rest of the season, aside from non-ranking event Shoot Out. The next season was hardly an improvement, although Ursenbacher caused a major upset at the2019 Welsh Open by knocking out tournament favouriteRonnie O'Sullivan in the third round; he lost his next match toZhao Xintong. After losing his first round qualifying match for the World Championship 4–10 toJordan Brown, Ursenbacher was left 69th in the season-end rankings, confirming his relegation.
Ursenbacher came through the third event of the2019 Q School by winning six matches to earn another two-year card on theWorld Snooker Tour for the2019–20 and2020–21 seasons.[14]
In July 2020, he became the first Swiss player to qualify for the main draw World Championships. Ursenbacher was beaten in the first round 10–2 by 15th seedBarry Hawkins.
| Tournament | 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[nb 1] | [nb 2] | 120 | [nb 3] | [nb 3] | [nb 2] | 69 | [nb 4] | 66 | 45 | 62 | [nb 4] | 85 | [nb 4] | ||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | 2R | RR | RR | 2R | RR | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Tournament Not Held | 2R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English Open | Not Held | A | SF | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xi'an Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Not Held | A | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | LQ | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | ||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking Event | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | WD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open | Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | LQ | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 3R | LQ | ||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | NH | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship[nb 5] | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 4R | 2R | 3R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD | |||||||||||||||||
| World Open | LQ | Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | A | LQ | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | A | LQ | A | A | LQ | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | Minor-Ranking | A | 2R | 2R | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | LQ | LQ | NH | A | 2R | WD | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open | LQ | LQ | A | A | LQ | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters[nb 6] | NH | MR | A | 2R | LQ | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Championship | Not Held | NR | LQ | 1R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | RR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gibraltar Open | Not Held | MR | A | A | A | A | 4R | WD | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters | Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Six-red World Championship | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | LQ | 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. | |||
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2017 | 3 Kings Open |  Bjorn Haneveer | 5–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2017 | Italian Snooker Open |  Martin O'Donnell | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 2019 | Italian Snooker Open | Rob James | 3–0[15] |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2020 | 3 Kings Open | Luca Brecel | 2–5[16] |
| Winner | 3. | 2024 | 3 Kings Open(2) |  Luca Kaufmann | 3–0[17] |
| Winner | 4. | 2024 | Vienna Snooker Open | Craig Steadman | 5–4 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2025 | 3 Kings Open(2) | Richard Wienold | 1–3[18] |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2012 | Swiss Amateur Championship | Murat Ayas | 5–1 |
| Winner | 2. | 2013 | Swiss Amateur Championship(2) | Tom Zimmermann | 5–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2016 | World Under-21 Snooker Championship |  Xu Si | 5–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 2017 | European Under-21 Snooker Championship |  Jackson Page | 6–4 |
Ursenbacher is the son of a Portuguese mother fromMadeira Island, living in Switzerland.[19]
