Stuart Bingham

Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976)[2] is an English professional snooker player who is a former World Champion and Masters winner.

Stuart Bingham
Born (1976-05-21) 21 May 1976 (age 48)
Basildon, Essex, England
Sport country England
NicknameBall-run[1]
Professional1995–present
Highest ranking2 (May 2015 – March 2017)
Current ranking 25 (as of 4 July 2024)
Maximum breaks9
Century breaks587 (as of 3 July 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking6
Minor-ranking4
World Champion2015

Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional career. His form improved in his mid-thirties: at age 35, he won his first ranking title at the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open, which helped him enter the top 16 in the rankings for the first time. Since then he has firmly established himself as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.

At 38, Bingham won the 2015 World Championship, defeating Shaun Murphy 18–15 in the final. The oldest first-time world champion in snooker history, he was the second player, after Ken Doherty, to have won world titles at both amateur and professional levels. His world title took him to a career-high number two in the world rankings, a spot he held until March 2017. In 2017, Bingham received a six-month ban from professional competition after breaching rules concerning betting on matches involving himself and other players. He won his second Triple Crown title at the 2020 Masters, defeating Ali Carter 10–8 in the final. Aged 43 years and 243 days, he superseded Ray Reardon as the oldest Masters' champion, a record he held until Ronnie O'Sullivan won the 2024 Masters aged 48 years and 40 days.

A prolific break-builder, Bingham has compiled over 550 century breaks during his career. He has scored nine career maximum breaks, the fourth most of any player, behind only Ronnie O'Sullivan (15), John Higgins (13), and Stephen Hendry (11).

Career

Early career (1995–2010)

In 1996, Bingham won both the English Amateur and the World Amateur Championships.[3][4] The following season, he reached the final of the 1997 World Amateur Championship but lost in a deciding frame to Marco Fu.[5] Bingham played professionally on the World Snooker Tour in 1999 and reached the quarter-final stage of the Welsh Open, defeating the world champion John Higgins along the way. Later in the season, he defeated defending champion Stephen Hendry 10–7 in the first round of the 2000 World Championship, whilst ranked 97th in the world.[6] Jimmy White defeated him in the second round.[7] In 2002, he qualified again for the tournament by beating Nigel Bond in the final qualifying round.[8] Bingham played Ken Doherty in the first round. He attempted a maximum break but missed the final pink ball. The break would have been worth £167,000.[9] He lost the match 8–10.[10][11]

In the 2004–05 season his best runs were two last 16 places in ranking events, including losing a deciding frame to Ding Junhui in the China Open.[12] Bingham had one of his most consistent seasons in 2005–06. He reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix, beating then world champion Shaun Murphy along the way.[13] Bingham got to the same stage of the UK Championship, losing in a deciding frame to Joe Perry.[14] Bingham also won the qualifying tournament for the 2006 Masters, where he made his first maximum break.[15] He then beat Steve Davis in the preliminary round, before losing to Peter Ebdon 4–6 in the first round.[16] Bingham finished the season by qualifying for the 2006 World Snooker Championship, where he lost to Ryan Day.[17] He finished in the top 32 of the world rankings for the first time in his career.[18] At the Masters' qualifying tournament for the 2007 event, Bingham won for a second successive season, defeating Mark Selby 6–2 in the final.[19] He lost 5–6 in the preliminary round to Ali Carter.[20] He lost in qualifying for the 2007 World Snooker Championship in the final round, 5–10 to Fergal O'Brien.[21]

He reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 Shanghai Masters, but Selby defeated him 0–5.[22] At the UK Championship, Bingham reached the last 16, losing to Murphy 3–9, after victories over Fergal O'Brien and Davis.[23] He qualified for the 2008 World Snooker Championship with a 10–3 win over Adrian Gunnell in the final qualifying round.[24][25] In the opening round of the event, he beat Davis 10–8 but lost in the second round 9–13 to Perry.[26] Bingham lost in the first round in four of the eight events of the 2008–09 season.[27] He was drawn against world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the 2009 World Championship, losing 5–10.[28] Bingham reached the quarter-final stages of the 2010 UK Championship having defeated O'Sullivan 9–6 and Marco Fu 9–2 before losing 7–9 to Mark Allen.[29][30] Later that season, Bingham qualified for the 2011 World Snooker Championship and beat former champion Ebdon 10–8 in the first round.[31] In the second round he led Ding 12–9 but lost 12–13; had he won, Bingham would have finished in the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time.[32]

First ranking event victory (2011–14)

At the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open, Bingham defeated Ding 5–3 in the opening round, completed a whitewash over Tom Ford, then secured victories over Allen and Murphy to reach the final. Trailing 5–8 to Mark Williams, Bingham won four frames to win 9–8 and collect $60,000 for the first prize.[33] This, the first ranking event win of his 16-year professional career, was enough to put Bingham up to 11th in the world rankings, and secure a place in the 2012 Masters.[34][35] He drew Judd Trump in the first round and led 3–2 before losing four frames in a row to exit the tournament 3–6.[36] Bingham could not recapture the form he showed in Australia in the remaining seven ranking events, failing to get past the second round in any of them. A 4–10 loss to Stephen Hendry in the first round of the World Championship ended the 2012 season.[37] Despite the defeat, Bingham finished 16th in the world rankings.[18]

Stuart Bingham at the 2013 German Masters

Bingham won the 2012 Premier League Snooker tournament and contested two ranking event finals in the 2012–13 snooker season.[38]He won the first two non-ranking tournaments beginning with the Pink Ribbon Pro-Am charity tournament where he whitewashed Peter Lines 4–0 in the final.[39] Bingham followed this up by claiming the first Asian Players Tour Championship with a 4–3 victory over Stephen Lee.[40] Bingham won deciding frames in each of his matches to reach the final of the Wuxi Classic, overcoming Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty, world number one Mark Selby and Mark Davis.[41][38] He played Ricky Walden but trailed 1–7 at the conclusion of the afternoon's play,[42] before eventually losing 4–10.[43] This ended Bingham's winning start to the season, which had seen him take 16 matches in a row. He was unable to defend his Australian Goldfields Open title losing to Matthew Selt in the first round 4–5.[44]

Bingham won the third event of the Asian Players Tour Championship with a 4–3 victory over Li Hang in the final.[45] He also won the Premier League, defeating Judd Trump 7–2 in the final.[46] At the UK Championship, he reached the quarter-finals but lost 4–6 to Carter.[47] He reached the final 2013 Welsh Open,[48] and led Stephen Maguire 7–5 but eventually lost 8–9.[49] At the 2013 World Snooker Championship, Bingham played world number 83 Sam Baird in the first round, winning 10–2,[50] and Mark Davis in the second round, winning 13–10.[51] Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated him 4–13 in the quarter-finals.[52] He climbed 10 places in the rankings during the season, ending it ranked world number six.[53]

As the 2012 Premier League Snooker winner, Bingham was one of 16 players invited to compete in the 2013 Champion of Champions tournament. He defeated Walden 4–0 in the first round, Trump 6–2 in the quarter-finals, and Selby 6–4 in the semi-finals before losing 8–10 in the final to O'Sullivan.[54] He defeated Jimmy White 6–2, Anthony McGill 6–2, David Morris 6–1, and O'Sullivan 6–4 to reach the semi-finals of the 2013 UK Championship.[55][56] Robertson led Bingham 8–3 in the semi-final, before Bingham won five frames to force a deciding frame. Robertson took the frame to clinch a 9–8 victory.[57] He reached the final of the Shoot-Out but lost to Dominic Dale.[58] Bingham travelled to China and won the minor-ranking Dongguan Open by seeing off Liang Wenbo 4–1 in the final.[59] Ken Doherty defeated Bingham in the 2014 World Snooker Championship 10–5.[60]

World Snooker Champion (2014–18)

Stuart Bingham at the 2015 German Masters

Bingham defeated Li Hang, Dominic Dale, Alan McManus and Ding at the 2014 Shanghai Masters to reach the final.[61] From 5–3 ahead against Allen, Bingham took five unanswered frames to claim his second ranking title with a 10–3 win.[62][63] In October, he won the Haining Open by defeating Oliver Lines 4–0 in the final.[64][65] Bingham reached the semi-final of the UK Championship again in the 2014 event.[66] Though he made a 137 break to establish a 4–1 lead over O'Sullivan he lost 6–5.[67] Bingham won the non-ranking Championship League by beating Mark Davis 3–2.[68][69] O'Sullivan was again the winner when the pair met in the semi-finals of the inaugural World Grand Prix, whitewashing Bingham 6–0.[70] A further semi-final followed at the PTC Grand Final, but he lost 4–1 to eventual champion Joe Perry.[65]

At the 2015 World Snooker Championship, Bingham defeated Robbie Williams 10–7, Graeme Dott 13–5 and O'Sullivan 13–9 to reach the semi-finals.[71] Bingham led Trump 16–14, and despite Trump winning the next two frames, Bingham won the match 17–16 to reach his first Triple Crown final.[72] Facing Murphy in the final, Bingham recovered from 3–0 and 8–4 down to win 18–15.[73][74] He commented, "To beat Shaun in the final tops everything off. Twenty years as professional – blood, sweat and tears on the road."[73][75][76] After the event, Bingham climbed to world number two, the highest ranking of his career.[76][33]

Bingham progressed to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters but lost 6–3 to Judd Trump.[77] At the 2016 Masters, he beat Ding Junhui 6–4 and John Higgins 6–3 to face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals and was defeated 6–3.[78] He overcame a 3–0 deficit to eliminate Joe Perry in the semi-finals 6–5 at the World Grand Prix and reached his first final of the year.[79] In the final, Murphy won 10–9.[80] Bingham lost 5–1 in the quarter-finals of the China Open to Ricky Walden.[81] Defending his title at the 2016 World Snooker Championship, he lost in the opening round 9–10 to Carter.[82][83]

Bingham at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic

Bingham made it to the final of the Six-red World Championship against Ding. It was decided on the final black ball, which Ding won.[84] Bingham conceded just three frames as he progressed through to the semi-finals of the 2016 Shanghai Masters.[85] He led Selby 5–3 but lost the next three frames 5–6.[86] Bingham lost by the same scoreline in the semi-finals of the English Open, this time to Liang Wenbo.[87] A third ranking event semi-final of the season arrived at the International Championship, but Selby defeated Bingham 9–3 after he had been 2–0 ahead.[88] He reached the invitational China Championship final and was 7–7 with John Higgins, who made three century breaks in a row to beat him 10–7.[89][90] Bingham exited the Masters in the first round, losing 6–1 to eventual finalist Joe Perry; he lost in the semi-finals of the German Masters 6–4 to Anthony Hamilton.[85]

Bingham reached the final of the 2017 Welsh Open, where he played Trump. He won the first four frames but trailed 8–7. Bingham then won the two frames he needed to claim his fourth ranking title and first since winning the world title.[91] In the second round of the World Championship, he lost the first five frames against Kyren Wilson, who beat him 13–10. Bingham said he would be working with Terry Griffiths for the following season and would be playing with a new cue.[92]However, on 24 October 2017, Bingham was found guilty of breaking World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association rules concerning betting on matches involving himself and other players.[93] He received a six-month ban for betting breaches and was ordered to pay £20,000 in costs. The ban expired at the end of January 2018.[94]

Return from ban and Masters champion (2018–present)

On returning from the ban, Bingham won the 2018 English Open with a 9–7 win over veteran Mark Davis in the final.[95] He reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship in December 2018, losing in a deciding frame to Mark Allen.[96] At the 2019 Welsh Open, Bingham reached the final but lost 7–9 to Neil Robertson.[97] The following month, he won his second ranking title of the season, the Gibraltar Open, beating defending champion Ryan Day 4–1 in the final.[98]

Bingham reached his first Masters final at the 2020 event. He defeated Williams, Wilson and David Gilbert to meet Carter in the final. Despite trailing after the first session, Bingham won the match 10–8 to win his second Triple Crown. In winning the event, he became the tournament's 24th and then-oldest winner, superseding Ray Reardon, who was five months younger when he won the 1976 Masters. He earned £250,000 in prize money.[99] Bingham's record as the oldest Masters winner lasted until O'Sullivan won the 2024 Masters aged 48 years and 40 days.[100]

In November 2020, Bingham made the seventh maximum break of his career in the first round of the 2020 UK Championship, beating Zak Surety by 6–2. However, he lost to Dott in the last 32.[101] Despite being Masters champion, Bingham was no longer ranked in the top 16, so had to qualify for the 2021 World Snooker Championship. He defeated Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final qualifying round to reach the mainstages.[102] He drew Ding Junhui in the first round, and beat him 10–9.[103] In the second round, he defeated Jamie Jones 13–6, and then Anthony McGill in the quarter-finals. He played Selby in the semi-final but lost 15–17, accusing Selby of possible gamesmanship.[104]

Legacy

Bingham has compiled over 550 century breaks in professional competition, putting him eleventh on the all-time list. Having made nine maximum breaks, he has made the fourth most of any player behind O'Sullivan (15), Higgins (13) and Hendry (11).[101] Doherty and Bingham are the only players to have won both the amateur and professional world snooker championships.[105]

Personal life

Bingham married Michelle Shabi in 2013 in a ceremony held in Cyprus.[33] He moved the date of his wedding and cancelled his bachelor's party to make sure he could play in snooker competitions.[33] The couple have a son, Shae, born in 2011;[106] a daughter, Marnie Rose, born in January 2017; and Michelle's daughter Tegan, born in 2003.[107] Bingham was once a keen amateur golfer, but made the decision to play less golf so that he could focus on snooker.[106][108]

Bingham is nicknamed "ball run", given to him during his amateur career as he was perceived to have more luck than other players.[109][33]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament1995/
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
2010/
11
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
Ranking[18][nb 1][nb 2]327[nb 3][nb 2]934344574337372423212129171661222913131315132325
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueTournament Not HeldNon-Ranking Event2R2R3RRR
Xi'an Grand PrixTournament Not Held
Saudi Arabia MastersTournament Not Held
English OpenTournament Not HeldSF3RW2R2R1RLQLQ
British OpenLQLQALQ1R1RLQLQ1R3RTournament Not Held2R1R1R
Wuhan OpenTournament Not Held2R
Northern Ireland OpenTournament Not HeldAA1R3R2R3R1R2R
International ChampionshipTournament Not Held1R3R3R1RSFWD1R2RNot Held2R
UK ChampionshipLQLQALQLQ1RLQ1R2RLQQF3R2R1R2RQF1RQFSFSF3R2RASF4R3R3R2RLQ
Shoot OutTournament Not HeldNon-Ranking Event1R4RQF1R1R3R1R1R
Scottish Open[nb 4]LQLQALQLQLQ1R1R2RTournament Not HeldMRNot Held1RA1R1R4RLQLQQF
German Masters[nb 5]LQLQANRTournament Not HeldLQ2R1R1R2R2RSFA2RLQQFLQLQLQ
Welsh OpenLQLQAQF2RLQLQLQLQ1RLQ2R3RLQ1R1R2RF4R4R1RW3RF3R1R1RLQLQ
World Open[nb 6]LQLQALQLQLQLQLQ2RLQQFRRRRLQ1RLQ1R2R2RNot Held2R2RLQQFNot HeldLQ
World Grand PrixTournament Not HeldNRF1R2R2R1R2RSF1RDNQ
Players Championship[nb 7]Tournament Not Held2RDNQ1R1RSFDNQ1RDNQQFDNQQFDNQDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipTournament Not HeldQFDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipLQLQLQLQ2RLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQ2R1RLQ2R1RQF1RW1R2R1R2R2RSFQF2RSF
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai MastersTournament Not HeldRanking EventQF1RNot HeldA
Champion of ChampionsTournament Not HeldF1R1RQFWD1R1R1R1RAA
The MastersLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQA1RWRLQLQLQA1R1R1R1RSF1RA1RWSF1RSFA
Championship LeagueTournament Not HeldRRSFRRRRRRRRRRWRRRRA2R2R3RRRF2RSF
Former ranking tournaments
Asian Classic[nb 8]LQLQTournament Not Held
Malta Grand PrixNon-Ranking EventLQNRTournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9]LQLQALQLQLQ1RNRNot HeldNRTournament Not Held
Irish MastersNon-Ranking Event1R1RLQNHNRTournament Not Held
Northern Ireland TrophyTournament Not HeldNR1R1R1RTournament Not Held
Bahrain ChampionshipTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 10]Tournament Not HeldNon-Ranking EventF2R3RTournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 11]NRTournament Not HeldW1R2RQF1RTournament Not Held
Shanghai MastersTournament Not HeldQF2R2R2R2RQF1RWSFSFWDNon-RankingNot HeldNon-Ranking
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 12]Tournament Not HeldPro-am EventMinor-Ranking Event2R1RANRTournament Not Held
Indian OpenTournament Not Held3RANH3R3R3RTournament Not Held
China Open[nb 13]Not HeldNRLQ2RLQLQNot Held2R1R2R1RLQLQ1R2RQFWD2RQF3RQFQFTournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 14]Tournament Not HeldMinor-Rank3R1RLQLQTournament Not Held
China ChampionshipTournament Not HeldNR1R2RLQTournament Not Held
WST Pro SeriesTournament Not Held3RTournament Not Held
Turkish MastersTournament Not HeldLQNot Held
Gibraltar OpenTournament Not HeldMRAQFW3R2RQFNot Held
WST ClassicTournament Not HeldQFNot Held
European Masters[nb 15]LQLQNHLQNot HeldLQLQLQLQ2R1RNRTournament Not HeldLQF2RLQ4RLQ2R1RNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Scottish MastersAAAAALQAATournament Not Held
Masters Qualifying Event[nb 16]LQLQLQLQ2RF1RQFQFNHWWLQQF1RTournament Not Held
Brazil MastersTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held
Irish ClassicTournament Not HeldSFAAAATournament Not Held
Premier League[nb 17]AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWTournament Not Held
World Grand PrixTournament Not HeldSFRanking Event
Shoot OutTournament Not Held3R2R1RF2R2RRanking Event
China ChampionshipTournament Not HeldFRanking EventTournament Not Held
Romanian MastersTournament Not HeldFTournament Not Held
Six-red World Championship[nb 18]Tournament Not HeldF3R2RNH2RSF3R2RF2RQFQFNot HeldQFNot Held
Haining OpenTournament Not HeldMinor-RankASFA4RNHANHANH
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw#Rlost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew 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.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 11 (6 titles)

Legend
World Championship (1–0)
Other (5–5)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2011Australian Goldfields Open Mark Williams9–8
Runner-up1.2012Wuxi Classic Ricky Walden4–10
Runner-up2.2013Welsh Open Stephen Maguire8–9
Winner2.2014Shanghai Masters Mark Allen10–3
Winner3.2015World Snooker Championship Shaun Murphy18–15
Runner-up3.2016World Grand Prix Shaun Murphy9–10
Winner4.2017Welsh Open Judd Trump9–8
Runner-up4.2017European Masters Judd Trump7–9
Winner5.2018English Open Mark Davis9–7
Runner-up5.2019Welsh Open (2) Neil Robertson7–9
Winner6.2019Gibraltar Open Ryan Day4–1

Minor-ranking finals: 4 (4 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2012Zhangjiagang Open Stephen Lee4–3
Winner2.2012Zhengzhou Open Li Hang4–3
Winner3.2014Dongguan Open Liang Wenbo4–1
Winner4.2014Haining Open Oliver Lines4–0

Non-ranking finals: 16 (8 titles)

Legend
The Masters (1–0)
Champion of Champions (0–1)
Premier League (1–0)
Other (6–7)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1999UK Tour – Event 3 Matthew Couch6–1
Winner2.1999Merseyside Professional Championship Stuart Pettman5–1
Runner-up1.2000Benson & Hedges Championship Shaun Murphy7–9
Winner3.2002WPBSA Open Tour – Event 6 Matthew Selt5–4
Winner4.2005Masters Qualifying Event Ali Carter6–3
Winner5.2006Masters Qualifying Event (2) Mark Selby6–2
Runner-up2.2008Six-red Snooker International Ricky Walden3–8
Winner6.2012Premier League Judd Trump7–2
Runner-up3.2013Champion of Champions Ronnie O'Sullivan8–10
Runner-up4.2014Snooker Shoot Out Dominic Dale0–1
Winner7.2015Championship League Mark Davis3–2
Runner-up5.2016Six-red World Championship (2) Ding Junhui7–8
Runner-up6.2016China Championship John Higgins7–10
Runner-up7.2018Romanian Masters Ryan Day8–10
Winner8.2020The Masters Ali Carter10–8
Runner-up8.2022Championship League Invitational John Higgins2–3

Pro-am finals: 13 (11 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2004Pontins Spring Open Wayne Cooper5–3
Winner2.2004Pontins Autumn Open Mark Davis5–2
Winner3.2006Pontins Spring Open (2) Tom Harris5–2
Runner-up1.2007Pontins Pro-Am – Event 3 Joe Perry0–4[110]
Winner4.2008Pontins Pro-Am – Event 1 Judd Trump4–3[111]
Winner5.2008Pontins Pro-Am – Event 2 Robbie Williams4–1[112]
Runner-up2.2008Pontins Pro-Am – Event 4 Joe Perry3–4[113]
Winner6.2008Dutch Open Joe Swail6–3
Winner7.2009Pontins Spring Open (3) Matthew Couch5–1
Winner8.2009Paul Hunter English Open Simon Bedford6–0[114]
Winner9.2009Pontins World Series Grand Final Ken Doherty3–1[115]
Winner10.2012Pink Ribbon Peter Lines4–0
Winner11.2019Pink Ribbon (2) Mark Allen4–3

Amateur finals: 4 (2 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1996English Amateur Championship Peter Lines8–4
Winner2.1996World Amateur Championship Stan Gorski11–5
Runner-up1.1997World Amateur Championship Marco Fu10–11
Runner-up2.1998English Open Shailesh Jogia2–5[116]

References