Snooker Player of the Year: 2023

Continuing SnookerHQ’s year in review, it’s time to consider the snooker player of 2023. Like all others, this year was full of memorable moments and incredible victories from many different players. But some stood out above others. Let’s take a look at the Snooker Player of the Year nominees.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

There were moments when it looked like he was about to relinquish his stranglehold on the top of the world rankings. But as it happened, Ronnie O’Sullivan was number one in the world of sport for a whole year in the official biennial list. The Rocket made headlines for his repeated withdrawals from tournaments, including Champion of Champions, where he was scheduled to defend his crown.

Attention was also drawn to the release of his documentary Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything. Consistency and desire weren’t always on the table, but O’Sullivan still managed to collect some prestigious titles.

A fifth Shanghai Masters win was followed a few months later by a record eighth British Championship title. O’Sullivan’s 10-7 victory over Ding Junhui in the York final came almost 30 years after his 1993 success at the same tournament. At 48, O’Sullivan is still at the top of his game and shows no signs that his tenure at the top is coming to an end.

 

Judd Trump

Most of Judd Trump’s 2023 focused on his excellent October. The 34-year-old remained unbeaten amid a meteoric rise in form that saw him achieve a hat-trick of charts in just four weeks. But Trump’s calendar year was really strong from start to finish. Although not performing at his peak, the Englishman started 2023 with a Masters win for the second time in his career.

There were four more matches in the final – a loss to Mark Allen at the World Grand Prix and again to the Northern Ireland Champion of Champion. An inspired Barry Hawkins also denied Trump honors in the European Masters and John Higgins in the Champions League. The loss in the first round of the World Cup was very disappointing.

However, Trump’s confidence has almost returned to the level he showed between 2019 and 2021, and he has climbed back to second place in the world rankings.

At his best he is almost unbeatable, as he proved in that magical month of October when he secured the treble at the Open of England, Wuhan and Northern Ireland.

Mark Allen

Although he collected three silverware, 2023 was a bit of an odd year for Mark Allen. The year started comfortably with his victory at the Cheltenham World Grand Prix, where he denied Trump 10-9 in a thriller.

At the end of the year there was also an explosion of success, Trump was again on the second half of the table when he won the title of champion in November.

A month later, Allen became the first current member of the top 16 to win the unpredictable Snooker Shoot Out. The actual World Championship also saw Pistoli challenged for the first time in years in Sheffield and reach the last four, where he was beaten by Mark Selby.

But beyond that, his failure to reach world number one reflected a lot of disappointment. Allen had a chance to reach the top for the first time in his career, but he couldn’t get the job done. However, after 2022 in which he defended the Northern Ireland Open and won the British Championship, it was another strong year for the Antrim man.