List of snooker millionaires

This list charts all the professional snooker players that have earned over £1 million in sanctioned professional snooker competition. Due to the effects of inflation, prize money becomes devalued in later years, making it increasingly difficult to compare the earnings of players of different eras. To compensate, prize money is adjusted using the UK Consumer price index according to the year in which the player turned professional; technically, earnings should be adjusted for each fiscal year, but in the cases where such information is unavailable, using the year in which the player turned professional allows for an approximate comparison. Stephen Hendry, the seven times world champion who dominated the game in the 1990s, holds the record in nominal prize money (£8 million), while Steve Davis, the six times world champion who dominated the 1980s appears to hold the record in real money (£21 million). Prior to snooker's television boom in the 1980s, professional snooker players drew most of their income from the exhibition circuit and challenge matches, rather than professional tournaments, and this list does not account for those earnings; as a result some players rank much lower down than expected—and in some cases don't appear at all—as in the case of Alex Higgins who is estimated to have earned £4 million over the course of his career,[1] which adjusted at 1971 (the year he turned professional) levels would equate to £42,000,000.[2]

Player Prize money thresholds[3] Prize money
(adjusted for inflation)[2]
Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry £8,000,000 £18,000,000
O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan £6,000,000 £9,000,000
Davis, SteveSteve Davis £5,000,000 £21,000,000
Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins £5,000,000 £8,000,000
White, JimmyJimmy White £4,000,000 £13,000,000
Williams, MarkMark Williams £4,000,000 £6,000,000
Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott £3,000,000 £8,000,000
Doherty, KenKen Doherty £3,000,000 £5,000,000
Ebdon, PeterPeter Ebdon £3,000,000 £5,000,000
McManus, AlanAlan McManus £2,000,000 £3,000,000
Taylor, DennisDennis Taylor £1,500,000 £15,000,000
Wattana, JamesJames Wattana £1,500,000 £3,000,000
Stevens, MatthewMatthew Stevens £1,500,000 £2,000,000
Hunter, PaulPaul Hunter £1,500,000 £2,000,000
Lee, StephenStephen Lee £1,500,000 £2,000,000
Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths £1,000,000 £4,000,000
Foulds, NealNeal Foulds £1,000,000 £3,000,000
Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne £1,000,000 £6,000,000
Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn £1,000,000 £10,000,000
Bond, NigelNigel Bond £1,000,000 £2,000,000
Drago, TonyTony Drago £1,000,000 £2,000,000
Dott, GraemeGraeme Dott £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Swail, JoeJoe Swail £1,000,000 £2,000,000
Fu, MarcoMarco Fu £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Selby, MarkMark Selby £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Hamilton, AnthonyAnthony Hamilton £1,000,000 £2,000,000
Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Carter, AliAli Carter £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Ding Junhui £1,000,000 £1,000,000
Harold, DaveDave Harold £1,000,000 £2,000,000
King, MarkMark King £1,000,000 £2,000,000
Last updated 2010.

References

  1. ^ Craig, Olga (24 July 2010). "Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins dies, aged 61". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/7908867/alex-Hurricane-Higgins-dies-aged-61.html. Retrieved 8 April 2011. 
  2. ^ a b UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
  3. ^ "Snooker's Millionaires". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Chris Turner. 2010. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/money.html. Retrieved 8 April 2011.