Darryl Hill (snooker player)

Darryl Hill
Paul Hunter Classic 2015
Born (1996-04-30) 30 April 1996 (age 28)
Leeds, Yorkshire
Sport countryIsle of Man Isle of Man
Professional2015–2017
Highest ranking75 (June–July 2016)[1][2]
Best ranking finishLast 32 (x2)

Darryl Hill (born 30 April 1996 in Leeds, Yorkshire[3]) is an English-born Manx former professional snooker player.

Career

In 2014, Hill entered the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships as the number one ranked entrant, but lost in the third round to Ashley Carty. The following year, Hill made it to the final, where he defeated Louis Heathcote 6–3 to win the 2015 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships; as a result, he was given a two-year card on the professional World Snooker Tour for the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons.[4][5]

Hill beat Robert Milkins 6–4 to qualify for the 2015 International Championship. On his debut at the main stage of a ranking event, he was defeated 6–2 by Jimmy Robertson. He played at the UK Championship and Welsh Open for the first time, losing 6–3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the former and 4–1 to Graeme Dott in the latter. Hill received a bye in the first round of the China Open, due to Mark Selby withdrawing, and won a second-round ranking event match for the first time by beating James Wattana 5–3, before losing by a reversal of this scoreline to Dominic Dale.[6] At the end of the season, Hill was awarded the World Snooker Rookie of the Year award.

Hill lost his first 12 matches of the 2016–17 season, which included a 4–5 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan having led the match 2-0 and 4–3 in the German Masters, before finally picking up a win in February at the Welsh Open as he beat Dechawat Poomjaeng 4–1. He lost 4–1 to Ali Carter in the next round. Hill was eliminated in the third round of the Shoot-Out by Li Hang and dropped off the tour at the end of the season, after he only won one match in the two Q School events.[7][8]

On the Isle of Man, Hill was named the 2015 Under 21 Sportsman of the Year at the Isle of Man Sports Awards Ceremony and in 2017, he became the first snooker player to be inducted into the Manx Sporting Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Hill has worked at the Mann Cat Sanctuary since the age of nine to the present day.[9] Hill is also a keen musician and has commercially released his own music.[10]

During Hill's second year on the professional snooker tour he was plagued with health problems and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. At the end of the season he took some time out from the game to concentrate on his health. He has since returned to compete in World and European amateur events.

In the summer of 2020, he plans to open his own cuesports centre on the Isle of Man, named The Cue Zone IOM.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2011/
12
2012/
13
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/
17
Ranking[11][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 92
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 4] Not Held Minor-Rank. LQ
Indian Open Not Held A LQ NH LQ
World Open A A A Not Held LQ
Paul Hunter Classic Minor-Ranking Event WD
Shanghai Masters A A A A LQ LQ
European Masters Tournament Not Held LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R
International Championship NH A LQ A 1R LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R
UK Championship A A A A 1R 1R
Scottish Open NH MR Tournament Not Held 1R
German Masters A A A A LQ LQ
World Grand Prix Not Held NR DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open A A A A 1R 2R
Shoot-Out Non-Ranking Event 3R
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 1R
Players Championship[nb 5] DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
China Open A A A A 2R LQ
World Championship A A A LQ LQ LQ
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic NR A LQ A Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open A A LQ LQ LQ NH
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.
  1. ^ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ a b c d He was an amateur.
  3. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  4. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  5. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2011/2012–2012/2013)

Career finals

Amateur finals: 6 (4 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2010 Isle of Man Amateur Championship Isle of Man Tom Miller 5–4
Winner 2. 2015 European Under-21 Snooker Championship England Louis Heathcote 6–3
Winner 3. 2018 Isle of Man Amateur Championship Isle of Man John Kennish 5–3
Runner-up 1. 2019 Isle of Man Amateur Championship Isle of Man John Kennish 4–5
Winner 4. 2020 Isle of Man Amateur Championship Isle of Man John Kennish 5–3
Runner-up 2. 2022 Isle of Man Amateur Championship Isle of Man John Kennish 0–6

References

  1. ^ "WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 Kaspersky Riga Masters". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. ^ "WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 Indian Open". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Hill Wins European U-21 Championship". prosnookerblog.com. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  4. ^ "DARRYL HILL IS EUROPE'S MAN". ebsa.tv. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Darryl Hill Crowned European U21 Champion". iomtoday.co.im. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Darryl Hill 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Darryl Hill 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Darryl hill Q&A". wst.tv. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Darryl Hill's alive with the sound of music". wst.tv. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.