Gary Wilson’s Highest Snooker Paydays

Over Gary Wilson’s two stints and 10 years in professional snooker he has amassed over £450,000 in career earnings reaching one final, four semifinals and six quarter finals.

The man from Wallsend is currently ranked 21st in the World Snooker Tour after a successful 2019 – his second highest ranking in his career behind being ranked 17th between December 2019 and February 2020.

Although Wlison has never won a ranking tournament he has won one non ranking tournament in 2004 and three amatuer tournaments in 2004 and two in 2012.

As well as earning money from where he finishes in tournaments players also earn money from getting the highest breaks at a tournament – more specifically getting the maximum break of 147 which Wilson has done three times.

The first of the Tyneside Terror’s 147s came in the 2013 German Masters Qualifiers, the second in the 2017 Betfred World Championship qualifiers and the most recent in last year’s WST Pro Series although he was knocked out of the tournament in the early stages.

But which of Wilson’s tournaments have landed him in the most money?

Here are his five highest paydays of his career – including only his professional career, ranking and non ranking tournaments.

2018 Welsh Open Semi Finals

Wilson came into the tournament hoping to replicate his journey in the 2014 Welsh Open where he lost in the quarter final fairly underwhelmingly 5-2 to Ben Woollaston.

This time round he went one step further reaching the semi finals playing two seeded players in Mark Allen – who he beat 4-3 – and John Higgins who went on to win the tournament beating Barry Hawkins 9-7 in the final.

Although losing in the semi final Wilson will have been pleased to beat his previous record in the competition and take home £20,000 in the process.

2018 World Open Quarter Finals

Wilson played in this tournament three times before and never progressed further than the first round Wilson will have come into the tournament aiming to progress past the last 64 which he did with a win over Tom Ford.

Having already beaten his tournament best, Wilson was in for a challenge in the last 32 playing the now world number one Judd Trump who he beat 5-3.

After beating the three time world number one Wilson carried his momentum into the last 16 beating Fergal O’Brien before losing to Barry Hawkins in the Quarter Finals claiming £20,000 for his efforts.

2019 International Championship Quarter Finals

Just like the World Open in the previous year, Wilson came into the 2019 International Championship having never made it further than the first round but that changed this year when he reached the quarter finals and won £21,500.

Wilson had a reasonably forgiving first three games playing Peter Ebdon, Luca Brecel and Jak Jones before facing the great Mark Selby who Wilson narrowly lost to in a deciding leg 6-5 which followed with Selby being torn apart 9-4 in the Semi Final by Judd Trump.

2015 China Open Final

Being the furthest the man from Wallsend has made it in a tournament his run in the China Open was bound to be up there for his highest earning tournaments winning £35,000.

Wilson beat some of the best players in the world including the tournament favourite and Chinese sensation Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins as well as playing another native player Liang Wenbo before facing – at the time – world Number One.

Whether it was nerves or the sheer class of Selby, Wilson was blown away in the final losing 10-2 where Selby hit a 145 break – the highest of the tournament.

2019 World Championship Semi Finals

One of, if not the, most prestigious tournament in the whole of snooker Wilson was nearly out of the competition in the first round overcoming a deciding leg against Luca Brecel in a match which included the longest frame in World Championship history.

Wilson then beat Mark Selby and Ali Carter in successive matches setting up an exciting semi final against Judd Trump where he lost 17-11 putting up a great fight.

Although he didn’t win the tournament not many people would have expected Wilson to make it much further than the first round let alone the Semi Final where he walked away with £100,000.