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 (£26 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 £51 million.[2]
| Player | Prize money thresholds[3] | Prize money (adjusted for inflation)[2] |
|---|---|---|
 Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry | £8,970,000[4] | £25,000,000 |
 O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan | £6,000,000 | £11,000,000 |
| Davis, SteveSteve Davis | £5,000,000 | £26,000,000 |
| Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins | £5,000,000 | £9,000,000 |
| White, JimmyJimmy White | £4,000,000 | £15,000,000 |
 Williams, MarkMark Williams | £4,000,000 | £7,000,000 |
| Parrott, JohnJohn Parrott | £3,000,000 | £9,000,000 |
 Doherty, KenKen Doherty | £3,000,000 | £6,000,000 |
| Ebdon, PeterPeter Ebdon | £3,000,000 | £6,000,000 |
| McManus, AlanAlan McManus | £2,000,000 | £4,000,000 |
| Lee, StephenStephen Lee | £2,000,000[5] | £4,000,000 |
 Taylor, DennisDennis Taylor | £1,500,000 | £18,000,000 |
 Wattana, JamesJames Wattana | £1,500,000 | £3,000,000 |
| Stevens, MatthewMatthew Stevens | £1,500,000 | £3,000,000 |
| Hunter, PaulPaul Hunter | £1,500,000 | £3,000,000 |
| Griffiths, TerryTerry Griffiths | £1,000,000 | £5,000,000 |
| Foulds, NealNeal Foulds | £1,000,000 | £3,000,000 |
| Thorne, WillieWillie Thorne | £1,000,000 | £8,000,000 |
 Thorburn, CliffCliff Thorburn | £1,000,000 | £12,000,000 |
| Bond, NigelNigel Bond | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
 Drago, TonyTony Drago | £1,000,000 | £3,000,000 |
| Dott, GraemeGraeme Dott | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Swail, JoeJoe Swail | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
 Fu, MarcoMarco Fu | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Murphy, ShaunShaun Murphy | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Selby, MarkMark Selby | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Hamilton, AnthonyAnthony Hamilton | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
| Carter, AliAli Carter | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
 Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 |
 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
- ↑ Craig, Olga (24 July 2010). "Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins dies, aged 61". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- 1 2 UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
- ↑ "Snooker's Millionaires". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Chris Turner. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- ↑ "The Greatest". World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ↑ Hendon, David. "Stephen Lee: Fine Career Ends in Disgrace". Snooker Scene Blog. Retrieved 17 September 2013.