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Liam Highfield

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Liam Highfield
Highfield at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1990-12-01) 1 December 1990 (age 34)
Swindon, England
Sport country England
Professional2010–2024
Highest ranking39 (May 2022)
Century breaks107 (as of 15 December 2024)
Best ranking finishQuarter-final (x2)

Liam Highfield (born 1 December 1990) is an English former professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings.[1] He plays left-handed.

Career

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Amateur years

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In the 2007/2008 season, Highfield won the last event of International Open Series, and finished 12th in the rankings. The following season he finished as number 33.

In the 2009/2010 season, he won the second event and was runner-up in the first and sixth event of the International Open Series and finished second in the rankings. Thus, Highfield received a place on the 2010/2011 professional Main Tour.[2]

2011/2012 season

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At the beginning of this season, Highfield was ranked number 68 in the world, meaning he was required to win four qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the ranking events.[3] He did not manage this throughout the season, coming closest in the first event of the year, the Australian Goldfields Open. He beat Simon Bedford and Xiao Guodong both by deciding frames and received a bye through to the final qualifying round because Steve Davis withdrew. There he lost to Dominic Dale 3–5.[4] He could only win three more matches in qualifying for the remainder of the season and finished it ranked number 66, out of the top 64 who retained their places for the 2012/2013 season.[4]

However, Highfield's performances in the 10 PTC events he played in (where he reached the last 16 twice) were enough to ensure him a spot on the tour for next year.[5]

2012/2013 season

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Highfield reached the final qualifying round of ranking events on two occasions during the 2012/2013 season. The first of these was in World Open qualifying in December, where he beat Daniel Wells 5–2, Barry Pinches 5–1 and Liang Wenbo 5–4.[6] He faced 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon in the final round and, in a match which lasted five hours and 40 minutes, Highfield was edged out 4–5.[7] His other run to the last round was in World Championship qualifying, which saw him defeat Simon Bedford 10–6, Pinches and Jamie Jones both by 10–9 scorelines, before losing 4–10 to Marcus Campbell.[8] Throughout the season Highfield played in nine of the ten Players Tour Championship events, with his best result coming in the sixth European Tour Event, where he saw off Yu Delu, Tony Drago and Dominic Dale, but then lost 1–4 to Kurt Maflin in the last 16.[6] He was placed 69th on the PTC Order of Merit and dropped 10 places in the world rankings during the season to end it world number 76.[9][10]

2013/2014 season

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Highfield at the 2015 German Masters

In his opening match, Highfield defeated Barry Pinches 5–2 to qualify for the 2013 Wuxi Classic in China where narrowly lost 5–4 to Mark Williams in the first round.[11] He also qualified for the Indian Open but withdrew from the event before it began.[12] Highfield received automatic entry into both the Welsh Open and UK Championship as all 128 players on the snooker tour began these events in the first round, but he lost on both occasions.[11] His disappointing season saw him finish 83rd in the world rankings and, as Highfield had now been relegated from the main tour, he played in the 2014 Q School to regain his place.[13] Highfield beat Canada's Alex Pagulayan in his final match of the second event to earn a new two-year tour card for the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons.[14]

2014/2015 season

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Highfield won four matches to qualify for the 2014 Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 5–2 to Xiao Guodong in the first round. He also made his debut at the International Championship where he was beaten 6–4 by Marco Fu in the first round.[15] Highfield's first win at a ranking event of his career came at the UK Championship when he defeated Jamie Jones 6–3, before losing 6–4 to Mark Davis in the second round.[16] He saw off Fu 5–2 to qualify for the German Masters and was 4–3 ahead of Xiao in the opening round, but lost 5–4 having led 47–0 and 50–0 in the last two frames.[17] Highfield had his best run in a European Tour event this season at the Gdynia Open when he knocked out the likes of Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby to reach the last 16, where Mark Williams beat him 4–2. This helped Highfield finish 38th on the Order of Merit.[18] Highfield's sixth and final appearance at a ranking event this year was the China Open and he lost 5–1 to Ryan Day in the first round.[15]

2015/2016 season

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Highfield advanced to the final qualifying round for the Shanghai Masters by beating Michael Wild 5–0, Robin Hull 5–2 and Ken Doherty 5–0, but he lost 5–2 to Martin Gould. However, he could only pick up one match win between August until the Gdynia Open in February 2016. There, Highfield defeated Anthony McGill 4–2, Stuart Carrington 4–0 and Robin Hull 4–3 (on the final black after being 3–0 down).[19] He lost in the last 16 4–1 to Gould, but by finishing 65th on the Order of Merit he earned the final two-year tour card on offer to players outside of the top 64 in the world rankings.[20] 10–2 and 10–8 victories over Luke Simmonds and Luca Brecel respectively saw Highfield stand one match away from qualifying for the World Championship. He was 4–0 down to Sam Baird but recovered to be just 5–4 behind and would go on to narrowly lose 10–9.[21]

2016/2017 season

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By eliminating Luca Brecel 4–2 and Sean Harvey and Ricky Walden both 4–3, Highfield reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time at the Paul Hunter Classic, where he lost the final two frames against Mark Davis to be beaten 4–3.[22] Another last 16 appearance came at the UK Championship by defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6–5, Wang Yuchen 6–5 and Peter Lines 6–2.[23] Highfield had a chance of reaching the quarter-finals when he led Mark Williams 5–4, but lost 6–5.[24] Highfield had a 4–1 win over Tom Ford at the Scottish Open, before losing by a reversal of this scoreline in the second round to Marco Fu.[23]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 2010/
11 		2011/
12 		2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23 		2023/
24
Ranking[25][nb 1] [nb 2] 68 [nb 3] 76 [nb 4] 74 [nb 5] 68 60 61 63 43 39 55
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event RR RR RR WD
European Masters Tournament Not Held A LQ 1R LQ 3R 1R LQ A
British Open Tournament Not Held 3R LQ LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 3R 3R 1R 2R 2R LQ 1R LQ
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held 3R
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held A 4R 2R 1R 1R 2R LQ LQ
International Championship Not Held LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R Tournament Not Held LQ
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R 1R 4R 2R 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R LQ
Shoot Out Non-Ranking Event 3R 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R QF 1R
Scottish Open Not Held MR Tournament Not Held 2R 2R 1R 3R 3R LQ 1R 1R
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R 1R 1R 4R 1R 2R 2R 2R LQ LQ
Players Championship[nb 6] DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Open LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ WD Tournament Not Held LQ
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Championship League A A A A A A A A A RR A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic Non-Ranking LQ 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open NH LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held NR
Paul Hunter Classic Minor-Ranking Event 4R 2R 3R NR Tournament Not Held
Indian Open Tournament Not Held WD LQ NH 1R QF 1R Tournament Not Held
China Open LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 7] Tournament Not Held Minor-Ranking LQ WD 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR WD 1R 1R Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held LQ Not Held
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R WD Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 2R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot Out A A A 2R A 1R Ranking Event
Six-red World Championship A NH A A A A A A A A Not Held 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. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ^ Players qualified through the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit started the season without ranking points
  4. ^ Players qualified through the Q School started the season without prize money ranking points
  5. ^ Players qualified through the European Tour Order of Merit started the season without ranking points
  6. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011–2015/2016)
  7. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

Career finals

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Amateur finals: 4 (2 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2008 PIOS – Event 8 England Justin Astley 6–2
Runner-up 1. 2009 PIOS – Event 1 England Jack Lisowski 5–6
Winner 2. 2009 PIOS – Event 2 England Neal Jones 6–2
Runner-up 2. 2010 PIOS – Event 6 England Kyren Wilson 4–6

References

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  1. ^ "2009–10 PIOS Rankings". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Lgobal vision". Snooker Scene. Birmingham: Everton's News Agency. July 2010. p. 16.
  3. ^ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Liam Highfield 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 8 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Liam Highfield 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Snooker – Ebdon wins World Open marathon". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Issued after Munich Open 2013 (ET6)" (PDF). World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Liam Highfield 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Snooker: Lilly wins first round berth". Headlines India. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  13. ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Highfield Breaks Lion's Heart". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Liam Highfield 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Neath's Jamie Jones frustrated after UK Snooker Championship exit". South Wales Evening Post. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Trump and Robertson Enjoy Whitewashes". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  18. ^ "European Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Liam Highfield 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  20. ^ "European Order of Merit 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Uffculme's Sam Baird qualifies for World Snooker Championship". The Gazette. Retrieved 21 June 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Liam Highfield 3–4 Mark Davis". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Liam Highfield 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  24. ^ "Mark Williams survives Liam Highfield scare to reach UK Championship quarter-finals". Live Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  25. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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