OnlineSnooker - John Parrott

BBORN 11th May 1964
BIRTHPLACE Liverpool, England
TURNED PRO 1983
EARNINGS 00/01 Ł80,860
RANKING 22
HIGHEST RANKING 2

Achievements

1991 - Embassy World Championship
1991 - UK Championship
1989, 1990, 1996 - European Open
1991, 1992 - Dubai Classic
1994 - International Open
1995 - Thailand Classic
1995 - Rothmans Malta Grand Prix
1998 - German Masters

Biography
John Parrott turned professional in 1983, but it took him until the 1987/88 season to break into the coveted top 16, where he remained until May 2001. He is one of only five players to hold the Embassy World Championship and UK titles simultaneously. John is in the select company of Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Mark Williams. The popular Liverpudlian is also a member of the elite 147 club, his maximum break came in the 1992 Matchroom League.

A keen fan of all sports, Parrott was originally brought to play snooker by his father when it was too wet for bowls. He is also a keen football fan, and still supports Everton. Such is John's love of horseracing, that in 1995 he had a race named after him at Haydock Park. John presented the prizes to the winner of the John Parrott Snooker Handicap for two-year-olds. He now has his sporting knowledge tested regularly against that of fellow team captain Ally McCoist on the popular BBC programme "A Question of Sport".

The new millennium started on a high note as he captained the English team to victory in the 2000 Nations Cup and followed this up by reaching the semi-finals of the prestigious B&H Masters. However, his season finished in a disappointment at Sheffield, when he lost 13-12 to Joe Swail in the second round of the Embassy World Championship, having squandered a 12-8 lead.

Parrott has continued to slip down the rankings and it remains to be seen how much longer he will want to play the game alongside his other commitments - including the family he desperately wants to spend more time with. He is now regularly employed doing commentary and studio summaries at events in which he is also playing. He frequently teams up with fellow snooker jester John Virgo to film off-beat snippets.

Last season started disastrously for Parrott, who failed to win a single match until the China Open in December. However, a run to the semi-finals of the Thailand Masters - including victory over defending champion Mark Williams - boosted his confidence. However, a first-round loss to Michael Judge in the world championship signalled the end of his time in the top 16 after 14 consecutive seasons.

Off the table, Parrott indulges his sense of humour - sometimes at the expense of other people on the circuit.