Robin Hull

Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player.

Robin Hull
Born (1974-08-16) 16 August 1974
Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland
Sport country Finland
Nickname"Roope", "The Flying Finn"
Professional1993–1997, 1998–2008, 2011/2012, 2013–2019
Highest ranking32 (2003/2004)
Career winnings£404,549
Highest break145:
1994 Grand Prix (qualifying)
Century breaks166
Best ranking finishQuarter-finals (2003 Welsh Open, 2006 Malta Cup, 2014 Wuxi Classic)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking2

For some time he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour. He is known as a solid break-builder, having compiled over 150 competitive centuries during his career, among the highest for a player who has never featured in the top 16 in the world rankings.

Hull is one of five players to have missed the final black in attempting a maximum break, alongside Ken Doherty, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Barry Pinches and Mark Selby.[1]

Career

A professional since 1992, Hull came to prominence during the 2001–02 season, as he reached the last 16 of the 2001 UK Championship, and later qualified for the 2002 World Championship, knocking out Steve Davis in the final qualifying round; in the first round proper, he lost 6–10 to Graeme Dott. These results allowed Hull to get into the world top 32 at the end of the next season.

A potentially fatal viral infection kept Hull out of much of the 2003–04 season, although he still was able to reach his first ever quarter-final at the 2003 Welsh Open.[2] He later repeated this result at the 2006 Malta Cup. However, his performances were largely inconsistent due to his health issues. He was forced to pull out of qualifying for the 2007 World Championship due to an irregular heartbeat thought to be linked to his past illness.[3] After similar problems in the following season, he decided to retire from professional competition.[4] He started working as a snooker commentator on Finnish Eurosport, and opened a snooker club in his hometown of Espoo.

In February 2010 Hull took part in the pro-am Finnish Snooker Challenge, which featured a number of notable professionals. He impressed, beating Darren Morgan, Ken Doherty and Matthew Stevens on the way to the final, where he lost to Mark Williams. This result encouraged Hull to take part in the Q School tournament in 2011 in attempt to qualify for the 2011–12 main tour, which he did successfully in the first event.[5] Due to lack of sponsorship he only played in a handful of events during the season with his best run coming in qualifying for the 2011 UK Championship in November where he beat Lucky Vatnani and Yu Delu, before losing to Peter Lines 4–6.[6] Hull did not enter another tournament after this and finished the season ranked world number 84, outside of the top 64 who retain their places for the 2012–13 season and therefore did not retain his spot on the main tour.[7] In the 2012–13 season Hull entered qualifying for the World Championship as an amateur, where he lost in the first round of preliminary qualifying 2–5 to Paul Wykes, despite making a 137 break during the match.[8][9]

Hull regained his main tour place for the 2013–14 season by winning the EBSA European Snooker Championships in Zielona Góra, Poland, beating Welshman Gareth Allen 7–2 in the final, finishing the match with two consecutive centuries.[10] He qualified for the 2013 International Championship by beating Liu Chuang 6–2, although he had to withdraw from the venue stages in China, and came close to beating the reigning world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 64 of the minor-ranking Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup, losing 4–3 after leading 3–1. However, Hull failed to win any other match at the rest of the tournaments, and due to financial reasons skipped most of the second part of the season until the World Championship, where he delivered his best performances in years.[11] He scored an impressive 10–3 win against Tony Drago in the first round, followed by a 10–6 defeat of Tian Pengfei, and a 10–4 win from 3–0 behind against Ian Burns in round three, to set up a final round match against Peter Ebdon, which Hull won 10–8 to reach the Crucible for the second time in his career.[11][12] He played O'Sullivan in the last 32 and lost 10–4, despite making a century in one of the frames.[13]

The 2014–15 season began well for Hull. He defeated Xiao Guodong, Graeme Dott and Cao Yupeng to reach the quarter-finals (the third of his professional career and first for eight years) of the 2014 Wuxi Classic where he lost 5–2 to eventual runner-up Joe Perry.[14][15] Hull won most of his opening round matches in the subsequent tournaments, but failed to progress beyond the last 64 stage until the 2015 China Open where he received a bye to the last 32 after Ronnie O'Sullivan's withdrawal, and defeated Mark King 5–4 to reach the last 16, where he lost 5–1 to Kurt Maflin.[14]

Due to missing most of the previous season, Hull arrived at the season-ending World Championship qualifiers needing a repeat of the previous year's performance to retain his tour card by getting into the top 64 of the world rankings. He did exactly that, as he beat Martin McCrudden, Ben Woollaston and Igor Figueiredo to qualify for the Crucible for the second year in a row.[16][17] He was defeated 10–3 by Shaun Murphy in the first round, but was ranked 61st in the world afterwards.[18][19]

Hull did not participate in many tournaments at the start of the 2015–16 season. His first win came at the 2015 UK Championship, where he defeated Zhang Anda 6–4 in the first round, followed by a 6–3 victory over world number eight Barry Hawkins.[20] He was defeated in the third round 6–2 by Luca Brecel, his efforts earning him £9,000.[21] At the Shoot-Out, the tournament in which every match is decided by a single 10-minute frame, Hull won his first professional title by beating Brecel in the final. The winner's prize of £32,000 is the highest pay day of his career.[22]

2017 Paul Hunter Classic

His Shoot-Out success allowed him to compete in the 2016 Champion of Champions, where he lost 4–2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round. His only last 16 appearance this year came at the German Masters after he followed qualifying wins over Luca Brecel and Matthew Stevens with a 5–4 victory over Jimmy White, before losing 5–4 to Ryan Day.[23] In the first round of World Championship qualifying, Hull suffered a huge 10–8 shock defeat to 11-time ladies world champion Reanne Evans.[24]

Personal life

Hull was born and raised in Finland, to a Finnish mother and English father.[25]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18		 2018/
19		 2019/
20
Ranking[26][nb 1] [nb 2] 212 128 132 [nb 3] [nb 2] 101 102 86 39 32 47 55 50 54 [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 2] 73 61 59 [nb 4] 76 [nb 3]
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 5] Tournament Not Held MR LQ 2R 1R A
International Championship Tournament Not Held A WD A LQ 1R 1R LQ A
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ A
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 1R A
World Open[nb 6] 1R LQ LQ 1R A 2R LQ LQ 2R 1R 2R LQ 1R RR LQ A A LQ Not Held 1R LQ LQ A
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 3R 3R 3R A
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ 3R LQ 1R 1R LQ 3R WD LQ A 1R 2R 3R 2R 1R 1R A
Scottish Open[nb 7] 1R LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ WD Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 3R 1R 2R A
European Masters[nb 8] LQ LQ LQ LQ NH LQ Not Held LQ 1R WD LQ QF LQ NR Tournament Not Held 1R LQ LQ A
German Masters[nb 9] Not Held LQ LQ A A Tournament Not Held WD A LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ A
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ QF 1R 1R LQ LQ WD A A A 2R 2R 3R WD 1R A
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held Variant Format Event 2R WD WD A
Players Championship[nb 10] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR A A 3R A
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ WD LQ LQ WD WD A LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held A A A 1R A A A
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held A A LQ A A A A A
Variant format tournaments
Six-red World Championship[nb 11] Tournament Not Held NH A 2R A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 12] LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix NH Non-Ranking Event LQ NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 13] A LQ LQ 1R A LQ LQ LQ LQ NR Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
British Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ 1R Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ WD 1R NH NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] Tournament Not Held NR A A QF Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 15] NH NR Tournament Not Held LQ A A LQ A Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NR
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 16] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event WD 1R A NR
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ 1R NH 1R 1R 1R NH
China Open[nb 17] Tournament Not Held NR A LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ WD A A A 2R WD LQ LQ LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Malta Grand Prix NH A A A A A R LQ Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A A A A A A A A A LQ Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held A A A A W Ranking Event
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 Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
VF / Variant Format Eventmeans an event is/was a variant format event.
  1. From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. He was an amateur.
  4. Players qualified One Year Ranking List started the season without ranking points.
  5. The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  6. The event was called the Grand Prix (1992/1993–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  7. The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  8. The event was called the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  9. The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  10. The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2011/2012–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  11. The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  12. The event was called the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and the Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  13. The event was called the Asian Open (1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  14. The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  15. The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  16. The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  17. The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 2002 WPBSA Open Tour Event 3 Colm Gilcreest 5–4
Winner 2016 Snooker Shoot Out Luca Brecel 1–0

Pro-am finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 2000 Austrian Open Matthew Couch 5–1
Runner-up 2009 Finnish Snooker Challenge Mark Williams 1–6

Amateur finals: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1992 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship Patrick Delsemme 11–7
Runner-up 1993 EBSA European Championship Neil Mosley 6–8
Winner 1997 EBSA European Championship Kristján Helgason 7–3
Winner 2013 EBSA European Championship (2) Gareth Allen 7–2
Winner 2018 Finnish Amateur Championship Antti Tolvanen 4–1
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References
  1. Near-miss for Mark Selby in easy win over Mark King in China
  2. "Hull withdraws after health scare". 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  3. World Snooker News: Hull withdraws from Prestatyn qualifiers
  4. BBC Sport: Ailing Hull quits snooker circuit
  5. "Hull Back On Pro Tour". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
  6. "Robin Hull 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  7. "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  8. "Robin Hull 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  9. "Betfair World Championship Pre-Qualifiers". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  10. "European Snooker Championships Men – Zielona Góra/Poland 2013 – knockout results". European Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  11. "Robin Hull 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  12. "World Snooker Championship: Peter Ebdon fails to reach Crucible". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  13. "World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Hull". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  14. "Robin Hull 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. "Hull of a Performance". World Snooker. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. "Sweet 16 Through to Sheffield". World Snooker. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  17. "Swail, Hull Climb Into Top 64 Contention". WPBSA.com. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  18. "Shaun Murphy enjoying 'buzz' of World Snooker Championships as he makes last 16". nottinghampost.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  19. "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  20. "Barry Hawkins: 'UK snooker tables are only good for burning'". Eurosport. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  21. "2015 UK Championship". CueTracker. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  22. "Flying Finn is Shoot-Out King". World Snooker. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  23. "Robin Hull 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  24. "Reanne Evans: Women's number one two wins away from reaching Crucible". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  25. "Snooker: Contenders wait on O'Sullivan's shoulder" (The Independent)
  26. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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