Robbie McGuigan explained

Robbie McGuigan
Birth Date:7 July 2004
Birth Place:County Antrim
Professional:2024–present
High Ranking:91 (July 2024)
Best Finish:Last 64 (x2)

Robbie McGuigan (born 7 July 2004) is a professional snooker player from Northern Ireland. In 2023, he became a three-time Northern Ireland Amateur champion, whilst still a teenager.

Early life

From County Antrim, McGuigan attended Antrim Grammar School. He hit his first 147 break at thirteen years-old.[1]

Career

In 2019 McGuigan made his debut at a ranking event when he was given a wildcard aged fifteen years-old to the 2019 Northern Ireland Open.[2] He lost to his countryman Patrick Wallace.[3] The following year he lost in the final of the Northern Ireland Amateur snooker final, on a deciding frame, 10–9 to Declan Lavery.[4]

In 2021, McGuigan became the youngest ever Northern Ireland Amateur snooker champion when he defeated Rab McCullough, 10–4 in the final. At 17 years and eleven months he was two and a half months younger than the previous youngest winner Mark Allen had been.[5]

2021-22

In March 2022, still aged seventeen, he defended his Northern Ireland title, again beating McCullough in the final, but by a 10–6 margin.[6] In that same month, March 2022 he won the final event of the WPBSA Q Tour season with a 5–3 victory over Scotland's Michael Collumb at the event held at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, coming back from 3–0 down.[7]

2022-23

In October 2022, he defeated compatriot Joel Connelly 4–0 in the preliminary round of the 2022 Northern Ireland Open before losing in the final round of qualifying.[8]

In May 2023, he won the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship title for a third consecutive year, defeating Raymond Fry 10–8 in the final.[9]

2023-24

McGuigan won the first two amateur tournaments of the 2023–24 season held in Northern Ireland.[10] Awarded a wildcard to the 2023 Northern Ireland Open in October 2023,[11] he defeated Muhammad Asif to qualify for the main stages of the event in Belfast.[12] In the next round, McGuigan faced experienced campaigner Anthony McGill, McGuigan led 3–1 in the best of seven frame match and McGill required three snookers on the colours to stay in the match, before mounting a comeback to win the frame on a re-spotted black and went on to defeat McGuigan 4–3.[13]

Given a wildcard to the 2023 UK Championship as the reigning Northern Ireland champion,[14] he beat veteran Irishman Fergal O'Brien 6–2 in the first qualifying round, before losing by the same score in the following round to Dylan Emery.[15]

In March 2024, he defeated Craig Steadman 5–4 in the final to win the EBSA European Snooker Championship and a tour card for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.[16]

2024-25

He made a successful start to his pro career at the 2024 Championship League in Leicester in June 2024, beating Sanderson Lam 3-0 and qualifying from his round robin group.[17]

Personal life

The son of Kyla McGuigan, he is a supporter of Manchester United.[18] His sister Harleigh was born in July 2017. His stepfather was snooker player Mark Allen until 2020.[19]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2019/
20
2020/
21
2021/
22
2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[20] [21] [22]
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueNRARRRRA2R
Xi'an Grand PrixTournament Not HeldLQ
Saudi Arabia MastersTournament Not Held
English OpenAAAAA
British OpenNot HeldAAALQ
Wuhan OpenTournament Not HeldA
Northern Ireland OpenLQAALQ1R
International ChampionshipANot HeldA
UK ChampionshipAAALQLQ
Shoot Out1R1R1R2RA
Scottish OpenAAAAA
German MastersAAAAA
Welsh OpenAAAAA
World OpenANot HeldA
World Grand PrixDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Players ChampionshipDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipALQLQAA
Former ranking tournaments
WST Pro SeriesNHRRTournament Not Held
WST ClassicNot Held1RNot Held
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw
  1. R
lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi–finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
align=center style="color:#555555;" colspan=4NH / Not held means an event was not held.
align=center style="color:#555555;" colspan=4NR / Non-ranking event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
align=center style="color:#555555;" colspan=4R / Ranking eventmeans an event is/was now a ranking event

Amateur finals: 10 (6 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.2019Challenge Tour – Event 3 Andrew Pagett0–3
Runner-up2.2020Northern Ireland Amateur Championship Declan Lavery9–10
Runner-up3.2020Northern Ireland Under-21 Championship Fergal Quinn4–5[23]
Winner1.2021Northern Ireland Amateur Championship Rab McCullagh10–4[24]
Winner2.2022Northern Ireland Under-21 Championship Jamie Gardiner5–2
Winner3.2022Northern Ireland Amateur Championship (2) Rab McCullagh10–6
Winner4.2022Q Tour – Event 4 Michael Collumb5–3
Runner-up4.2023 Joel Connolly2–5
Winner5.2023Northern Ireland Amateur Championship (3) Raymond Fry10–8
Winner6.2024EBSA European Snooker Championships Craig Steadman5–4

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Snooker star Allen hails stepson Robbie McGuigan's 147. Niall. Glynn. BBC News NI. 18 April 2018. May 23, 2023.
  2. Web site: Teenagers McGuigan and Bulman handed places in Northern Ireland Open. https://web.archive.org/web/20200220221017/https://wst.tv/teenager-mcguigan-handed-place-in-northern-ireland-open/. dead. 20 February 2020. wst.tv. May 23, 2023. November 1, 2019.
  3. Web site: November 11, 2019. Northern Ireland Open: Mark Selby beats Xu Si 4-2 in first round. BBC Sport. May 23, 2023.
  4. Web site: Lavery Retains Northern Irish Title . WPBSA. 30 September 2020. 16 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230930191330/https://wpbsa.com/lavery-retains-northern-irish-title/. 30 September 2023. live.
  5. Web site: 17-year-old Robbie McGuigan becomes youngest ever Northern Ireland Amateur snooker champion. James. Gould. 11 July 2021. May 23, 2023. Belfast Live.
  6. Web site: McGuigan Defends Northern Irish Title. WPBSA. 29 March 2022. 16 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20231023201808/https://wpbsa.com/mcguigan-defends-northern-irish-title/. 23 October 2023. live.
  7. Web site: Comeback King McGuigan claims Q Tour title. wpbsa.com. May 21, 2023. March 2023.
  8. Web site: Top teenage amateurs handed wild cards for snooker's Northern Ireland Open in October . Irish News. 22 October 2023. Martin. McGoran. 5 September 2023.
  9. Web site: Magic McGuigan Makes it Three-in-a-Row in Northern Ireland. WPBSA. 23 May 2023. 16 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230523120408/https://wpbsa.com/magic-mcguigan-makes-it-three-in-a-row-in-northern-ireland/. 23 May 2023. live.
  10. Web site: Robbie McGuigan wins first senior ranking event of the NIBSA season. Irish News. 22 October 2023. Martin. McGoran. 23 September 2023.
  11. Web site: McGuigan and Connelly awarded Belfast wildcards. https://web.archive.org/web/20230924164206/https://wst.tv/mcguigan-and-connolly-awarded-belfast-wild-cards/. dead. 24 September 2023. 5 September 2023. wst.tv. 22 October 2023.
  12. Web site: ROBBIE MCGUIGAN BREAK HALTED BY BIZARRE REFEREE GAFFE AT NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN. Eurosport. 23 October 2023. Andrew. Wright. 23 October 2023.
  13. Web site: Robbie McGuigan edged out by Anthony McGill at the Northern Ireland Open. Irish News. 26 October 2023. Martin . McGoran. 24 October 2023.
  14. Web site: WPBSA QUALIFIERS ANNOUNCED FOR MRQ UK CHAMPIONSHIP. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104033036/https://wst.tv/wpbsa-qualifiers-announced-for-mrq-uk-championship/. dead. 4 November 2023. wst.tv. 18 November 2023. 3 November 2023. ~
  15. Web site: UK Championship qualifiers: 2023 draw, schedule, results, how to watch. Snooker HQ. 18 November 2023. David. Caulfield. November 18, 2023.
  16. Web site: Played matches results - EUROPEAN BILLIARDS & SNOOKER ASSOCIATION. esnooker.pl. 23 March 2024. 23 March 2024.
  17. Web site: MCGUIGAN MAKES FAST START TO PRO CAREER. wst.tv. 17 June 2024. 17 June 2024.
  18. Web site: Watch: Mark Allen's stepson Robbie McGuigan becomes UK's youngest player to chalk up 147 break. Belfast Telegraph. May 23, 2023. Stewart. Robson. April 2018.
  19. Web site: Mark Allen reveals divorce heartache as he prepares for return. Belfast Live. May 23, 2023. Neil. Goulding. 28 May 2020.
  20. Shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  21. He was an amateur
  22. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  23. Web site: WPBSA International Round-Up October 2020. WPBSA. 3 November 2020. 16 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20231208220025/https://wpbsa.com/wpbsa-international-round-up-october-2020/. 8 December 2023. live.
  24. Web site: McGuigan Becomes Youngest Champion . World Snooker . 19 July 2021 . 16 May 2024 . 20 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210720173303/https://wst.tv/mcguigan-becomes-youngest-champion/ . dead .