WST/WPBSA have announced their Snooker Awards for the 2022/23 season
Allen Named 2022/23 Player Of The Year
Mark Allen, winner of three tournaments during the 2022/23 season, has been named WST Player of the Year for the first time.
Having won the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix, Allen was the only player to capture three trophies during the season. The 37-year-old from Antrim also reached the final of the British Open, the semi-finals of the World Championship and rose to a career high position of third in the world.
Allen also won the Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year award, voted by media around the world who cover snooker, as well as the Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by fans on the WST website, app and on social media platforms in China.
The Performance of the Year category was won by Luca Brecel, for his spectacular display in winning the World Championship for the first time, beating Mark Selby 18-15 in the final.
Selby took the Magic Moment of the Year award for his maximum break against Brecel as he became the first player ever to make a 147 during the world final.
Julien Leclercq
Belgium’s 20-year-old Julien Leclercq won Rookie of the Year, having reached the final of the Shoot Out and climbed to 80th in the world during his first season.
A new category was introduced this year – Breakthrough Player of the Year – for a young player who has made a leap forward in his career. This went to China’s Si Jiahui for his tremendous run to the semi-finals of the World Championship.
John Virgo has been inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the sport for more than 50 years – read more on that here.
WST Awards: 2022/23 winners
WST Player of the Year – Mark Allen
Fans’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen
Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen
Performance of the Year – Luca Brecel
Rookie of the Year – Julien Leclercq
Magic Moment of the Year – Mark Selby’s 147
Breakthrough Player of the Year – Si Jiahui
Hall of Fame: John VirgoPlayer of the Year – former winners
2011: John Higgins
2012: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2013: Mark Selby
2014: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2015: Stuart Bingham
2016: John Higgins
2017: Mark Selby
2018: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2019: Judd Trump
2020: Judd Trump
2021: Judd Trump
2022: Neil Robertson
2023: Mark Allen
Congratulations to All!
It’s hard to disagree with this season’s awards. I’m glad that they introduced a new category to recognise Si Jiahui outstanding achievements. It’s quite remarkable, and pleasing that two mainland European players received an award. Both are Belgian. There are only three Belgian players on tour, all young, and two earned special recognition this season.REALLY, it is time for WST to reflect on their UK centric tour structure and to do what’s needed to give players and fans outside UK, and in mainland Europe in particular, more and better opportunities, actually equal opportunities. They call themselves WORLD Snooker Tour … it’s time to live by their chosen name.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Personally feel strange why WST going have so many events in China, even I as a Chinese, is it getting a big enough sponsor in China? or the cost is so low(confused) WST is gaining a lot more?
(3 events but not consecutive in China, hope not many pull out like 6reds.)
If what Mark Allen said still valid today… it may not be that nice to players. (only 32 players can cover air ticket costs if prize money equal to WST classic)
Yes and of course Mark Allen is from Northern Ireland, so only Mark Selby is from the UK mainland amongst those award winners. It’s ridiculous that they haven’t had a ‘Young Player of the Year’ award before, and even ‘Breakthrough Player of the Year’ could in principle be awarded to a player of any age, who happens to have made a dramatic improvement (if Si Jiahui had lost to Shaun Murphy, they might have given it to Jak Jones).
But hopefully the overwhelmingly positive feeling from this year’s World Championship will eventually influence the way the game is organised.