When Mark Williams turned professional at the age of 17, the prospect of being 50, never mind still playing at the top level at this age, would have been hard to conceive.

His great Welsh compatriot, Ray Reardon, had won the 1982 Professional Players Tournament, a ranking title, a few days past his 50^th birthday. 43 years on, this record was finally broken as Williams captured the Xi’an Grand Prix, beating Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final.

He was 192 days older than Reardon had been. However, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins also in their 50s and several other players maturing like fine wines, it seems unlikely it will take another 43 years for this record to be beaten.

9) CHANG’S PERFECT PERFORMANCE

Chang Bingyu returned to the pro ranks in 2025 after serving a suspension for his part in the Chinese match-fixing scandal. At the Welsh Open in Llandudno in February, he produced an astonishing display of break-building to leave his opponent, Shaun Murphy, applauding him off the stage.

Quite simply, Chang did not miss a ball. He made four centuries – 130, 136, 119 and 130 – three of them total clearances, to win 4-0, with Murphy potting one ball.

But this was no reflection on Murphy. He was merely a spectator as Chang became the ninth player to make four centuries in four frames. For sure, one to watch during the 2026/27 campaign.

8) OH YES, UN-NOOH

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is a fan favourite due to his fast, dashing style of play but has often come unstuck if his A-game has not functioned.

This seemed likely to happen again when he fell 4-0 adrift to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the World Open final in Yushan, China, but he steadied the ship and entered the evening with a 5-4 lead.

The Thai had previously won the Shootout but had come up short in his only previous long form ranking final. O’Sullivan made four centuries in taking a 7-6 lead and his vast experience in big occasions looked like a clear advantage.

In fact, he scored only six further points as Un-Nooh went on a break-building blitz, firing in runs of 77, 132, a maximum 147 and 131 to win 10-7.

In doing so, this great enigma proved he could produce his best snooker when it mattered, against the greatest of all time.

7) ZHAO XINTONG’S DASH FOR THE LINE

Early on in the season, it was apparent Zhao Xintong had not quite adjusted to his new status as world champion, but this unflappable talent became more comfortable as the campaign continued and ended it by winning four trophies.

This included all three titles of the prestigious Players Series, with his performance in the Players Championship final against John Higgins the highlight.

This had been a closely fought affair to 7-7 before Zhao unleashed a devastating three-frame spell of scoring which brought the contest to an emphatic halt.

Breaks of 104, 126 and 92 got the job done as he added the title to the World Grand Prix, with the Tour Championship to follow. Higgins compared Zhao to George Best and labelled him ‘an absolute genius.’

The Crucible Curse, or more accurately Shaun Murphy, did for Zhao in Sheffield but he was, overall, the player of the season.

6) O’SULLIVAN’S TWO MAXIMUMS

For the second season running, Ronnie O’Sullivan did not win a title on the World Snooker tour, opting out of many events, but his capacity to amaze was evident in two record-breaking performances, the first of which came at the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah.

Facing Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals, O’Sullivan made a maximum break in the opening frame. He then left the arena to check that there was a bonus prize for two 147s in this event, together with the three which comprise the triple crown. Jackson Page had pocketed £147,000 for making two maximums in the same match – on different days – at the World Championship qualifiers a few months earlier.

Armed with this information, O’Sullivan made another max, the 17^th of his professional career, in frame seven. He also compiled breaks of 142 and 134.

Perhaps the emotion and adrenaline affected him early in the final as he fell 7-2 down to Neil Robertson, fighting back to lead 9-8 but eventually falling short 10-9.

Even so, once again he was the star of the show.

5) SELBY’S MIRACLE BREAK TO WIN THE UK CHAMPIONSHIP

Mark Selby had played superbly to race into a 5-0 lead over Judd Trump in the UK Championship final but leading only 9-8, the heat was on.

The table in frame 18 was unpromising when he came to it, with balls tied up and apparently not much to be made. The only pottable colours were the yellow and the black, albeit only into one corner pocket.

Nevertheless, Selby somehow put together a superbly crafted run of 69, the break of the tournament to win the tournament and become only the fourth player to have won each of the World, UK and Masters titles on at least three occasions.

4) SEMI-FINAL SATURDAY AT THE CRUCIBLE

In the end, all roads lead to Sheffield. What happens at the Crucible is career-defining and can sometimes feel like it puts the rest of the season in the shade.

The semi-finals have been criticised for being too long – they last three days, after all – but the pay-off are Saturdays like the one we enjoyed this year.

Shaun Murphy was attempting to overturn a 13-11 overnight deficit against John Higgins. At the final interval he was still two behind at 15-13, but maintained his all-out attacking approach – he made five centuries in the match – and was the stronger in the finish, winning 17-15.

Next, the drama of the evening, one of the most extraordinary semi-final sessions ever seen. Wu Yize and Mark Allen had not got all their requisite frames in so were 11-11 when the night began and traded blows until Allen pulled clear at 16-14.

He had chances to win the next frame before, at 16-15, he stood over the last black, on its spot, a pot to reach his first world final. Wu was getting ready to shake hands. The Crucible audience was getting ready to head into the night.

But… Allen missed, Wu levelled and went on to win the decider and, of course, the title.

3) RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S 153

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s second historic moment of the season came in a match which, frankly, did not seem a candidate to live long in the memory before it began.

It was a World Open quarter-final against Ryan Day, to whom O’Sullivan had lost just twice in their ten previous meetings. For a European audience, it was first thing in the morning, so it’s not clear how many people watched the start of the match live, but the first frame proved to be one for the ages.

Only seven players had previously compiled a ’16-red’ total clearance, with the aid of a free ball, and just one, Jamie Burnett, had made more than 147, fashioning 148 in the 2004 UK Championship qualifiers.

After snookering Day, O’Sullivan’s chance came, with the black near a corner pocket. In fact, for a while a 155 was on, but he was forced to take two pinks after knocking the black on to the top cushion in playing a cannon.

This meant the pot to create history was difficult, but O’Sullivan stroked it in to add another record to his bulging file of career achievements.

2) LISOWSKI FINALLY WINS A TITLE

Jack Lisowski has long been a popular player but also a little frustrating. Clearly very talented and with a likeable personality, he had reached six ranking finals and lost them all. His most recent final before arriving in Belfast for last October’s Northern Ireland Open had been in 2021, so there was a sense that he had started to fall away.

It had been a difficult year for Lisowski. His father passed away suddenly in March. But amidst the sadness there came a new determination.

In the final, he faced his best friend, Judd Trump. It went the distance and both had chances in the decider before Lisowski potted the balls to win 9-8.

This was memorable enough, but the interviews afterwards caused many snooker fans to shed a tear. Raw emotion poured from Lisowski, describing Trump as ‘the closest thing I have to a brother’ and thanking him for the care he had taken of him in the aftermath of his bereavement.

In that instant, nobody cared about the money, the points or the status of the event. This went beyond sport. It was just a beautiful, human moment.

1) WU WOWS THE WORLD

The crowning of the world champion is always the most coveted and watched moment of the year, but this season it also came after one of the matches of the year.

Wu Yize, a dazzling talent, just 22, of course should have been out in the semi-finals, but that wasn’t his problem.

Shaun Murphy, who himself won the title as a 22-year-old in 2005, had lost in three world finals since and, at 43, was maybe beginning to feel that time was running out to become a multiple world champion.

Wu led 10-7 after day one before Murphy began to take control, winning five frames in succession to move on front at 12-10, but Wu creditably dug out three frames for a narrow 13-12 advantage heading into the final session.

They were then level at 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 and, finally, 17-17 to set up only the fourth deciding frame finish to a world final at the Crucible and a first since 2002.

The way Wu won it was typical of his approach the entire championship. He saw a red to left middle. It was far from easy and he could be leaving Murphy in if he missed.

But he potted it, made 85 and was world champion after just five years on tour, the second in succession from China after Zhao Xintong’s victory the previous year.

Snooker now has a new star and much to be excited about as we head into the 2026/27 season.