Liam Pullen Explained

Liam Pullen
Birth Date:11 July 2005
Professional:2023–present
High Ranking:82 (July 2024)
Best Finish:Last 32 (x2)

Liam Pullen (born 11 July 2005)[1] is an English snooker player from Yorkshire. In April 2023 he became the England under-18 snooker champion. He has earned a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour starting with 2023–24 snooker season.

Career

From York, Pullen made his debut at Q School in 2021 as a fifteen year-old and his performances included a win over former professional James Cahill.[2] In July 2022 he made his first maximum break, while practising in Leeds.[3]

Pullen reached the final the WSF Junior Snooker Championship held in Sydney, Australia in February 2023, with a highest break of 143.[4] In the final he lost to his compatriot Stan Moody.[5] [6] In March 2023, he reached the final of 2023 EBSA European Snooker Championships in Malta where he was defeated by Hungarian Bulcsú Révész.[7]

In April 2023 Pullen won the English under-18 title defeating Oliver Sykes 4-2 in the final.[8] In April 2023 Pullen also won through to face Leeds’ Daniel Womersley in the final of the Yorkshire Snooker Championship, held at the Northern Snooker Centre.[9] That month he also retained his Yorkshire under-19 title he first won in 2022.[10]

Pullen came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Craig Steadman 4-3, playing as a seventeen year-old at the 2023 Q School.[11] His performances led him to earning a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour starting with 2023–24 snooker season.[12]

2023/24 season

Pullen made his professional debut in the draw for the 2023 Championship League held at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England from 26 June 2023. In his opening match he was defeated by world number 31 Chris Wakelin. In the round-robin phase he drew with Oliver Lines, and recorded his first professional win, over Ukraine's Anton Kazakov.[13] Pullen recorded the biggest win of his career when he defeated former world champion Graeme Dott in qualifying for the 2023 International Championship in September 2023.[14] He followed up that win by defeating Noppon Saengkham in a decider at the event in Tianjin to reach the last-32 of a ranking event for the first time.[15] He also reached the last-32 of the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out in December 2023.[16] Later that month, he qualified for the 2024 German Masters with a win over former world champion Stuart Bingham.[17] He qualified for the 2024 Welsh Open with a 4-0 win over Rebecca Kenna.[18] In the first round of qualifying for the 2024 World Snooker Championship he defeated Anton Kazakov 10-3.[19]

Personal life

Pullen practises with local pros such as; Peter Lines and Oliver Lines with whom he also goes running.[20]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[21] [22] [23] 81
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueARRRR
Xi'an Grand PrixNot HeldLQ
Saudi Arabia MastersNot Held
English OpenA1R
British OpenALQLQ
Wuhan OpenNHLQLQ
Northern Ireland OpenALQ
International ChampionshipNH2R
UK ChampionshipALQ
Shoot OutA3R
Scottish OpenALQ
German MastersA1R
Welsh OpenA1R
World OpenNHLQ
World Grand PrixDNQDNQ
Players ChampionshipDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipLQLQ
Former ranking tournaments
European MastersALQNH
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
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

Amateur finals: 6 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.2019English Under-14 Championship Stan Moody4–5
Runner-up2.2019English Under-16 Championship Paul Deaville3–6
Runner-up3.2022EPSB Open Series - Cueball - Event 2 Hayden Staniland2–3
Runner-up4.2023WSF Junior Open Stan Moody1–5
Runner-up5.2023EBSA European Under-18 Snooker Championships Bulcsú Révész3–4
Winner1.2023English Under-18 Championship Oliver Sykes4–2

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Liam Pullen. worldsnookerdata.com. May 31, 2023. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531145818/https://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Players/PlayerDetails/14623/264661/liam-pullen/cazoo-world-championship-2023-qualifiers. live.
  2. Web site: June 6, 2021. May 31, 2023. Potential rookies chase tour dream. wst.tv. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531072151/https://wst.tv/potential-rookies-chase-tour-dream/. dead.
  3. Web site: Teenage snooker star targeting titles after scoring his first maximum break in Leeds. Yorkshire Evening Post. May 31, 2023. Tom. Coates. July 22, 2022. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531150209/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/other-sport/teenage-snooker-star-targeting-titles-after-scoring-his-first-maximum-break-in-leeds-3778043. live.
  4. Web site: February 2, 2023. Pullen Makes 143 and Sets Up Moody Final. wpbsa. May 31, 2023. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531121614/https://wpbsa.com/pullen-makes-143-and-sets-up-moody-final/. live.
  5. Web site: STAN MOODY EARNS SNOOKER TOUR CARD AT 16 YEARS OLD FOR NEXT TWO SEASONS AFTER WINNING WSF JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP . Eurosport.
  6. Web site: Stan Moody wins WSF Junior Championship. snookerhq.com. 31 May 2023. 23 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230323010545/https://snookerhq.com/2023/02/03/stan-moody-wins-wsf-junior-championship/. live.
  7. Web site: Bulcsú Révész is the new U18 european champion. ebsa.tv. 3 February 2024. 21 March 2023. Antonio. Barroso.
  8. Web site: Pullen Powers to English Under-18 Glory. April 16, 2023. May 30, 2023. epsb.co.uk. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531075230/https://www.epsb.co.uk/pullen-powers-to-english-under-18-glory/. live.
  9. Web site: Liam Pullen and Dan Womersley reach Snooker Championship Final. 30 April 2023. 31 May 2023. ybsa.co.uk. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531073216/https://www.ybsa.co.uk/2023/04/30/liam-pullen-and-dan-womersley-reach-snooker-championship-final/. live.
  10. Web site: Liam Pullen retains U19 Title. 22 April 2023. May 31, 2023. ybsa.co.uk. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531074247/https://www.ybsa.co.uk/2023/04/22/yorkshire-u19s-snooker-championship-2023/. live.
  11. Web site: Pullen clinched final day spot. wst.tv. May 31, 2023. May 30, 2023. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531074633/https://wst.tv/pullen-clinches-final-day-slot/. dead.
  12. Web site: Alexander Ursenbacher, Andrew Higginson, Andrew Pagett and Liam Pullen clinch your cards. 31 May 2023. 31 May 2023. wst.tv. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531164402/https://wst.tv/ursenbacher-higginson-pagett-and-pullen-clinch-tour-cards/. dead.
  13. Web site: O'Donnell and Wakelin reach second phase. 27 June 2023. 27 June 2023. wst.tv. 28 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230628131248/https://wst.tv/odonnell-and-wakelin-reach-second-phase/. dead.
  14. Web site: 29 September 2023. Teenager Liam Pullen beats former world champion in snooker qualifiers. Snooker HQ. David. Caulfield. September 21, 2023. 26 September 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230926074524/https://snookerhq.com/2023/09/21/teenager-liam-pullen-beats-former-world-champion-in-snooker-qualifiers/. live.
  15. Web site: Mark Davis "feels brilliant" after beating Luca Brecel. SnookerHQ. 6 November 2023. David. Caulfield. November 6, 2023. 6 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231106155906/https://snookerhq.com/2023/11/06/mark-davis-feels-brilliant-after-beating-luca-brecel/. live.
  16. Web site: 9 December 2023. YOUNG GUNS FIRE IN SWANSEA. 8 December 2023. WST. https://web.archive.org/web/20231209203927/https://wst.tv/young-guns-fire-in-swansea/. dead. 9 December 2023.
  17. Web site: GERMAN MASTERS SNOOKER: JIMMY WHITE, GARY WILSON AND STUART BINGHAM LOSE QUALIFIERS, ZHANG ANDA AND MATTHEW STEVENS WIN. Eurosport. 21 December 2023. 21 December 2023.
  18. Web site: DAY SURVIVES DORGHAM TEST. wst.tv. 26 January 2024. 28 January 2024.
  19. Web site: CRUCIBLE QUALIFYING DAY THREE: PULLEN POWERS PAST KAZAKOV. wst. 11 April 2024. 11 April 2023.
  20. Web site: PULLENS SYDNEY HEARTBREAK INSPIRED Q SCHOOL SUCCEES. 13 June 2023. 14 June 2023. wst.tv. 14 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230614021032/https://wst.tv/pullens-sydney-heartbreak-inspired-q-school-success/. dead.
  21. It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  22. He was an amateur
  23. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking