The youngest snooker champion, Stephen Hendry, has proven that no matter what your age is, you can achieve impossible feats. Read along to learn about this snooker champion’s glory days, and feel free to use the navigation bar below to jump to a relevant section in the blog post.
Stephen Hendry – Early Life & Biography Details
Stephen Hendry was born in January 1969 in South Queensferry, Scotland. He met his wife, Amanda, at the Pontins holiday camp at age 16. They married in 1995, have two sons, and settled in Auchterarder. However, even though they were married for a long time, they eventually broke up.
Hendry is known as the youngest, most prevalent snooker player of all time. He started playing the sport at age 12 when he got a snooker table given to him by his father as a reward. In 1987, Hendry won his first tournament – the Grand Prix.
During the 1989-90 season, at age 21, Hendry beat Jimmy White 18-12 and became the world’s youngest snooker champion. Several more straight titles followed, showing that Stephen had no match at the time.
Even though Stephen Hendry announced his retirement from professional snooker at the age of 43, in 2021, he said that he will be returning to the professional tour. Normally, the best snooker betting sites instantly started to offer various markets with competitive odds connected to the champion and all snooker fans were very glad to see him compete again.
Amateur Years – Climbing to the Top
1983 marked the start of Stephen Hendry’s young snooker career. He became the winner of the Scottish Under-16 Championship and appeared on TV. At age 15, Hendry was the winner of the Scottish Amateur Championship, and he started to gain a lot of media attention.
Stephen Hendry’s snooker career was beginning to form, as he was able to retain the title for the Scottish Amateur Championship. Three months later, Ian Doyle became Hendry’s manager and coach, and when Stephen turned 16, he became the world’s youngest snooker professional.
Stephen Hendry’s Snooker Career Progression
The peak of the champion’s snooker career was mostly during the 90s, but Stephen Hendry’s youngest professional years started in 1985. At this point, Hendry had shown true professionalism and was on his road to becoming known as the youngest snooker world champion.
In 1986, Stephen qualified for the World Snooker Championship but lost on his debut to Willie Thorne. At age 17, Hendry was the youngest snooker player to compete at the final stages of a world championship, and he was able to hold this record for 26 years.
The 90s was when Stephen Hendry’s snooker career truly took off. He won the first UK Championship, defeating Davis 16-12 in the final. Afterwards, he was able to win his second Masters, as he defeated Parrot 9-4. Hendry won his first World Championship against Jimmy White in 1990, making him known as the youngest snooker champion.
Hendry was able to surpass Alex Higgins as the youngest champion. After that, he won titles at the Dubai Classic and the Asian Open and became the world number one at the end of the season.
In the 1990-91 season, Hendry was the first player to win five ranking titles in a single season. At this time, in his second UK Championship, Stephen defeated Davis 16-15 in the final. This was followed by a third Masters win, where Stephen defeated Hallett 9-8 in the final after trailing 0-7.
Hendry was in the spotlight again for the 1992-93 season, where he won his fifth consecutive Masters, beating James Wattana 9-5 in the final. Afterwards, Hendry won his third world title at the 1993 World Championship, defeating White 18-5 in the final.
Hendry won all three Triple Crown events in the 1995-96 season, arguably the biggest snooker tournaments. He was able to defeat Peter Ebdon 10-3, O’Sullivan 10-5, and Ebdon 18-12 in the 1996 World Championship to win his sixth world title.
In 2000, Stephen Hendry’s snooker career progressed as he won the British Open, marking his 147th break. 2012 was the year when Stephen eventually retired as the most successful pro player in history, however, in 2021, he announced that he would be making a comeback.
Wins, Performance and World Titles
In total, Stephen Hendry has 36 titles, 57 ranking finals, 5 UK Championship wins, and played in 9 World Championships, winning 7. He has 24 wins for ranking finals, 64 non-ranking finals with 39 wins, and 3 amateur titles.
Since Stephen Hendry was young when he started playing, he has accumulated a staggering number of participations during his snooker career progression. Below, you will find a list with some of the ranking finals that Stephen Hendry achieved:
Ranking finals (36 titles):
- 1987 – Winner – Grand Prix vs. Dennis Taylor – 10-7
- 1990 – Winner – Asian Open vs. Dennis Taylor – 9-3
- 1995 – Winner – World Snooker Championship vs. Nigel Bond – 18-9
- 1999 – Winner – Scottish Open vs. Graeme Dott – 9-1
- 2002 – Runner-up – World Snooker Championship vs. Peter Ebdon -17-18
- 2005 – Runner-up – China Open vs. Ding Junhui – 5-9
The list below will give you information regarding some of Stephen Hendry’s non-ranking finals:
Non-ranking finals (39 titles):
- 1989 – Winner – Scottish Masters vs. Terry Griffiths – 10-1
- 1993 – Winner – European Challenge vs. Tony Drago – 5-3
- 1999 – Winner – Champions Cup vs. Mark Williams – 7-5
- 2001 – Runner-up – Irish Masters vs. Ronnie O’Sullivan – 8-9
As you can see, Stephen Hendry truly dominated the game throughout his active professional years. He showed that no matter when you start, you can climb to the top if you put hard work, talent, and skill into play.
Stephen Hendry’s Wife – Divorce and Breakup
Stephen Hendry’s wife, Amanda, had another thing to say regarding her relationship with her husband. The snooker champion made big promises to her and their two sons, telling her to stay at ease due to his immaculate financial success.
He promised Amanda that their life would be settled, as he had more than enough funds at his disposal to keep their family stable and growing. However, this was not the case. Stephen Hendry’s net worth may have been huge, but he hid that from his wife.
Amanda lived a difficult life. She needed to take care of their two children, keep up with all housework, and look after her horses. For 19 years, Amanda thought she had the perfect life with Stephen. When she filed for divorce, the truth unfolded.
In an exclusive interview, Amanda informed the media about all of this and highlighted that she was left devastated. Now, she is living on her own, taking care of the children. After all, she still said she loved him.
Net Worth and Awards
It is time to talk about Stephen Hendry’s net worth, an important part of every sports champion. In total, Stephen Hendry’s career earnings reach nearly £16.5 million. It might seem like a lot, but this is expected of a player with this much success.
We hope to see him make a comeback, as he announced in 2021. No matter what happens, he will always remain in the hall of fame. Here are Stephen Hendry’s most notable awards:
| Member of the Order of the British Empire | 1993 |
| BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year | 1987, 1996 |
| WPBSA Player of the Year | 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 |
| WPBSA Young Player of the Year | 1988 |
| WPBSA Performance of the Year | 1995 |
As of the time of writing this post, Stephen is still considered active but has not achieved the success he had in his younger years. After all, the world of professional snooker is a dynamic one, and new names constantly pop up, trying to challenge the favourites. The best betting sites always make the most of such cases, giving favourable odds for the underdogs.
Stephen Hendry – A Snooker Icon
It is time to conclude our post and present you with our final remarks. Even though Stephen Hendry was young when he first started, he showed truly unmatched talent. With over 36 ranking titles across the 80s up until the 2000s, Hendry was a champion the world will never forget.
As we mentioned, Hendry announced a comeback in 2021, and he even started a YouTube channel called “Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips”, where he does weekly videos with tips to help other snooker players.
Hendry’s biggest rivals were Steve Davis, Jimmy White, John Parott, and more, as we already discussed in the post. Stephen played 67 matches with Davis, winning 45 of them. The champion is also known by his nicknames – “The King of the Crucible” or “The Golden Bairn”. With 777 century breaks and many titles, Stephen Hendry is surely one of the greatest snooker players of all time.
Frequently Asked Questions
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