Surinder Gill (born 20 January 1968) is an English former professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player who competed on the main tour in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Career

Born in 1968, Gill turned professional in 1991. He first made progress in a ranking event at the 1993 Asian Open, where he beat Craig Harrison,

Andy Hicks Andrew Hicks (born 10 August 1973) is an English retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ...

and Jason Whittaker before losing 4–5 to Ian Graham in the last 96; he also reached the last 128 at the 1993 World Championship, losing 9–10 to Robert Foxall. The 1993/1994 season brought some success for Gill, with a run to the last 64 at the

1993 UK Championship The 1993 UK Championship (officially the 1993 Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. The event started on 12 November 1993, and the televised st ...

. There, victories over five players including Robert Marshall set up a match against

Mike Hallett Mike Hallett (born 6 July 1959) is an English former professional snooker player and commentator. He won the 1989 Hong Kong Open. Career Hallett was born in Grimsby on 6 July 1959. Having won the British Junior Snooker Championship, national ...

, which Hallett won 5–3. At the 1994 World Championship, Gill defeated Peter McCullagh 5–1, veteran

Ray Edmonds Earnest Raymond Edmonds (born 25 April 1936 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire), better known as Ray Edmonds, is a former English professional player of English billiards and snooker. He twice won the World Amateur Snooker title, and won the World Profe ...

5–3, Steve Judd 10–6, Jonathan Birch 10–7, Matthew Couch 10–8 and Mark Bennett 10–7 to qualify for the main stages at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

for the first time. Drawn against incumbent World Champion

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and a current Sports commentator, commentator and pundit. One of the most successful players in snooker history, he turned professional in 1985, ag ...

, Gill was outclassed by the Scot; although he took the sixth frame 73–35, he eventually lost 1–10. Gill next progressed beyond the last-96 stage of a tournament during the 1995/1996 season, when he reached the last 64 at both the UK Championship and the World Championship. In the former, he led

Nigel Bond Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English retired professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 ...

3–2 but lost 3–9, while his attempt to qualify for a second Crucible appearance - featuring victories over Nick Pearce, David Taylor and Taylor's close friend

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgi ...

- was ended by a 7–10 loss to

Danny Fowler Danny Fowler (born 30 July 1956 in Worksop) is an English former professional snooker player. Early life Danny Fowler was born on 30 July 1956 in Worksop. Fowler played snooker recreationally from the age of 15 to 20, but then stopped playing ...

. Having begun the 1996/1997 season ranked 97th, a career-best, he finished it with a 5–10 defeat to

Barry Pinches Barry Pinches (born 13 July 1970 in Catton, Norwich) is an English former professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a form ...

in qualifying for the 1997 World Championship; Pinches would be eliminated in the last 64 but both he, ranked 83rd, and Gill, the world number 120, lost their places on the professional tour at the season's conclusion. Gill won only three matches the following year, all in the 1998 World Championship, but these were sufficient for him to return to the main tour for 1998/1999. That season's only highlight was a run to the last 96 at the 1999 Thailand Masters, where Pearce beat him 5–2. After competing as an amateur for two years, Gill reached the final of a UK Tour event in 2000, losing 4–6 to Adrian Rosa, and entered the professional tier once more for the 2001/2002 season. However, he won only two more matches; the last, a 5–0 whitewash of Pearce in the 2002 Welsh Open, was Gill's final win as a professional. Finishing the season ranked 116th, he was relegated once more from the tour, aged 34. Attempts to re-qualify the following season proved unsuccessful, although Gill reached the second qualifying round of the 2005 World Championship, where

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English former professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began ...

defeated him 5–2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Surinder English snooker players 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Blackpool