Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

player from

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the

2012 Wuxi Classic The 2012 Wuxi Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament held between 25 June–1 July 2012 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first year of the tournament as a ranking event, having been non-ranking in it ...

and the 2014 International Championship and has been inside the top 16 in the season-ending rankings on four occasions. A former world Top 6 player, Walden has reached the televised stages of the World Snooker Championship on eight occasions as of 2021, with his best result being a semi-finalist in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Early years

Walden was born in

but raised in

Bagillt Bagillt (; ) is a market town and community in Flintshire, Wales. The town overlooks the Dee Estuary and is between the towns of Holywell and Flint. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 3,918, increasing to 4,165 at the 2011 census ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

, where he now lives once more, having spent some time living elsewhere in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. He was one of the Young Players of Distinction in a scheme run in 2000, designed to help young players develop their playing and media skills, alongside

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

and

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

. In 2001 he won the World Under-21 Championship.

Career

1999–2011

Walden began his professional career by playing UK Tour in 1999 (renamed the Challenge Tour in 2000), at the time the second-level professional tour. Then he played Challenge Tour in 2001 and entered Main Tour. He started the 2004/2005 season ranked at number 78 in the world, but climbed 30 places that year. He beat

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

twice that season, at the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

and

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...

, and reached the Quarter-Final of the China Open. In 2005–06 his best run was to the last 16 in the China Open, which he achieved by beating

. In 2006–07 he had 2 last-32 appearance including the

, where he lost to

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

8–9. He lost to eventual finalist

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

in qualifying for the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. He reached #36 for the 2007–08 season and the same year he reached the last 16 of the

, beating

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

in qualifying and four top-32 players in the main round-robin stage. He crashed out in the China Open to

and in the qualifying for the

, to

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

was not impressed with Walden's behaviour during the match and coined the nickname Ricky "The Wally" Walden in his post match interview, which received some criticism from World Snooker. Walden rebutted this by calling Allen a "fat c***", also commenting "I may be a wally but at least I don't waddle". For this he received a fine a suspended 3 tournament ban. In the 2008 Shanghai Masters he defeated

Lee Spick Lee Spick (25 April 1980 – 26 January 2015) was an English professional snooker player. A former English under-15 champion, he reached the last 48 of ranking events on five occasions, including twice in the World Championship. Career He reac ...

and Ian McCulloch to qualify. At the venue he defeated wildcard Zhang Anda,

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

(5–4, from 1–4 down),

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

in the quarter-finals (5–2, from 0–2 down), and

in the semi-final (6–4, from 1–4 down). He won his first ranking title by beating

10–8 in the final. The rest of the season was solid rather than spectacular, but a qualifying victory over Anthony Hamilton earned him a first appearance at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

, where he lost 6–10 to Mark Selby. In 2008 he also won the Six-red Snooker International, beating

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

8–3 in the final. Walden made it to the World Championship for the second time in 2011 as a seeded player, but was beaten by qualifier Rory McLeod 10–6. After the match, Walden criticised McLeod for what he considered to be a slow and 'boring' style of play, although Walden was only marginally quicker than McLeod. McLeod responded to the criticism by arguing that Walden was more responsible for the pace of the match.

2011/2012 season

Walden started the 2011–12 season by losing in qualifying for the first two ranking events of the year. However, he qualified for the

by defeating Jamie Jones 6–2. In the main draw he beat Stephen Lee, Mark Williams and

all by 6–3 scorelines to set up a semi-final meeting with

. After the first session of the best-of 17-frames match Walden held a 5–3 advantage. However, upon resumption in the evening he lost the opening four frames and would eventually lose the match 7–9. This was Walden's first semi-final in a ranking event based in Britain. Walden played in all 12 of the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship series of events throughout the season, reaching the final in Event 6, where he lost to

1–4. This result was a large factor in him finishing 15th on the PTC

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

, inside the top 24 who reached the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. He also produced a

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

during Event 10, the second 147 of the event. At the Finals he whitewashed

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

4–0, before receiving a bye to the quarter-finals due to

withdrawing from the event. He played

and was beaten 3–4. Walden's performance in the UK Championship proved to be his best run in the ranking events of the season, as he could not get past the second round in any of the remaining tournaments. His season finished in disappointment as he failed to qualify for the

, losing to Jamie Jones 2–10. However, Walden's form throughout the season was enough for him to end it ranked world number 15, meaning he had finished the season inside the elite top 16 for the first time.

2012/2013 season

Walden began the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

by winning his second ranking event title at the Wuxi Classic. He beat amateur Zhu Yinghui in the first round 5–0 and was leading Joe Perry 4–0 and by 64–0 in the fifth frame, before Perry incredibly went on to level the match. The deciding frame came down to the final black, with Perry missing and Walden potting it at 1am local time, to reach the quarter-finals. He defeated

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...

5–3 and comfortably beat

Marcus Campbell Marcus Campbell (born 22 September 1972) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. He was ranked within the world's top 64 for 15 consecutive seasons. Career Campbell is most famous for whitewashing Stephen Hendry 9–0 in the 1998 ...

6–1 in the semi-finals to play in his second career ranking final, where he faced

. Walden raced into a 7–1 lead in the first session, despite Bingham's solitary frame being a

147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...

, and would return to close out a 10–4 victory. Following this he lost in the first round of the

Australian Goldfields Open The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015. History Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...

4–5 to

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

and in the second round of the Shanghai Masters 2–5 to Mark Williams. At the inaugural

International Championship The International Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. The reigning champion is Judd Trump. History The event was introduced in the 2012/2013 season. It was named as the "first overseas 'major'", because the tournament h ...

Walden saw off

Lu Ning Lu Ning (, born 1 January 1994 in Jilin) is a professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. Lu is among ten Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Lu's fi ...

in the first round and then kept his concentration at 4–0 up against world number one

in the next round to triumph 6–3. He was then whitewashed 0–6 by

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

in the quarter-finals. At the

, Walden played 17-year-old world number 74 Luca Brecel in the first round and despite leading 2–0, 4–2, and 5–4 in the best-of-11 frame match, Walden was eventually beaten 5–6. Now a part of the elite top 16, Walden played in the Masters for the second time in his career and looked to have all the momentum in his first round match against

as he recovered from 1–4 down to draw level at 4–4, but Murphy upped his game to take the last two frames and expel Walden from the tournament. Successive first round losses at the

German Masters The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, ...

and Welsh Open ensued, before Walden rediscovered some form at the World Open by eliminating Ebdon 5–2 and

5–4, but then lost to reigning champion

1–5 in the quarter-finals. Walden emphatically recorded his first ever victory at the

by thrashing Michael Holt 10–1 in the opening round. He played

in the last 16 and saw a dominating lead of 9–3 cut to 11–10, before holding his nerve to advance to the quarter-finals with a 13–11 win. Walden played qualifier Michael White in the quarter-finals, defeating him 13–6 to progress to the semi-finals, where he faced

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...

. Walden led the match 12–8 before Hawkins won eight successive frames and went on to defeat Walden 17–14. He finished the season at a career high world number eight in the rankings.

2013/2014 season

Walden began using a new cue at the start of the 2013–14 season and lost in the first round of the opening two ranking events, but won the minor-ranking Bluebell Wood Open, defeating

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...

4–3 in the final. In the

, Walden defeated Mark Williams 6–5 in the last 32,

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...

6–4 in the last 16, and

6–2 in the quarter-finals to reach his second UK semi-final in three years. Playing

in the semi-final, he was on the receiving end of snooker's 100th professional

in the seventh frame and went on to lose the match 9–5. Five days later, Walden witnessed another 147 against him, this time by Gary Wilson in qualifying for the

, a match that Walden lost 5–3. In the Masters, Walden came from 5–2 behind to defeat

6–5 in the first round. He faced

in the quarter-finals, but was whitewashed 6–0 in a match that lasted just 58 minutes. Walden scored 39 points in the first frame, but nothing thereafter as O'Sullivan compiled 556 points without reply, setting a new professional record. He beat Pankaj Advani,

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

and

in reaching the quarter-finals of the China Open, but then lost 5–3 to

. At the

, Walden beat

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

10–7 to face Hawkins in the second round, a repeat of the previous year's semi-final. At 9–5 ahead, Walden again squandered a lead against Hawkins as he was defeated 13–11.

2014/2015 season

In September 2014, he reached the final of the

Six-red World Championship The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion. History The event was first held in the 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six-red Snooker International ...

but lost 8–7 against

. In November, he won through to the final of the

without facing a top 16 player. From 7–7 in the final against

, Walden produced three breaks above 50 and a further century to take his third ranking title with a 10–7 victory. The winner's cheque of £125,000 is the highest of his career. He lost in the fourth round of the

6–0 to

and

knocked him out of the Masters for the second year in a row, this time 6–4 in the opening round. Walden lost five frames in a row against Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open to be defeated 5–3. Walden reached his second ranking event final of the season by coming back from 3–0 down against

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (, ; born 18 April 1985) is a Thai professional snooker player. He has won one Snooker world rankings, ranking event, the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out, and finished as runner-up in the 2019 World Open (snooker), 2019 World Open. H ...

at the Indian Open to win 4–3. He met Michael White in a one-sided match where White scored 419 points to Walden's 27 as he thrashed him 5–0 in 53 minutes. He could not recover from this loss in the remaining three ranking events as he lost in the last 32 of each, ending his season with a 10–8 defeat to

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...

in the first round of the

2015/2016 season

After losing 5–4 to

in the second round of the

, a poor run of form saw Walden fail to advance beyond the last 64 of any of the main ranking events until the PTC Grand Final in March 2016 and during that time described his play as the worst in his career. He qualified for the PTC Finals by reaching the final of the only minor ranking Asian Tour event this season, the Haining Open, where he lost 4–3 to

. At the PTC Finals he beat

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...

4–1,

4–2 and

4–1 to make the semi-finals. Walden saw off

6–3 to play in a ranking event final in Britain for the first time in his career and won a trio of frames to only trail

7–6, but then lost three frames to lose 10–6. In the following week he overcame

5–1 to play in the semi-finals of the China Open and made a 131 break in the deciding frame against

. In his second ranking event final in seven days Walden took an early 3–1 advantage over

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

, but went on to lose 10–4. His poor run of form earlier in the season coincided with Walden becoming a father for the first time in September 2015. He also explained that he had been making technical changes with his game and since ditching them and reverting to how he naturally plays the game his play had dramatically improved. Walden battled through a scrappy match in the opening round of the

in defeating

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

10–8 and then lost 13–8 to Higgins. Despite his recent good form Walden stated that he would have to improve in all departments of his game if he wanted to become a world champion in the future.

2016/2017 season

Walden suffered a

bulging disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physic ...

in his back in December 2016. He was concerned about maintaining his ranking, and began entering more tournaments than in previous seasons. The injury prevented him from putting in the practise hours to maintain form, and he stopped getting results. He soon dropped out of the top 16, where he'd been a fixture since 2013. Walden's only quarter-final of the 2016–17 season was at the

English Open The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...

and he lost it 5–2 to

. He did almost get to the same stage of the

, but was edged out 6–5 by

in the last 16. Walden also lost 6–5 in the third round of the

, having led Mark Williams 5–3. After failing to get beyond the last 16 of any event after this, Walden dropped out of the top 16 and needed to win three matches to qualify for the

. He could not win one as

Hammad Miah Hammad Miah ( bn, হাম্মাদ মিঞা; born 6 July 1993) is a British professional snooker player of Bangladeshi-origin. In May 2013, Miah qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi- ...

- having recovered from a 0–5 deficit - defeated him 10–7.

2017/2018 season

In the

, Walden reached the last 16 after knocking out

Duane Jones Duane L. Jones (April 11, 1937July 22, 1988) was an American actor and theatre director, best known for his lead role as Ben in the 1968 horror film '' Night of the Living Dead''. He was later director of the Maguire Theater at the State Univers ...

, Jamie Jones, and

before dispatched by the eventual finalist

. In the next tournament, he reached the quarter final of the Scottish Open before losing to Cao Yupeng. He qualified for the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...

after beating

Joe Swail Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World ...

, Lee Walker, and

Andrew Higginson Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open. Career Early years After some success in amateur tourn ...

in the qualifying rounds. He advanced to the second round of the tournament for the fourth time with a 10–6 victory over Luca Brecel, but eventually lost to

by 13–9.

2018/2019 season

Early in the season, with wins over the likes of

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

, Li Hang and

, Walden reached the quarter final of the Riga Masters but lost to the eventual champion

4–2. In December 2018, Walden suffered a shock first round exit in the

after losing 6–5 to

Jak Jones Jak Jones (born 29 July 1993) is a Welsh professional snooker player. Jones was born in Cwmbran, Wales. He became a professional in 2010 at the age of 16, by winning the 2010 European Under 19 Snooker Championship in Malta. Career Profess ...

. He failed to qualify for the

after losing 10–9 to

Eden Sharav Eden Sharav ( he, עדן שרב; born 30 April 1992) is an Israeli- Scottish former professional snooker player. He was born in Israel to an Israeli father and a Scottish-born mother. Career Amateur In 2010 Sharav reached the final of the Scott ...

in the qualifying round, despite leading 9–6.

2019/2020 season

Walden's best result of the season came in the

, he reached the quarter final after winning against players like Michael Holt and

before dispatched by David Gilbert in the decider. At the

, he was knocked out in the second round by

Martin O'Donnell Martin O'Donnell (born May 1, 1955) is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as ''Myth'', ''Oni'', ''Halo'', and ''Destiny''. O'Donnell collaborated with his musical colleague Michael Salvatori f ...

, losing 6–2. In July 2020, he was unable to qualify for the

for the consecutive year after losing 10–5 to

in the final qualifying round.

2020/2021 season

At the

, Walden reached the last 16 after knocking out

Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...

, Ashely Carty, and Mark Williams before losing to

. His best result of the season came in the Scottish Open, in which he advanced to the quarter final after beating the likes of

and

before losing to the eventual champion

. In April 2021, Walden qualified for the World Snooker Championship for the first time in 3 years after beating

Peter Lines Peter Lines (born 11 December 1969) is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father ...

and Ryan Day in the qualifying rounds. He drew

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...

in the first round.

Personal life

Walden married Natalie Wilton in a short ceremony at

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building i ...

on Thursday 22 May 2014. They have been together since 2010. Their son was born in September 2015, causing Walden to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters. They also have a second son.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 6 (3 titles)

Minor-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Non-ranking finals: 6 (2 titles)

Pro-am finals: 8 (5 titles)

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

References

External links

*
Ricky Walden
at ''worldsnooker.com''
Profile on the Global Snooker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walden, Ricky English snooker players Living people Sportspeople from Chester 1982 births People from Flintshire World champions in snooker Competitors at the 2009 World Games