Anthony Stephen Hamilton (born 29 June 1971) is an English retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1991 and spent fifteen seasons ranked within the top 32, including five within the top 16, reaching a career high of number 10 in the 1999/2000 season. He reached three ranking finals during his career, losing 7âÂÂ9 to Fergal O'Brien in the 1999 British Open final and 8âÂÂ9 to Mark Williams in the 2002 China Open final before winning his only ranking title at the 2017 German Masters, beating Ali Carter 9âÂÂ6 in the final. His best performances in Triple Crown events were reaching four World Snooker Championship quarter-finals, in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2007, and reaching one Masters semi-final in 1999.
Hamilton lost his professional tour card after his defeat in the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifiers and announced his retirement in June 2025 after losing in the second event of 2025 Q School.
Hamilton turned professional in 1991 and entered the world's top 32 in 1995/1996.
During this period he reached two ranking tournament finals. In the British Open in 1999, he lost to Fergal O'Brien. Hamilton opened with two centuries, but O'Brien won five frames on the final black to defeat the Nottingham man. The other was the 2001 China Open, in which Mark Williams beat him 9âÂÂ8, having been 5âÂÂ8 down. Hamilton made the first of his four World Championship quarter-finals in 2000, losing 3âÂÂ13 to John Higgins.
He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship on three later occasions (2002, 2004 and 2007), but without reaching the semi-final stage. In 2002, he lost 6âÂÂ13 to eventual winner Peter Ebdon. In 2004, he made two consecutive to come from 0âÂÂ2 down to level at 2âÂÂ2 in his quarter-final against eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, but eventually lost the match 3âÂÂ13. Hamilton's 438 points scored in this match are a record low for a World Championship Quarter-final. He also has the highest ever points total in a first-round match at the Crucible, 1271 against Chris Small in 1999, though he lost this match 9âÂÂ10. In 1997 he reached the second round; facing John Parrott at this stage, he scored 414 unanswered points in frames 1âÂÂ5, but still lost the match (this is the second-highest number of unanswered points in Crucible history; the record was set by John Higgins against Hamilton in the second round in 2000). Hamilton did not fare well in the 2006 World Championship, losing 1âÂÂ10 in the opening round to Mark Williams. However, a strong two seasons ensured that he reclaimed a top-16 place.
Hamilton began the 2006âÂÂ07 season at the Northern Ireland Trophy, losing 3âÂÂ5 against Ding Junhui. At the Grand Prix Hamilton lost all five of his group stage matches, and didn't advance to the knockout stage. Hamilton then lost 7âÂÂ9 against Rod Lawler in the first round of the UK Championship, 3âÂÂ6 in the wild-card round of the Masters, 4âÂÂ5 against Tom Ford in the first round of the Malta Cup. Hamilton's best result of the season came at the Welsh Open, where he reached the quarter-finals by defeating both Joe Perry and Dave Harold, before losing his match to Steve Davis in a final- decider. Hamilton then lost in the first round of the China Open 4âÂÂ5 against Mark Selby. Hamilton reached his fourth World Championship quarter-final, pulling off a surprise 10âÂÂ3 victory over Marco Fu in round 1, and a 13âÂÂ8 second round win over Ian McCulloch. However, he couldn't advance to the semi-final stage, losing 7âÂÂ13 to Stephen Maguire. As a result, he did not retain his top sixteen place, falling to number 26 in the rankings for 2007/2008.
Hamilton began the 2007âÂÂ08 season at the Shanghai Masters, where he lost 4âÂÂ5 against Adrian Gunnell in the last qualifying round. Hamilton than was eliminated in the round robin stages of the Grand Prix, as he won only two of his five matches. He reached the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy, by defeating Michael Judge 5âÂÂ2 in the first round, but lost 2âÂÂ5 against Shaun Murphy. He could qualify for the televised stage of the 2007 UK Championship, by defeating Barry Pinches 9âÂÂ6, but lost against Mark Selby 5âÂÂ9 in the first round. Hamilton then lost in the first round of the Welsh Open 2âÂÂ5 against Andrew Higginson, and couldn't qualify for the China Open, after losing 1âÂÂ5 against Marcus Campbell in the last qualifying round. He ensured his qualification for the World Championship with a 10âÂÂ2 victory over Scott MacKenzie in the final qualifying round, but lost 3âÂÂ10 to Stephen Maguire in the first round. This saw him drop from number 26 to 31 in the World Rankings at the start of the 2008/2009 season.
In 2008âÂÂ09 Hamilton did not reach the last sixteen in any of the first five ranking events. He lost in the first round 3âÂÂ5 against Andrew Higginson at the Northern Ireland Trophy, 2âÂÂ5 against Marco Fu at the Shanghai Masters, and 0âÂÂ5 against John Higgins at the Grand Prix, while he did not qualify for the Bahrain Championship and the UK Championship, for he lost in the qualifying rounds: respectively, 2âÂÂ5 against Mark Davis and 4âÂÂ9 against Higginson. However he managed a run to the semi-finals of the 2009 Welsh Open. On the way he beat Peter Ebdon, Michael Judge and Mark Selby. In the semi-final he led Ali Carter 3âÂÂ0 and it looked as though he may reach his third ranking final but eventually lost 5âÂÂ6 against the eventual winner. Hamilton qualified for the China Open, by defeating Patrick Wallace 5âÂÂ1, but lost 4âÂÂ5 against John Higgins, and he couldn't qualify for the World Championship, as he lost 5âÂÂ10 to Ricky Walden in the last qualifying round. At the end of the season he lost his place among the world's top 32, and was ranked number 33 in the next season.
In 2009âÂÂ10 season Hamilton couldn't qualify for the first two ranking events, as he lost 0âÂÂ5 against Jamie Cope at the Shanghai Masters, and 0âÂÂ5 against David Gilbert at the Grand Prix. His only appearance in the last 32 came at the 2009 UK Championship, where he lost 2âÂÂ9 against Mark King. Hamilton however couldn't qualify for the last three ranking events, as he lost 4âÂÂ5 against Bjorn Haneveer at the Welsh Open, 4âÂÂ5 against Tony Drago at the China Open, and 6âÂÂ10 against Ford at the 2010 World Snooker Championship.
In 2010/2011 season Hamilton failed to qualify for the first three ranking events as he lost 2âÂÂ5 against Ricky Walden at the Shanghai Masters, 1âÂÂ3 against James McBain at the World Open and 3âÂÂ9 against Rod Lawler at the UK Championship. Hamilton also participated in all Players Tour Championship events, with his best performance coming at the Paul Hunter Classic, where he reached the final, but lost 3âÂÂ4 against Judd Trump. Hamilton finished 18th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit and qualified for the Finals, where he lost 0âÂÂ4 against Mark Williams in the second round. Hamilton qualified for the German Masters, by defeating Kurt Maflin (5âÂÂ4), Adam Wicheard (5âÂÂ1) and Stuart Bingham (5âÂÂ1) in qualifying stages. He reached the second round by defeating Pavel Leyk (5âÂÂ1) and Neil Robertson (5âÂÂ4), before losing against Graeme Dott (2âÂÂ5). Hamilton couldn't reach the final stages of the last three ranking tournaments, as he lost in the qualifying stages against Matthew Stevens 2âÂÂ4 at the Welsh Open, 1âÂÂ5 at the China Open and against Barry Hawkins 5âÂÂ10 at the World Championship.
Hamilton began the 2011âÂÂ12 season ranked number 36. Hamilton reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters by winning five matches, but he lost 2âÂÂ5 against Mark King. Hamilton, however couldn't qualify for the final stages of the remaining ranking tournaments, as he lost 5âÂÂ6 against Marco Fu at the UK Championship, 0âÂÂ5 against Tom Ford at the German Masters, 1âÂÂ5 against Joe Perry at the World Open, 1âÂÂ4 against Andy Hicks at the Welsh Open, 1âÂÂ5 against Perry at the China Open and 9âÂÂ10 against Ken Doherty at the World Championship. Hamilton also participated in 10 of the 12 Players Tour Championship events, with his best performance coming in event 11, where he reached the semi-finals, losing 3âÂÂ4 against Martin Gould. Hamilton finished 42nd on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, outside of the top 24 who qualified for the Finals.
Hamilton began the 2012âÂÂ13 season ranked number 32. He could not qualify for the first four ranking events, as he lost 4âÂÂ5 against Michael White at the Wuxi Classic, 3âÂÂ5 against Jimmy Robertson at the Shanghai Masters, 3âÂÂ6 against Ryan Day at the International Championship and withdrew from the Australian Goldfields Open. He lost 2âÂÂ6 to Ian Burns in the qualifying stage of the UK Championship, but then defeated Burns 5âÂÂ2 and Jamie Cope 5âÂÂ0 to reach the last 32 of the 2013 German Masters. He recorded a 5âÂÂ4 victory over Judd Trump, and then lost 2âÂÂ5 to Ali Carter. Hamilton also qualified for the Welsh Open, but lost 2âÂÂ4 to Stephen Maguire in the last 32. Hamilton played in nine of the ten Players Tour Championship events this season, with his best result coming in the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy, where he defeated George Marter, Ryan Causton, Andrew Higginson, Michael Wasley and Mark Selby, before losing 3âÂÂ4 to John Higgins in the semi-finals. This performance helped him to finish 34th on the PTC Order of Merit, outside of the top 26 who qualified for the Finals. Hamilton's season ended when he lost 4âÂÂ10 to Dechawat Poomjaeng in the third qualifying round of the World Championship.
Hamilton began the 2013âÂÂ14 season ranked number 43, after dropping 11 places in the rankings during the previous season. He qualified for the Wuxi Classic by defeating Jamie O'Neill 5âÂÂ1. At the venue he defeated Ryan Day, Stuart Bingham and Mark Williams to reach the quarter-final, where he lost 3âÂÂ5 against Robert Milkins. After this, Hamilton failed to qualify for two of the next three ranking events; he lost 2âÂÂ5 against Mark Joyce at the Shanghai Masters, and 3âÂÂ6 against Paul Davison at the International Championship. He qualified for the Indian Open by defeating Michael Wasley 4âÂÂ2, but withdraw from his last-64 match against Michael White. Hamilton also lost 4âÂÂ6 against Sean O'Sullivan in the first round of the UK Championship. He then qualified for the televised stages of the German Masters, the World Open and the China Open with 5âÂÂ3 wins against Ross Muir, Andrew Norman, and Alex Borg. He reached the last 16 of the German Masters and the Welsh Open, where he lost 3âÂÂ5 against Ryan Day 2âÂÂ4 against Ricky Walden respectively; Hamilton lost in the first round of the World Open and the China Open 3âÂÂ5 against Mark Selby and 4âÂÂ5 against Neil Robertson. Hamilton played in all European Tour events this season, and reached the fourth round at four of them. This performance helped him to finish 23rd on the European Tour Order of Merit, and qualified for the Finals, where he reached the last 16, but lost 3âÂÂ4 against Gerard Greene, despite leading 3âÂÂ0. Hamilton's season ended when he lost 7âÂÂ10 to Joe Swail in the second qualifying round of the World Championship.
Hamilton qualified for the 2014 Wuxi Classic, the first ranking event of the 2014âÂÂ15 season, by beating Andrew Pagett 5âÂÂ2. He defeated Kurt Maflin 5âÂÂ1 in the first round, but from 4âÂÂ2 ahead of Stuart Bingham in round two, he went on to lose 5âÂÂ4. He failed to qualify for the Shanghai Masters and International Championship, but knocked out Craig Steadman 6âÂÂ5 in the first round of the UK Championship, despite Hamilton being docked a frame for arriving late. Hamilton said afterwards, "It was rubbish â seriously. I can't play any worse. It was a good attitude but rubbish snooker. I am rubbish now a lot of the time. I am getting old basically. It's no fun but it's better than working". He reiterated these sentiments after he lost 6âÂÂ4 to Graeme Dott in the second round, stating: "I don't practice much anymore. I only play because it is better than working. I will have to work for a long time so I just want to swerve it for as long as possible". Hamilton qualified for the Indian Open and China Open, but was eliminated in the first round of both. He was knocked out in the last 64 of every European Tour to finish 54th on the Order of Merit and 58th in the world rankings.
Hamilton began the 2015/2016 season at risk of losing his tour place if his performances were not good enough; despite this, good results proved hard to come by during the first half of the season â the last-32 appearance at the minor-ranking Event 5 of the European Tour was his best result. Hamilton's form improved slightly after the New Year. In the first round of the Welsh Open he eliminated the reigning world champion Stuart Bingham 4âÂÂ1. having produced a break of 72 from 0âÂÂ71 down to take the final frame. He defeated Allan Taylor 4âÂÂ2, before losing 4âÂÂ3 to Ben Woollaston in the third round. In the 2016 China Open qualifiers, Hamilton was involved in a high-quality match with Kyren Wilson, in which the two players set a record of six consecutive century breaks between them; this included two from Hamilton, but he was beaten 5âÂÂ3. Hamilton finished his season by reaching the final qualifying round for the World Championship, but was edged out 10âÂÂ9 by Robbie Williams for the Crucible place. Hamilton finished the year 71st in the world rankings and therefore outside of the top 64 for the first time since 1992; however, thanks to being placed 64th on the European Order of Merit (one of the eight highest-placed players not in the world top 64), he earned a fresh two-year tour card.
Hamilton reached the quarter-finals of the English Open by beating Jak Jones 4âÂÂ3, but lost 5âÂÂ2 to Liang Wenbo. He also reached the quarter-finals of the next Home Nations event, the Northern Ireland Open and he defeated local favourite Mark Allen 5âÂÂ2 to make his first semi-final since the 2009 Welsh Open. After the match, Hamilton said "a month ago I was skint and now I'm in the semi-finals." In the semi-final he came from 4âÂÂ2 and 5âÂÂ3 down against Barry Hawkins to force a deciding frame in which he had a good chance to win the match, but he feathered the cue ball and Hawkins secured it with a 59 break.
Hamilton came through a very tough draw at the German Masters as he beat Mark Williams 5âÂÂ3, Mark Selby 5âÂÂ2 and Barry Hawkins 5âÂÂ4 to advance to the semi-finals whilst claiming he wasn't playing his best. He then defeated Stuart Bingham 6âÂÂ4 to get to his third ranking event final and first in 15 years in a match that finished at 1am. Playing Ali Carter in the final, Hamilton fell 2âÂÂ5 down early on, but went on to win seven of the last eight frames for a 9âÂÂ6 victory. It sealed the long-awaited first ranking event title of his 26-year career as a professional, and at the age of 45 he also became the oldest winner of a ranking event since 46-year-old Doug Mountjoy in 1989. Hamilton moved from 66th to 38th in the rankings. He beat Bingham 5âÂÂ1, before losing 5âÂÂ2 to Ding Junhui at the Players Championship and failed to reach the World Championship as he was defeated 10âÂÂ9 by Noppon Saengkham in the second qualifying round. From starting the season with no ranking points he finished it 25th in the world, 31 places ahead of the next newly qualified player, Yan Bingtao.
Hamilton beat Sam Craigie 6âÂÂ3 and Scott Donaldson 10âÂÂ5 to qualify for the 2020 World Championship but then withdrew from the tournament. Being an asthmatic, Hamilton had criticised the decision to allow a limited number of spectators into the Crucible in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Defending champion Judd Trump said Hamilton should have made his decision earlier because, by participating in the qualifiers despite knowing there would be spectators in the final stages, he had denied a place to another player. This was despite government advice changing after qualifying entries had been announced.
He is nicknamed the "Sheriff of Pottingham", "Swampy" and "The Robin Hood of Snooker". He now lives in Nottingham, and regularly plays at Spot On Leisure in Hucknall, Nottingham. In 2001 he suffered a broken wrist while attempting to come to the rescue of a friend who was mugged in a nightclub, an injury that kept him out of three tournaments and ultimately cost him his place in the top 16 of the 2001/2002 season.
In 2019, an operation to improve his eyesight was unsuccessful and gave him double vision, leading Hamilton to comment: "I knew instantly my career was over after that operation".
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