Jason Ferguson
Ferguson in 2013
Born (1969-05-31) 31 May 1969
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England
Sport country England
Professional1990–2004
Highest ranking28 (1994–95)
Best ranking finishLast 16 (x10)

Jason Elliott Ferguson (born 31 May 1969) is an English former professional snooker player and current chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[1] He reached the World Snooker Championship on three occasions, and was for four seasons ranked in the world's top 32 players, reaching a peak position of #28.

In 1998 Ferguson was elected to the board of the WPBSA, and became chairman of the organisation in 2001. After retiring as a professional player and leaving his position on the WPBSA, he served as the mayor of Ollerton and Boughton between 2009 and 2010. In July 2010 Ferguson was re-elected as chairman of the WPBSA, a position he has held since. In 2022, it was confirmed that Ferguson would continue serving as chairman for at least four more years.

Playing career

Ferguson turned professional in 1990. Two years later he qualified for the World Snooker Championships, losing in the first round, and reached the last 16 of the UK Championship. He reached the same stage of six more ranking events but never progressed beyond that stage.[1]

Ferguson again qualified for the World Championship in 1996, again losing in the first round.[1] His final World Championship appearance came in 1998, when he lost 8–10 to eventual champion John Higgins in the first round.[2] He spent a total of four years ranked among the world's top 32 players,[3] reaching his highest ranking of #28 in the 1994/95 season.[4]

Although Ferguson continued to play professionally for a further six years, his form suffered due to his increased workload after being elected to the WPBSA board.[5] He retired in 2004.[1]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04
Ranking[6][nb 1] [nb 2] 108 62 32 28 29 29 37 35 50 54 56 85 86
Ranking tournaments
LG Cup[nb 3] 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R LQ 2R LQ LQ
British Open LQ 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 2R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship LQ LQ 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ
Welsh Open NH LQ LQ 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R LQ 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ
European Open[nb 4] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NH LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ
Players Championship[nb 5] Not Held 3R 3R 2R 3R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
World Championship LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A
Former ranking tournaments
Classic LQ 2R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open[nb 6] NH 1R MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 7] LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ LQ 1R Tournament Not Held
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ 2R 2R Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ NR Not Held
China Open[nb 8] Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9] LQ LQ 3R LQ 1R LQ LQ WR LQ LQ LQ LQ NR NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot-Out 2R Tournament Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi–finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ↑ The event was also called the Grand Prix (1990/1991–2000/2001)
  4. ↑ The event was also called the Irish Open (1998/1999)
  5. ↑ The event was also called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Scottish Open (1997/1998–2002/2003)
  6. ↑ The event run under different name as Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)
  7. ↑ The event run under different names as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. ↑ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  9. ↑ The event run under different names as Asian Open (1990/1991–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/97)

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 2

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1994 Merseyside Professional Championship England Dean Reynolds 1–5
Runner-up 2. 1999 UK Tour - Event 4 Wales James Reynolds 4–6

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 Pontins Autumn Open England Jonathan Birch 5–2

Amateur finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1989 World Under-21 Championship Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 5–11

Snooker administration

In December 1998 Ferguson was elected alongside Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor to the WPBSA's seven-person board, at the time led by Rex Williams. This appointment coincided with a period of difficulty between old and new board members.[7] An attempt by Ferguson, Davis and Taylor to remove Williams and Bob Close in August 1999 failed, and a counter-motion saw the three voted off the board, although this was later reversed.[8]

Ferguson became the organisation's chairman in December 2001, replacing Mark Wildman. Ferguson was at the time ranked #56 in the world. He was criticised for endorsing the board's decision to fire chief executive Jim McKenzie one week after becoming chairman.[9]

After several years away from the post, Ferguson was re-elected as chairman of the WPBSA following a board meeting in July 2010.[3] He survived a vote of confidence in December 2010 by a margin of 31 votes to three.[10] In 2022, following an independent review, the WBPSA confirmed that Ferguson would continue as chairman at least until 2026.[11]

Other roles

In May 2009 Ferguson was elected as mayor of the civil parish of Ollerton and Boughton having previously spent two years from late 2006 as a town councillor in Ollerton.[12] He was replaced as mayor by Irene Miller in May 2010.[13]

Ferguson also owns the bicycle repair shop called Wheels ‘n’ Things.[12] He was a non-executive director of the Sherwood Energy Village, an ecologically sustainable village on the site of a former coal mine in Ollerton;[12] while the site still exists, the organisation went into liquidation in 2010.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jason Ferguson". billiardssnooker.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "World Championship 1998". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Jason Ferguson Appointed WPBSA Chairman". worldsnooker.com. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "World Rankings 1994/95". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Willie Thorne, John Williams, Jason Ferguson and Mark Johnstone Allen's Snooker Chat". BBC Online. 30 April 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Davis leads fight for change". BBC News. 23 December 1998. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  8. ↑ Everton, Clive (29 August 1999). "Snooker: Hendry quick off the mark". The Independent. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Rowland, James (21 December 2001). "Snooker: Troubled Ferguson falters on and off the table". The Independent. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "WPBSA receives vote of confidence". Eurosport. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  11. ↑ Huart, Matt (13 December 2022). "WPBSA Annual General Meeting 2022". WPBSA. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 "Cued up as mayor". Newark Advertiser. 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "New mayor named". Newark Advertiser. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Sherwood Energy Village firm in liquidation - BBC News
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