Snooker awards of the year 2024: Best moment, best break and more as Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Kyren Wilson feature

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So this is Christmas, and what have you done? In the snooker world, we deal in seasons more than calendar years, but the festive period is a time for reflection and 2024 has seen some stunningly dramatic moments on the green baize. As the year draws to a close, Eurosport's David Hendon hands out his 2024 awards, featuring the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson.

Watch O'Sullivan's best shots of 2024

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Moment of the year – Kyren Wilson, world champion

Snooker’s global footprint is growing but we always come back to Sheffield’s theatre-in-the-round for the highlight of any year, and in 2024 the Crucible belonged to Kyren Wilson.

The form players of the season all underperformed at the World Championship, leaving some of those who had been out of the spotlight, Wilson included, to step forward. His first session demolition of Jak Jones in the final gave him a firm advantage and, though he was put under some pressure at the end, he held himself together to achieve a lifetime’s ambition.

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But what was particularly memorable were the scenes afterwards of Wilson with his family. His father has been dealing for years with multiple sclerosis while his mother had been treated for breast cancer. His wife had problems relating to epilepsy. But there they all were, with Wilson’s loyal brother, Taylor, and the new world champion’s young sons, Finley and Bailey, sharing the moment, the years of struggle and sacrifice worth it for this golden realisation of a dream.

Trump, Higgins, Wilson and the Top 10 Flukes of 2024

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Player of the year – Judd Trump

Wilson has a strong claim to this accolade after winning two further titles following his World Championship success – beating Trump in both finals – but by several measures, Trump deserves the nod.

He won five titles during 2024, including two big ones at the UK Championship and Saudi Arabia Masters, and reached at least the quarter-finals in all but one of the ranking events he competed in. In addition, Trump won 82% of the matches he played during the year - the next best being Mark Allen on 71% - and is world No. 1 by some distance.

There is a danger Trump’s achievements are being taken for granted, as if we just expect him to be winning titles. In fact, they should be celebrated more. In this competitive era, he is the sport’s most consistent winner.

Watch the best of Trump in 2024

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Match of the year – Saudi Arabia Masters final

This new event sparked much discussion for its location, audience attendance and prize money, but the snooker itself was compelling and ended with the only final all year to go to a deciding frame finish.

Mark Williams, who turns 50 in 2025, still plays a youthful game and had been the best player for most of the day, making four centuries during the final. He was on a break of 62 in the decider, just a couple of pots away from landing £500,000, when he missed.

The balls were not ideally placed for a clearance but, under intense pressure, Trump manoeuvred them into position and made a stunning 72 to steal victory on the last black – a ball which was effectively worth £300,000 for finishing as champion rather than runner-up.

'It's easy in the commentary box' - Williams bites back at Hendry criticism

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Break of the year – John Higgins’ 71 clearance in World Championship v Mark Allen

Trump and Williams were strong contenders here. Trump’s clearance in Riyadh won him the title while Williams’ 66 break to beat Tom Ford 10-9 in the first round of the Tour Championship had to be seen to be believed, with several balls apparently safe when he came to the table.

But there was something about the John Higgins break which resonated. Here was a true great of the game who had suffered some frustrating near misses in recent times, failing to close out finals from winning positions. When Allen missed a red using the rest leading 62-0, the question was could Higgins, arguably the best clearer there’s ever been, summon another telling dish? Remember, this was the deciding frame to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship.

The only pot on initially was a double, which Higgins nailed before setting about a steely clearance which ended with his arms aloft as the Crucible audience rose to acclaim him.

Rare emotion from Higgins as he gets over the line in classic with Allen

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So much of sport, and this is certainly true of the World Snooker Championship, is about memory. It’s about the place in our hearts and minds we hold players. To see this old warhorse do it again transported us back to the times we’d watched him make these life-or-death breaks before, to where we were, who we watched them with.

Outside of Wilson winning the title, this was the iconic moment of the whole 17 days.

Breakthrough of the year – Lei Peifan and Wu Yize

After a few false dawns, the Chinese boom is now producing genuinely world-class players. Zhang Anda and Xiao Guodong spent several years on tour before achieving success, but younger players are also coming to the fore.

Wu reached two ranking finals during 2024, losing the second to his fellow 21 year-old, Lei. Their Scottish Open title match was low in quality but provided a glimpse of the future. The structure of the tour means Chinese players have to spend long periods in the UK. They hone their skills in various academies day after day and the success they are collectively enjoying can only act as inspiration for those who follow them.

‘Would you believe it?’ - Lei checks with referee after ball takes an age before dropping

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One such academy is owned by Ding Junhui, whose victory in the 2005 China Open started it all. As much as the many titles he has won – the latest being the International Championship in November – the Chinese snooker revolution is his considerable legacy.

Historic moment of the year – Ronnie O’Sullivan's eighth Masters

O’Sullivan already held the record at the Masters with seven titles, and demonstrated once again why he is the man for a big occasion by overturning a 6-3 deficit to beat Ali Carter 10-7.

Carter had played superbly all through the tournament, setting a new record for most centuries made in a single Masters event. Maybe he was too intent on getting one over O’Sullivan, with whom he is unlikely to swap Christmas cards. Or maybe O’Sullivan just gets inspired by nights like this.

Roared on by a large crowd, he won seven of the last eight frames to extend his record to eight wins from a remarkable 14 finals. O’Sullivan says he isn’t a fan of Alexandra Palace, a venue he feels is cold and full of germs. None of that is likely to stop him being the man to beat when the 2025 event gets underway on January 12.

No Filter: Behind the scenes as O'Sullivan wins record eighth Masters crown

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Disappointment of the year – The Shootout crowd

The whole point of the Shootout is that it isn’t like conventional snooker. The audience is invited to get involved and make noise, but it crossed a line this year. Players were subjected to unacceptable abuse by a minority of spectators, but a vocal minority at that.

This event needs to be rethought. The format remains fun and can result in some very dramatic finishes, but the whole look and feel of it hasn’t changed in years. If it wasn’t for the eager Rob Walker’s dancing intros, it would all have looked a bit tired.

One solution would be to take it to Germany, where snooker fans are passionate but respectful. They’d get involved and create an atmosphere but wouldn’t contain the boorish element who ruined it for many this year.

Ambassador of the year – Kyren Wilson

The term ‘ambassador’ is somewhat nebulous. Just playing snooker is in itself a way of promoting it. However, Wilson deserves credit for grasping the mantle of being world champion with both hands and running with it.

Some world champions have struggled with the increased demands on their time, but Wilson carries himself with the pride of someone who has achieved something special and wants to celebrate it.

He’s active, in the best way, on social media and always talks well about himself and the sport. He has been a visible world champion in the way that Luca Brecel was not.

Can he now break the infamous Crucible Curse which has seen every first time world champion fail to defend the title in Sheffield? That’s one for 2025.

'I'll never forget this moment' - Wilson reflects on glory at Crucible

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