Players

The Hawk has quietly won five ranking titles and reached a world final, but his cue has stayed out of the spotlight. Here is what can and can’t be said.

The 2015 world champion changed his cue after the 2017 World Championship, and his name is linked with two cue makers, though his specs remain private.

The Whirlwind’s cue is linked to John Parris, and it famously survived the 2017 fire that destroyed most of his belongings, because it was in his car.

When Steve Davis’s cue snapped mid-tournament in 1987, cue maker John Parris saved it with an extraordinary repair rather than replacing it.

The most successful player of the modern era won everything with a £40 machine-made cue, until airline baggage handlers broke it in 2003.

Jack Lisowski is a rare top player who has openly switched cues, and his cue history is a useful lesson in what matters and what doesn’t.

Ding Junhui has been loyal to a single Stamford Cuemakers cue for most of his career, so loyal that the maker had to restore it in 2016.

The Magician plays with a John Parris one-piece ash cue built to mirror the one he learned with, and he has been experimenting with more than one cue since 2023.

Mark Allen has endorsed John Parris cues and visited O’Min’s factory as a brand spokesman. In 2024 easyJet lost his cue hours after he won the Players Championship.

Luca Brecel’s favourite cue, the one he won the 2023 World Championship with, went missing on a flight months later. Since then he has been linked with Thai maker Ton Praram III.

Zhao Xintong’s exact match cue has not been officially confirmed, but UK maker Gcues and Italian workshop Sabetta & Gusmeroli have both made cues for him, and he has developed his own tips.

Kyren Wilson won the 2024 World Championship playing with a GBL Vanquish cue, the same range John Higgins and Gary Wilson use.

Mark Williams changed to a Zhang Yu cue after signing a sponsorship deal in China, was criticised for it, and then won the Champion of Champions. Here is what we know.

John Higgins made his 1000th century with a GBL Vanquish cue supplied by Green Baize, after his Ton Praram cue was damaged in transit. Here is the story of his recent cues.

Neil Robertson has played with a John Parris Classic cue since he was 15 years old. It is one of the longest cue partnerships in the professional game.

Mark Selby won world titles with a cue built by Stamford Cuemakers in Lincolnshire around 2006, a cue he had restored rather than replaced. Here is what we know about it.

Judd Trump has been a John Parris man for most of his career. In September 2025 he changed cue for the first time in seven years, looking for more power on heavy tables.

For most of his career Ronnie O’Sullivan played with John Parris cues; since 2025 he has used cues made by fellow pro Sunny Akani. Here is the full story and what the specs mean for club players.

Recent news that Ronnie O’Sullivan was forced to withdraw from the World Snooker Tour (WST) Classic due to injury has sent shock waves through the world of snooker.