Jamie Hunter (snooker player)

Jamie Hunter
Born	c. 1996 (age 28–29); Whiston Hospital
Sport country	England
Highest ranking	World Women's Snooker: 5 (October 2022)
Best ranking finish	October 2022

Jamie Hunter is an English snooker player. She started playing on the World Women's Snooker tour in 2021 and has won two ranking tournaments, the 2022 US Women's Open and the 2022 Australian Women's Open.^[2]

Career

At the 2021 EBSA European Snooker Championship, Hunter won all three of her group stage matches,^[3] then defeated Caty Dehaene, Stephanie Daughtery and Anastasia Nechaeva to reach the final, where she faced 12-time champion Wendy Jans. Jans took a 3–0 lead in the best-of-seven frames final, and won 4–1.^[4] In the women's team event, Hunter and Mary Talbot-Deegan won the title by defeating Rebecca Kenna and Emma Parker 3–2 in the final.^[4]

Hunter claimed the 2022 World Women's Billiards Championship title with a 304–148 victory against Snenthra Babu.^[5]

Hunter won her first women's ranking tournament in snooker at the 2022 US Women's Open. Having qualified for the quarter-finals by winning all three of her group matches, she eliminated Frances Tso 3–0 and then Talbot-Deegan 4–1. Hunter became the first transgender woman to win a ranking tournament by defeating Kenna 4–1 in the final.^[6]^[7]^[8]

She also took the following ranking tournament, the 2022 Australian Women's Open, with a 4–3 win against Jessica Woods in the final.^[9]

Personal life

Hunter started playing snooker after she sustained a serious ankle injury that prevented her from continuing to play football. She works in IT for a local council.^[1]

Hunter, who came out as transgender in 2019, has been criticised for participating in women's snooker events. Former UK Champion Maria Catalano has objected to Hunter's inclusion in women's tournaments and has called for transgender players to be banned from the women's tour, claiming that "if this is allowed and becomes more common, there is no future for women’s snooker."^[10] Hunter has denied that she enjoys an advantage in women's snooker and stated: "We just want to exist, whether it's sport or not."^[11]

Performance timeline

World Women's Snooker

Tournament^[12]	2021/ 22	2022/ 23
Current tournaments
UK Championship	1R	SF
US Open	NH	W
Australian Open	NH	W
Scottish Open	NH	QF
Masters	QF	2R
Belgian Open	NH	QF
Asia-Pacific Open	NH	A
World Championship	SF	2R
British Open	QF
Former tournaments
Winchester Open	QF	NH

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

NH / Not Held				means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event				means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event				means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event				means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event				means an event is/was a pro-am event.

References

^ ^a ^b Lindop, Beth (30 August 2022). "Woman battles 'barrage' of hate to bag top snooker crown". Liverpool Echo.
^ ^a ^b "Jamie Hunter". World Women's Snooker. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ "European Snooker Championships Women – Albufeira / Portugal 2021". EBSA. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Titles and tour cards for Brown, Mertens and Emery". Snooker Scene. November 2021. p. 19.
^ "2022 World Women's Billiards Championship". World Billiards. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ "Player Jamie Hunter's matches in the 2022 US Women's Snooker Open". WPBSA SnookerScores. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ Nunns, Hector (1 September 2022). "Trans snooker champion faces rack and ruin as rival calls for ban". The Daily Telegraph. p. 9.
^ Gair, Kieran (2 September 2022). "Trans snooker player's win cues up fairness row". The Times. p. 21.
^ Everton, Clive (November 2022). "Jamie Hunter's winning streak". Snooker Scene. p. 16.
^ Nunns, Hector (2022-08-31). "Former World No1 Believes Women's Game Could Die If Transgender Policy Isn't Tightened". The Sportsman. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
^ "Transgender snooker player Jamie Hunter criticised after winning US Women's Snooker Open". BBC. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
^ "WPBSA Snooker Scores - Player: Jamie Hunter". WPBSA Snooker Scores.

External links

Jamie Hunter at WPBSA SnookerScores

[LE-1] Lindop, Beth (30 August 2022). "Woman battles 'barrage' of hate to bag top snooker crown". Liverpool Echo.

[WWS-2] "Jamie Hunter". World Women's Snooker. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

[3] "European Snooker Championships Women – Albufeira / Portugal 2021". EBSA. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

[SCENENOV21-4] "Titles and tour cards for Brown, Mertens and Emery". Snooker Scene. November 2021. p. 19.

[5] "2022 World Women's Billiards Championship". World Billiards. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

[6] "Player Jamie Hunter's matches in the 2022 US Women's Snooker Open". WPBSA SnookerScores. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

[7] Nunns, Hector (1 September 2022). "Trans snooker champion faces rack and ruin as rival calls for ban". The Daily Telegraph. p. 9.

[8] Gair, Kieran (2 September 2022). "Trans snooker player's win cues up fairness row". The Times. p. 21.

[9] Everton, Clive (November 2022). "Jamie Hunter's winning streak". Snooker Scene. p. 16.

[10] Nunns, Hector (2022-08-31). "Former World No1 Believes Women's Game Could Die If Transgender Policy Isn't Tightened". The Sportsman. Retrieved 2024-03-18.

[11] "Transgender snooker player Jamie Hunter criticised after winning US Women's Snooker Open". BBC. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

[12] "WPBSA Snooker Scores - Player: Jamie Hunter". WPBSA Snooker Scores.

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