World ranking: 10
Last five seasons: 5-6-6-4-4
Date of birth: 11-05-64
Lives: Liverpool, Merseyside
Turned professional: 1983
Ranking tournament victories: 9
Last season’s prize money: £127,575
Career prize money: £2,803,890
Highest tournament break: 147

John Parrott has become one of snooker’s most instantly recognisable faces and has done much to popularise the sport both on and off the table.

He has managed to juggle his position in the top ten with a highly successful television career, most notably through his team captaincy against footballer Ally McCoist on the BBC’s ‘A Question of Sport’.

The lifelong Everton fan, who has won tournaments in nine different countries, has been an ever-present at the Crucible since 1984.

He has reached eight quarter-finals, one semi-final and two finals.

His first final came in 1989, but he was taught a harsh lesson by Steve Davis, who won 18-3 - the biggest margin of victory in an Embassy final.

But Parrott learned from the experience and two years later, he put it to good use, beating Jimmy White 18-11 in the 1991 final to win snooker’s greatest prize.

He added the UK Championship for good measure later that year and is one of only four players - Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins are the others - to have held both titles in the same year.

“It was just such a wonderful feeling getting to the world final and winning it was something else.

"Those moments do not come along too often and you have to savour them,” he said.

Parrott led England to victory in the 2000 Nations Cup at the Hexagon, Reading.

He marshalled his troops - Stephen Lee, Ronnie O’Sullivan and White - to a 6-4 victory over defending champions Wales.

Fittingly, it was the skipper who held his nerve against opposite number Darren Morgan in the deciding frame to seal the match for the host nation.

Parrott’s season ended on a low note as he lost 13-12 to Joe Swail in the second round of the Embassy World Championship after leading 12-8.

“It’s a massive disappointment – I’ve never ever lost from that position before,” he said afterwards.

“But I have to take my hat off and give Joe great credit. From 12-8 behind he’s played like a man possessed and his long game was just unbelievable.

"He knocked every single long ball in he played all day.”

The wise-cracking Liverpudlian, who is also an accomplished after-dinner speaker, has now spent 13 seasons in the top 16 and is fourth on snooker’s all-time money list with career earnings approaching the £3million mark.