Snooker is one of the more underrated sports out there, but has long been noted for its intense and intellectual nature. A number of key players such as Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, Willie and Jimmy White were central figures in popularizing snooker in the 1980s and 1990s. Snooker has a great many avid fans, but for the most part it remains relatively mysterious. A number of passionate and talented snooker players are available to appear as celebrity after dinner speakers at corporate events. These players are perhaps an unconventional choice for an after dinner guest, but they will certainly provide a powerful and riveting speech. Shedding light on the intricacies of the game, they can speak to your delegates about such key traits as patience, discipline, dedication and an analytical eye. In this way, snooker becomes something far less esoteric, and the guest speaker is able to not only entertain and intrigue your audience but find the thread that links their passion and the passions of your delegates.
Jimmy White, MBE is an English professional snooker player. He earned his nickname of “The Whirlwind” due to his fluid and powerful style of play. White is also known as the “People’s Champion” and is greatly popular with fans of darts. White has appeared in six World Championship finals, and also has the 1980 World Amateur Championship, the 2009 Six-red Championship, the 1984 World Doubles Championship (with Alex Higgins) and the 2010 World Seniors Championship under his belt. His other darts accolades include the UK Championship, the Masters and the Nations Cup.
John Virgo, known as ‘Mr Perfection’, is a former professional snooker player who currently appears as a snooker commentator and TV personality. One of his greatest moments was winning the 1979 UK Championship. Virgo currently works primarily with the BBC to provide snooker coverage, but he also co-presented (alongside Jim Davidson) the snooker-focused game show, Big Break. Virgo has written a book commemorating the life of snooker legend Alex Higgins, Let Me Tell You About Alex, in 2011. The following year, he released the book Amazing Snooker Trick Shots. In 2014, he developed and released an application available on Apple and Android devices called John Virgo’s Snooker Trick Shots. The application features Virgo performing a selection of snooker trick shots and offers tutorials and helpful diagrams for each.
Willie Thorne is often dubbed the “The Great WT” and is widely considered to be one of the most talented snooker players of his generation. Beginning his amateur career as an national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970, his career has spanned over three long decades making him a master of the sport- his total of 14 worldwide tournament victories worldwide a testament to that. Thorne is also well known for her larger than life personality and therefore found himself inundated with broadcasting offers upon retirement. His retirement saw him go on to achieve great success as a broadcaster and commentator (both on radio and TV), covering all major snooker events and tournaments on all major channels, such as the BBC, ITV and Sky Sports. His charm and character has also seen him gain a reputation as a wonderful event host and after dinner speaker.
For all bookings concerning the snooker players above, please contact top talent agency MN2S.