Lets take a closer look at who are the 2020 BETFRED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Crucible Referees.
Marcel Eckardt – Germany .In the 2015 German Masters, Eckardt became the youngest person to referee a full ranking tournament final. Eckardt also refereed the 2016 European Masters final in Bucharest, Romania. In 2018 and 2019, he refereed at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Brendan Moore – England . Brendan Is a professional snooker referee from Sheffield, England. Moore first refereed on the World Snooker Tour in 2005, and has taken charge of two World Snooker Championship finals, in 2014 and in 2018.He was also the referee in the 2010 and 2013 UK Championship finals, as well as the 2012 and 2020 Masters finals.
Jan Verhaas – Holland . Jan Is a Dutch snooker and pool referee.His first professional match as a snooker referee was in 1993 (between Tony Drago and Steve Davis). In 2003 he became the first man from outside the United Kingdom to referee the final of the World Snooker Championship, and he refereed the 2006 World Final between Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott. Verhaas was in control of all three Masters finals which the late Paul Hunter won, and he describes them as his most memorable matches.
Paul Collier – Wales . Born in Newport, Wales, Collier began refereeing on the professional snooker circuit in 1992. In 2004 he took charge of the World Snooker Championship final between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Graeme Dott where he also became the youngest referee to take charge of a world championship final.In 2016 he refereed the final of the 2016 World Snooker Championship between Mark Selby and Ding Junhui.
Leo Scullion – Scotland . Being a professional snooker referee from Glasgow, Leo has been officiating on the main tour since 1999.His first senior match was in the 1999 Challenge Tour, and he officiated his first televised match in the 2001 Regal Scottish Masters, a tie between Stephen Lee and Patrick Wallace.Scullion started to become a Snooker personality in the 2000s and eventually officiated his first final in 2011, at the China Open. He then took charge of another two finals the following year, at the World Open and the UK Championship respectively.He officiated his first World Championship final in 2019.
Desislava Bozhilova – Bulgaria .Desislava first came across snooker at the age of 13, when she began to play pool and started to watch snooker at the same time. Falling in love with the game immediately, Desislava went to study in Sofia a few years later and applied to become a member of the Bulgarian Snooker Referees Association, passing her exam to become an international referee in December 2012. Since then, she has gone on to officiate matches at European Tour level, including matches involving leading players such as John Higgins and Marco Fu live on Eurosport. Most recently you would have seen her refereeing the Snooker Shoot Out 2016.
Rob Spencer – England .Originally from Stockport Rob started refereeing in 2011 and has worked at World Snooker events since 2013. Rob has also worked with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Tatiana Woollaston – Belarus .Tatiana started off refereeing amateur events in Belarus in 2008, before graduating to international amateur tournaments. In 2010 she worked at her first European Tour event, and in the same year she took charge of a semi-final at the tournament in Prague. She has since become a regular referee at European Tour and world ranking events. At the 2015 Welsh Open she took charge of a televised ranking event match for the first time.Tatiana, who has a degree in economics, is married to pro player Ben Woollaston.
Ben Williams – England . Ben took charge of his second ranking event final at the 2018 English Open in Crawley, when Stuart Bingham beat Mark Davis 9-7. His maiden ranking final came at the 2017 Riga Masters, as Ryan Day defeated Stephen Maguire to lift silverware. Ben also officiated at the Crucible for the first time at the 2018 World Championship. His first televised final came at the World Seniors Championship in Preston in January 2016, Mark Davis beat Darren Morgan to claim the title. Ben also refereed a 147 by Ding Junhui at a PTC event in 2011.
