Snooker ace Ben Woollaston, who is married to a World Championship referee, has landed a new job after securing his career-best result at the Crucible. The man from Leicester reached the second round after beating Mark Selby in one of the biggest shocks at the tournament. His run was eventually brought to a halt by Si Jiahui, who handed him a 13-10 defeat.
Woollaston’s wife, Tatiana, refereed at the Crucible this year and made her debut at snooker’s biggest event in 2020. She is not allowed to officiate her husband’s matches due to the conflict of interest that would potentially exist. Outside of snooker, Tatiana has another job at the head office of clothing firm Next.
Her husband has also taken up another role away from the snooker table, having been appointed to the WPBSA governance board. On Wednesday, the body announced that Woollaston had been made a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Jason Ferguson, chairman of the WPBSA, said: “We are pleased to welcome Ben to the WPBSA board, which follows his election to the board of WPBSA players last December.
“A professional for over 20 years, Ben has just enjoyed arguably the best season of his career, highlighted by his memorable victory against four-time world champion Mark Selby at the World Championship.
“Ben is ideally suited to this new role, as a player of great integrity and who is well thought of by his peers.
“It has been positive to see him take a keen interest in coaching in recent years, becoming one of our WPBSA 1st4sport Level 2 Coaches and sharing his knowledge with aspiring players of all levels.”
Woollaston added: “I am pleased to join the board of WPBSA Governance and be able to provide representation for player issues at the highest level of our sport.
“As a professional snooker player for over 20 years, I have been privileged to see first-hand the development of our sport during that time and to live the highs and lows of competing on the World Snooker Tour.
“I look forward to sharing my experience with the team at the WPBSA and to helping shape the future development of our sport, from grassroots level to the professional circuit.”
The governance board is primarily responsible for the overall direction and management of the WPBSA, the world governing body for snooker and billiards.
Woollaston joins the board as the second player-director alongside Mark Davis, who was appointed in January. The pair will work alongside Ferguson, vice-chairman and director Nigel Mawer and governance director Nigel Oldfield.