Ian Burns (snooker player)
Ian Burns is an English professional snooker player.
Burns turned professional after qualifying in his first attempt at the 2012 Q School and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 snooker seasons. He won four matches in the event, concluding with a 4β3 victory over veteran Rod Lawler to seal his card. He finished outside top 64 after the 2022-23 season but retained his tour card as a result of being one of the top 4 players outside that range to have the most number of points on the one-year list.
Career
Debut season
Burns first match as a professional was a 3β5 defeat to Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon in qualifying for the 2012 Wuxi Classic. Burns reached the final qualifying round for the first time when attempting to reach the UK Championship. he defeated Michael Leslie, Kurt Maflin and Anthony Hamilton before being beaten 2β6 by Dominic Dale. Burns did come through four qualifying rounds to play in the main draw of a ranking event for the first time at the World Open, in Haikou, China. He defeated Saleh Mohammad 5β1 in the wildcard round, before losing by the same scoreline to top 16 player Barry Hawkins in the last 32.The 2012 Welsh Open saw Burns qualify for his second ranking event, as he defeated Jack Lisowski 4β1 before receiving a walkover due to the withdrawal of Jamie Cope. At the main venue in Newport, he lost in the last 32 to 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson 1β4. Burns also had a very good season in the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events, with his best finish coming at the fifth European Tour Event, where he beat the likes of Marcus Campbell and Liang Wenbo, but then lost to Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals. He also reached the last 16 in two other events which helped him finish 35th on the PTC Order of Merit, just outside the top 26 who qualified for the Finals. Burns beat Joel Walker 10β8 in the first round of World Championship Qualifying, but his season ended when he was defeated 2β10 by Yu Delu in the following round. Burns was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award
at the World Snooker Annual Award Ceremony. Burns finished his first year on tour ranked world number 68, the highest of any of the debutants.
2013/2014 season
In the second ranking event of the season, Burns beat Ryan Causton 5β3, Chen Zhe 5β2, and Matthew Selt 5β2 to qualify for the main stage of the Australian Goldfields Open, held in Bendigo. He played world number two Mark Selby in the first round and led the match 3β0, before Selby levelled at 3β3. Burns won the next frame and had numerous chances to secure a shock win but was ultimately defeated 5β4. At the Welsh Open he had a 4β3 win over Yu Delu, before losing 4β2 to Matthew Stevens in the last 64. In the minor-ranking European Tour events, Burns dropped just two frames in winning four matches to reach the quarter-finals of the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup, where he was beaten 4β2 by Jamie Jones. Burns ended the season outside of the top 64 in the world rankings which would have relegated him from the tour, however by being placed 44th on the European Order of Merit he has received one of the eight spots to earn a two-year main tour card for the 2014β15 and 2015β16 seasons which were available to non-qualified players.2014/2015 season
Burns won three matches in the qualifying for the Australian Goldfields Open, before narrowly losing 5β4 to Mark Joyce in the final round. The first event he could reach this season was the International Championship and he beat Dominic Dale 6β5 and Craig Steadman 6β3 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. He would be defeated 6β2 against Michael White, but lost two of the frames from 59β0 and 61β0 ahead which Burns felt flattered the scoreline. However, he failed to build on this during the rest of the season as he was eliminated in the first round of both the UK Championship and Welsh Open and could not qualify for any other event. Burns could also only win one match all year in the minor-ranking European Tour events.2015/2016 season
Burns played at the venue stage of six ranking events in the 2015β16 season, the most in a single year of his career so far. He won three matches to play in the Australian Goldfields Open and beat Xiao Guodong 5β3 in the first round which saw him play in the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time, but he lost 5β2 to Judd Trump. At the Paul Hunter Classic he recorded victories over Ryan Causton, Sanderson Lam, Martin O'Donnell and Thor Chuan Leong to make the quarter-finals, where he was defeated 4β0 by Mark King. A week later he beat King 6β2 to qualify for the International Championship, but lost 6β3 to Mark Williams. Burns saw off Aditya Mehta 5β1 and John Higgins 5β3 to make his debut at the German Masters and was edged out 5β4 by Michael Holt in the first round. The final ranking event Burns qualified for this season was the China Open and, after coming through a wildcard round, he whitewashed Peter Ebdon 5β0, before losing 5β3 to Stuart Bingham. Burns reached the final qualifying round for the World Championship, but was heavily defeated 10β2 by Ebdon. His end of season ranking of 62 is the highest of his career to date and the first time he has been within the top 64.2016/2017 season
Burns qualified for the World Open and lost 5β2 to Neil Robertson in the first round. He lost in the third round of the Scottish Open and Welsh Open without picking up a frame. Burns qualified for the China Open, but was defeated 5β1 by John Higgins in the opening round. At 66th in the world rankings, Burns would have lost his place on the tour due to not being in the top 64, but he took the final spot on the one-year list to be awarded a two-year card.Personal life
Burns married Alison, an accountant of Lancashire County Council, in May 2014. They have been together since 2010.In 2025, Burns launched a YouTube channel, Ian Burns Snooker Coaching, aiming to help viewers improve their game through showing them technique tips, drills and exercises.
He completed an Ironman Triathlon in 2024.