By Elliott West
Introduction
Colin Humphries is a familiar face on the snooker tour, one of the group of snooker referees that populate the overseeing of tournaments across the snooker season. Hailing from Liverpool, Colin first qualified as a referee in 1988, took charge of his first match in Altrincham back in 1996 on the Challenge Tour and his first professional match two years later, never looking back since. Away from the table, Colin is a civil servant and a loyal Everton football fan.
Applying the Rules
Born in Netherley, Liverpool, a man who is too shy to tell us his date of birth. Colin passed and completed all of his referee examinations in 1994 and away he went. His first-ever match at the Crucible, an epic saw Nigel Bond edge out Stephen Hendry 10-9 on a re-spotted black. A match where Nigel had originally led 6-3. Other landmarks include his first television match which came at the 2005 Grand Prix between Matthew Stevens and Dave Harold and he has presided over two 147 breaks made by Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jamie Burnett during the 2007/8 season.
Humphries’ first ranking event final came at the 2009 Welsh Open where Ali Carter defeated Joe Swail to lift his first major trophy. A moment that he would probably not want you to mention was his embarrassing moment when he refereed Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible during his match against Liang Wenbo in 2010.
In the match, Ronnie potted a black but it stuck in the top of the pocket. Colin, as the referee went to pick up the ball from the rail and placed it on the black spot, but it was a red instead. This cut Ronnie’s 61 break short.
Had not Colin become a snooker referee, he would have loved to own his own farm with his brothers and sister. He still manages to find the time away from snooker, to look after his own farm animals and is a keen gardener. A man who enjoys playing pool and snooker in his local league with a highest break of 68 in snooker.
