Desislava Bozhilova

Desislava Vasileva Bozhilova (, born 16 October 1992) is a Bulgarian international snooker referee on the World Snooker Tour. Since passing the examination to become an international snooker referee, she has officiated ranking event finals as well as matches in the World Snooker Championship. She refereed her first Triple Crown final at the 2022 Masters, and the second at the 2022 UK Championship. She refereed the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, which made her the second woman, after Michaela Tabb, to referee a world final. She also became the first woman to referee the finals of all three Triple Crown events.

Early life and education

Bozhilova was born and grew up in Sliven, Bulgaria, a city that does not have many people playing snooker. She relocated to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia in 2012. Bozhilova holds a Master's degree in landscape architecture following her graduation from the University of Forestry, Sofia in 2016, and produces 3D visualisations of homes between snooker competitions. She officiated her first ranking final at the 2016 Riga Masters, and made her debut at the main stages of the World Snooker Championship at the 2019 event. She was again selected to referee at the 2020 World Championship. She refereed her first Triple Crown final at the 2022 Masters, and her second at the 2022 UK Championship. She refereed the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, which made her the second woman, after Michaela Tabb, to referee a world final. She also became the first woman to referee the finals of all three Triple Crown events.