Eckardt is from
Töppeln, close to
Gera in Germany. From 2015, he refereed at the
World Snooker Championships in Sheffield, taking charge of his first semi-final of the event in 2019, and his first final in 2020, at the age of 30, becoming the youngest referee ever to do so, while also being the first German. At the start of 2023, he oversaw the final of the
Masters. Eckardt has been in charge of nine tournament matches that have contained
maximum breaks, most notably
Ronnie O'Sullivan's record 15th maximum at the
2018 English Open. == List of ranking finals==