Mario Morra (snooker player)

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Mario Morra
birthday 8th September 1953 (age 66)
nationality CanadaCanada Canada
professional 1979 - 1997
Prize money £ 40,179
Highest break 133 ( International Open 1987 , Q)
Century Breaks 12
World rankings
Highest WRL place 35 ( 1984/85 )
Best results
Ranked tournaments 1 × round of 16
Other professional tournaments 1 × final
Amateur tournaments -

Mario Morra (born September 8, 1953 ) is a Canadian snooker and pool player who played on the snooker professional tour between 1979 and 1997 and then began a career in pool. As a snooker player he reached, among other things, rank 35 in the world rankings and the final of the Canadian Professional Championship in 1984 , in which he was defeated by Cliff Thorburn ; as a pool player he was a two-time runner-up in the Canadian championships.

Career

Morra first attracted attention when he took part in the Canadian Open in snooker several times in the late 1970s , losing his opening game to an ex-world champion ( 1976 against John Pulman , 1977 against John Spencer and 1978 against Alex Higgins ) , but always won at least four frames. He then became a professional snooker player.

First professional years in snooker

Morra's first professional season was the 1979/80 season , in which, despite three tournament appearances , he could only win a game at the Canadian Open when he defeated an insignificant Canadian amateur. As a result, he also missed the jump on the world rankings. The next few seasons were similar: Morra missed out on the main round in tournaments with world ranking influence, primarily the snooker world championship, and later other tournaments, and thus made it onto the world rankings. The only successes in the early years were a quarter-finals participation in the last edition of the Canadian Open in 1980, several participation in the last qualifying rounds for the world ranking tournaments and a useless victory over Murdo MacLeod at the International Masters 1983 .

The trend reversal did not come until the 1983/84 season , when he was able to qualify for the main round in the ranking tournaments International Open and Professional Players Tournament as well as in the non-ranking International Masters tournament and only lost to Eddie Charlton in the round of 16 at the International Open . Even at the snooker world championship , thanks to three victories over Geoff Foulds , Tommy Murphy and Dean Reynolds, he made it to the main round, even if he was immediately defeated by his compatriot Cliff Thorburn. Thus he was able to place himself on the world rankings for the first time, whereby he could never surpass his 35th place.

The next two seasons, however, were significantly worse. Morra clearly only reached a few main rounds and in these cases was eliminated immediately. The only bright spot was the Canadian Professional Championship in 1984 , where he was able to defeat three of his compatriots, including Jim Wych and Kirk Stevens , and thus reached the final of a professional tournament for the only time in his career. There he met Cliff Thorburn, who clearly defeated him 2: 9. During this time he slipped from 43rd to 75th in the world rankings.

Slow descent to positions above 100th

In the following seasons Morra was able to keep his form as far as possible: he was often eliminated in the qualification, but every now and then it was enough for a participation in a main round, in which he was always eliminated immediately. Highlights at the end of the 1980s were the semi-finals in the 1987 Canadian Professional Championship , the quarter-finals in the 1988 edition of the same tournament and participation in the round of 32 of the second and third events of the WPBSA Non-Ranking tournament series . Likewise, its world ranking position has remained relatively constant over the years, even if it gradually deteriorated to 86th place.

In general, the 1989/90 season went a little worse , in which Morra only reached two main rounds, but at least not eliminated immediately at the Grand Prix , but only lost to Doug Mountjoy after a victory over Wayne Jones in the round of 32 . This also had an impact on the world rankings, with Morra improving to rank 81. However, after he was eliminated three times in a round of the last 64 in the next season - including one more in the qualification - he deteriorated again to 88th place. The 1991/92 season was characterized by defeat and Morra was eliminated at the latest in the last qualifying round of a tournament, so that it slipped to 117.

From snooker to pool

Mario Morra
Billard Picto 2-white-l.svg
nation CanadaCanada Canada
birthday 8th September 1953 (age 66)
Medal table
Canadian Open 8-Ball Championship 0 × gold 0 × silver 1 × bronze
Canadian Open 9-Ball Championship 0 × gold 1 × silver 1 × bronze
Canadian Open 10-Ball Championship 0 × gold 1 × silver 1 × bronze

In the following years Morra gradually turned away from snooker and he played only a few games, all of which he lost. In the world rankings it fell over time, so that in 1997 it was only ranked 502. As a result, he lost his professional status in 1997 after 18 seasons as a professional.

Then Morra began to play pool and as a result took part in various national tournaments, but also in the US Open or in various world championships. In 2008 he lost to Alain Martel in the final of the Canadian Open 9-Ball Championship , before losing to his son John Morra in the 2010 final of the 10-Ball . In 2013 he was able to place himself in the Top 24 of the Turning Stone Classic XX after being in fifth place a year earlier . In 2011, he was in the top 6 of the final ranking of the Canadian 8-ball championship, while winning bronze in 10-ball. After finishing 4th in the 9-ball competition in 2012 and 2013 and also winning bronze in 8-ball in 2012, he placed 3rd in the 2015 Canadian championships in 9-ball, while he was in 8-ball and 10-Ball each landed in the top 6. In 2015, he was already in the top 24 of the Turning Stone Casino Classic XXIV , before he made it into the top 12 of the final ranking at the Turning Stone Casino Classic XXV in 2016 . In 2016 and 2018 he made it into the top 6 of the Canadian Open 9-Ball Championship .

Together with the pool player Anita MacMahon, Morra has a son named John Morra who also plays pool.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Mario Morra - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Ron Florax: Ranking History For Mario Morra. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1976-1977 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1977-1978 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1978-1979 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1979-1980 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1980-1981 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1981-1982 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1982-1983 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .

  8. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1983-1984 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1984-1985 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1985-1986 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1986-1987 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 27, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1987-1988 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1988-1989 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .

  11. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1989-1990 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1990-1991 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1991-1992 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1993-1994 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 . Ron Florax: Mario Morra - Season 1994-1995 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 26, 2020 .
  15. ↑ CBSA Past Champions. Canadian Billiards & Snooker Association, 2018, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Mike Zuglan: Shane Takes Turning Stone. The Pool Scene, January 15, 2013, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  17. ↑ AZBilliards: Turning Stone Taken by Mike Dechaine. The Pool Scene, August 30, 2012, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Press Release: 2011 Canadian Champions Are Crowned. The Pool Scene, June 17, 2011, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Press Release: Canadian National 9-Ball Results in Toronto. The Pool Scene, June 13, 2012, accessed July 26, 2020 . Press Release: CBSA Canadian Championship Results. The Pool Scene, July 4, 2013, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Press Release: Pagulayan Pockets 8-Ball Title. The Pool Scene, June 12, 2012, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Press Release: John Morra sings "O Canada". The Pool Scene, April 6, 2015, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Mike Zuglan: Official Results from the Turning Stone Classic XXIV. The Pool Scene, August 24, 2015, accessed on July 26, 2020 (English).
  23. ↑ Mike Zuglan: Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour - Turning Stone Classic XXV 9-Ball Open - Complete Order Of Finish. The Pool Scene, January 14, 2016, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Press Release: Your 2016 Canadian Champions… The Pool Scene, May 12, 2016, accessed on July 26, 2020 . 2018 CBSA Canadian Championship Results. The Pool Scene, June 6, 2018, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Keith Paradise: Born to Play Pool. Billiards Digest, accessed July 26, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Morra, Mario
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian snooker and pool player
DATE OF BIRTH September 8, 1953