Martin Clark (snooker player)

Martin Clark
birthday	27th October 1968 (age 51)
place of birth	England
nationality	England
professional	1987 - 2001
Prize money	£ 502,311
Highest break	142
Century Breaks	37
World rankings
Highest WRL place	12 ( 1990-91 ; 1992 - 1994 )

Martin Clark (born October 27, 1968 ) is an English snooker player . From 1987 he was a professional on the Snooker Main Tour for 14 years .

Career

At the age of 15, Clark tried to qualify for the Snooker Main Tour via the WPBSA Pro Ticket Series . While he failed both times in the round of 32 in 1984, he reached the semi-finals twice in the following year and even the final in the second event, which he won 5-2 against Paul Cavney , making him stand up for the 1987 / 88 had secured a place on the Main Tour.

First professional years

In his first professional tournament, the International Open , he survived the qualification and reached the round of 16 by winning over Tony Drago and Dennis Taylor , where he was defeated by the Irish Joe O'Boye . He also reached the main round at the Grand Prix , where he was eliminated after defeating Neal Foulds in the second main round against Mick Fisher . After an opening defeat at the UK Championship against Australian Robby Foldvari , he reached the round of 16 for the second time at the Classic , where he lost 5-2 to Welsh Steve Newbury . At the English Professional Championship he reached the round of 32, at the subsequent British Open he was eliminated in the first main round against Jimmy White . Furthermore, Clark was invited to the Kent Cup , where he reached the final after victories over a Chinese amateur, Eugene Hughes and Tony Knowles , but lost that with 1: 5 against John Parrott . At the end of the season, Clark retired in the penultimate qualifying round for the snooker world championship against the later main round participant Warren King . At the end of the season, Clark was able to place himself at number 41 in the world list, making him the best of the new players.

After a subdued start to the next season , he reached the Canadian Masters and UK Championship the round of 32, where he was eliminated by Dennis Taylor and Danny Fowler . At the start of 1989 he reached the quarterfinals at the Classic after victories over Darren Morgan , John Spencer , Neal Foulds and Joe Johnson , in which he lost in the Decider to Willie Thorne . Also at the following European Open in 1989 he reached the quarter-finals, which he lost again, this time with 1: 5 against Terry Griffiths . After a second round participation in the English Professional Championship , he reached the third quarterfinals of the season at the British Open , which he lost again, this time with 3: 5 against Mike Hallett . In the qualification for the snooker world championship he was able to draw wins over the Canadian Mario Morra and his compatriot Dave Martin in the final qualifying round, in which he failed 4:10 against the Canadian Bill Werbeniuk . At the end of his second professional season he was invited to the Pontins Professional , where he lost after a 5-0 win over Doug Mountjoy in the semifinals with 5: 6 against Darren Morgan, who would later win the tournament. In the world rankings, Clark missed the top 16 by just one place, finishing in 17th place behind Steve James .

He continued his streak of success right at the beginning of the following 1989/90 season. After he had already reached the round of 16 at the Hong Kong Open , he moved into the quarter-finals at the Asian Open , where he was eliminated with 0: 5 against Gary Wilkinson . After being eliminated twice in a row in the second main round, he reached his third round of 16 during the season at the Dubai Classic , this time defeating his compatriot Danny Fowler 2: 5. Due to his success he was invited to the Norwich Union Grand Prix , but where he lost his opening match against Tony Knowles . He was also eliminated early in the UK Championship , losing in the second main round to former world champion Joe Johnson . At the beginning of the new decade he reached the last sixteen at the Classic , where he lost out to New Zealander Dene O'Kane . At the next British Open he was able to celebrate victories over Stephen Murphy , Paddy Browne and Dennis Taylor before he failed in the quarterfinals with 3: 5 to Alex Higgins . At the European Open he only reached the second main round and at the end of the season he missed his first entry into the Crucible in the Decider , he lost in the last World Cup qualifying round with 9:10 against Tony Chappel . He also lost his first round game at the Pontins Professional in the decider, this time 4: 5 against James Wattana . In the world rankings, Clark made it into the top 16 with 12th place, which gave him the right to start the Masters .

Years in the top 16

At the start of the next season , Clark was eliminated in the second round of the International One Frame Shoot-out against Tony Knowles and in the first round of the London Masters against Stephen Hendry . In the first two ranking tournaments, the Grand Prix and the Asian Open , he lost his second round games both times. Clark only reached a round of 16 again at the Dubai Classic , which he lost 5-0 to Doug Mountjoy . After an opening defeat at the UK Championship against Gary Natale , he reached the quarter-finals at the World Matchplay , which he lost to six-time world champion Steve Davis . At the beginning of the new year he reached the second round of the Classics , but then lost both his opening game at the World Masters and the Masters , the latter 1: 5 against Jimmy White . At the British and European Open he reached the second main round before losing to Steve Davis and Dene O'Kane . At the snooker world championship , Clark was able to win his first round match against Mark Bennett before he was defeated by Englishman Gary Wilkinson with 9:13 . At the end of the season he lost his opening match at the Pontins Professional with 1: 5 against Steve Newbury . On the world rankings slipped by two places, but he was able to stay in the top 16.

He continued his series of failures at the beginning of the 1991/92 season. He lost his opening match at Pot Black , to which he was invited for the first time, and in the quarterfinals of Humo Masters . It was only at the Dubai Classic that he found his way back to success: he defeated Ken Owers , Silvino Francisco and Steve Davis before losing 2-5 in the quarterfinals to Paul Davies from Welsh , who had fought his way through to the semi-finals from the second qualifying round. After an opening defeat at the Grand Prix , he moved into the round of 16 at the UK Championship , where he failed 3: 9 against Stephen Hendry from Scotland . Clark's game against Hendry at the Classic was also over for Clark, but here he was only eliminated in the quarterfinals after victories over Mark Davis , Steve Duggan and Ken Doherty . At the next tournament, the Asian Open , he made it to the quarterfinals, but this time Alan McManus defeated him 3: 5. After a white wash by Stephen Hendry in the first round of the Masters and a second round defeat in the Decider against Peter Francisco at the Welsh Open , he reached another round of 16 at the British Open , but lost 5-0 to Steve Davis. Clark was also able to move into the round of 16 at the Strachan Open and the European Open , but he was eliminated from these tournaments in the same round. At the end of the season, Clark defeated Peter Francisco in the first main round of the World Cup , before losing 4:13 to his compatriot Peter Ebdon in the round of 16 . On the world rankings, he brought back 12th place.

At the start of the next season , Clark lost his opening game at the Dubai Classic and retired from the Grand Prix in the second round. He was also eliminated early in the Benson & Hedges Championship , losing 5-2 to Peter Lines in the third round . After losing 9-1 to Dene O'Kane in the second main round of the UK Championship , he reached the semi-finals at World Matchplay , which he lost to Steve Davis 4: 9. In the first event of the Strachan Challenge - series of minor ranking tournaments - he reached the round of 16, but where he lost out to Peter Francisco. After an opening defeat in the second event and a second round defeat against Joe Swail at the Welsh Open , he reached the second round again in the third event, but this time he was eliminated from Billy Snaddon . At the Masters he again lost his opening match, this time against James Wattana from Thailand , before he was eliminated in the second round of the European Open , the British Open and the Asian Open . After an opening defeat at the International Open , he reached the last sixteen at the World Snooker Championship , where he was eliminated by Neal Foulds . He was able to defend 12th place in the world rankings.

Crash to world number 33

At the beginning of the 1993/94 season , Clark was invited to Pot Black , where he failed directly in the first round on the eventual winner Steve Davis . After a defeat by Alan McManus in the round of 16 of the Dubai Classics , he reached the quarter-finals at the Grand Prix after victories over Karl Payne , Mike Hallett and Alan McManus, but where he failed 4-5 to John Parrott . At the UK Championship he reached the second round again, but lost it 3: 5 against Jimmy White . In the new year he was able to move into the last sixteen at the Welsh Open , but this time he was eliminated, this time against Peter Ebdon . At the Masters he suffered another opening defeat against James Wattana and he lost his first round matches at both the Thailand Open and the British Open . At the end of the season he was defeated by his compatriot Brian Morgan in the first World Cup main round in the Decider . In the world rankings, he slipped from the top 16 to 18th place.

Right at the beginning of the new season he reached the quarter-finals of the Dubai Classic with three wins in the decider over Anthony Hamilton , Joe Swail and Darren Morgan , but where he failed 5-2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan . After a second round defeat against John Higgins at the Grand Prix , he moved back to a quarter-finals at the Benson & Hedges Championship , this time he was eliminated from there, this time against Jamie Burnett . But Clark's results worsened: he lost his opening games at the UK Championship , the Welsh Open and the International Open , and at least reached the second round at the European Open . After another opening defeat at the Thailand Open , he was able to move into the round of 16 at the British Open , where he was defeated by Steve Davis. But after a white wash in the first qualifying round in the fifth event of the WPBSA Minor Tour by Tony Chappel, he lost to his compatriot Andy Hicks in the last qualifying round for the Snooker World Championship with 9:10, so again in the decider. On the world rankings, he slipped four more places to 22nd.

This series of failures culminated in the next season . After an opening defeat at the Thailand Classic , Clark reached the round of 32 at the Benson & Hedges Championship , where he lost in the Decider Dean Reynolds . At the Grand Prix he also made it to the same lap where he was eliminated. After an opening defeat at the UK Championship , he also made it into the round of 32 at the German Open , but lost to former world champion John Parrott. In the new year he could n't win a single game in four tournaments until the British Open in early April. At the British Open he made the repeated entry into the round of 32, where he had to admit defeat to Darren Morgan 4-5. At the end of the season, Clark managed to qualify with a 10: 5 win over Mark Davis for the main round of the Snooker World Championship, where he was defeated by the Scots John Higgins . In the world rankings, he lost his place in the top 32, he slipped to 33rd place.

The last successes

At the start of the 1996/97 season , Clark reached the main round of the Asian Classics , where he was directly defeated 4: 5 by the Canadian Alain Robidoux . After an opening defeat at the Benson & Hedges Championship against Nick Manning , Clark reached the round of 32 second more times, at the Grand Prix he was defeated by Ken Doherty , at the UK Championship he was eight points short of victory in the seventeenth and final frame; he lost the last frame with 36:43 and thus the match 8: 9 against John Parrott . At the German Open , Clark took part in a round of 16 for the first time since the British Open in 1995 , where he failed to Mark Davis after winning over Mark Bennett and Peter Ebdon . After two opening defeats at the Welsh and International Open , he reached the round of 32 again at the European Open , in which he again failed 4: 5 to Alain Robidoux. At the Thailand Open he lost his opening match again, but at the British Open Clark was able to move into a round of 16, where he failed after victories over Graeme Dott and Anthony Bolsover in the decider to Steve Davis . At the snooker world championship , he failed in the third to last qualifying round against Welsh Matthew Stevens . But at the end of the season he managed a little sensation: Clark was invited back to the Pontins Professional , where he met Andy Hicks in the final after victories over Willie Thorne and Neal Foulds . Clark won 9: 7 and won his first professional tournament. On the snooker world rankings he made it back into the top 32, he finished the season in 27th place.

After a cautious start to the following season , Clark moved back to a round of 16 at the German Open , where he was defeated by the eventual winner John Higgins . After an opening defeat at the Welsh Open , he also made it into the round of 16 at the Scottish Open , where he failed again to John Higgins, who was to become world champion a few months later. Also at the Thailand Masters he was able to reach the round of 16 after victories over Quinten Hann and Alain Robidoux, where he failed against Welsh Mark Williams . At the British Open he reached the round of 32 before he missed the main round of the World Snooker Championship with an 8-10 loss to Jason Prince . At the end of the season he reached the final with the Pontins Professional with wins over Mike Hallett and Andy Hicks, which he lost this time against Mark Williams 6: 9. He lost a place in the world rankings, so for the new season he was placed 28th.

Last professional years

After an opening defeat at the Grand Prix , Clark made it into the round of 32 at both the Benson & Hedges Championship and the UK Championship , where he was defeated by Neal Foulds and Ken Doherty at the beginning of the 1998/99 season . But from that point on, Clark couldn't win a single game until the end of the season: While he failed in the Decider at the Welsh Open and Scottish Open , he lost 5-0 at China International . Clark also retired from qualifying for the World Cup with a clear result; he lost 2:10 to John Lardner . In the world rankings he lost his place in the top 32, he slipped to rank 37.

The next season was also a failure. After two defeats in the beginning he was able to reach the second round at the Benson & Hedges Championship by a 5-4 win over David McLellan , where Anthony Davies was defeated 5-0. Up to the Scottish Open , Clark could only win two more qualifying games, where he was able to move into the round of 32 through victories over Robert Milkins and Nigel Bond , where he failed to John Higgins . After another opening defeat in the World Cup qualification , Clark was invited back to the Pontins Professional after a year of abstinence , where he was eliminated 3: 5 against Jimmy White . In the world rankings he fell out of the top 64, he placed 66th.

The following season started much better: With victories over Craig Harrison and Bradley Jones , Clark moved into the round of the last 64 of the British Open 2000 , where he lost 2: 5 to his compatriot Gary Wilkinson . But Clark suffered more and more from back pain, so it should be his only two wins during the season. It should also be the last professional season for Clark, at world number 147 he retired from the Main Tour.

Further life

Today, Clark is one of four tournament directors on the Main Tour alongside Mike Ganley , Paul Collier and Gary Wilkinson .

successes

output	year	competition	Final opponent	Result
Amateur tournaments
winner	1985/3	WPBSA Pro Ticket Series	Paul Cavney	5: 2
Non-ranking tournaments
Second	1988	Kent Cup	John Parrott	1: 5
winner	1997	Pontins Professional	Andy Hicks	9: 7
Second	1998	Pontins Professional	Mark Williams	6: 9

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Martin Clark - Professional Results. Cuetracker.net, accessed on January 14, 2019 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Rolf Kalb : The fascinating world of snooker . Edel Books, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-8419-0611-3 , pp.  152 .
3. ^ Tour Induction. World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association , accessed January 26, 2019 .  

Web links

• Profile of Martin Clark on CueTracker
• Martin Clark (snooker player) in the Snooker Database (English)