Nick Walker

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Nick Walker
birthday 4th August 1973 (age 47)
nationality EnglandEngland England
professional 1991-2005
Prize money £ 188,240
Highest break 144
Century Breaks 34
Main tour successes
World championships -
Ranking tournament victories -
Minor tournament victories -
World rankings
Highest WRL place 54 (1999/2000, 2003/04)

Nick Walker (born August 4, 1973 ) is an English snooker player from Chester . From 1991 to 2005 he played for 14 years as a professional on the Main Tour .

Career

From the beginning to the best season

Nick Walker was one of the best English players at the end of the 1990s and was among the last 8 of the English amateur championship in 1991. When the professional tournaments were opened to all players in the same year, he seized the opportunity and started his professional career. In the second tournament, the Grand Prix , he survived the amateur qualification and then won 5-0 against the professional Paul Medati . Jim Chambers beat him just 5: 4 in the last 96 round. He also reached the bottom 128 at the UK Championship , but benefited from two cancellations. The remainder of the 1991/92 season was not so successful and so he started his second year at position 173 in the ranking. There he reached the last 32 at the Benson & Hedges Championship and even made it into the second round of the Strachan Challenge . He defeated players like Peter Ebdon and Alain Robidoux . For the tournaments, however, there were a reduced number of points for the ranking , and he was less successful in the full ranking tournaments, in which all top players also took part. In 1993/94 he reached the round of last 48 at the European Open . Twice he came under the bottom 96 and at the World Cup for the first time under the bottom 128. In the 1994/95 season he made it after a 10: 9 victory over Karl Broughton at the World Cup one more round, at the Thailand Open and the European Open , he made it to the last 64 and won against Les Dodd and Alex Higgins . In 1995 it was ranked 94 among the world's top 128 for the first time.

In the 1995/96 season , the first highlight was the round of 16 at the Benson & Hedges Championship, but without any world ranking points. After that, the tournaments were not so successful, he only made his way back into the tournament at the final World Cup . He defeated Paul Hunter , Billy Snaddon and Tony Chappel and missed against Anthony Hamilton the entry into the main tournament at the Crucible Theater . The following year it was the Welsh Open , where he retaliated against Hamilton, and the English Open , which were his best tournaments. Both times he was among the last 32. At the World Cup he was eliminated this time in round 2. In 1997 the professional field was divided into the Main Tour and the UK Tour and as number 67 in the ranking, he had to qualify. Already at the first tournament he reached the final and remained among the top players with a 5-2 win over Barry West . Then he reached the last 48 round at the German Open and the last 32 at the Welsh Open in the main season .

In 1998/99 he reached the semi-finals of a professional tournament for the first time at the Benson & Hedges Championship. After a mediocre season with four opening defeats, he then improved again at the end: At the British Open he reached his first round of 16 in a ranking tournament, after he had defeated Anthony Davies , among others . And at the World Cup , he won against Rory McLeod and Dennis Taylor and then played against Rod Lawler . He pulled away 9-0, then Lawler won 8 frames in a row before Taylor completed the 10-8. Against Jamie Burnett , he then won the game for a place in the Crucible 10: 6. Then he also won the first game in the main World Cup against Alain Robidoux 10: 6 and only lost in the round of 16 against Mark Williams 7:13. Williams then made it to the final. With 54th place, Taylor reached his best career position in the world rankings at the end of the season.

Stagnation and end of career

The next season he began as the previous season had ended, for the third time in a row he reached the round of 16. At the British Open he defeated Patrick Wallace and Jimmy White each 5-0, then Terry Murphy 5-3 and then lost to world champion Stephen Hendry 3-5 . Then the series broke down completely and in the other 8 ranking tournaments including the world championship he only won one game. This series also continued at the beginning of 2000/01 . Only the Benson & Hedges Championship, albeit not a ranking tournament, brought the turning point. He reached the round of 16 there, then at least the third round at the China Open and at the Welsh Open he was again among the bottom 32 in the main tournament. Before he had defeated Darren Morgan 5-0, then he lost 5-0 to Paul Hunter. Nevertheless, he could not stay in the top 64, he lost many points because the 1999 World Cup fell out of the two-year ranking. But he had overcome his interim low and now achieved better placements again. In 2001/02 he was in the last 32 at the China Open . At the European Open and the Thailand Masters , he was in the last 48, each one round before entering the main tournament. Two top 64 results and another round of 16 at the Benson & Hedges Championship rounded off the season. In 2002/03 he missed all the main tournaments, but four times he was among the last 48, including at the UK Championship . In 2003 he was 54th in the world for the second time in his career.

At the age of 30 he entered the 2003/04 season , but could not maintain the level of previous years. At the Masters Qualifying Event, the former Benson & Hedges Championship, he reached the round of 16 one last time. But he never got past the round of 64 in any ranking tournament. In 2004/05 he only managed this three times in 8 ranking tournaments. Again he slipped out of the top 64 of the world rankings, but this time it meant losing his professional status. And Walker didn't try to come back on the main tour either. Snooker was in a crisis at the time and, apart from the very best players, hardly anyone could make a living from the sport. Therefore, he ended his professional career and turned to a regular professional life.

successes

Ranking tournaments:

Other professional tournaments:

Qualifying tournaments:

  • WPBSA Qualifying School (group win, 1997 - Event 1)

swell

  1. ↑ a b c Profile of Nick Walker on CueTracker (as of February 8, 2018)
  2. ↑ a b Dave H: Where Are They Now? Snooker Scene Blog, August 28, 2012, accessed February 8, 2018 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Walker, Nick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English snooker player
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1973