Fergal O'Brien
 Paul Hunter Classic 2016 | |
| Born | (1972-03-08) 8 March 1972 Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Ireland |
| Nickname | The Baby-Faced Assassin, Fearless Fergal |
| Professional | 1991– |
| Highest ranking | 9 (2000/01) |
| Current ranking | 60 (as of 17 December 2018) |
| Career winnings | £1,338,351 |
| Highest break | 147: 2016 Championship League |
| Century breaks | 217 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
| Non-ranking | 2 |
Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player.
A member of snooker's main tour since turning professional in 1991, O'Brien has been ranked within the world's top 64 players since 1994, reaching his highest position, 9th, for the 2000/2001 season. He has won one ranking title - the 1999 British Open, where he defeated Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final - and reached two other major finals, notably in the 2001 Masters.
Contents
1 Career
2 Performance and rankings timeline
3 Career finals
3.1 Ranking finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
3.2 Minor-ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
3.3 Non-ranking finals: 8 (2 titles, 6 runners-up)
3.4 Team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
4 References
5 External links
Career
O'Brien is along with Yan Bingtao one of only two players to score a century in their first frame at the World Championships in the Crucible, which he achieved against Alan McManus in 1994 (though he lost the match 10–7 and did not qualify again until 1998). His greatest achievement was winning the British Open in 1999, beating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final. Hamilton opened with two centuries, but O'Brien won five frames on the final black to defeat the Nottingham man.
O'Brien also came close to winning the Masters title in 2001. After beating Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Dave Harold, he lost in the final to Paul Hunter after leading 7–3. He has reached one further ranking final, and three semi-finals
O'Brien peaked at No. 9 in the rankings following his sole title, but nosedived after this. He narrowly retained his top 16 place for the 2001/2002 season, but dropped out a year later – and then out of the top 32 a year later. Three further falls down the rankings left him at No. 45, before beginning to recover.
O'Brien's best run at the World Championship is the quarter-final and 2005 he became the first player to beat John Parrott in a World Championship qualifier.
O'Brien started the 2007/2008 campaign in Shanghai where he had beaten Paul Davies and Barry Hawkins in qualifying rounds, however, he lost to Steve Davis in the first round. O'Brien also qualified for the Grand Prix but lost four of his group matches to finish 5th in his group ahead of only Graeme Dott.
Fergal O'Brien at 2015 German Masters
After qualifying for the main draw of the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy by beating Barry Pinches in a deciding frame, O'Brien went on to beat Dave Harold in the first round of the main draw. Victories over John Higgins (in a decider), Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, before he reached the second ranking-event final of his career by beating Mark Allen by 6 frames to 3. He lost the final to Stephen Maguire, 5–9. This run helped him return to the top 32 of the Snooker world rankings 2007/2008, but the early part of the 2008/2009 season proved disappointing, O'Brien not reaching the last sixteen of any of the first four tournaments.
As of the end of 2009 O'Brien had compiled 101 competitive century breaks in his career.
He qualified for the Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Finals held in Galway but lost his Last 24 match 0–4 to Joe Perry.
On 12 April 2017, O’Brien qualified for the 2017 World Snooker Championship after a record-breaking victory in the final qualifying round match against Dave Gilbert. The final frame set the record for the longest frame of the modern era, lasting 123 minutes and 41 seconds.[1]
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tourname | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 | 1994/ 95 | 1995/ 96 | 1996/ 97 | 1997/ 98 | 1998/ 99 | 1999/ 00 | 2000/ 01 | 2001/ 02 | 2002/ 03 | 2003/ 04 | 2004/ 05 | 2005/ 06 | 2006/ 07 | 2007/ 08 | 2008/ 09 | 2009/ 10 | 2010/ 11 | 2011/ 12 | 2012/ 13 | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking[2][nb 1] | [nb 2] | 192 | 100 | 42 | 38 | 36 | 23 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 23 | 33 | 41 | 44 | 46 | 37 | 24 | 31 | 47 | 37 | 34 | 36 | 31 | 27 | 40 | 45 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Riga Masters[nb 3] | Tournament Not Held | MR | 2R | LQ | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Open[nb 4] | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | LQ | 1R | 2R | RR | RR | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | Not Held | 1R | LQ | 3R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 5] | Tournament Not Held | Pro-am Event | Minor-Ranking Event | 2R | 2R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
China Championship | Tournament Not Held | NR | QF | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Masters[nb 6] | LQ | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | NH | LQ | Not Held | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | 2R | NR | Not Held | LQ | LQ | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
English Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Championship | Not Held | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | LQ | 1R | 1R | 3R | LQ | LQ | 1R | QF | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | 3R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scottish Open[nb 7] | NH | 2R | LQ | LQ | 2R | LQ | SF | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | Not Held | MR | Not Held | 2R | 1R | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German Masters[nb 8] | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | NR | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welsh Open | LQ | LQ | 3R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | 3R | QF | 2R | QF | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 4R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Open | Not Held | 2R | 1R | NH | LQ | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Players Championship[nb 9] | Not Held | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gibraltar Open | Tournament Not Held | MR | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
China Open[nb 10] | Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | WR | LQ | 2R | 1R | LQ | 1R | 2R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Championship | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Masters | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | F | QF | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship League | Not Held | RR | A | A | A | A | A | A | RR | RR | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Seniors Championship | A | Not Held | A | A | A | A | F | 1R | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classic | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Open[nb 11] | LQ | MR | NR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dubai Classic[nb 12] | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Malta Grand Prix | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Masters[nb 13] | LQ | 3R | LQ | LQ | LQ | QF | 2R | LQ | 1R | 2R | QF | NR | Not Held | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
British Open | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 3R | 1R | 1R | W | 3R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irish Masters | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | LQ | LQ | NH | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Ireland Trophy | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | F | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bahrain Championship | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | 1R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 15] | Not Held | NR | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | 2R | 2R | 2R | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shanghai Masters | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 2R | WR | LQ | QF | LQ | LQ | 2R | NR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Champions Cup[nb 16] | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Malta Grand Prix | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | R | SF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scottish Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irish Masters | A | A | SF | A | A | A | QF | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | Ranking Event | NH | SF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irish Professional Championship | SF | 1R | Tournament Not Held | SF | QF | F | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| DQ | disqualified from the tournament | ||||
| NH / Not Held | event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
^ The event was called the Grand Prix (1991/1992–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
^ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
^ The event was called the European Open (1991/1992–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004), Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
^ The event run under different names as International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)
^ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
^ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
^ The event run under different name as Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)
^ The event run under different names as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
^ The event run under different names as Asian Open (1991/1992–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
^ The event run under different name as Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
^ The event run under different names as Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996)
^ The event run under different name as Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)
Career finals
Ranking finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 1999 | British Open |  Anthony Hamilton | 9–7 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2007 | Northern Ireland Trophy |  Stephen Maguire | 5–9 |
Minor-ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Runner-up | 1 | 2014 | Gdynia Open | Shaun Murphy | 1–4 |
Non-ranking finals: 8 (2 titles, 6 runners-up)
Legend |
| The Masters (0–1) |
| Other (2–5) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2001 | The Masters | Paul Hunter | 9–10 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2007 | Irish Professional Championship | Ken Doherty | 2–9 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2007 | Irish Classic | David Morris | 3–5 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2008 | Irish Classic (2) | Ken Doherty | 2–5 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2009 | Irish Classic (3) |  Joe Swail | 0–5 |
| Winner | 1. | 2010 | Irish Classic | Michael Judge | 5–1 |
| Winner | 2. | 2011 | Irish Classic (2) | Ken Doherty | 5–2 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2015 | World Seniors Championship |  Mark Williams | 1–2 |
Team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1996 | World Cup | Ireland | Scotland | 7–10 |
References
^ "World Snooker Championship: Fergal O'Brien wins longest frame in snooker history to qualify". BBC. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
External links
- Official website
- World Snooker Profile
Fergal O'Brien at CueTracker: Snooker Results & Statistics Database- Pro Snooker Blog Profile
- Profile on Yahoo! Sport
