Mark Bennett (snooker player)

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Mark Bennett
Born (1963-09-23) 23 September 1963 (age 60)
Blackwood, Monmouthshire
Sport countryFlag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Professional1986–2001
Highest ranking 24 (1993/1994)
Best ranking finishSemi-final (×1)

Mark Bennett (born 23 September 1963) is a Welsh former professional snooker player from Newport. [1]

Contents

Career

Bennett was born on 23 September 1963 in Blackwood, Monmouthshire. [2] After winning the Welsh amateur title in 1985, he turned professional the following year by qualifying through the pro-ticket series. [2] [3] He was ranked in the top 32 for four seasons between 1991 and 1995, reaching a high rank of 24 in 1993. Throughout his thirteen-year professional career he never reached a ranking final, but did reach several tournament quarter-finals and semi-finals. His last run to a ranking semi-final was in the 1996 Grand Prix. [4] On the way he knocked out four seeded players, Peter Ebdon 5–3, Chris Small 5–0, Steve Davis 5–3 and Tony Drago 5–1, before losing 3–6 to Euan Henderson in the semi-finals after having led 2–0. [5] [6] [7]

He qualified for the World Championship four times between 1987 and 1994, but never made it past the first round, coming closest in the 1990 event when he lost 9–10 to John Parrott. [5] Bennett was runner-up in the 1991 Welsh Professional Championship after losing 3–9 in the final to Darren Morgan. [8]

Bennett did not compete in professional snooker after 2001. [5]

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References

  1. "Mark Bennett Player Profile". Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. p. 10. ISBN   9780600557135.
  3. "New pros for 1986–7". Snooker Scene. July 1985. p. 15.
  4. "Grand Prix 1996". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. pp. 220–221. ISBN   9780954854904.
  6. Yates, Phil (23 October 1996). "Bennett looks a good bet in dismissal of Davis". The Times. London. p. 42.
  7. Everton, Clive (27 October 1996). "Williams sinks Parrott's hopes". The Independent.
  8. "1991 Welsh Professional Championship Results Grid". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.