Warren King (snooker player)

Last updated

Warren King
Born (1955-04-01) 1 April 1955 (age 69)
Sydney
Sport countryFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Professional1982–1995
Highest ranking 35 (1985/1986)
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)

Warren King (born 1 April 1955) [1] is a former professional Australian snooker player who was active during the 1980s and 1990s. He reached his highest ranking position, 35th, for the 1985/1986 season, and was the runner-up in the 1990 Classic, where he lost 6–10 to Steve James.

Contents

In 1994 King made the first 147 break in a tournament in Australia and in doing so became the first Australian to make a 147 break in a tournament.

Life and career

King lived in Granville, New South Wales during his childhood. He was the Australian amateur snooker champion in 1980 and 1981. [1] He turned professional in 1982. [2] In the 1983/1984 season, he qualified for the semi-final group in the 1984 International Masters, recording a 2–1 victory over Alex Higgins in his qualifying group. In the 1984 World Championship, he defeated Tony Jones 10–9, Mike Watterson 10–8 and Dave Martin 10–8 to qualify for the televised stages at the Crucible Theatre; there, he was drawn against incumbent World Champion Steve Davis, but having held Davis to 2–2, he could not prevent a 3–10 loss.

During the next season, King reached the final of the 1984 Australian Professional Championship, where he also lost 3–10, this time to Eddie Charlton, and followed this with a last-32 finish in the 1984 UK Championship, losing 5–9 to Dennis Taylor. In the 1985 Classic, he overcame Steve Duggan, Dean Reynolds, John Spencer and Jimmy White to reach the quarter-finals, losing there 1–5 to Joe Johnson.

Ranked 35th for the 1985/1986 season, King began it with another last-32 finish in the 1985 Matchroom Trophy, but had a quiet season thereafter; he came within one match of returning to the Crucible after beating Dessie Sheehan and Colin Roscoe in World Championship qualifying, but lost in the final round 7–10 to Reynolds.

In the 1986 Australian Professional Championship, King defeated Charlton in the semi-finals and John Campbell 10–3 in the final to record his first tournament win. After a solid season, he qualified for the 1987 World Championship, defeating David Roe, Ken Owers and Charlton all 10–4, but was again drawn to face Steve Davis. On this occasion, Davis raced into a 7–1 lead before King fought back to 8–7, but again Davis prevailed, 10–7.

King recorded his second tournament win in the 1987 Australian Professional Championship; Charlton was again his opponent in the final, and this time King won 10–7. He otherwise performed poorly in the ranking events, but qualified for a third time for the World Championship, notably overcoming Spencer in the final round. His opponent in the last 32 was rising star John Parrott, who beat him 10–4.

A lean period ensued, but in the 1990 Classic, King produced his best form. Entering at the last-96 stage, he defeated Mario Morra 5–3, Terry Griffiths 5–1, Charlton 5–2, John Virgo 5–1, Steve Newbury 5–3 and Silvino Francisco 6–5 – having trailed 3–5 – to reach a ranking event final for the first time in his career. His opponent in the final was Steve James and the match closely run; having at various points led 4–1, 5–2 and 7–6, James pulled away to win 10–

The 1990/1991 season finished on a positive note for King, as he qualified for the Crucible for the fourth time, straightforward wins over Jack Fitzmaurice, Rod Lawler and Barry West sealing his passage to the televised stage; however, he was drawn against a former or future World Champion for the fourth time – on this occasion, Stephen Hendry. King fared no better than in previous years, losing 4–10.

In 1991, the professional game was 'opened' to anybody who could pay a small fee; now in competition against several hundred more players on the main tour, King began to fade, his only last-32 result coming in the Dubai Classic, where Francisco's nephew Peter beat him 5–4. Losing his first match in qualifying for the World Championship 9–10 to Andrew Cairns, he finished the season ranked 67th.

In 1994, playing in the New South Wales Open Snooker Championship, King became the first Australian ever to make a maximum break in a tournament, which was also the first maximum break ever recorded in a tournament in Australia. King won a car for the break, and went on to win the tournament.

By the 1994/1995 season, King's ranking had fallen even further, to 114th. He played in only one tournament, the 1995 World Championship, but his career concluded with Tai Pichit whitewashing him 10–0. King did not play on the main tour again, deciding to focus more on a career in pool.

After snooker

King is Vice President of the Billiards and Snooker Association of South Australia. [3]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1982/
83 		1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		1991/
92 		1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95
Ranking [nb 1] [nb 2] 48 35 41 39 44 55 39 39 67 70 114
Ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic Tournament Not HeldNR 2R 1R 2R 1R LQA
Grand Prix [nb 3] A 1R 1R LQ 2R LQLQ 2R LQ 2R LQLQA
UK Championship AA 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQLQA
European Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQLQ 1R LQLQA
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQWDA
International Open [nb 4] ALQLQ 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R Not HeldLQLQA
Thailand Open [nb 5] NHNon-Ranking EventNot Held 2R 1R LQLQLQA
British Open [nb 6] Non-Ranking 1R LQ 2R LQLQLQ 2R LQ 2R LQA
World Championship LQ 1R LQLQ 1R 1R LQLQ 1R LQLQLQLQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Australian Open [nb 7] A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R NHRTournament Not Held QF
Benson and Hedges Championship Tournament Not HeldA 4R AAA
The Masters AAAAAAAAALQAAA
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Not HeldNon-Ranking 2R Tournament Not Held
Australian Open [nb 8] Non-Ranking EventNH 1R Tournament Not HeldNR
Classic NRLQ QF 1R 1R LQ 1R F 1R 1R Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not HeldLQMRNRNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
British Open [nb 9] A 2R Ranking Event
Costa Del Sol Classic Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters NHAANot Held QF ATournament Not Held
Australian Professional Championship Not Held F SF W W SF Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw#Rlost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. ↑ He was an amateur.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ↑ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983–1983/1984)
  4. ↑ The event was also called the Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  5. ↑ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  6. ↑ The event was also called the International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  7. ↑ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1982/1983–1987/1988) and the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990)
  8. ↑ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1982/1983–1987/1988) and the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990)
  9. ↑ The event was also called the International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1. 1990 The Classic Flag of England.svg Steve James 6–10

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1. 1984 Australian Professional Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg Eddie Charlton 3–10
Winner1. 1986 Australian Professional Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Campbell 10–6
Winner2. 1987 Australian Professional Championship (2) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Eddie Charlton 10–7

Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.1980Australian Amateur Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Giannaros4–2
Winner2.1981Australian Amateur Championship (2) Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Campbell 8–6
Runner-up1.1982Australian Amateur Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Giannaros3–8

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References

  1. 1 2 Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. p. 60. ISBN   0600557138.
  2. ↑ Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker – revised edition. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN   0600556042.
  3. ↑ "60 Seconds with Warren King". greenbaize1972.com. 20 April 2020.
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