Tony Knowles (snooker player)

Anthony "Tony" Knowles (born 13 June 1955, in Bolton, Lancashire) is an English former professional snooker player. He was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s.

Tony Knowles
Born (1955-06-13) 13 June 1955
Bolton, Lancashire, England
Sport country England
Professional1980–1997, 1998–2001
Highest ranking2 (1984/85)
Career winnings£772,284[1]
Highest break139
Century breaks48[2]
Tournament wins
Ranking2
Non-ranking1

Career

Knowles began playing snooker at the age of 3 on the tables at the social club run by his father, Kevin. He went on to win the UK Junior Championship twice, in 1972 and in 1974, and continued to study graphic art. His application to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association to become a professional player was twice turned down leading him to threaten them with legal action before being accepted at the third attempt.

Knowles shot to prominence in 1982 when he defeated defending champion Steve Davis 10–1 in the first round of the World Championship, earning him overnight stardom in a period when the sport was reaching the peak of its popularity. His good looks resulted in his relationship exploits featuring in the tabloid press. After some particularly sordid revelations he was fined £5,000 by the governing body for "bringing the game into disrepute".

He followed up his strong performance in the World Championship by winning the 1982 International Open against David Taylor, and a year later was victorious in the 1983 Professional Players Tournament and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship, leading Cliff Thorburn 15–13 before losing 15–16, with Thorburn getting a very fortunate fluke on one of the colours in the deciding frame. As a result, he moved to no. 4 in the 1983/1984 world rankings.[3]

He remained in the top 16 until the 1990/1991 season, peaking at no. 2 (eclipsed only by Davis). He reached the World Championship semi-finals on three occasions (in 1983, 1985 and 1986), but never the final.

In the 1990s, his success waned, and he dropped off the main tour in 1997. He was critical of a change to the cloths on competition snooker tables in 1986, which led to the pack breaking open more easily. He was involved in a directorial role for World Snooker in the early 2000s. He enters the qualifying event for the World Championship most years and managed to defeat tour professional Stefan Mazrocis in the first qualifying round in 2009.[4]

In 2009, Knowles won the inaugural Snooker Super 6s tournament at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Knowles began the 2011/12 season by entering PTC1.

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1978/
79		 1979/
80		 1980/
81		 1981/
82		 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		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01
Ranking[5] [nb 1] [nb 1] [nb 2] 20 15 4 2 3 4 7 8 12 21 16 20 23 21 24 42 [nb 3] 125 94 106
Ranking tournaments
British Open[nb 4] NH Non-Ranking Event 3R 2R SF 2R 2R 3R 3R 2R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R A LQ LQ LQ
Grand Prix[nb 5] Tournament Not Held 2R W QF SF QF QF 3R QF 2R 1R 1R QF 2R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event QF QF QF 3R 3R 3R QF 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
China Open[nb 6] Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 2R 3R 2R 1R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
Thailand Masters[nb 7] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
Scottish Open[nb 8] Not Held NR W 2R F 2R 3R 3R 2R 3R Not Held 2R 3R 2R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
World Championship A A 1R QF SF 1R SF SF 1R QF 1R 2R 2R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters Not Held A QF F SF QF QF A NH A A A A A A A A A A A A
The Masters A A A A A SF 1R SF 1R 1R QF QF LQ WR LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held QF A A A A R A
Irish Masters A A A A 1R QF SF QF 1R QF 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A
Premier League[nb 9] Tournament Not Held RR Not Held A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 10] Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking LQ Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 11] NH Ranking Event NH 1R Tournament Not Held Ranking Tournament Not Held
Classic NH Non-Ranking Event QF 1R 3R 1R SF 3R 1R 1R 1R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 1R MR NR Tournament Not Held
Asian Classic[nb 12] Tournament Not Held NR 1R 2R F 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ LQ A Not Held
Irish Open[nb 13] Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ NH 1R Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ NR
Former non-ranking tournaments
International Open[nb 14] Not Held 1R Ranking Event Not Held Ranking Event
Classic NH A A A 1R Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
UK Championship A A QF 2R QF QF Ranking Event
British Open[nb 15] NH A LQ LQ RR RR Ranking Event
Tolly Cobbold Classic A A A SF A F Tournament Not Held
Carlsberg Challenge Tournament Not Held F A A A A Tournament Not Held
Costa Del Sol Classic Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters Tournament Not Held A A RR A Not Held Ranking Event
Hong Kong Masters Tournament Not Held A A QF A A A NH A A Tournament Not Held
Australian Masters[nb 16] NH A A A A SF W 1R QF 1R NH R Tournament Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters[nb 17] QF 1R 1R Tournament Not Held QF SF QF R Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held 1R A A A A Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship Not Held 1R Not Held F 2R 1R QF 2R Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters Tournament Not Held QF Not Held SF SF Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Grand Prix Tournament Not Held A SF A Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A A A RR 1R A QF Tournament Not Held 1R A A Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A A A A RR SF A A A A A A A A QF SF A A A A A A NH
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
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. He was not on the Main Tour.
  4. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  5. The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984)
  6. The event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  7. The event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  8. The event was also called the International Open (1981/1982–1996/1997) and Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  9. The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993 to 1996/1997)
  10. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  11. The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  12. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
  13. The event was also called the European Open (1988/1989–1996/1997)
  14. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  15. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  16. The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  17. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1982 International Open David Taylor 9–6
Winner 2. 1983 Professional Players Tournament Joe Johnson 9–8
Runner-up 1. 1984 International Open Steve Davis 2–9
Runner-up 2. 1991 Dubai Classic John Parrott 3–9

Non-ranking finals: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1983 Scottish Masters Steve Davis 6–9
Runner-up 2. 1984 Tolly Cobbold Classic Steve Davis 2–8
Winner 1. 1984 Australian Masters John Virgo 7–3
Runner-up 3. 1984 Carlsberg Challenge Jimmy White 7–9
Runner-up 4. 1985 English Professional Championship Steve Davis 2–9

Team finals: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1982 World Team Classic  England  Canada 2–4
Winner 1. 1983 World Team Classic  England  Wales 4–2
Runner-up 2. 1983 World Doubles Championship Jimmy White Steve Davis
Tony Meo		 2–4
Runner-up 3. 1985 World Cup  England A Ireland 7–9

Pro-am finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1979 Pontins Spring Open Dave Martin 7–0
Runner-up 1. 1990 Dutch Open Peter Ebdon 4–6

Amateur finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1972 British Under-19 Championship
Winner 2. 1974 British Under-19 Championship (2)

Notes and references
  1. http://cuetracker.net/Players/Tony-Knowles/Career-Total-Statistics
  2. http://cuetracker.net/Players/Tony-Knowles/Career-Total-Statistics
  3. "Tony Knowles". Snooker Database. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. World Snooker: Veteran Knowles Makes World Progress
  5. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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