David John (snooker player)

David "Dai" John (born 24 November 1984 in Bridgend, Glamorgan) is a Welsh former professional snooker player. John is banned from snooker until 21 December 2023 after being found guilty of match fixing by the WPBSA in February 2019.[1]

David John
Paul Hunter Classic 2016
Born (1984-11-24) 24 November 1984
Bridgend, Glamorgan
Sport country Wales
Professional2002/2003, 2016–2018
Highest ranking75(June 2017)

Career

Early years

John drew attention in 2000 by reaching the quarter-finals at the European Under-19 Championship. His first major success occurred in 2002 when he won the EBSA European Championship after defeating David McLellan 7–2, he continued this success at amateur level for the remainder of the year and reached the final of the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship lost but 9–11 against China's Ding Junhui.

For the 2002–03 snooker season John joined the main tour. In the first world ranking tournament of the season, the 2002 LG Cup, John secured a 5–3 win against Andrew Higginson before being eliminated in the following round by Martin Dziewialtowski. After this John struggled for much of the season with his best performance of the season came in the 2003 Welsh Open where John reached the third qualifying round before losing 4–5 to future World Champion Mark Selby in a final frame decider. John finished the season ranked 111th .

In June 2003, John defeated fellow countryman Andrew Pagett 7–3 to retain the EBSA European Championship, becoming the first person to do so.[2] As of 2022, John, Robin Hull and Maltese player Alex Borg are the only players to have won the EBSA European Championship consecutively.[3]

Amateur years

“I should’ve knuckled down for three or four years. I thought I could do both, get up at 5, get back at 2, but you can’t do both. That’s when my snooker started going downhill. I know the ability is still there, it’s just the practice.”

— David John[4]

Having dropped off of the tour at the end of the 2002–03 snooker season John spent the next 13 years playing as an amateur. During this time he twice won the Welsh Amateur Championship.[5]

In June 2015, John entered Australian Goldfields Open, defeating world number 44 Alfie Burden in the first qualifying round 5–1. Although he was ultimately defeated by Peter Lines by the same score in the following round, this performance encouraged John that he could still make a full-time return to the game at a professional level.

Return to professional status

After a 13-year absence John earned a place on the main tour by coming through the 2016 Q School. He beat Zak Surety 4–1 in the final round of the second event to secure a two-year tour card.[6]

In May 2018 he was suspended from the tour for suspected match fixing, although he had not accrued enough ranking points to stay on the main tour in any case.[7]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18
Ranking[nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 95
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 4] Tournament Not Held MR WD LQ
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ
Paul Hunter Classic Tournament Not Held MR 1R 1R
Indian Open Tournament Not Held NH LQ LQ
World Open[nb 5] A LQ A A NH LQ LQ
European Masters A LQ A A NH LQ LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R A
International Championship Tournament Not Held A LQ A
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held A LQ A
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R A
UK Championship A LQ A A A 1R A
Scottish Open A LQ A Not Held 1R A
German Masters Tournament Not Held A LQ A
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held VF 2R 1R
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open A LQ A A A 1R 1R
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 2R A
Players Championship[nb 6] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ
China Open A Not Held A A LQ LQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A LQ A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
British Open A LQ A A Not Held
Irish Masters A LQ A A Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open Tournament Not Held LQ Not Held
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.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. He was an amateur.
  3. New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  4. The event was called the Riga Open (2015/2016)
  5. The event was called the LG Cup (2002/2003)
  6. The event was called the Players Championship Grand Final (2015/2016)

Career finals

Amateur finals: 7 (4 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2001 Welsh Amateur Championship Wales David Mills 9–7
Winner 1. 2002 EBSA European Snooker Championship Scotland David McLellan 7–2
Runner-up 2. 2002 IBSF World Under-21 Championship China Ding Junhui 9–11
Winner 2. 2003 EBSA European Snooker Championship (2) Wales Andrew Pagett 7–3
Runner-up 3. 2011 Welsh Amateur Championship (2) Wales Daniel Wells 4–8
Winner 3. 2013 Welsh Amateur Championship Wales Alex Taubman 8–4
Winner 4. 2016 Welsh Amateur Championship (2) Wales Darren Morgan 8–7

References
  1. "John & Jones banned in corruption probe". 6 February 2019.
  2. "2003 EBSA European Championships – Knock out draws". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. "David John Targeting a Triple Crown". European Billiards & Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  4. "David John Victorious on Return to Snooker". World Snooker. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  5. "Welsh Championship 2016 - Result". Welsh Snooker. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  6. "Q School Event 2 Qualifiers". World Snooker. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  7. "WPBSA Statement - David John". 25 May 2018.
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