David John (snooker player)

David John
Born (1984-11-24) 24 November 1984
Bridgend, Glamorgan
Sport country  Wales
Nickname The Jackhammer
Professional 2002–2003, 2016–
Highest ranking 111 (April 2003)
Current ranking 117 (as of 31 October 2016)
Career winnings £10,482[1]
Highest break 119 (2005 Challenge Tour - Event 4)[1]
Century breaks 4[1]
Best ranking finish Last 80 (2003 Welsh Open)

David "Dai" John (born 24 November 1984 in Bridgend, Glamorgan) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He is the current Welsh amateur champion.[2]

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.[3] As of 2016, John, Robin Hull and Maltese player Alex Borg are the only players to have won the EBSA European Championship twice.[4]

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[5]

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.

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 Q-School in 2016. He beat Zak Surety 4–1 in the final round of second event to secure a two-year tour card.[6]

Tournament wins

Finals: : 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2001 European Championship Scotland McLellan, DavidDavid McLellan 7–2
Runner-up 1. 2001 Welsh Championship Wales David Mills 9–7
Winner 2. 2002 European Championship Wales Pagett, AndrewAndrew Pagett 7–3
Runner-up 2. 2002 World Under-21 Championship China Junhui, DingDing Junhui 9–11
Runner-up 3. 2011 Welsh Championship Wales Wells, DanielDaniel Wells 4–8
Winner 3. 2013 Welsh Championship Wales Alex Taubman 8–4
Winner 4. 2016 Welsh Championship Wales Morgan, DarrenDarren Morgan 8–7

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Career-total Statistics for David John – Professional". CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Welsh Championship 2016 - Result". Welsh Snooker. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "2003 EBSA European Championships – Knock out draws". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "David John Targeting a Triple Crown". European Billiards & Snooker Association. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "David John Victorious on Return to Snooker". World Snooker. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Q School Event 2 Qualifiers". World Snooker. Retrieved 11 October 2016.

External links

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