Darren Morgan (born 3 May 1966) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who now competes as an amateur and is considered amongst the best in the world.
 Darren Morgan at the 2008 European Snooker Championship | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 May 1966 Newport, Wales | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport country |  Wales | ||||||||||||||
| Professional | 1988–2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 8 (1994–95–1995–96) | ||||||||||||||
| Century breaks | 111 | ||||||||||||||
| Best ranking finish | Runner-up (×2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Morgan won the World Amateur Championship in 1987 and played on the professional main tour from 1988 until 2006. He reached a high ranking of eight and was ranked within the top 16 for six years despite never winning a ranking event. He compiled 111 century breaks in his career.[1]
Career
editMorgan was born in Newport, South Wales
His best achievements as a professional were to win the Irish Masters in 1996, beating Steve Davis 9–8 in the final, and he captained Wales to victory in the 1999 Nations Cup. He was also a semi-finalist in the 1994 World Championship, beating Mark King 10–5, Willie Thorne 13–12 and John Parrott 13–11 before losing to Jimmy White 9–16. He was also a quarter-finalist on three occasions, beating Ken Doherty and Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1996 and 1997 respectively at the Crucible. When he beat O'Sullivan in 1997 it was in the round after O'Sullivan had scored his memorable 5 minute and 8 seconds 147 break against Mick Price.
Morgan still plays in amateur and pro-am events, and won the EBSA Masters and World Masters Championship titles in 2007. On 22 October 2009 he won the TCC Pro-Am by beating fellow Welshman Mark Williams 7–4 in the final.[2]
On 23 November 2009 Morgan won his second IBSF World Snooker Championship in the Masters section, defeating three-time defending champion Dene O'Kane of New Zealand 6–0 in the final.[3]
Morgan entered the 2010 World Open as an amateur along with fellow senior Tony Knowles and caused an upset by reaching the last 64 of the competition, before narrowly losing to former world number four Matthew Stevens 3–2 in round three.
In November 2011, he entered the World Seniors Championships in Peterborough and came away with victory over Steve Davis in the final. Morgan beat former world champion Cliff Thorburn and 'Whirlwind' Jimmy White in the previous rounds before facing the six-times world champion in the final. In fact, Morgan had to win qualifying matches just to reach the final stages of the tournament. He beat Davis 2–1 in the final and came home to his Club in Cross Keys with the trophy.
In June 2016, as a wildcard entry to the Riga Masters having won the EBSA European Open title several weeks prior, Morgan overcame Bradley Jones 4–3, Adam Stefanow 4–2, Zhao Xintong 4–1, Doherty 4–3 and Xiao Guodong 4–2 to set up a semi-final encounter with Neil Robertson. Appearing at this stage of a ranking event for the first time since 2002, and becoming the oldest ranking semi-finalist since Rex Williams in 1986, Morgan was whitewashed 5–0 by the eventual champion.[4]
Morgan made a maximum break of 147 against Gareth Edwards in an amateur Seniors event in 2023; this possibly makes him the oldest player to achieve a maximum break in competition.[5]
Personal life
editHe lives with his wife, Tracy, and their three daughters in Newbridge, and owns a nearby snooker club and sports shop that provides printing, embroidery, trophies and engraving in Crosskeys, Newport, named The Red Triangle, where he coaches young players. Darren now lives in a mansion in Pentwynmawr, Newbridge where he is starting up a property portfolio[6]
Performance and rankings timeline
edit| Tournament | 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 |
2001/ 02 |
2002/ 03 |
2003/ 04 |
2004/ 05 |
2005/ 06 |
2010/ 11 |
2011/ 12 |
2012/ 13 |
2013/ 14 |
2014/ 15 |
2015/ 16 |
2016/ 17 |
2017/ 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[7] | [nb 1] | 53 | 40 | 33 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 39 | 54 | 63 | 75 | 66 | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters[nb 3] | Tournament Not Held | Minor-Rank | SF | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Open[nb 4] | LQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters[nb 5] | LQ | 1R | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | NH | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | LQ | LQ | 2R | 3R | QF | SF | QF | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | QF | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open[nb 6] | LQ | 1R | Not Held | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | WD | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters[nb 7] | Tournament Not Held | QF | 2R | 1R | NR | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | Not Held | F | 1R | 3R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open[nb 8] | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | QF | Not Held | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | 1R | QF | LQ | LQ | 2R | SF | 2R | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Six-red World Championship | Tournament Not Held | 2R | NH | 2R | RR | A | A | 2R | RR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | A | A | LQ | LQ | WR | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Seniors Championship | Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | A | W | SF | QF | QF | F | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canadian Masters | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hong Kong Open[nb 9] | NH | LQ | Tournament Not Held | NR | NR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classic | LQ | 3R | LQ | 3R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strachan Open | Not Held | 3R | MR | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dubai Classic[nb 10] | NR | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thailand Masters[nb 11] | NH | 1R | 2R | 1R | F | QF | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | SF | LQ | 1R | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand Masters | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot-Out | Not Held | W | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | A | Ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Grand Masters | Not Held | QF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Not Held | SF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Professional Championship | QF | W | W | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | A | A | A | A | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pot Black | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | Tournament Not Held | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| King's Cup | Not Held | A | NH | A | F | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charity Challenge | Tournament Not Held | 1R | QF | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | A | SF | QF | A | A | R | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Masters | NH | A | QF | A | A | A | 1R | SF | 1R | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | W | F | A | A | A | A | Ranking Event | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pontins Professional | W | QF | QF | QF | F | A | SF | SF | A | QF | QF | W | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters Qualifying Event[nb 12] | Not Held | SF | F | MR | A | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | A | NH | A | A | A | Tournament 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 Held | means an event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
- ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
- ^ a b c d e f g h He was an amateur.
- ^ The event ran under different names such as the Riga Open (2014/2015 to 2015/2016).
- ^ The event ran under different names such as the Grand Prix (1987/1988 to 2000/2001) and the LG Cup (2001/2002 to 2003/2004).
- ^ The event ran under different names such as European Open (1988/1989 to 1996/1997 and 2001/2002 to 2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999).
- ^ The event ran under different names such as International Open (1987/1988 to 1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004).
- ^ The event ran under different names such as German Open (1994/1995 to 1996/1997).
- ^ The event ran under different names as China International (1997/1998 and 1998/1999)
- ^ The event ran under different names as Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996).
- ^ The event run under different names as Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
- ^ The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
- ^ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Championship (1990/1991–2002/2003)
Career finals
editRanking finals: 2
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1992 | Welsh Open |  Stephen Hendry
|
3–9 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1993 | Asian Open |  Dave Harold
|
3–9 |
Non-ranking finals:14 (7 titles)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1989 | Pontins Professional |  Tony Drago
|
9–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1989 | WPBSA Invitational - Event 1 |  Robby Foldvari
|
1–8 |
| Winner | 2. | 1990 | Welsh Professional Championship | Doug Mountjoy
|
9–7 |
| Winner | 3. | 1990 | Shoot-Out | Mike Hallett
|
2–1 |
| Winner | 4. | 1991 | Welsh Professional Championship (2) | Mark Bennett
|
9–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1991 | Benson & Hedges Championship |  Ken Doherty
|
3–9 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1993 | Pontins Professional | Ken Doherty
|
3–9 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 1993 | King's Cup |  James Wattana
|
3–8 |
| Winner | 5. | 1996 | Irish Masters | Steve Davis
|
9–8 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1997 | Irish Masters | Stephen Hendry
|
8–9 |
| Winner | 6. | 2000 | Pontins Professional (2) | Jimmy White
|
9–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 2011 | World Seniors Championship | Steve Davis
|
2–1 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2016 | World Seniors Championship | Mark Davis
|
1–2 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 2019 | World Seniors Championship (2) | Jimmy White
|
3–5 |
Team finals: 2 (1 title)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1999 | Nations Cup | Wales
|
Scotland
|
6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2000 | Nations Cup | Wales
|
England
|
4–6 |
Pro-am finals: 7 (2 titles)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1989 | Dutch Open | Mike Hallett
|
5–6[8] |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1996 | Pontins Spring Open | Ken Doherty
|
3–7 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1999 | TCC Open Snooker Championship | Ryan Day
|
4–6[9] |
| Winner | 1. | 2000 | TCC Open Snooker Championship | Ryan Day
|
6–3[9] |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2003 | TCC Open Snooker Championship (2) | Mark Williams
|
1–6[9] |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2004 | TCC Open Snooker Championship (3) | Mark Williams
|
6–7[9] |
| Winner | 2. | 2009 | TCC Open Snooker Championship (2) | Mark Williams
|
7–4 |
Amateur finals: 35 (29 titles)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1987 | Welsh Amateur Championship | John Herbert
|
8–4 |
| Winner | 2. | 1987 | World Amateur Championship | Joe Grech
|
11–4 |
| Winner | 3. | 2007 | European Amateur Championship - Masters |  Kieran McMahon
|
6–2 |
| Winner | 4. | 2007 | World Amateur Championship - Masters | Kanchai Wongjan
|
9–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2009 | Welsh Amateur Championship | Michael White
|
2–8 |
| Winner | 5. | 2009 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (2) | Joe Delaney
|
6–3 |
| Winner | 6. | 2009 | Bargoed Labour Club Invitational | Ian Sargeant
|
5–4[10] |
| Winner | 7. | 2009 | World Amateur Championship - Masters (2) | Dene O'Kane
|
6–0 |
| Winner | 8. | 2010 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (3) | Joe Delaney
|
6–0 |
| Winner | 9. | 2012 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (4) | Steve Judd
|
6–0 |
| Winner | 10. | 2012 | World Amateur Championship - Masters (3) | Glen Wilkinson
|
6–2 |
| Winner | 11. | 2013 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (5) |  Alan Trigg
|
6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2014 | World Amateur Championship - Masters | Phisit Chandsri
|
5–6 |
| Winner | 12. | 2015 | Welsh Amateur Championship (2) | Daniel Wells
|
8–0 |
| Winner | 13. | 2015 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (6) | Jamie Bodle
|
6–2 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2016 | Welsh Amateur Championship (2) | David John
|
7–8 |
| Winner | 14. | 2016 | European Snooker Open |  Shachar Ruberg
|
4–1 |
| Winner | 15. | 2016 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (7) | Brendan Thomas
|
6–0 |
| Winner | 16. | 2016 | IBSF World 6-Reds Snooker Championship |  Chau Hon Man
|
6–4 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2017 | Welsh Amateur Championship (3) | Rhydian Richards
|
4–8 |
| Winner | 17. | 2017 | European Snooker Open (2) | Michael Judge
|
4–1 |
| Winner | 18. | 2017 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (8) | Elfed Evans
|
6–2 |
| Winner | 19. | 2017 | IBSF World 6-Reds Snooker Championship (2) |  Kamal Chawla
|
6–4 |
| Winner | 20. | 2017 | World Amateur Championship - Masters (4) | Aiden Owens
|
6–3 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2018 | WSF Seniors Championship |  Igor Figueiredo
|
3–5 |
| Winner | 21. | 2018 | European Snooker Shoot-Out |  Tom Zimmermann
|
1–0 |
| Winner | 22. | 2018 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (9) | John Farrell
|
4–2 |
| Winner | 23. | 2018 | World Amateur Championship - Masters (5) |  Saleh Mohammadi
|
6–0 |
| Winner | 24. | 2019 | Welsh Amateur Championship (3) | Gavin Lewis
|
8–2 |
| Winner | 25. | 2019 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (10) | Alan Trigg
|
4–2 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2020 | European 6-Reds Championship | Iulian Boiko
|
3–5 |
| Winner | 26. | 2021 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (11) | Frank Sarsfield
|
4–0 |
| Winner | 27. | 2022 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (12) | Wayne Brown
|
4–3 |
| Winner | 28. | 2022 | Welsh Amateur Championship (4) | Liam Davies
|
8–2 |
| Winner | 29. | 2023 | European Amateur Championship - Masters (13) | Gary Milne
|
5–3 |
References
edit- ^ Turner, Chris (2008). "Top Century Makers". Snooker Archive. self-published. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
- ^ Global Snooker: 2009 TCC Pro-Am (Results) Archived 13 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Hindu: Kamal Chawla’s run comes to an end; Morgan is the master
- ^ "CueTracker - Darren Morgan - Season 2019-2020 - Professional Results - Snooker Results & Statistics Database".
- ^ "Darren Morgan finally hits a competitive 147 at the age of 56". South Wales Argus. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Wales Online: Meet snooker star Darren Morgan
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Hallett wins a Dutch thriller". Pot Black. Brentwood: Pot Black Publishing. July 1989. p. 29.
- ^ a b c d "2008 TCC Open Snooker Championship". Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
- ^ Global Snooker: 2009 Bargoed Labour Club Invitational (Results) Archived 27 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
