Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a professional snooker player from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001World Championships but only one final. Swail is renowned for playing well at the Crucible Theatre, having reached the last 16 on four further occasions. He is also a former English amateur champion and N. Ireland amateur runner-up, and has captained Northern Ireland internationally. He was Irish champion in 2005.
Career
Swail has had a very mixed history in the rankings. He took just two seasons to reach the Top 32, and three to reach the top sixteen, but only remained there for one season, before sliding out of the Top 32 after winning just two matches in 1997/1998. His 2000 Crucible achievement made him the second player (after Rex Williams) to return to the Top 16 in the rankings after dropping out of the Top 32 in between. He climbed to No. 10 after his 2001 semi-final, but dropped to 16–27–30–40 in the next few years, finishing with a nightmare season in 2004/2005. He then bounced back with an impressive and consistent showing in 2005/2006 that brought him back into the Top 32. He came close to the Top 16 in 2006/2007, finishing one place short at 17 despite beating Mark Williams in round 1 of the 2007 World Championships from 0–4 down He came from 7–9 behind to beat Judd Trump 10–9 in qualifying for the 2008 World Championship. Swail scored a comprehensive 10–4 victory over Stephen Lee in the first round at the Crucible, before a 12–13 defeat by Liang Wenbo in the second round, after a trademark comeback from 8–12 down, due to a bad miss on the brown in the decider. This caused him to again miss the top 16, finishing the season in 20th place.
"Only one thing sums up the match and that's the table. I have been a professional for 15 years and it's about time they sorted it out. There was a 'kick' every other shot and balls were rolling off into the middle pocket. I'm disgusted with the table. When you're trying to win a frame the last thing you want to worry about is a 'kick'."
"Ding is the defending champion. I am looking forward to the game with him again. Hopefully I will put up a good show tomorrow."
"There's only one thing that sums up the match and that's the table."
Nuestro reecuentro me sobrecogió destino inquieto que nos encontró mirarte granizó mi corazón y todo un sentimiento anestesiado sólo por el tiempo despertó, despertó (Estribillo) Podemos imaginar una luz en la oscuridad siempre amaneceré si nuestro amor vuelve a empezar la vida sin ti es andar como despistada en la ciudad nunca me perderé si nuestro amor vuelve a empezar. He vuelto a pasearme por tu piel a visitar parajes que nunca olvidé de nuevo siento que eres para mi y todo un sentimiento anestesiado sólo por el tiempo despertó, despertó (estribillo) Podemos imaginar....
"Never seen that before" 😳 ... "My game was there in parts, I potted some good balls," said White ... There was the late, great Hurricane Higgins, Dennis Taylor, Joe Swail and now an incredible player in Mark Allen, so there is always great support here." ... .
Davie, Joe and Sam Swails of Classic Construction of Summerville have been working for seven years to get clear title on the property they started the process of purchasing as an investment in 2016.
Neil Robertson storms into second round of World Snooker Championship. Read more ... I’d get beaten up all the time ... He is animated when I remind him that he nearly lost his final qualifying match at those worlds in 2005 when he edged past Joe Swail 10-8 ... .
Professional snooker also visited the city in the mid-2000s for three years ... But there were other Irish players who were pushing him all the way; the likes of Fergal O'Brien, Michael Judge, Joe Swail and Patrick Wallace, amongst others ... "Far from it ... .
The Post and Courier
17 May 2023
The Post and Courier
17 May 2023