Anthony Hamilton (snooker player)
 Hamilton at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic |
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| Born | 29 June 1971 Nottingham, East Midlands |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Nickname |
|
| Professional | 1991– |
| Highest ranking | 10 |
| Current ranking | 35 |
| Career winnings | UK£839,705 |
| Highest break | 145 (1995 World Championship) |
| Century breaks | 218 |
| Best ranking finish | Runner-up: (1999 British Open, 2002 China Open) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Non-ranking | 3 |
Anthony Hamilton (born 29 June 1971 in Nottingham, East Midlands) is an English professional snooker player noted for his strong break-building technique and distinctive appearance. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's top 16, and fifteen in the top 32, reaching a career-high at number #10 in the world in the 1999/2000 season. Known as a prolific break builder, Hamilton has compiled 200 competitive centuries during his career.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] 1991–2000
Hamilton turned professional in 1991, entering the worlds top 32 in 1995/1996. Hamilton has reached two ranking tournament finals. In the British Open in 1999, where he lost to Fergal O'Brien – Hamilton opened with two centuries, but O'Brien won five frames on the final black to defeat the Nottingham man. The other was the 2001 China Open. Mark Williams beat him 9–8, despite Hamilton having led 8–5. He made the first of his four World Championship quarter-finals in 2000, losing 3–13 to John Higgins.
[edit] 2000–2005
He has reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship on three later occasions (2002, 2004 and 2007), but without reaching the semi-final stage. In 2002, he lost 6–13 to eventual winner Peter Ebdon. In 2004, he made two consecutive century breaks to come from 0–2 down to level at 2–2 in his quarter-final against eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, but eventually lost the match by 3–13. Hamilton's 438 points scored in this match are a record low for a World Championship Quarter-final. He also has the highest ever points total in a first-round match at the Crucible, 1271 against Chris Small in 1999, though he lost this match 9–10. In 1997 he reached the second round; facing John Parrott at this stage he scored 414 unanswered points in frames 1–5, but still lost the match (this is the second highest number of unanswered points in Crucible history; the record was set by John Higgins against Hamilton in the second round in 2000).
[edit] 2006–2010
Hamilton did not fare well in the 2006 World Championship, losing 1–10 in the opening round to Mark Williams. However, a strong two seasons ensured that he reclaimed a top 16 place.
In the high point of his campaign in the 2006/2007 season, Hamilton reached the Welsh Open quarter-finals by defeating both Joe Perry and Dave Harold, before losing his quarter-final match to Steve Davis in a final-frame decider. After failing to win another match up to the 2007 World Championship, he entered the Championship provisionally ranked no. 32.
However, Hamilton reached his fourth World Championship quarter-final in the 2007 event, pulling off a surprise 10–3 victory over Marco Fu in round 1, and a 13–8 second round win over Ian McCulloch (who had eliminated reiging champion Graeme Dott in the first round). However, he failed again to advance to the semi-final stage, losing 7–13 to Stephen Maguire. As a result he did not retain his top sixteen place, falling to #26 in the rankings for 2007/2008,
The 2007/2008 season produced little achievement of note for Hamilton, as he failed to reach the last 16 of any ranking event. He ensured his qualification for the 2008 World Championship with a 10–2 victory over Scott MacKenzie in the final qualifying round, but lost 10–3 to Stephen Maguire in the first round proper. This saw him drop from #26 to #31 in the World Rankings at the start of the 2008/2009 season.
In 2008/2009 Hamilton did not reach the last sixteen in any of the first five events, however he managed a run to the semi-finals at the 2009 Welsh Open. On the way he beat Peter Ebdon, Michael Judge and defending champion Mark Selby. In the semi-final he led Ali Carter 3–0 and it looked as though he may reach his third ranking final but eventually lost very narrowly 6–5 to the eventual winner. Despite this run he lost his place among the worlds top 32 at the end of the season, slipping to number #33 as he lost 10–5 to Ricky Walden in the qualifying for the World Championship.
In 2009/2010 season Hamilton won only four of his nine qualifying matches. He won one match at the 2009 Shanghai Masters and the 2010 Welsh Open. His only appearance in the last 32 came at the 2009 UK Championship, where he lost 2–9 against Mark King.
[edit] 2010–
In 2010/2011 season Hamilton failed to qualify for the first three ranking events as he lost 2–5 against Ricky Walden at the Shanghai Masters, 1–3 against James McBain at the World Open and 3–9 against Rod Lawler at the UK Championship.[2] Hamilton also participated at the Players Tour Championship, his best performance coming at the Paul Hunter Classic, where he reached the final, but lost 3–4 against Judd Trump.[2] Hamilton finished 18th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit and qualified for the Finals,[3] where he lost 0–4 against Mark Williams in the second round.[2] Hamilton qualified for the German Masters, by defeating Kurt Maflin (5–4), Adam Wicheard (5–1) and Stuart Bingham (5–1) in qualifying stages. He reached the second round by defeating Pavel Leyk (5–1) and Neil Robertson (5–4), before losing against Graeme Dott (2–5).[2] Hamilton couldn't reach the final stages of the last three ranking tournaments, as lost in the qualifying stages against Matthew Stevens 2–4 at the Welsh Open, 1–5 at the China Open and against Barry Hawkins 5–10 at the World Championship.[2]
Hamilton began the 2011/2012 season ranked number 36.[4] Hamilton reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters by winning winning five matches, but he lost 2–5 against Mark King.[5]
[edit] Personal
He is nicknamed the "Sheriff of Pottingham", and his distinctive goatee beard has also earned him the less flattering nickname of "Swampy", after the eco-warrior. He now lives in Muswell Hill, north London.
In 2001 he suffered a broken wrist while attempting to come to the rescue of a friend who was mugged in a nightclub,[6] an injury which kept him out of three tournaments and ultimately cost him his 2001/2002 Top 16 place.
[edit] Tournament wins
[edit] Non-ranking
- Strachan Open – 1994, leg 1 and 2
- Australian Masters – 1995
[edit] References
- ^ "Chris Turner's Snooker Archive – Snooker’s Top Century Makers". 2008. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Centuries.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ^ a b c d e "Anthony Hamilton 2010/2011 Stats". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=115. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ "Order of Merit". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 22 November 2010. http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/87/64/0,,13165~156807,00.pdf. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- ^ "Rankings after 2011 World Championship". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/64/71/0,,13165~160100,00.pdf. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ "Shanghai Masters (2011)". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=96. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "Anthony Hamilton (UK Championship)". BBC Sport. 2000-11-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2000/uk_championship_snooker/1016555.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
[edit] External links
- "Anthony Hamilton". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2234486,00.html. Retrieved 3 April 2011. Official WPBSA player profile.
- Anthony Hamilton – results & statistics at CueTracker.net
- Profile on Pro Snooker Blog
