Dominic Dale
 Dominic Dale at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic |
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| Born | 29 December 1971 Coventry, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Wales |
| Nickname | Spaceman |
| Professional | 1992– |
| Highest ranking | 19 (1999/00) |
| Current ranking | 27 |
| Career winnings | UK£682,740[1] |
| Highest break | 145 1999 UK Championship[2] |
| Century breaks | 108 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 2 |
| Minor-ranking | 1 |
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale in Coventry, England[3][4] on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh[3] professional snooker player and occasional snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC.
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[edit] Career
Dale won the Welsh Amateur Championship, which allowed him to compete at the World Amateur Championship in Bangkok. Dale reached the final, but lost 9–11 against Noppadon Noppachorn. Dale turned professional for the 1992/1993 season.[3]
He has won two ranking tournaments in his career, the first of which – the Grand Prix in 1997 – he won while ranked number 54 in the world, beating then world number 2 John Higgins 9–6 in the final. It took him a decade to repeat the achievement at the 2007 Shanghai Masters, where he defeated compatriot Ryan Day 10–6 in the final, from 2–6 behind. On his way to the Shanghai final he beat Rory McLeod, Ken Doherty, Adrian Gunnell, Dave Harold and Mark Selby.[5]
Both of his ranking victories were in the season-opening tournaments; he also reached the semi-finals of the season-opening events in 2002 (LG Cup) and 2006 (Northern Ireland Trophy). He also beat Peter Ebdon at the 2008 Malta Cup, despite a bout of stomach cramps and a drinking session the night before the match.[6]
Dale is the only player to have won multiple ranking tournaments without ever reaching the top 16, but he was 14th on the one-year list for both 1997/1998 and 1999/2000 (missing out due to an unsuccessful 1998/1999 season).
His best World Championship performance was in 2000, when he reached the quarter-finals with a 10–6 victory over Peter Ebdon and an emphatic 13–1 defeat of David Gray.
Dale won the third professional tournament of his career when he won Event 6 of the Players Tour Championship 2010/2011, beating Martin Gould 4–3 in the final. This win, along with other consistent performances, were enough to see him back into the top 32 players. He also qualified for the World Championship for the first time since 2004,[7] although he was comprehensively beaten 10–2 in the first round by Ronnie O'Sullivan.
In 2011 he reached the final stages of the UK Championship for the first time since 2005 by beating Nigel Bond in the final qualifying round and was drawn against Judd Trump in the last 32. Dale led 4-2 before Trump had a large slice of fortune in the seventh frame by fluking a pink. Dale would eventually lose the match 6-4.[8] He also reached the 2012 PTC Finals courtesy of finishing twentieth in the Order of Merit.[9] His qualification was largely due to making the final of Event 10, where he was beaten 2-4 by Michael Holt.[10]
[edit] Personal life
Dale's personality, dress sense and hair styles make him one of the more metrosexual players on the circuit. His interests include snooker memorabilia, Art Deco and operatic singing. After his Shanghai Masters win, he celebrated by singing "My Way" at the post-match conference.[11] In December 2007 Dale moved to Vienna with his girlfriend Katharina.[12] His form declined after this move, which he attributed to not having a professional training partner in Vienna,[13] and he returned to live in the UK four years later.[11] He now lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire.[14]
