Ian McCulloch (born 28 July 1971) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
former professional
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
player from
Walton-Le-Dale,
Preston,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. He is known for his ability to grind opponents down through protracted safety exchanges and disjointed breakbuilding. He compiled 105
century break
In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...
s in his career.
Career
McCulloch turned professional in 1992, and after steadily climbing up the rankings for many years, he reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time in the
1999 Welsh Open. He also made his debut in the Crucible stages of the
1999 World Championship.
Like
Barry Pinches
Barry Pinches (born 13 July 1970 in Catton, Norwich) is an English professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a former top 3 ...
he entered his best form in his early 30s. He reached two ranking event finals – the
2002 British Open (losing to
Paul Hunter
Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...
) and the
2004 Grand Prix in his home town (losing to
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
).
He beat
David Gray to qualify for the
2003 World Championship in a clash between players who share their names with musicians, and went on to reach the quarter finals in
2004. He went one stage further in
2005, losing 14–17 to
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
in the semi-final, beating
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...
,
Mark Williams and
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
en route. He was ranked number 16 in the rankings in
2005/2006 season, which would normally guarantee a seeding in the ranking tournaments, but was unluckily pushed out by
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
, who as the current
world champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
was not in top 16 of the rankings, and was seeded before him in tournaments.
His
2005–06 season proved disappointing, with a quarter-final appearance in the
Welsh Open the highlight. He failed to qualify for the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, losing to
Dave Harold
David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of ...
, causing him to drop down the rankings. He made his first appearance as a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He qualified for the
, and in the first round he eliminated defending champion Graeme Dott 10–7, but he lost in the second round 8–13 to
to beat him 9–8 in a remarkable comeback. He lost to
5–9 in the last 16. He missed out on the
was a struggle, with only two wins in the first five tournaments. He failed to qualify for the
despite scoring three centuries. After the 2011/12 season, he decided to quit the game for good after finishing number 68 in the world. This was in part motivated by an occupational shoulder injury. His best run was at the Welsh Open where he reached the final qualifying round before losing to
3–4.
On 11 October 2009, he won the Bodensee Open, although he was the only professional player taking part.
and can be heard in their shops previewing snooker tournaments and as a regular in-studio guest on their In-Play Radio service.