John Giles (born 24 July 1969) 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 player.

Career

Born in 1969, Giles turned professional in 1992. In his debut season, he won the majority of the matches he played, but due to the vast number of players competing in qualifying for each event, did not progress beyond the last 128 of any of the ranking tournaments for most of that season. He won six matches in the 1992 Dubai Classic but was defeated by

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

1–5 in the seventh qualifying round, losing his eighth match in that year's

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

also to Davis by the same scoreline, and lost 4–5 to Andrew Cairns in the last 128 at the British Open. At the 1993 World Championship, qualifying for which was held near the start of the season, Giles defeated

Tessa Davidson Tessa Davidson (born 1969) is an English snooker player from Banbury, Oxfordshire. She won a number of ranking titles on the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association circuit. Biography In 1989, Davidson won the UK Championship. In 1991 s ...

5–3, Stan Haslam 5–1, Paul Maskell by the same scoreline, Barry Bunn 5–2, Simon Haggerty 5–0, Jamie Woodman 5–2, Andrew Cairns 10–2,

Tony Meo Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Cham ...

10–9, John Campbell 10–3 and Tony Knowles 10–6 to reach the last 32 stage - the first round at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

. Giles had won ten matches to qualify for the televised stages of the tournament, a feat bettered only by Spencer Dunn, who won eleven matches in the same event. In the event, Giles could not replicate his stellar form in his match against Steve James; he held James to 1–3 but came to trail 1–9. Although Giles won the eleventh frame and had left James requiring a snooker in the next, James recovered to win it 73–70, and was victorious by ten frames to two. Reaching the Crucible earned Giles £8,000, but his best performance the following season was a run to the last 96 of the

1993 UK Championship The 1993 Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. The event started on 12 November 1993, and the televised stages were shown on BBC between 20 and ...

, where he lost 1–5 to a resurgent

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...

. In spite of his poor form, Giles reached his highest ranking, 108th, for the 1994/1995 season. Giles progressed to the last 96 at two ranking events the following season; at the 1994 UK Championship, he lost 4–5 to

Danny Fowler Danny Fowler (born 30 July 1956 in Worksop) is an English former professional snooker player. Early life Danny Fowler was born on 30 July 1956 in Worksop. Fowler played snooker recreationally from the age of 15 to 20, but then stopped playing ...

, and at the 1995 British Open, Steve Newbury defeated him 5–2. Some success came in 1995/1996; Giles reached the last 32 at the 1996 Welsh Open, defeating Hugh Abernethy, Joe Jogia,

Les Dodd Les Dodd (born 11 February 1954) is an English former professional snooker player. He was runner-up in the 1987 English Professional Championship. Career Dodd was born on 11 February 1954 in Stockport, and turned professional in 1982. In his ...

and Martin Clark before being whitewashed 5–0 by

Drew Henry Drew Henry (born 24 November 1968) is a Scottish former professional snooker player, who spent five consecutive seasons of his career in the top 32 of the rankings, peaking at No. 18. Career A strong amateur, Henry won the 1988 Scottish Amateur ...

. The following season, Giles met

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

in the last 64 at the 1996 Grand Prix, where he lost 2–5. Having lost his professional status at the end of the 1996/1997 season, Giles entered ten qualifying events to regain it for the following season, and was successful. However, he dropped off the tour once more in 1999, aged 29. Giles' last professional match was another against Dodd, in the 1999 World Championship; on this occasion, Dodd won their third-round qualifying encounter 10–8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, John 1969 births Living people English snooker players