John Lardner (born 10 May 1972 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland) is a former professional snooker player. His best performance came in the

1999 World Snooker Championship The 1999 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1999 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 April and 3 May 1999 at the C ...

, where he reached the last 32. He reached a peak world ranking of 67th in 2000–01.

Early life

Lardner was born in Glasgow in 1973. He left school early to spend time practising snooker, confident that he could become a professional player. Available online a
highbeam.com
(subscription required) In 1988 Lardner won the Star of the Future award at a competition in

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that ...

Professional career

Lardner turned professional in 1991. In the 1993–94 season, he reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Championship, losing 6–9 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, ...

. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, at the age of 26, Lardner reached the first round of the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...

by defeating

Neal Foulds Neal Foulds (born 13 July 1963) is an English former professional snooker player and six-time tournament winner, including the 1986 International Open, the 1988 Dubai Masters and the 1992 Scottish Masters, as well as the invitational Pot Blac ...

Quinten Hann Quinten may refer to: People Surname * Christopher Quinten (born 1957), British actor Given name * Quinten Burg (born 1948), American politician * Quinten Hann (born 1977), Australian snooker player * Quinten Hermans (born 1995), Belgian cyclist ...

and Martin Clark in the qualifying rounds. In his first round match against world number 9 Stephen Lee, Lardner trailed 3–9 before recovering to lose only 7–10. Despite the defeat, he described 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 ...

as "the best place I've ever played snooker". The following season, Lardner climbed to position 72 in the world rankings, and reached the first round of the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...

, losing to David Gray. He also achieved his best ranking tournament finish by reaching the last 16 of the

Thailand Masters The Thailand Masters was a professional snooker tournament. Previously known as Asian Open and Thailand Open, it was a ranking tournament from 1989/90 to 2001/02. An event called the ''Thailand Masters'' also formed part of the ''World Series'' ...

in March 2000, beating

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000 ...

in the last 32 before being defeated by

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

. However, he was defeated in the qualifying rounds of the World Championship to Icelandic player Kristján Helgason. His world ranking climbed to 67 for the 2000/2001 season.

Tournament Wins

Non-Ranking Wins: (1)

* WPBSA Minor Tour - Event 3 – 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lardner, John Scottish snooker players Living people 1973 births Snooker players from Glasgow