Leo Fernandez (born 5 July 1976 in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

) is an Irish 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.

Snooker career

Fernandez finished second on the PIOS Order of Merit in 2007 gaining promotion to the Main Tour for the 2007–08 season, although he failed to finish inside the top 64 and was relegated after that season. He has been on and off the Main Tour a few times during his career, failing to make any significant impact each time. He suffered from

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

in 2005 but continued playing while he recovered. His best ranking event display came when he reached the last 16 of the 2003 Welsh Open, defeating opponents including fellow Irishman

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� ...

and Mark King. He qualified for the 1999 World Championship but drew

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, ...

and lost 10–3. He also reached the final qualifying round in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, losing 10–8 to

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...

. He was

Jamie Burnett Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reachin ...

's opponent in 2004 UK Championship qualifying when Burnett scored a 148 break, the first ever break in excess of 147 in a professional match. As an amateur, Fernandez reached the final of

English Amateur Championship The English Amateur Championship, an annual snooker competition, is the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, a ...

in 2010, losing to

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his atta ...

, playing in the tournament again in 2011 and winning the title, victorious 10–6 in the final over John Whitty. He entered

Q-School In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

in 2015 and made it to the final round before losing 4–1 to

Rhys Clark Rhys Edward Clark (born 17 September 1946 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand drummer who, since moving to the United States in 1970, has played with such artists as Hoyt Axton, Freddy Fender and, most notably, Billy Joel. Biograp ...

. In October 2015, Fernandez played in the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

, and reached quarter-finals of the

Haining Open The Haining Open is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It was a minor-ranking part of the Players Tour Championship until 2015. History The tournament started in 2014 and was staged at the Haining Sports Center in Haining, Zhejiang, China. The ...

before losing 4–1 to world number 11

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

. This need being enough for Fernandez to qualify the main tour, however Fernandez was suspended from the sport of snooker for a period of 15 months following corruption charges and would not be eligible to participate in snooker events before 27 August 2017. In November 2017, Fernandez beat the world number three player

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...

in 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 h ...

coming from 5-1 behind to defeat the two-time former UK Champion 6–5 at the

York Barbican York Barbican is an indoor entertainment venue located in York, England. Named after the nearby barbican attached to Walmgate Bar, the venue hosts a busy calendar of live music, comedy and sports, as well as business events and conferences. ...

Personal life

Fernandez was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, but lives in Kendal

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Match fixing ban

Fernandez was given a 15-month ban by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in July 2016 for admitting to a breach of their corruption rules. After suspicious betting was placed on who would commit the first foul in the first frame, Fernandez admitted to playing that shot intentionally in order to aid those who had placed the bets in question. He was banned from 27 May 2016 to 27 August 2017, while he was fined €2,000 and made to assist the WPBSA in its anti-corruption education work.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Pro-am finals: 4 (3 titles)

Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)

References

External links

Leo Fernandez
''CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database''
Leo Fernandez
at ''worldsnooker.com''

Global Snooker Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Leo Irish snooker players Living people 1976 births Sportspeople from Limerick (city)