Marcus Willoughby Owen (4 April 1935 – December 1987)
was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
professional
snooker player.
Career
Before turning professional, Owen won the English Under-16 Championship in 1949, and reached the final in 1950. Owen also won the
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 ...
on four occasions, in 1958, 1959, 1967 and 1973.
His elder brother
Gary was a professional snooker player,
and Marcus followed him into the professional game in 1973, entering the
1974 World Championship. As an unknown quantity, Marcus was not expected to progress far; however, he beat
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...
and Maurice Parkin to set up a last-16 meeting with Gary. Gary held Marcus to 5–5 at one point, but could not prevent him from pulling away to reach the quarter-final with a 15–8 victory. There, Marcus faced
Ray Reardon
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
, but having recovered from 3–9 to 7–9, was eventually defeated 11–15.
Owen next played a quarter-final at the 1982 Welsh Professional Championship, which was itself an eight-man event. He lost his first match 0–6 to
Cliff Wilson
Clifford Wilson (10 May 193421 May 1994) was a Welsh professional snooker player who reached the highest ranking of 16, in 1988-89. He was the 1978 World Amateur Champion and won the 1991 World Seniors Championship. He was a successful junior ...
.
Owen had no further success in professional snooker, his last match being a 0–6 loss to
Tony Chappel
Tony Chappel (born 28 May 1960) is a former Welsh professional snooker player from Pontarddulais in Swansea, whose career spanned seventeen years from 1984 to 2001.
Career
Throughout his career Chappel produced some notable wins. Some of the ...
in the first round of the 1985 edition of the Welsh Professional Championship; having held 17th place in the inaugural world rankings in 1976, he had not occupied a position on the list since 1980.
He resigned as a professional player in 1987.
Personal life
Owen died in hospital in December 1987,
[ under 'tragic circumstances'.]
Performance and rankings timeline
Career finals
Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)
References
1935 births
1987 deaths
Welsh snooker players
Sportspeople from Carmarthenshire
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