Mark King (born 28 March 1974) is an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

player. Having turned professional in 1991, King was ranked within the world's top 32 players between 1996 and 2015, and won his first ranking event title in 2016, defeating

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...

9–8 in the final of the Northern Ireland Open. He has also appeared in two other ranking tournament finals: the 1997 Welsh Open, where he lost 2–9 to

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

; and the 2004 Irish Masters, where

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

defeated him 10–7. King has reached the last 16 of 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, ...

seven times, in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2013, but has never progressed beyond this stage.

Career

King turned professional in 1991 and advanced steadily through the rankings, reaching the top 48 by 1996. His Welsh Open final run lead to a top 32 place in the end of season rankings, and he continued to progress by reaching the top 16 a year later. He made his debut at 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 ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, losing to

Darren Morgan Darren Morgan (born 3 May 1966) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who now competes as an amateur. Morgan won the World Amateur Championship in 1987 and played on the professional main tour from 1988 until 2006. He earned just ov ...

in the first round. He remained in the top 16 the following season without reaching a ranking quarter-final, but dropped out a year later. He made an immediate return in 2000–01, climbing to a career-high of #11. A poor 2002–03 season ended with him dropping out of the top 16 again after defeat to Drew Henry 10–5 in the first round of the World Championship. In the post-match interview, King suggested that he had lost patience with the game and would quit because "I've just had enough of the game." After the 2004 World Championship, King became involved in a tense battle with

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 ...

after his friend

Andy Hicks Andrew Hicks (born 10 August 1973) is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", Hicks was a semi-finalist at both the World Snooker Championship and UK Championship in 1995, and the same stage at four other ranking ...

eliminated Hann in a controversial first-round clash. Hann had been making provocative gestures during the match and after Hicks took victory, the two players had an altercation, with an angry Hann squaring up to Hicks. Upset by Hann's behaviour, King challenged the Australian to a boxing match, for which King was later criticised, as Hann's behaviour had already put the game into disrepute. Nevertheless, the bout went ahead and Hann controversially won the fight on a points decision. In December 2004, King beat

Robin Hull Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player. For some time, he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour. He is known as a solid -builder, having compiled over 150 competitive during his career, a ...

, Mark Williams,

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 ...

and

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

en route to the semi-finals 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 9–4 to eventual winner

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

. At 8–3, a mobile phone went off in the crowd, prompting King to quip "if that's my missus, tell her I'll be home soon". In 2005, King beat

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, ...

9–8 at the same event, having fought back from 5–3 down in a match which saw his opponent sitting with a wet towel draped over his head when King was at the table. King would eventually lose 9–6 in the last 16 to Joe Perry, but made a career best 146 break at the 2006 Championships. Defeat to

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

(he was trailing 7–2 but only lost 10–9) in the qualifying for the

in 2005 cost him the chance of a top 16 return, but King qualified a year later, resiliently losing 10–6 to Stephen Maguire in the first round. In 2007, King went out to David Gilbert in the qualifying round for the event. In the 2008 World Championship, King beat six-times runner-up

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

to qualify, then shocked the previous year's runner-up

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

10–8, having trailed 5–3 overnight. After potting the match ball, King showed his delight by shouting "Get in". He lost to

in the last 16, but his top-16 place was secure and he would start the 08/09 campaign ranked 15th. A consistent 2008–09 season saw King retain his top 16 spot. At the 2009 Grand Prix King needed three snookers in the deciding frame against

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 ...

to claim a 5–4 victory. He managed to get them and won by potting the final black. In the next round he lost to

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...

. At the 2010 China Open King defeated Thai player James Wattana 5–4 in the first round after trailing 2–4. He then won his second match 5–3 against Chinese player Tian Pengfei to reach his first Quarter final since the 2007 Malta Cup. A double triumph for King, the win helped to maintain his Top 16 place for the 2010/11 season. At the 2010 World championship, King lost his first round match against former 6 times World Champion

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 ...

by 9–10. In the deciding frame, Davis led 55–37, with only 13 points available. King's attempts at getting the snooker he needed to win ended with him fluking the pink in the pocket. King made an impressive start to the new season when he reached the Quarter Final of the

2010 Shanghai Masters The 2010 Roewe Shanghai Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 6–12 September 2010 at the Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai, China. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he withdrew due to pe ...

. King was too strong for qualifier Joe Delaney in the first round, winning 5–3. The same scoreline saw him overcome Peter Ebdon in the next round but King was then beaten comfortably by Mark Selby 5–1. However his lack of form in the following ranking events made him fall out of the top 16 after the 2011 Welsh Open. At the 2011 Masters, King beat defending champion Mark Selby 6–4 to reach his first quarter-final at the event since 1999. After the match, King suggested that his comeback from 0–2 down was prompted by his opponent's celebration to winning the second frame on the black, when he "put his cue up and it gave me the hump a bit" King then lost in the quarter-finals 1–6 against

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

. He ended the season by losing 7–10 to

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 ...

in the

and was ranked 26, dropping 11 places during the year. He was therefore out of the top 16 in the end of season rankings for the first time since the 2007–08 season.

2011/2012 season

King's ranking meant that he would need to win a match to qualify for the ranking tournaments in the 2011–12 season. He failed to qualify for four of the eight ranking tournaments during the season and was knocked out in the first round in two. However, he produced an excellent run in the Shanghai Masters where he reached his first semi-final since the 2005 Welsh Open. He required a final frame decider to beat

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

in qualifying 5–4 and once in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

he won by the same scoreline to knock out defending champion

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

in the first round. Further wins followed over

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 Anthony Hamilton, before he was whitewashed 0–6 by

in the last four. King also reached the quarter-finals of the World Open by beating Mark Williams 5–1 and

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...

5–4, but then lost 1–5 to

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

. King lost to seventeen-year-old Luca Brecel in qualifying for the

and finished the season ranked world number 31, dropping five places during the year.

2012/2013 season

King began the 2012–13 season by failing to qualify for three of the first four ranking events. The one he did reach was the Shanghai Masters, where he beat Zhao Xintong 5–3 in the wildcard round and local favourite

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 (200 ...

5–4 in the first round, having trailed 0–3. He lost 3–5 to

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 ...

in the following round. King saw off Mark Williams 6–3 in the first round of the 2012 UK Championship, before surrendering a 3–0 lead against 17-year-old Luca Brecel to lose 4–6. He also reached the second round of the

German Masters The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, ...

by whitewashing

5–0, but then lost in a deciding frame 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 ...

. King failed to qualify for the World Open and lost in the first round of the Welsh Open and China Open. He faced

in the opening round of the

and produced a big shock by fighting back from 6–8 down to produce his best snooker at the end of the match in a 10–8 win. He raced into a 6–2 lead in the first session of his second round match against

, before falling 7–9 behind in the next session and ultimately lost 9–13. King ended the season ranked world number 29.

2013/2014 season

King had his best results in the Chinese ranking events during the 2013–14 season, beginning with the Wuxi Classic where he beat Rory McLeod 5–3 and

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...

5–4, before being thrashed 5–0 by

in the last 16. At the Shanghai Masters he knocked out

, but Robertson was again victorious when the pair met in the last 16 this time winning 5–3. During King's tie with

in the last 64 of the

2013 UK Championship The 2013 williamhill.com UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 26 November–8 December 2013 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. It was the sixth ranking event of the 2013/2014 season. Mark ...

, he made 15 consecutive foul and misses in the sixth frame and went on to lose 6–3. The match was played in a sports hall as the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

itself was too small to accommodate enough tables, with King saying afterwards that the conditions were not good enough and as long as the top players were okay the governing body did not care. At the China Open, King saw off

Aditya Mehta Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Meht ...

5–4, Fu 5–3 and

Jamie O'Neill Jamie O'Neill (born 1 January 1962) is an Irish author. His critically acclaimed novel, ''At Swim, Two Boys'' (2001), earned him the highest advance ever paid for an Irish novel and frequent praise as the natural successor to James Joyce, Fla ...

5–3 to reach his only quarter-final of the season. He faced

who had already won four ranking events during the season and lost 5–2. King failed to reach

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

this year as

beat him 10–7 in the final round of

qualifiers.

2014/2015 season

Mark King at Snooker German Masters (DerHexer) 2015-02-04 03

King lost in the qualifying rounds of three of the first five ranking events of the 2014–15 season and was knocked out in the first round of the other two. He defeated

Steven Hallworth Steven Hallworth (born 1 December 1995) is an English former professional snooker player. He is the only ever qualified professional from Lincoln. He is a practice partner of Stuart Carrington. Career Junior Hallworth started playing snooke ...

and Michael White both 5–3 to qualify for the

and eliminated world number five

5–3 in the first round. In the last 16 he lost 5–2 to

. A consistent season in the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

events saw King finish 24th on the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

to make his debut in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

. King secured another win over Hawkins this time 4–2 and looked like moving 3–2 ahead of

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

in the last 16. However, Trump got the snooker he needed and won the next frame to defeat King. King closed the season with a 5–4 loss to

in the second round of the China Open and was narrowly edged out 10–9 by

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...

in the final round of

qualifying. He fell outside the top 32 in the rankings for the first time since 1996 at the culmination of the season as he was 36th.

2015/2016 season

King was knocked out in the first round of the

2015 Australian Goldfields Open The 2015 Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 29 June and 5 July 2015 at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia. It was the first ranking event of the 2015/2016 season. Judd Trump wa ...

5–1 by

. At the

Paul Hunter Classic The Paul Hunter Classic is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It changed from a ranking event to a 16-man invitational event in 2019. From 2010 to 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. Barry Hawkins is the reigning champion. After los ...

, King advanced to the semi-finals with the loss of just one frame. He moved 3–0 up on

with two 123 breaks but then missed multiple chances to win the match, as well as Murphy getting some flukes, to be beaten 4–3. He was also a losing quarter-finalist at the

Gibraltar Open The Gibraltar Open was a ranking snooker tournament. In 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. The tournament started in 2015 and was staged at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar. Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 M ...

and

Gdynia Open The Gdynia Open was a pro–am minor-Snooker world rankings, ranking snooker tournament, which was part of the Players Tour Championship. The tournament in the Snooker season 2012/2013, 2012/2013 was split in two parts, with the first part takin ...

to finish ninth on the

. In the

he lost 4–2 to

in the second round. King overcame

5–2 at the China Open and beat Murphy 5–3 and

Martin O'Donnell Martin O'Donnell (born May 1, 1955) is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as ''Myth'', ''Oni'', ''Halo'', and ''Destiny''. O'Donnell collaborated with his musical colleague Michael Salvatori f ...

5–0 to reach his first ranking event quarter-final in two years. He could not win a frame after being 3–2 up on

to lose 5–3.

2016/2017 season – first ranking title

King failed to get past the second round in the first eight events of the 2016–17 season. At the inaugural Northern Ireland Open, King beat

Igor Figueiredo Igor Almeida Figueiredo (born October 11, 1977) is a Brazilian former professional snooker player. Career Amateur career Prior to entering the PIOS tour in 2009, Figueiredo had only played on 10-foot tables in his home country. Despite this, hi ...

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

, Kurt Maflin, Hossein Vafaei Ayouri and

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

to reach his first ranking event final since 2004. He was 5–1 down to

, before winning six successive frames. King went on to be 8–7 up, with the 16th frame going to a re-spotted black after King had needed a snooker and he missed a double on it to win. King took the deciding frame to win a ranking event for the first time in his 25-year career. He paid tribute to his father who had lent King money for the trip to Belfast. King saw off

and

both 4–3 to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, where he lost 4–2 to

. For the fourth year in a row King could not play in the

as he was beaten 10–4 by

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

in the final qualifying round.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Pro-am finals: 9 (5 titles)

References

External links

Mark King
at ''worldsnooker.com'' *

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Mark 1974 births Living people English snooker players People from Romford Sportspeople from Essex