| Biography: |
One of the less flamboyant of snooker professionals, Fergal
O'Brien's quiet personality conceals a grim determination and
he is one of the hardest players to beat on the circuit.
He did not really come to the notice of the snooker world
outside Ireland as an amateur but when he joined the
professional ranks as soon as membership was thrown open to
all comers for the 1991/2 season, he was one of the first to
make an impact. He came through many rounds of qualifying to
reach the last 128 of his first tournament, The Dubai Classic
and reached the same stage of two other ranking events that
season ending it with a ranking of 192 out of some 500
players. He also reached the semi-finals of the Irish
Professional championship and that first season gave him
enough encouragement to keep going. In the following season he
made the last 16 of the Asian Open and two other last 64
places to move up to the top 100.
1993/94 saw him in the final stages of four ranking events
including a first visit to the Crucible. He justified a wild
card invitation to the Irish Masters by reaching the
semi-finals and leapt up to 42nd. His first ranking
quarter-final came in the 1995 Grand Prix and, after two more
in the 1996/97 season, he entered the top 32 at 23rd. In
1997/98 he reached the Scottish Open semi-final and won his
first match at the Crucible which, along with two more last 16
finishes, moved his ranking up to 20th.
Even though he reached the quarter-final of the 1998/99 UK
championship, he was a surprise finalist in the British Open
towards the end of the season having beaten reigning world
champion, John Higgins in the semis. His final opponent was
Anthony Hamilton and Fergal won a close match 9-7 to take his
first ranking title, and £60,000 which also ensured him of a
top 16 place at number 11.
He did not hold the title for long as the British Open moved
to the beginning of the season for 1999/200 but quarter finals
in the world championship and the Regal Welsh pushed his
ranking up to 9th. He only once got beyond the last 16 in
ranking events the following season and his top 16 place was
in doubt right up to the end of the season but he managed to
cling on at number 16. The highpoint of that season was being
runner-up to Paul Hunter in the Masters at Wembley earning him
his biggest ever prize of £88,000. It still left him
disappointed, as at one point he had been 7-3 up only to lose
10-9 after midnight.
Although he managed two ranking quarter-finals in 2001/02, he
also lost his opening game in five others and was unable to
retain his top-16 place for another year and dropped down to
23rd, his lowest for five seasons. Another poor season
followed in 2002/03 when he only won four matches in ranking
events and he dropped out of the top 32 for the first time for
seven seasons.
A regular member of the Republic of Ireland World and Nations
Cup teams, Fergal has now won almost £750,000 in prize money
and the slump in his form has been something of a surprise as
he was building a reputation as one of the most dogged and
hard to beat players on the circuit.
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