Ahmed Aly Elsayed Explained

Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Birth Date:14 December 1979
Birth Place:Alexandria, Egypt
Professional:2023–present
High Ranking:108 (July 2024)

Ahmed Aly Elsayed (born 14 December 1979) is an American professional snooker player who has won the United States Amateur Championship a record six times, having won three consecutive titles between 2009 and 2011, and another three consecutive titles between 2018 and 2021 (no tournament was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[1] [2] He participated in the 2022 World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, becoming the first American to compete at the Crucible. He lost in the first round to Wayne Cooper.[3] He turned professional in the 2023–24 season after earning a two-year tour card by winning the 2022 Pan American Amateur Championship.[4] Former world champion Cliff Thorburn and top snooker coach Chris Henry advised him on playing professionally.

Born in Egypt, he began as a pool player, winning tournaments in Alexandria.[5] His father, an officer in the Egyptian Army, introduced him to snooker, and Elsayed practiced the sport in an army club that featured snooker tables formerly owned by King Farouk. After earning a degree in civil engineering, he went to the United States, intending to compete in pool tournaments. He remained in the US, working at the New York Athletic Club, where he supervises the billiard room.[6] He is a naturalized US citizen.[7]

In 2018, Elsayed played the part of a snooker player in The Nap at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway. The play was written by One Man, Two Guvnors playwright Richard Bean.[8] Elsayed met his wife Amy, a stage manager, during his time appearing in the play.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2021/
22
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[9] [10] [11] [12] 94
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueARRRR
Xi'an Grand PrixNot HeldLQ
Saudi Arabia MastersNot Held
English OpenALQ
British OpenALQLQ
Wuhan OpenNHLQLQ
Northern Ireland OpenALQ
International ChampionshipNHWD
UK ChampionshipALQ
Shoot OutA1R
Scottish OpenALQ
German MastersALQ
Welsh OpenALQ
World OpenNHLQ
World Grand PrixDNQDNQ
Players ChampionshipDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipALQ
Non-ranking tournaments
World Seniors Championship1RA
Former ranking tournaments
European MastersALQNH
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw
  1. R
lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.

Career finals

Amateur finals: 12 (8 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2009United States Amateur Championship Ajeya Prabhakar5–4
Winner2.2010United States Amateur Championship (2) Yi Fei Mei5–4
Winner3.2011United States Amateur Championship (3) Ajeya Prabhakar5–3
Runner-up1.2015United States Amateur Championship Sargon Isaac3–5
Runner-up2.2016United States Amateur Championship (2) Sargon Isaac1–5
Runner-up3.2017United States Amateur Championship (3) Raymond Fung4–5
Winner4.2018United States Amateur Championship (4) Raymond Fung5–2
Winner5.2019United States Amateur Championship (5) Cheang Ciing Yoo5–3
Winner6.2021United States Amateur Championship (6) Ajeya Prabhakar5–0
Winner7.2021Pan American Amateur Championship - Masters Levi Meiller4–1
Runner-up4.2022Pan American Amateur Championship - Masters Vito Puopolo0–3
Winner8.2022Pan American Amateur Championship Amar Sadeg5–1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Aly secures record breaking sixth U.S. title . United States Snooker Association. October 17, 2021 . May 6, 2022.
  2. Web site: SnookerUSA.com - USSA Organization - United States National Snooker Championship - Roll Of Honor . 2023-09-11 . www.snookerusa.com.
  3. Rob Walker (Presenter), John Virgo (Commentator) and Cliff Thorburn (Commentator) . May 5, 2022 . 2022 World Seniors Championship: Ahmed Aly versus Wayne Cooper . Television production . BBC Red Button.
  4. Web site: American Aly Elsayed Set For Professional Circuit. WPBSA. 8 November 2022.
  5. Web site: 2022-11-23 . From Alexandria To New York – Elsayed’s Path To Professional Status . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123135347/https://wst.tv/from-alexandria-to-new-york-elsayeds-path-to-professional-status/ . dead . November 23, 2022 . 2023-09-11 . World Snooker . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2022-05-01 . Who is US snooker star Ahmed Aly Elsayed? . 2023-09-11 . Diario AS . en-us.
  7. Web site: SnookerUSA.com - News - Aly arrives in Egypt for IBSF World Snooker . 2023-09-11 . www.snookerusa.com.
  8. News: U.S. Snooker Champ Ahmed Aly Elsayed On Playing Broadway . King . Darryn . Forbes . September 27, 2018 . May 6, 2022 .
  9. Web site: Ranking History. Snooker.org. 6 February 2011. 19 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181219070820/http://www.snooker.org/Rnk/history.asp. live.
  10. It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  11. He was an amateur
  12. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking