Jamie Clarke (snooker player) explained

Jamie Clarke
Birth Date:1994 10, df=yes
Birth Place:Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Professional:2018–present
High Ranking:43 (November 2022)
Best Finish:Semi-final (x1)

Jamie Clarke (born 5 October 1994) is a Welsh professional snooker player.

Career

Clarke drew attention in 2014 when he defeated former world number 8 Darren Morgan in 6–0 whitewash in the semi-finals of the Welsh Amateur Championship before going on to defeat Lee Walker to capture the highest ranking and most prestigious amateur event in Wales.[1] [2] In 2015 Clarke entered several events in an attempt to qualify for the World Snooker Tour and narrowly missed out by losing in the final of tournaments on 3 occasions. In April, Clarke lost 3–4 in a final-frame decider to Martin O'Donnell in the final round of the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-off. Clarke would go on to enter Q School in May 2015, but would be unable to advance further than the third round. In June 2015, Clarke qualified for the knockout stage of EBSA European Snooker Championship as the 19th seed where he lost 4–7 to Michael Wild in the final.[3] [4]

The following month at the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship Clarke once again reached the tournament final before losing 7–8 in the deciding frame to Boonyarit Keattikun. In February 2016, Clarke once again reached the final of the EBSA European Snooker Championship as the number 1 seed, however he was once again defeated 4–7 losing to fellow countryman Jak Jones.[5] Two months later Clarke again lost a final-frame decider 3–4 to Elliot Slessor in the final round of the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-off. This was Clarke's fifth defeat in the final round of a tournament to qualify for the World Snooker Tour. Clarke was finally able to gain professional status at the sixth attempt, in the EBSA Tour Qualifying Play-offs, thanks to victories over former World Championship semi-finalist Andy Hicks and English amateur George Pragnall.[6]

He qualified for the first time for the 2020 World Snooker Championship, defeating Mark Allen 10–8 in the first round despite Allen scoring 5 centuries. Clarke was involved in a controversial incident during his second round match against Anthony McGill. Clarke was leading 7–2 when McGill complained to him directly that he had stood in his eyeline on several occasions during the match while he was getting down on a shot. Referee Jan Verhaas intervened but it seemed to unsettle Clarke after he won the frame. During the interval he tweeted 'You want to dance, let's dance.' McGill won the remaining five frames of the session to trail 7–8.[7] Ultimately the match went to a decider; Clarke was in first during the deciding frame before failing to escape from a snooker, and leaving a free ball. This was enough for McGill to win the match and see Clarke lose 12–13.[8]

Clarke's campaign at the 2021 World Snooker Championship ended in a similar fashion. In the last qualifying round, he led Mark Davis 7-2 after the first session before Davis won seven frames on a spin in the second session, with Clarke eventually losing 8–10.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2015/
16
2016/
17
2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/
20
2020/
21
2021/
22
2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[9] [10] [11] [12] 84[13] 67495659
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueNon-Ranking Event2RRR2RRRRR
Xi'an Grand PrixTournament Not Held1R
Saudi Arabia MastersTournament Not Held
English OpenNot HeldAA1R1R3R3RLQLQ
British OpenTournament Not Held1R1RLQ
Wuhan OpenTournament Not Held1R
Northern Ireland OpenNot HeldA1R1R1R1RLQ1R1R
International ChampionshipAAAAALQLQNot HeldLQ
UK ChampionshipAAAAA1R1R2R1R2R2R
Shoot OutNon-RankingAASF4R1RQF1R2R
Scottish OpenNot HeldAA1R1R2RLQ2R1R
German MastersALQAALQLQ1RLQLQLQ2R
Welsh OpenA1RAAA1R1R1R1RLQ1R
World OpenANot HeldAALQLQNot HeldLQ
World Grand PrixNHNRDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Players ChampionshipDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipTournament Not HeldDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipALQLQAALQ2RLQ1RLQLQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueAAAAAARRAAAA
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi ClassicALQTournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields OpenLQAATournament Not Held
Shanghai MastersALQAAANon-RankingNot HeldNon-Ranking
Paul Hunter ClassicMinor-RankingLQ1R1RNRTournament Not Held
Indian OpenALQNHALQLQTournament Not Held
China OpenALQAAA1RTournament Not Held
Riga Masters[14] NHMinor-RankALQLQLQTournament Not Held
China ChampionshipNot HeldNRALQLQTournament Not Held
WST Pro SeriesTournament Not HeldRRTournament Not Held
Turkish MastersTournament Not HeldLQNot Held
Gibraltar OpenNot HeldMR1R3R3R2R4R1RNot Held
WST ClassicTournament Not Held3RNot Held
European MastersNot HeldA1RLQLQ3R1RLQLQNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Six-red World ChampionshipA3R2RAAAANot HeldLQNot Held
Haining OpenNHMinor-Rank2RAAANHANHANH
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.

Career finals

Amateur finals: 6 (2 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2010Junior Pot Black1–0
Runner-up12010Pontins Star of the Future Anthony McGill1–4[15]
Winner2.20148–6
Runner-up2.20154–7
Runner-up3.2015 7–8
Runner-up4.20164–7

Team finals: 1

Notes and References

  1. News: Jamie Clarke crowned Welsh Amateur Champion 2014. 26 July 2015. welshsnooker.com. 26 July 2015. 25 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170825063401/https://www.welshsnooker.com/news/175/jamie-clarke-crowned-welsh-amateur-champion-2014. live.
  2. News: Llanelli's Jamie Clarke crowned amateur snooker champ. 4 May 2014. Llanelli Star. 26 July 2015. 24 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151224030220/http://www.llanellistar.co.uk/Clarke-crowned-amateur-champ/story-21065616-detail/story.html. live.
  3. News: Wild Champion of Europe . 26 July 2015 . easb.co.uk . 26 July 2015 .
  4. Web site: PRAGUE'S GONE WILD. European Billiards & Snooker Association. 13 June 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150614144839/http://www.ebsa.tv/index.php/k2/item/702-prague-s-gone-wild. 14 June 2015. dmy-all.
  5. News: JAK JONES IS THE NEW EUROPEAN CHAMPION. 21 February 2016. European Billiards & Snooker Association. 21 February 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160706193736/http://www.ebsa.tv/index.php/k2/item/804-jak-jones-is-the-new-european-champion. 6 July 2016. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Clarke and O'Connor Win EBSA Play-Offs - WPBSA . 18 April 2018 . 26 July 2020 . 26 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200726181009/https://wpbsa.com/clarke-and-oconnor-win-ebsa-play-offs/ . live .
  7. Web site: Anthony McGill confronts opponent Jamie Clarke over eyeline tactics at World Snooker Championship | Snooker News | Sky Sports . 22 August 2020 . 19 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200819112939/https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/snooker/news/12243/12045483/anthony-mcgill-confronts-opponent-jamie-clarke-over-eyeline-tactics-at-world-snooker-championship . live .
  8. Web site: 2020-08-10. McGill Beats Clarke In Crucible Epic. https://web.archive.org/web/20200819113001/https://wst.tv/mcgill-beats-clarke-in-crucible-epic/. dead. 19 August 2020. 2020-12-09. World Snooker. en-US.
  9. Web site: Ranking History. Snooker.org. 6 February 2011. 14 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190514065952/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
  13. Players who qualified via a World Championship Wildcard start without ranking points
  14. The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  15. Web site: Muir and McGill give hope to Scottish snooker fans . BBC Sport . 27 September 2023 . 28 February 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100304061249/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/8533371.stm . 4 March 2010 . live .
  16. Web site: Northern Snooker Centre Eden World Ladies Snooker and Billiards Championships 2014 . wlbsa.com . World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association . 18 April 2014 . 18 April 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013733/http://www.wlbsa.com/Eden-Worlds2014mixeddoublesresults.html . 19 April 2014 . dead.