Martin O'Donnell (snooker player) explained

Martin O'Donnell
Birth Date:1986 6, df=yes
Birth Place:England
Professional:2012–2014, 2015–2022, 2023–present
High Ranking:30 (October 2020)
Best Finish:Runner-up (2024 Welsh Open)

Martin O'Donnell (born 4 June 1986) is an English professional snooker player. He gained a two-year place on the main snooker tour by coming through the 2012 Q School. He finished with the most points during the Q Tour of the 2022–23 season and gained a two-year tour card as a result. He is known as "The Minister of Defence" because his initials spell out "MoD" as reference to the UK government body responsible for the Armed Forces.[1]

Career

Early career

As an amateur, O'Donnell played in all 12 of the Players Tour Championship events during the 2010/2011 season. He reached the second round on three occasions, but could not progress any further, however, in Event 3 he defeated former world champion, Shaun Murphy 4–3.[2] O'Donnell finished 109th on the Order of Merit.[3] He entered the 2011 Q School in an attempt to turn professional and in the final event he was one match away from achieving this. He played Kurt Maflin and lost 1–4.[2]

In the 2011/2012 season, O'Donnell was again confined to entering the PTC events, playing 9 of the 12. He reached the main draw on six occasions but failed to win a match once there.[4] He won the SnookerBacker Classic, which guaranteed him entry into Q School at the end of the season.[5] O'Donnell won five matches at the first 2012 Q School event, concluding with a 4–1 victory over Adrian Ridley, to secure a two-year tour card beginning with the 2012/2013 season.[6]

Professional debut

O'Donnell's first match as a professional was in qualifying for the Wuxi Classic. He beat David Grace 5–2, before losing to Alfie Burden 3–5.[7] He went one better in qualifying for the next ranking event, the Australian Goldfields Open, by defeating Jeff Cundy and Grace once more, but was then whitewashed 0–5 by David Gilbert.[8] He did not win two consecutive matches in qualifying for any other event this season.[7]

O'Donnell played in all ten minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events and did not win a match in any of them, until his final attempt at the European Tour Event 5 in Scotland. He saw off Sean O'Sullivan, Craig Steadman, Kurt Maflin all by 4–3 scorelines to reach the quarter-finals, but his run was ended as Andrew Higginson advanced with a 4–2 win.[7] This helped O'Donnell to finish 83rd on the PTC Order of Merit.[9] His season ended when he was beaten 5–10 by Tian Pengfei in the first round of World Championship Qualifying.[10] O'Donnell finished his first year on the tour ranked world number 86.[11]

2013/2014 season

O'Donnell was beaten in the qualifying rounds for eight ranking events in the 2013/2014 season. All 128 players on the tour entered the UK Championship and Welsh Open at the first round stage, with O'Donnell losing at this stage in both.[12] The only event he qualified for this season was the China Open by defeating David Gilbert 5–1. He received a bye through the first round due to Stuart Bingham's withdrawal which meant he would play in the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time.[12] O'Donnell faced Craig Steadman and was edged out 5–4.[13] In the European Tour events his best result came at the Rotterdam Open where he beat experienced players Robert Milkins and Marcus Campbell, before losing 4–0 to Stuart Bingham in the last 16.[12] As he ended his second season at world number 92, outside the top 64 in the rankings, his other route to remain on tour next year was through the European Order of Merit, with eight places available to non-qualified players.[14] O'Donnell finished 59th, less than 300 points short of Tony Drago who received the final spot and entered the 2014 Q School to retain his professional status.[15] He was eliminated in the last 64 in both events and had amateur status for the coming season.[12]

2014/2015 season

O'Donnell qualified for the first round of three of the six European Tour events during the 2014/2015 season. His only win came at the first event, the Riga Open where he defeated Alfie Burden 4–2, but then lost 4–1 to Mark Williams in the second round.[16] At the end of the season he won his place back on the tour by coming through three matches at the EBSA Play-offs, culminating with a 4–3 victory over Jamie Clarke.[17]

2015/2016 season

O'Donnell overcame Gerard Greene 6–4 to qualify for the International Championship and lost 6–2 to Neil Robertson in the first round.[18] In the first round of the Welsh Open he knocked out Stephen Maguire, making a 130 break along the way, but was then defeated 4–2 by Matthew Stevens.[19] O'Donnell beat another multiple ranking event winner when he recovered from 3–1 down to Mark Williams to triumph 5–3 and qualify for the China Open.[20] He then ousted Joe Swail 5–2 and Matthew Selt 5–1 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, but he was thrashed 5–0 by Mark King.[18]

2016/2017 season

O'Donnell qualified for the Riga Masters and beat Sam Craigie 4–3, before losing 4–3 to Jimmy Robertson. He had to wait until the penultimate event of the year to reach the last 32 again as he qualified for the China Open by edging past Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–4 and thrashed Jimmy Robertson 5–0.[21] O'Donnell would be defeated 5–1 by Mark Selby and played in the 2017 Q School as he was ranked 74th in the world, outside the top 64 who kept their places.[22] [23] He lost 4–1 to Lukas Kleckers in the last round of the first event and 4–3 to Ashley Carty in the third round of the second, but took the final place through the Q School Order of Merit to earn a new two-year tour card.[24] [25]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2004/
05
2010/
11
2011/
12
2012/
13
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/
17
2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/
20
2020/
21
2021/
22
2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[26] [27] [28] [29] 8677[30] 6742344863
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueNHNon-Ranking EventRRRRA2R3R
Xi'an Grand PrixTournament Not HeldLQ
Saudi Arabia MastersTournament Not Held
English OpenTournament Not Held1R1R1R2R2R1RAQF
British OpenATournament Not Held2RALQ
Wuhan OpenTournament Not Held2R
Northern Ireland OpenTournament Not Held1RWD4R2R1R1RA2R
International ChampionshipNot HeldLQLQA1RA3RQFLQNot HeldLQ
UK ChampionshipAAALQ1RA1R1R1RQF3R1R2RLQLQ
Shoot OutNon-Ranking Event1RSF1R2RQF1RA1R
Scottish OpenNot HeldMRNot Held1R1R2R2R3R3RA3R
German MastersNHAALQLQALQLQLQLQLQLQLQA1R
Welsh OpenAAALQ1RA2R1R1R3R3R3RLQAF
World Open[31] AAALQLQNot heldLQLQ1R2RNot HeldLQ
World Grand PrixTournament Not HeldNRDNQDNQDNQ1RDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Players Championship[32] NHDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
Tour ChampionshipTournament Not HeldDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ
World ChampionshipLQAALQLQALQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQ
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi ClassicNHNon-RankingLQLQATournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields OpenNot HeldALQLQLQLQTournament Not Held
Shanghai MastersNHAALQLQALQLQLQNon-RankingNot HeldNon-Ranking
Paul Hunter ClassicPAMinor-Ranking Event1R2R1RNRTournament Not Held
Indian OpenTournament Not HeldLQANH1R2RLQTournament Not Held
China OpenAAALQ2RA3R2R1RLQTournament Not Held
Riga Masters[33] Tournament Not HeldMinor-Rank2RLQLQLQTournament Not Held
China ChampionshipTournament Not HeldNRLQQF1RTournament Not Held
WST Pro SeriesTournament Not Held2RTournament Not Held
Turkish MastersTournament Not Held1RNot Held
Gibraltar OpenTournament Not HeldMR2R3R1R3R1R1RNot Held
European Masters[34] ATournament Not HeldA2RLQLQ3RLQALQNH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Haining OpenTournament Not HeldMinor-Rank3RAAANHANHANH
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: 8 (4 titles)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.2006English Amateur Championship Mark Joyce3–8
Runner-up2.2012English Amateur Championship (2) Gary Wilson9–10
Winner3.2012Snookerbacker Classic – Grand Finals John Sutton4–0
Winner4.2022Q Tour – Event 25–1
Runner-up5.2022Snooker Legends – The 900 Ant Parsons0–1
Winner72022Q Tour – Event 65–1
Winner82023Snookerz Christmas Cracker[36] Paul Ganley3–1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'I CAN'T PLAY SNOOKER LIKE THAT' – MARTIN O'DONNELL VOWS TO DITCH GO-SLOW TACTICS AFTER CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE SUCCESS . Eurosport . 28 June 2023.
  2. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2010/2011 . Snooker.org . 17 June 2012.
  3. Web site: Order of Merit 2010/2011 . Snooker.org . 17 June 2012.
  4. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2011/2012 . Snooker.org . 17 June 2012.
  5. Web site: O'Donnell And Sutton Excited By Q School . . 17 June 2012.
  6. Web site: MOD Ready To Rock . . 17 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130616121640/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0%2C%2C13165~2775970%2C00.html . 16 June 2013 .
  7. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2012/2013 . Snooker.org . 17 June 2012.
  8. Web site: Australian Goldfields Open Qualifiers . Snooker.org . 6 April 2013.
  9. Web site: Issued after Munich Open 2013 (ET6) . 7 January 2013 . World Snooker . . 27 May 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130127034421/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/7a/ba/0%2C%2C13165~178810%2C00.pdf . 27 January 2013 .
  10. Web site: Betfair World Championship Qualifiers . Snooker.org . 6 April 2013.
  11. Web site: Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season . . 24 May 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130611202605/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/49/bc/0%2C%2C13165~179273%2C00.pdf . 11 June 2013 .
  12. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2013/2014. Snooker.org. 14 April 2014.
  13. Web site: Snooker – Robertson battles past Williams in Beijing . . 20 May 2014.
  14. Web site: World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship . . 9 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140508030740/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/71/c1/0%2C%2C13165~180593%2C00.pdf . 8 May 2014 .
  15. Web site: European Order of Merit 2013/2014 . Snooker.org . 14 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408124026/http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=10&season=2013 . 8 April 2014 .
  16. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2014/2015 . Snooker.org . 10 May 2015.
  17. Web site: EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs . Snooker.org . 10 May 2015.
  18. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2015/2016 . Snooker.org . 2 May 2016.
  19. Web site: Rocket Through But No 147 . 15 February 2016 . . 2 May 2016.
  20. Web site: Mark Allen fails to qualify for the China Open . Vavel . 2 May 2016.
  21. Web site: Martin O'Donnell 2016/2017. Snooker.org. 12 April 2017.
  22. Web site: Rankings 2016/2017. Snooker.org. 7 May 2017.
  23. News: China Open: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out in the second round. 29 March 2017 . BBC Sport. 12 April 2017.
  24. Web site: Kleckers Books Tour Sport. 14 May 2017. World Snooker. 14 May 2017.
  25. Web site: Q School Order of Merit 2017. Snooker.org. 22 May 2017.
  26. Web site: Ranking History. Snooker.org. 6 February 2011.
  27. It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  28. He was an amateur
  29. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  30. Players qualified through Q School started the season without prize money ranking points
  31. The event was called the Grand Prix (2004/2005)
  32. The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011-2015/2016)
  33. The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  34. The event was called the Malta Cup (2004/2005)
  35. Web site: 2017 Italian Snooker Open.
  36. Snookerz is a 'Not For Profit' project, set up in 2022 to support, showcase and facilitate the promotion of Amateur / Grass Roots Snooker. You can access their website HERE