Bernie Mikkelsen (born 11 April 1950) is a Canadian former professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player.

Career

Mikkelsen recorded a 9–8 victory over

John Pulman Herbert John Pulman (12 December 192325 December 1998) was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges ...

to reach the semi-finals of the 1976 Canadian Open where he lost 1–9 to

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgi ...

. At the 1976 World Amateur Snooker Championship, representing Canada, Mikkelsen recovered from 0-3 behind against Bert Demarco to win 4–3, but with only three wins in eight matches in the qualifying round-robin group, he did not progress to the later stages. In 1977 he became the first Canadian player to make a

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a onefourseven) is the highest possible in snooker in normal circumstances and is a special type of . A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, fo ...

in competition. Mikkelsen turned professional in 1979, and played only at the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship, or simply known as the World Championship, is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest event to date with a total prize money of £2,395,000, including ...

in his first three seasons. He lost in the first qualifying round each time; 7–9 to Roy Amdor in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, 4–9 to

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won ten ranking events. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his swift and attacking style of play, White has reached six World Snooker Championship finals ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, and 6–9 to

Colin Roscoe Colin Roscoe (born 30 June 1945 in Connah's Quay, Flintshire) is a Welsh former professional snooker player. Career Born on 30 June 1945 in Connah's Quay, Flintshire, Roscoe won the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1981 and soon after turned pr ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. After not competing during the

1982–83 snooker season The 1982–83 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 7 July 1982 and 27 May 1983. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events. __TOC__ New professional players ...

, Mikkelsen reached the third qualifying round of the

1984 World Snooker Championship The 1984 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1984 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purpose of sponsorship) was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place between 21 April and 7 May 1984 at the ...

with wins over

Paul Medati Paul Medati (14 November 1943 – 29 November 2008) was an English professional snooker and pool player. Career Medati was born in Ordsall, Salford, Lancashire to Maltese parents, and attended St. Joseph's Primary School. After playing snoo ...

and

Frank Jonik Francis "Frank" Jonik (2 December 1957 – 31 March 2019) was a Canadian professional snooker player. Career Born in 1957, Jonik first played competitive snooker in 1978 at the Canadian Professional Championship, and turned professional in 1979 ...

before being eliminated 3–10 by

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13– ...

. In a qualifying match for the

1985 World Snooker Championship The 1985 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1985 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purpose of sponsorship) was a professional ranking tournament in snooker that took place from 12 to 28 April 1985 at the Crucible Th ...

, Mikkelsen compiled a break of 132, but lost 9–10 to

Malcolm Bradley Malcolm Bradley (born 8 July 1948) is an English former professional snooker player. Career In 1982, Bradley reached the final of the English Amateur Championship, finishing as runner-up after being defeated 9–13 by Dave Chalmers. Bradley a ...

. Reaching the last 48 of the 1984 World Championship was to be the furthest that Mikkelsen progressed in a major tournament as a professional. His highest snooker world ranking was 37. He lost his professional status after withdrawing from a play-off match against the then-amateur

James Wattana James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm'', then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm'' in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker pl ...

in 1989. In 1996, Mikkelsen won the Canadian Open

Nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle o ...

pool championship by defeating

Paul Potier Paul Richard William Potier (born July 12, 1954 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian professional pool player and two-time Canadian nine-ball champion. Career Besides being a touring professional, Paul has been a trick shot artist, coach ...

15–14 in the final.

Career highlights

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikkelsen, Bernie Canadian snooker players 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario