Robert Stephen (born 27 June 1984) is a Scottish 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. He first qualified for the main tour for the 2006–07 season having topped the Scottish rankings the year before. During the 2008–09 season, he reached the last 64 at the Shanghai Masters and the Bahrain Championship.

Career

Stephen was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and first played competitive snooker in 2003, entering three Challenge Tour events and qualifying for the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

; he progressed to the last 32 at one tournament, where Chris Norbury beat him 5–0, but lost his opening World Championship match 3–5 to

Troy Shaw Troy Shaw (born 6 October 1969) is an English former professional snooker player. Career Competing on the main tour from 1991, Shaw won the second leg of minor ranking tournament the Strachan Challenge in 1993, beating Nigel Bond in the fi ...

. Having gained a place on the professional tour through the Scottish rankings, Stephen made his début in the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy, where he lost 0–5 to

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo ( zh, s=梁文博; born 5 March 1987) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. During his playing career, he won one ranking title at the 2016 English Open, twice won the World Cup for China in 2011 and 2017 with teammate ...

. He recorded his first wins as a professional in his qualifying group for the 2006 Grand Prix, beating both Lee Page and

Mark Joyce Mark Joyce (born 11 August 1983) is an English former professional snooker player who lives in Walsall. He began his professional career by playing on the Challenge Tour in 2003. Joyce enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, winning the Europea ...

3–0, but did not qualify for the tournament itself. At the 2007 Welsh Open, he made his first competitive

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

, a 115, in the process of defeating

Tian Pengfei Tian Pengfei (; born 16 August 1987) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. He began his career by playing the Challenge Tour in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. Tian played on the Main Tour in 2006 and competed o ...

5–2; he lost his next match by the same scoreline to

Stuart Pettman Stuart Pettman (born 24 April 1975) is an English former professional snooker player. The Preston native qualified for the World Championship three times, in 2003, 2004 and 2010. He beat 2005 champion Shaun Murphy in qualifying to reach the 20 ...

. In the 2007 World Championship, Stephen was drawn against

Alfie Burden Alfred Burden (born 14 December 1976) is an English former professional snooker player from London. He first turned professional in 1994 and reached his highest world ranking of 38th in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. His best results in ...

in the last 96, but lost 9–10, and fell off the tour as the world number 91 at the season's end. During the 2007/2008 season, Stephen played in the Pontin's International Open Series in an attempt to win back his place, reaching the semi-final of Event Three, where Michael King beat him 5–4. His performances were not sufficient for him to return to the main tour for the 2008/2009 season. But he ended on top of the Scottish rankings, winning three of the seven tournaments of the Scottish Senior tour. And so he was again nominated for the Main Tour by the Scottish Snooker association.''Player List - Robert Stephen''
World Snooker, archived on May 30, 2009 Stephen's second season as a professional brought more success than his first, with runs to the last 64 at the Bahrain Championship, the Shanghai Masters and the China Open. In the Shanghai Masters, he defeated Scott MacKenzie 5–2 and

Paul Davies Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...

by the same scoreline, but lost 1–5 to Michael Holt, while his progress in Bahrain, encompassing victories over David Grace and

Andrew Norman Andrew Norman (born October 31, 1979) is an American composer of contemporary classical music whose texturally complex music is influenced by architecture and the visual arts. His string trio '' The Companion Guide to Rome'' (2010), was a runn ...

, was ended by a 3–5 loss to

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player known for quick play. Milkins has been a member of snooker's main tour since regaining a tour card in 1998. Milkins reached a career high rank of 12 in 2014 and 2023, ...

. In the China Open,

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player who won the 1991 World Snooker Championship. He came to prominence in the mid to late 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 ...

overcame him 5–3. Stephen lost 3–10 to

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh in the Pontin's International Open Series in 2006/2007. Selt played in his first professional final in 2014 ...

in qualifying for the 2009 World Championship, and was ranked 88th at the conclusion of the season. As a result, he was relegated once more from the tour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, Robert Scottish snooker players 1984 births Living people Snooker players from Glasgow Competitors at the 2005 World Games