Tom Ford (born 17 August 1983) is an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in In ...

player from

the Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the ...

. Ford reached the final of the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic, before losing the final 2–4 to Mark Selby. He also reached the semi-final of both the 2018 UK Championship and the 2019 English Open. Ford has compiled five maximum breaks in competitive play, and over 200 breaks.

Career

Early years

As a junior, Ford played against Mark Selby frequently. He began his professional career by playing the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History The ...

in 2001, at the time the second-level professional tour. His first quarter-final came at the 2005 Malta Cup where he beat Ken Doherty, but eventually lost to

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

. In the 2007 Grand Prix, he made a 147 against

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Sn ...

, after having just come out of hospital suffering from gastroenteritis, but still missed out on the last 16, eventually finishing 3rd in his group. He secured the high break and maximum prize, but it was not televised. In the last 32 of the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy he held

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

to 4–4, before missing the final blue, allowing O'Sullivan to clinch the frame. Ford made his World Championship debut in 2010, after beating

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time rank ...

10–3 in the final qualifying round. He played Mark Allen in the first round, where he lost 4–10.

2010/2011

Early in the season Ford won his first professional title, Event 3 of the

Players Tour Championship The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification ...

, beating

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his att ...

4–0 in the final while working with sports mentor Matt Andrews. Ford failed to qualify for the main draws of both the Shanghai Masters and the World Open, but did beat

Tony Drago Tony Drago (born 22 September 1965) is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player. Known for his speed around the table, during his snooker career he won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 G ...

and Gerard Greene to reach the Last 32 of the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...

. He was drawn against Mark Allen and lost 5–9. Ford did not qualify for the final stages of any other ranking event for the season after losing 8–10 to Liu Chuang in Round 4 of 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, ...

2011/2012

The first world ranking event of the season was the inaugural Australian Goldfields Open, where Ford reached the final stages by beating Gerard Greene. He then beat world number 15

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

5–3 before being whitewashed 0–5 by eventual winner Stuart Bingham in the last 16. He made it through to his third successive

main draw where he played former world champion

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

, but was comfortably beaten 1–6. Ford won his second PTC title at Event 11 in December by defeating Martin Gould 4–3. He finished twelfth in the Order of Merit to qualify for the 2012 Finals, where he lost to Mark Davis 1–4 in the last 24. He then qualified for the wildcard round of the German Masters with a 5–0 whitewash of Anthony Hamilton and beat Irishman

Philip Arnold Philip Arnold (1829–1878) was a confidence trickster from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and the brains behind the legendary diamond hoax of 1872, which fooled people into investing in a phony diamond mining operation. He managed to walk away from t ...

5–1 to reach the last 32, where he met Mark Allen. Ford held a 3–0 lead, but went on to lose the match 4–5. He qualified for the Welsh Open and beat

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...

4–2 in the opening round, before losing to Stephen Lee 1–4. Ford also reached the second round of the World Open, thanks to the withdrawal of

, but exited the tournament in a final frame decider versus Mark King. He then lost to Lee again, this time in the first round of the China Open, before failing to qualify for the

after being edged out 9–10 by

Cao Yupeng Cao Yupeng (; born 27 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the 2011 Asian Under-21 Championship, thus qualifying for the professional main tour for the 2011–12 season. In his first season on the circuit, he reached ...

. Ford finished the season ranked world number 26, meaning he had risen eight places during the year.

2012/2013

Ford qualified for six ranking events during the 2012–13 season. Out of those he lost in the first round in three and in the second round of both the Australian Goldfields Open and Welsh Open to

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

1–5 and Ken Doherty 3–4 respectively. He couldn't qualify for the Players Tour Championship Finals through the Order of Merit as he finished 46th, but he did play in all three of the new Asian PTC's. His best result came in the Third Event, where he lost 3–4 in the semi-finals to Stuart Bingham. Ford finished sixth on the Asian Order of Merit, inside the top eight who qualified for the Finals. It was at the Finals that Ford had his best run in a ranking event of his career. He saw off Martin Gould 4–2,

4–3 and Marco Fu 4–1 to advance to the semi-finals. His nerves showed early on against

as he fell 0–3 down, but composed himself to level at 3–3. Ford had three chances to win the deciding frame, but left Robertson a chance when escaping a snooker to lose 3–4. Ford ended the season ranked world number 24.

2013/2014

At the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open Ford reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the third time in his career by beating Ryan Day and Barry Hawkins, before losing 3–5 to

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...

. He won through to the second round of both the Indian Open and Welsh Open but was eliminated by

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

and

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 ...

respectively. Ford defeated James Cahill 10–6,

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made hi ...

10–1 and

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

10–8 to qualify for the

for the second time. He rallied from 6–2 down in the first round against

to level at 8–8, before losing two successive frames to exit the tournament.

2014/2015

Ford qualified for the Australian Goldfields Open for the fourth year in a row and lost 3–5 to

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

in the first round. He had five defeats in a row after this until beating Barry Pinches 6–4 in the opening round of the

, his first win in the event after six prior losses. Ford was beaten 3–6 by Joel Walker in the second round. He had a resurgence of form at the Asian Tour event, the Xuzhou Open by knocking out five players to reach the semi-finals, where he lost the last two frames in a 3–4 defeat to Joe Perry. Ford entered the qualifying rounds of the

needing wins to ensure his survival on the tour as he was close to ending the season outside the top 64 in the world rankings. He did so by seeing off Andrew Norman 10–2 and David Gilbert 10–8 to meet Matthew Selt in the final round, where he lost 8–10. Ford ended up 59th in the world rankings, a drop of 27 places during the year.

2015/2016

Ford began the 2015–16 season by reaching the third final carrying ranking points of his career after overcoming the likes of Joe Perry, Matthew Selt and Ben Woollaston at the Riga Open. Ford won the first frame against Barry Hawkins, but could not capture another to be beaten 1–4. At the

, he defeated

Scott Donaldson Scott Donaldson (born 19 March 1994) is a Scottish professional snooker player. Donaldson turned professional in 2012 after winning the 2012 EBSA European Snooker Championship and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 ...

6–1 and then beat Mark Williams for the first time by recovering from 3–5 down to win 6–5. He followed that up by easing past

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

6–1, but accused his opponent

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

of boring him off the table in the fourth round after it was Ford who lost 5–6 having been 5–3 up. Ford failed to build upon this during the rest of the season as he could not get beyond the second round of any ranking event. However, he was able to build on his world ranking to finish as the world number 43, an increase of 16 spots during the year.

2016/2017

A 4–1 victory over Jamie Jones at the Paul Hunter Classic saw Ford reach the second ranking event semi-final of his career and he beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–2, closing the match with a 136 break. In Ford's first ranking event final he was 2–2 with Mark Selby, before his fellow Leicester player knocked in two 50 plus breaks to defeat Ford 4–2. At the English Open he beat Rory McLeod, Marco Fu and Joe Swail all by 4–2 scorelines, before losing 1–4 to

. Ford qualified for the German Masters by ousting

5–1 and then made a 147 in a first round 5–2 win over Peter Ebdon. He saw off Mark King 5–2, but then lost 2–5 to

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

in the quarter-finals. Ford qualified for his third

courtesy of victories over Jamie Bodle, Chris Wakelin and Hossein Vafaei. From holding a narrow 2–1 advantage over Barry Hawkins in the first round, Ford was eliminated 3–10.

2017/2018

2018/2019

2019/2020

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Minor-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Non-ranking finals: 2

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

References

External links

Tom Ford
at ''worldsnooker.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Tom English snooker players People from Blaby District Living people 1983 births