Dave Martin (born 9 May 1948) is a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

snooker player. He became a professional player in 1980, and later reached the semi-finals at the

1981 International Open The 1981 Jameson International was the first staging of the professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 14 and 20 September 1981 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. Television coverage was on ITV. Earlier matches w ...

. He was runner-up to

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 S ...

at the

1984 International Masters The 1984 Yamaha International Masters was a non-ranking snooker tournament, that was held between 27 February to 4 March 1984 at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. __TOC__ Main draw Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 G ...

Career

Martin was born in

Wheatley Hill Wheatley Hill is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the west of Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east a ...

on 9 May 1948. He was the runner-up in the

English Amateur Championship The English Amateur Championship, an annual snooker competition, is the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, a ...

in both 1979 and 1980. turned professional in 1980, by defeating Eugene Hughes 9–6 in the final of the 1980 Professional Ticket Event, and reached the first round of 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, ...

the same season, losing 4–10 to

Bill Werbeniuk William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist an ...

. The next season, he reached the semi-final of the International Open, defeating Bill Werbeniuk 5–2,

Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton, (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winn ...

5–2, and Graham Miles 5–1, before losing 1–9 to

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a f ...

. He followed this up by beating

Eddie Sinclair Eddie Sinclair (5 May 1937 – January 2005) was a Scottish professional snooker player. Career Sinclair turned professional in 1979 at the relatively advanced age of 42, reaching a high ranking of 26th in 1982 and holding that position for two ...

9–7 to qualify for 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'Sulliva ...

, where he lost in the first round to

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

. He also qualified for the World Championship in

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., Un ...

, once again losing in the first round, this time to Graham Miles 5–10. The following season, Martin reached the first round of the Pro Players Tournament, losing 3–5 to John Spencer. He then reached the first round of the

1982 UK Championship The 1982 UK Championship (also known as the 1982 Coral UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England, between 20 November and 4 December ...

, losing again in the first round to Higgins by the same scoreline as the previous year. He then qualified for the 1983 World Championship, eliminating

Murdo MacLeod Murdo Davidson MacLeod (born 24 September 1958 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. MacLeod, who played as a midfielder, made 20 appearances for Scotland and played in the 1990 World Cup Finals. He had a ...

10–7 in the final qualifying round. At the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

, he lost in the first round 4–10 to Bill Werbeniuk. Martin began the following season by qualifying again for the International Open, beating Patsy Fagan 5–0 in the final qualifying round. In the first round, he defeated Alex Higgins 5–2, before losing 0–5 to

Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within t ...

. He also reached the first round of the

, however he lost 4–9 in the first round to

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Championsh ...

. At the

he reached the three-player final group, and finished as reunner-up to

. In the 1984–85 he qualified for the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

, losing to

Tony Meo Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Cha ...

4–5 in the first round. He also qualified for the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, where he beat

Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray ...

5–4 in the first round, before losing 4–5 to

Dene O'Kane Dene O'Kane (born 24 February 1963) is a former professional snooker player from Auckland, New Zealand. Career O'Kane won the 1980 New Zealand Amateur Championship, and represented New Zealand at the 1982 IBSF World Snooker Championship, win ...

. He lost 8–10 in the final qualifying round for the World Championship against Dene O'Kane. The following season, Martin did not progress beyond the first round in any tournament; he did however qualify for the

and the British Open, losing to

Silvino Francisco Silvino Francisco (born 3 May 1946) is a South African former professional snooker player, most notable for winning the 1985 British Open. Snooker career Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Manuel and nephew Peter both p ...

and

respectively. He qualified for the

1986 World Snooker Championship The 1986 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1986 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1986 at the Crucibl ...

where he made his last appearance at the Crucible, losing 3–10 in the first round to Joe Johnson, the eventual winner of the tournament. Martin reached the quarter-finals of the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1988, beating Doug Mountjoy 5–4, and

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

5–2, before losing 1–5 against Tony Knowles. His last appearance in the main stages of a tournament came at the 1991 UK Championship, where he lost in the first round 3–9 to Jimmy White.

References

External links

Profile on snookerdatabase.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dave Living people English snooker players 1948 births