John Lardner (born 10 May 1972 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 ...

, Scotland) is a 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. His best performance came in the

1999 World Snooker Championship The 1999 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1999 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 17 April and 3 May 1999 at the ...

, where he reached the last 32. He reached a peak world ranking of 67th in 2000–01.

Early life

Lardner was born in Glasgow in 1973. He left school early to spend time practising snooker, confident that he could become a professional player. In 1988 Lardner won the Star of the Future award at a competition in

Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...

Professional career

Lardner turned professional in 1991. In the 1993–94 season, he reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Championship, losing 6–9 to

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in snooker history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a m ...

. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, at the age of 26, Lardner reached the first round of 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 ...

by defeating

Neal Foulds Neal Foulds (born 13 July 1963) is an English former professional snooker player and six-time tournament winner, including the 1986 International Open, the 1988 Dubai Masters and the 1992 Scottish Masters, as well as the invitational Pot Bla ...

Quinten Hann Quinten Hann (born 4 June 1977) is an Australian former professional pool and snooker player. He was the 1999 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion and the 1994 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Champion. His highest snooker was a 141 which he made at th ...

and Martin Clark in the qualifying rounds. In his first round match against world number 9 Stephen Lee, Lardner trailed 3–9 before recovering to lose only 7–10. Despite the defeat, he described the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

as "the best place I've ever played snooker". The following season, Lardner climbed to position 72 in the world rankings, and reached the first round 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 in York, England. Ronnie O'Sull ...

, losing to David Gray. He also achieved his best ranking tournament finish by reaching the last 16 of the

Thailand Masters The Thailand Masters was a professional snooker tournament. Previously known as Asian Open and Thailand Open, it was a Snooker world rankings, ranking tournament from 1989/90 to 2001/02. An event called the ''Thailand Masters'' also formed part o ...

in March 2000, beating

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish retired professional snooker player who competed on the World Snooker Tour from 1991 to 2024. He won one ranking title during his career, defeating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final of the 1999 ...

in the last 32 before being defeated by

Ken Doherty Kenneth Joseph Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player who also works as a commentator and pundit on televised snooker broadcasts. From Ranelagh in Dublin, he is the sport's only World Snooker Championship, wor ...

. However, he was defeated in the qualifying rounds of the World Championship to Icelandic player

Kristján Helgason Kristján Helgason (born 27 March 1974) is an Icelandic former professional snooker player. Career Born in 1974, Helgason turned professional in 1995. In 1998, he reached the last 48 at the Irish Open, losing 3–5 to Billy Snaddon, but made ...

. His world ranking climbed to 67 for the 2000/2001 season.

Tournament Wins

Non-Ranking Wins: (1)

* WPBSA Minor Tour - Event 3 – 1995

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lardner, John Scottish snooker players Living people 1973 births Snooker players from Glasgow