Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is an English former 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 Ind ...

player. He first entered the professional tour for the

2009/10 9/1 may refer to: *September 1 Events Pre-1600 *1145 – The main altar of Lund Cathedral, at the time seat of the archiepiscopal see of all the Nordic countries, is consecrated. *1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order ...

season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-offs.

Career

2011/2012 season

Baird reached the main draw of a ranking event for the first time in 2012 by coming through four qualifying matches, concluding with a 4–2 win over

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...

, to make the 2012 Welsh Open. He played against world number 1,

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the a ...

in the first round of the event and almost pulled off the result of his career as he led the best-of-seven match, 3–2. Baird then missed a blue off the spot with two balls remaining when he required just the blue and pink for the match and, despite chances in the decider, he would lose the game 3–4. Baird also qualified for the 2012 World Open in

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...

, China. He again won four matches, sealing his place with a 5–4 victory over

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

. He was required to play in a wild-card round in China to make the last 32 of the event and was beaten 3–5 by Jin Long. Baird failed to win a match in qualifying for the final three ranking events and finished the season ranked world number 76, out of the top 64 who retain their places on the tour. Baird therefore entered Q School in a bid to play in the 2012/2013 season and succeeded at his first attempt by winning each of his five matches 4–0 to gain a two-year spot on the main tour.

2012/2013 season

Baird produced his best snooker towards the end of the 2012/2013 season as he beat

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 ...

and

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began his profe ...

to reach the main draw of the Welsh Open for the second successive year. He whitewashed

Gerard Greene Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast. Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...

4–0 in the first round, before losing 2–4 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 ...

. In 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, ...

, Baird defeated

Chen Zhe Chen Zhe (; born 28 February 1993) is a Chinese former professional snooker player from Shanxi who won five matches at Q School in 2012 to earn a two-year card to play on the World Snooker Tour starting in the 2012–13 season. He is based in R ...

10–7,

Peter Lines Peter Lines (born 11 December 1969) is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father ...

10–9 and Rory McLeod 10–9 to find himself just one match away from playing in the biggest tournament on the snooker calendar. He faced world number 20, Joe Perry, but it was world number 83, Baird who played by far the better as he won 10–3 and in the 12th frame made a break of 142, the highest of the whole qualifying tournament. Baird played

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

in the first round, losing 2–10 to finish the year ranked world number 81.

2013/2014 season

Baird had a very successful year in

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...

events as he reached at least the last 16 stage in five of the eight events. At the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup he won through to the quarter-finals where he lost 4–1 to

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at th ...

and he went one better at the Gdynia Open, losing 4–1 against

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000 ...

in the semifinals. This helped Baird finish 11th on the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

to qualify for the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

for the first time. He faced Anthony Hamilton in the opening round and was edged out 4–3. Baird's only win in a full ranking event match this season came at the Welsh Open by beating

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

4–2 before being defeated 4–3 by reigning champion,

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 ...

, having led 3–1. Baird ended the year ranked world number 67, just outside the top 64 who keep their playing rights for the coming season. However, his impressive displays on the European Tour handed him the first of eight spots available to non-qualified players for a new two-year place on the tour.

2014/2015 season

Baird's five appearances at ranking events this season represents the most he has ever played in during a single season. At the

2014 Wuxi Classic The 2014 Sports Lottery Cup Wuxi Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament held between 23 and 29 June 2014 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first ranking event of the 2014/2015 season. Neil Robertson ...

he defeated

Fraser Patrick Fraser Patrick (born 8 November 1985) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Glasgow. Career Patrick started his professional career in 2002 by playing Challenge Tour, where he spent three seasons without success. In 2007 Patrick earn ...

5–3, but lost 5–2 to Michael Holt in the second round. Baird gained some revenge over Holt by beating him to qualify for the

International Championship The International Championship is a professional Snooker world rankings, ranking snooker tournament. The reigning champion is Judd Trump. History The event was introduced in the 2012–13 snooker season, 2012/2013 season. It was named as the "f ...

and then saw off

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 M ...

6–2 and

6–5 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time in his career. Baird built up a 4–3 and a 61–0 points lead, but Mark Williams made a 71 break to level and won the last two frames to progress. At the Welsh Open, he overcame

4–3 and

Dave Harold David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of ...

4–0, before losing 4–2 to Stephen Maguire and he was knocked out in the first round of the Indian Open following a 4–0 defeat against

Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...

. In the second round of

qualifying, Baird missed the final pink when on a 147 against

Adam Duffy Adam Duffy (born 30 March 1989) is an English professional snooker player. Duffy qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the third and final Q School event. Career Debut season As a new player on ...

and his season would end in a 10–7 loss.

2015/2016 season

A poor start to the season was halted when Baird overcame Rory McLeod,

Zhang Anda Zhang Anda (born 25 December 1991) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 season. He qualified by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship. Standing at 5 ft. 3 in. tall, he ...

and

Chris Melling Christopher "Mello" Melling (born 21 September 1984) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for England (Under-16s, and Under-18s), and as a for Great Bri ...

all without dropping a frame at the

Bulgarian Open The Bulgarian Open (also known as the Victoria Bulgarian Open for sponsorship reasons) was a pro–am minor- ranking snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, ...

, and then beat Jimmy Robertson 4–3 and

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 ranki ...

4–1 to make the semi-finals of an event for the second time. He was defeated 4–2 by Ryan Day. He lost 4–0 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 second round of the Welsh Open, but a further last 16 showing to add to his semi-final in the European Tour events saw him placed 25th on the

to qualify for the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

, but he lost 4–2 to Mark King in the first round. He qualified for the China Open and went 2–0 up on Stuart Bingham before conceding 547 points without reply, a record in ranking events, and went on to lose 5–3. Baird qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship for the second time, and first for three years, courtesy of wins over

Thor Chuan Leong Thor Chuan Leong (; born 24 March 1988) is a Malaysian former professional snooker player. He is commonly referred to as Rory Thor. Career Thor, based in Penang, Malaysia represented his country at the 2006 & 2010 Asian Games and in the 2013 ...

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and dire ...

, and

Liam Highfield Liam Highfield (born 1 December 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He plays left-handed. Career Amateur years In the 2007/2008 season, Highfiel ...

. In the first round, Baird earned his first victory at the

Crucible A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...

by defeating seeded player Michael White 10–7, making two century breaks in the process. He won four successive frames to level at 11–11 in the second round against Mark Selby, but Selby recovered to eliminate Baird 13–11. Baird finished the year 46th in the world ranking, his highest position to date.

2016/2017 season

Baird got to the last 16 of a ranking event for fourth time by seeing off Daniel Ward 4–2, Gary Wilson 4–1 and

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 ...

4–2 at the

Paul Hunter Classic The Paul Hunter Classic is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It changed from a ranking event to a 16-man invitational event in 2019. From 2010 to 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. Barry Hawkins is the reigning champion. After los ...

. He was unable to make it to his first quarter-final as Mark Selby defeated him 4–2. He soon reached the last 16 stage again as he beat Michael White 6–2 and

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He ...

6–4 at the

, but he lost 6–1 against

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 ra ...

. He won a match at 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 ...

for the first time by eliminating Sean O'Sullivan 6–2 and then lost by a reversal of this scoreline to

Mitchell Mann Mitchell Mann (born 26 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player. Career Junior Mann first played snooker aged 9, after being forced to quit football after a diagnosis of Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome, a rare disease which ...

. Baird had a 4–2 victory over John Higgins in the first round of the Welsh Open, before losing 4–1 to

Craig Steadman Craig Steadman (born 14 July 1982) 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 middl ...

. He dropped off the tour at the end of the 2017/18 season but entered Q School in an attempt to win back a place, and secured his return to the tour at the first event.

Performance and rankings timeline

References

External links

Sam Baird
at ''worldsnooker.com'' *
Player profile on Sam Baird's Web Site

Life member of the West of England Billiards & Snooker Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Sam 1988 births Living people English snooker players People from Mid Devon District Sportspeople from Devon