Tony Jones (born 15 April 1960) is an English former professional snooker player from Nottinghamshire.
Early life From Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, he won the Nottingham Junior Championship at the age of 15 years-old, but only started playing snooker seriously in 1981. That year, he moved to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, to become resident player/coach at the Chesterfield Snooker Centre despite never having been coached himself.
Career In 1983, Jones became the English Amateur Champion, beating Neal Foulds in the southern area final, and then John Parrott in the final itself, 13–9. He turned professional in 1983 and joined Ron Gross in London. He made his Crucible Theatre debut at the 1985 Snooker World Championship, losing 10-8 to Tony Knowles. He was also a World Championship doubles finalist (with partner Ray Reardon) in 1985, losing in the final 12-5 to Steve Davis and Tony Meo.
He had a run to the last 16 of the 1988 British Open ended by eventual winner Stephen Hendry. His ranking fluctuated inside the top-64 in the late 1980s, moving from world number 55 to no. 42 in 1987-88, and then to no. 49 and to no. 62 in 1989-90.
Jones was the surprise winner of the 1991 European Open in Rotterdam, when, ranked no. 35 in the world, he beat Mark Johnston-Allen 9–7, despite never having previously been beyond the quarter-final stage of a ranking tournament. He reached no. 15 in the 1991/1992 rankings as a result. He dropped out of the top sixteen the following season and slid down the rankings over the following seasons.
Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1983/84 1984/85 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 RankingFrom the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season. He was an amateur.New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.50554649623515222934436360636579968485He was not on the Main Tour. Ranking tournaments Grand PrixThe event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1983/1984) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)1R2R1R1R1R1R3R1R2R1R1RLQLQQFLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQA British OpenThe event was also called the International Masters (1983/1984).NR1R1R2R3R1RLQQF2R1R1R1RLQ1RLQ1R2RLQLQLQLQA UK ChampionshipNR1R1R2R1R1R2R2R3R1R3R1R1R1R2R1RLQLQLQLQLQA Welsh Open Tournament Not Held3R2R1RLQ1RLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQLQA European OpenThe event was also called the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008) Tournament Not Held1RLQW 3R1RLQLQLQLQNRLQ Not HeldLQLQLQA Irish MastersNon-Ranking EventLQLQA World ChampionshipLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQ2R1R1RLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQ Non-ranking tournaments The MastersAAAAAAALQWRALQAALQLQAAALQLQAA Former ranking tournaments Canadian Masters Not Held Non-RankingLQ Tournament Not Held Hong Kong Open Non-Ranking EventNH3R Not Held NR Tournament Not Held ClassicLQLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQLQ Tournament Not Held Strachan Open Tournament Not Held1R Tournament Not Held Dubai ClassicThe event was also called the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997) Tournament Not Held NR2RLQ1R2RLQLQLQLQ Tournament Not Held German Open Tournament Not HeldLQLQLQNR Tournament Not Held Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking EventLQNR Tournament Not Held China OpenThe event was also called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999) Tournament Not HeldNRLQLQLQLQ Not Held Thailand MastersThe event was also called the Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997). Non-Ranking Event Not HeldQFLQ1R1R1RLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQNR Not Held Players ChampionshipThe event was also called the International Open (1983/1984 to 1984/1985, 1986/1987 to 1996/1997), Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986) and the Scottish Open (1998/1999 to 2002/2003).ALQ1RLQLQ1R3RNot HeldQF2R2R1RLQLQLQLQLQLQLQLQNH Former non-ranking tournaments UK Championship1RTournament Not Held British OpenThe event was also called the International Masters (1983/1984).LQTournament Not Held Canadian MastersNot HeldQFAARTournament Not Held NH1R1R1RLQLQTournament Not Held Shoot-OutTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held World MastersTournament Not Held1RTournament Not Held Pot BlackAAA Tournament Not Held1RAA Tournament Not Held World Matchplay Tournament Not HeldAAA1RA Tournament Not Held
Performance Table LegendLQ lost in the qualifying draw#R lost in the early rounds of the tournament(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)QF lost in the quarter-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournament NH / Not Held means an event was not held.NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
Career finals Ranking finals: 1 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1991 European Open Mark Johnston-Allen 9–7
Team finals: 1 OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipTeam/partnerOpponent(s) in the finalScoreRunner-up 1. 1985 World Doubles Championship 5–12
Amateur finals: 1 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1983 English Amateur Championship John Parrott 13–9
References