Paul S. Davison (born 1 October 1971) is an English former professional snooker player from Pickering, North Yorkshire. First earning a place on the World Snooker Tour in 1992, he played on the tour until 1997, and has since regained his place on the Tour on three further occasions, most recently in the 2018-19 snooker season. Davison reached a peak of 70th in the world snooker rankings in 2012, and the farthest into a ranking tournament at the 2017 Riga Masters. He has made a total of 76 professional century breaks, the highest being a 144 made in qualifying for the 2001 World Snooker Championship.

Paul Davison
Born (1971-10-01) 1 October 1971 (age 53)
Pickering, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Sport country England
NicknameSnowy[1]
Professional1992–1997, 1998/1999, 2001–2003, 2004/2005, 2006/2007, 2008/2009, 2010–2014, 2015–2019
Highest ranking70 (November–December 2012)
Best ranking finishLast 16 (x1)

Career

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Early career

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In the 2009–10 season he finished third in the PIOS rankings, and thus retained his place on the 2010/2011 professional Main Tour.[2] He came through three qualification matches, concluding with a narrow 5–4 victory over Dominic Dale, to progress to the wildcard round of the 2012 German Masters.[3] He beat Pole Krzysztof Wróbel 5–2 to reach the main stage of a ranking event for the first time, drawing reigning UK Champion Judd Trump and was soundly beaten 1–5 in only 75 minutes.[4]

The run earned him valuable ranking points as he continued to strive towards his goal of getting into the top 64 in the world to ensure his place on the tour for next season.[3] However, he did not win another match in the remainder of the season and finished it ranked world number 81, meaning he had to enter Q School to have a chance of playing in the 2012–13 season.[5] In May, Davison won five matches at the second Q School event, concluding with a 4–2 win over Gareth Allen to earn a place on the tour for the next two years.[6]

2012/2013 season

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Davison almost qualified for the 2012 International Championship, the fourth ranking event of the 2012/2013 season. He saw off Fraser Patrick, Peter Lines and Ben Woollaston, but then lost 3–6 to Dominic Dale in the final round.[7] Davison had a consistent year in the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship Events, with his best result coming in the third European Tour Event, where he beat Ricky Norris, Joel Walker and Chris Norbury, before losing to world number one Mark Selby 3–4 in the last 16.[7] He reached the last 32 on two other occasions which helped Davison finish 48th on the PTC Order of Merit.[8] Davison's season ended when he lost 7–10 to Alfie Burden in the second round of World Championship Qualifying, which saw him end the year ranked world number 75.[9][10]

 
Paul Davison at 2014 German Masters

2013/2014 season

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In the qualifiers for the Australian Goldfields Open Davison won his first match of the season 5–4 against Andrew Norman, making a 141 break during the match.[11] Further wins over Peter Lines and Mark King followed to see Davison into the main draw of a ranking event for the second time in his career.[12] In the first round he made breaks of 112 and 124 to lead Mark Davis 4–3 with his opponent requiring a snooker with one red left. Davis got the snooker on the final pink and potted the pink and black to level the match. Davison also led the deciding frame 49–10 but would ultimately lose the match 5–4.[13] Davison defeated Gerard Greene 6–4 in the first round of the UK Championship and raced into a 3–0 second round lead against world number seven Shaun Murphy, before conceding six frames in a row to exit the event. After the match Davison said that he loved the experience and had done very little wrong in the match as Murphy's fightback was as good matchplay snooker as you could see.[14]

Davison's second last 32 appearance of the season came at the German Masters after he recorded one of the best results of his career by knocking out world number nine Marco Fu 5–2.[15] He led Rod Lawler 4–1 in the next round but could not reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time as he was defeated 5–4.[16] After Davison lost 10–2 against Alan McManus in World Championship qualifying he could no longer reach the top 64 in the world rankings as he was placed 82nd and therefore played in Q School in an attempt to earn his place back.[17] He lost in the last 64 in both events to fall well short of doing so.[12]

2014/2015 season

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It’s nice to be back as a pro because it was tough last year playing as an amateur. I believe I am as good a player as I’ve ever been and that age is no barrier – Stuart Bingham showed that by winning the World title for the first time at the age of 38. I’m sure most players think about giving up snooker at some point. But I keep myself in good shape and still believe I can play for another five or ten years.

Davison on winning his place back on the tour.[18]

Davison played in all six of the minor-ranking European Tour events during the 2014–15 season. His best performance came at the Riga Open, where he reached the last 32 with 4–3 and 4–1 wins over Jack Lisowski and Gerard Greene respectively, but he then lost 4–2 to Matthew Selt. A 4–3 victory against Kyren Wilson at the Paul Hunter Classic was his only other win in a European Tour event, with Davison losing 4–3 to Dechawat Poomjaeng in the subsequent round. He had two chances to rejoin the professional tour. The first came at the EBSA Play-offs where Davison was knocked out 4–3 by Martin O'Donnell in round two.[19] His second came at the 2015 Q School and in the second event Davison won six games, concluding with a 4–3 victory over Luke Simmonds to earn a two-year tour card.[18]

2015/2016 season

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Davison lost eight matches in a row from October 2015 until April 2016 when he beat Yu Delu 10–9 in the first round of World Championship. He lost 10–7 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the following round. He only won a total of four matches all season.[20]

2016/2017 season

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Davison knocked out three players to reach the final qualifying round for the Shanghai Masters, but he was thrashed 5–0 by Anthony McGill. He recovered from 2–0 down against Gary Wilson in the opening round of the UK Championship to win 6–3, before losing 6–4 to Ben Woollaston.[21][22] After beating Joe Swail 4–0 in the first round of the Welsh Open, Davison was defeated 4–1 by Zhou Yuelong. He qualified for the China Open, but lost 5–0 in the opening round to Ding Junhui and entered Q School again to try and stay on the tour as he would have been relegated from it at the end of the season due to being ranked world number 91.[23][24] He won through to the final round of the first event and was defeated 4–2 by Billy Joe Castle.[25] Davison also got to the final round of the second event and this time beat James Cahill 4–2 to remain on tour and mean he has successfully advanced through Q School three times.[26]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 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
2006/
07
2008/
09
2010/
11
2011/
12
2012/
13
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/
17
2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/
20
2020/
21
Ranking[27][nb 1] [nb 2] 283 237 202 165 [nb 3] [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 3] [nb 2] 98 [nb 3] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] 72 [nb 4] 74 [nb 3] [nb 2] 79 [nb 4] 87 [nb 3] [nb 3]
Ranking tournaments
European Masters[nb 5] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NH LQ Not Held LQ LQ A LQ LQ Tournament Not Held LQ LQ 1R LQ A
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 1R A 1R
Championship League Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event RR
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R 1R A 1R
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R A 1R 2R 1R 2R A 1R
Scottish Open[nb 6] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 1R 1R 2R A 1R
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters[nb 7] Not Held LQ LQ A NR Tournament Not Held LQ 1R LQ 2R A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R A 1R 2R 1R 3R A 1R
Players Championship[nb 8] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 1R 1R 1R A 1R
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held A A A A LQ A A A A A A
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 9] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 10] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A NR Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
British Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ A LQ NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 11] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 12] Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not held LQ LQ 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ Non-Ranking NH
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 13] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 1R 3R 1R NR NH
Indian Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQ NH LQ LQ 1R Not Held
China Open[nb 14] Tournament Not Held NR LQ A A LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ 1R 1R LQ Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 15] Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank LQ 3R LQ LQ NH
International Championship Tournament Not Held LQ 1R A LQ LQ LQ LQ A NH
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ A NH
World Open[nb 16] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ RR LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ 1R A NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held A A 1R 1R A A Ranking Event
Haining Open Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank 1R A 2R A NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ 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-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g He was an amateur.
  4. ^ a b Players qualified through Q School started the season without prize money ranking points.
  5. ^ The event was called the European Open (1992/1993–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  6. ^ The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  7. ^ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  8. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  9. ^ The event was called the Thailand Classic in 1995/1996 and the Asian Classic in 1996/1997
  10. ^ The event was called the Asian Open (1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  11. ^ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  12. ^ The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  13. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  14. ^ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  15. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  16. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix (1992/1993–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)

Career finals

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Non-ranking finals: 2

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2001 Merseyside Professional Championship   Nick Dyson 2–5
Runner-up 2. 2003 Challenge Tour - Event 1   Stefan Mazrocis 2–6

Pro-am finals: 2

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2008 Pontins Pro-Am - Event 5   Peter Lines 1–4[28]
Runner-up 2. 2009 Pontins Pro-Am - Event 2   Michael White 3–5[29]

Amateur finals: 7 (4 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2002 English Open   Richard King 5–8[30]
Winner 1. 2004 EASB Open Tour - Event 8   Wayne Cooper 4–2
Runner-up 2. 2006 PIOS - Event 5   Chris Melling 5–6
Runner-up 3. 2006 PIOS - Event 6   Liu Song 3–6
Winner 2. 2007 PIOS - Event 6   Michael King 6–2
Winner 3. 2009 PIOS - Event 3   Kyren Wilson 6–4
Winner 4. 2010 PIOS - Event 7   Justin Astley 6–2

References

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  1. ^ "Paul Davison". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "2009–10 PIOS Rankings". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Pickering's Paul Davison through to final stages of snooker's German Masters". The Press, York. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. ^ "PartyPoker.net German Masters". WPBSA. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Paul Davison 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Paul Davison 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Issued after Munich Open 2013 (ET6)" (PDF). World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 7 January 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Paul Davison 5–4 Andrew Norman". Love Snooker. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Paul Davison 2013/14". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Fu Denies Doherty". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Paul Davison's delight at UK Snooker experience". Gazette & Herald. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Snooker: Paul Davison revels in German Masters conquest of Marco Fu". The Press. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Snooker: Paul Davison loses to Rod Lawler in German Masters". The Press. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  17. ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Q School Event Two Winners". World Snooker. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Paul Davison 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  20. ^ "Paul S Davison 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Pickering's Paul Davison to play Ben Woollaston after first round victory at the Betway UK Snooker Championship". The Press (York). Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Pickering potter Paul Davison exits Betway UK Snooker Championship". The Press (York). Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Paul S Davison 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  24. ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Kleckers Books Tour Sport". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Lam Secures Immediate Tour Return". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  28. ^ "2008 Pontins Pro-Am – Event 5". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009.
  29. ^ "2009 Pontins Pro-Am – Event 2". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 16 April 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Other Tournaments Until 2020". bgsnooker.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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