Martin Clark

Martin Clark (born 27 October 1968) is an English organiser of snooker tournaments and retired professional snooker player.

Career Born in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, he started playing snooker at 13 years-old. In 1984, he became the youngest winner of the British under-19 championship at the age of 15 years-old. In 1986, at the Home International series in Heysham, he compiled a break of 141 which was later ratified as the highest break made by a non-professional, superseding Joe Johnson's break of 140 in 1978. He turned professional in 1987, and within his first seven matches he recorded wins over Dennis Taylor and Neal Foulds, beating Taylor 5-0 which the former world champion described as "the best television debut any player has ever had".

Clark reached ten ranking tournament quarter-finals in his career, but never progressed any further. He reached the last 16 of the World Championship three times – 1991, 1992 and 1993, and also in 1992 reached the first major semi-final of his career at the World Matchplay by knocking out defending champion Gary Wilkinson. He won two non-ranking events, defeating Ray Reardon in the final of the European Grand Masters in 1990 and Andy Hicks in the Pontins Professional in 1997.

He retired as a pro player at a relatively young age, due to neck problems, and is now a tournament director. He has also helped with equipment maintenance (e.g. checking the replacement cloths) at the World Snooker Championship.

In November 2017, Belgian player Luca Brecel was forced to borrow clothes from Clark and fellow player Michael White after lifting the wrong suitcase at an airport in Shanghai.

Performance and rankings timeline

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 Non-ranking finals: 4 (2 titles) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreRunner-up 1. 1988 Kent Cup 1–5Winner 1. 1990 European Grand Masters 4–2Winner 2. 1997 Pontins Professional 9–7Runner-up 2. 1998 Pontins Professional 6–9

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1986 Warners Open Gary Keeble5–2