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 Black in 1992. He was runner-up at the 1986 UK Championship and the 1987 British Open, and reached the semi-finals of three Masters tournaments and the 1987 World Championship.

Career The son of snooker professional Geoff Foulds, he began playing the game at the age of 11 and by the early 1980s was already one of the strongest players in his area. Following victory in the national under-19's Championship beating John Parrott in the final, Foulds then turned professional in 1983.

At the end of the season he qualified for the final stages of the World Championship at his first attempt. Even more impressively however, he then defeated twice-champion Alex Higgins 10–9 in the first round before going down 13–9 to Doug Mountjoy in the last 16, a run that saw him enter the rankings at number 30.

Foulds quickly climbed the rankings in the seasons that followed reaching no. 3 within four years. He won his first ranking tournament in 1986, the BCE International, beating Cliff Thorburn 12–9 in the final. In the same season he was runner-up to Steve Davis in the UK Championship, and he also reached the semi-finals of the 1987 World Championship, losing 16–9 to Joe Johnson. Starting the following season in a career high position of number three, 1987/88 was not to be quite as successful, though another strong run to the quarter-finals in the 1988 World Snooker Championship before losing to Terry Griffiths ensured that he would retain his spot at third in the rankings. Foulds also won the 1988 Dubai Masters, beating Steve Davis in the final, though this event would not hold any ranking points until the following year.

From here however he started to struggle, dropping 17 places to 20th in the rankings and finding himself having to qualify for events the following season. Still, 1989/90 was to see a revival and despite a round one exit at the World Championship to Wayne Jones, he did enough to regain a place in the top 16 before moving up to number seven at the end of 1990/1.

In 1992, Foulds was crowned the Scottish Masters champion and also won the 1992 edition of Pot Black, beating Nigel Bond, Jimmy White, and Gary Wilkinson en route to the final, where he beat James Wattana 252–176 on a points based final.

Though he was able to maintain a top 16 place until the end of the 1993/4 season, and a place on the tour until 2003, he played his final match as a Main Tour player on 13 January 2003 before retiring from competitive play aged 39.

Foulds made a brief reappearance as a player in November 2011 in the World Seniors (aged 48) before eventually losing to Dene O'Kane.

Foulds made 88 competitive century breaks in his career.

Commentary career Since his retirement, Foulds has moved up to the commentary box for [TNT], BBC, Sky Sports and he also co-hosts all ITV4 tournament coverage, interviewing players as well as commentating. In 2014, Foulds made a cameo as himself commentating on a fictional match at the climax of the snooker short film drama "Extended Rest".

Personal life Foulds has a son and a daughter. He supports Queens Park Rangers.

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.

Career finals Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Legend UK Championship (0–1) Other (1–1) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1986 International Open Cliff Thorburn 12–9Runner-up 1. 1986 UK Championship Steve Davis 7–16Runner-up 2. 1987 British Open Jimmy White 9–13

Non-ranking finals: 12 (5 titles) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreRunner-up 1. 1986 English Professional Championship Tony Meo 7–9Winner 1. 1987 Pontins Professional Willie Thorne 9–8Runner-up 2. 1987 Matchroom League Steve Davis Round-RobinRunner-up 3. 1988 English Professional Championship (2) Dean Reynolds 5–9Runner-up 4. 1988 Irish Masters Steve Davis 4–9Runner-up 5. 1988 Hong Kong Masters Jimmy White 3–6Winner 2. 1988 Dubai Masters Steve Davis 5–4Winner 3. 1991 Pontins Professional (2) Mike Hallett 9–6Runner-up 6. 1991 Belgian Masters Mike Hallett 7–9Runner-up 7. 1992 Pontins Professional Steve James 8–9Winner 4. 1992 Scottish Masters Gary Wilkinson 10–8Winner 5. 1992 Pot Black James Wattana 252–176 points

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1983 Warners Open Danny Fowler 4–0 Winner 2. 1984 Pontins Spring Open Doug Mountjoy 7–4 Runner-up 1. 1998 Pontins Spring Open James McGouran 0–7