Tony Jones

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. 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

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