Fergal O’Brien retires: five memorable moments

Fergal O’Brien ended his 33-year tenure as a professional snooker player on Tuesday after losing 10-8 to Mostafa Dorgham in Sheffield.

The popular Irishman, who announced earlier this season that this would be his last, had aspirations of playing at the Crucible Theatre for the first time in seven years.

But a disappointing reverse in the opening round of the World Snooker Championship qualifiers brought the curtain down on a long career among the sport’s elite.

Here we take a look at a few of the Dubliner’s most memorable moments and achievements on the main tour.

Ranking event champion

Having first turned professional in 1991, Fergal O’Brien had established himself as a worthy opponent for any of the top stars by the middle of the decade.

He featured prominently in the Ireland side that reached the final of the World Cup in 1996, eventually losing to a Scottish unit that included Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, and Alan McManus.

By the end of the 1990s, O’Brien had started making appearances at the business end of ranking events more regularly.

Glory at that level duly came at the 1999 British Open, when the then 27 year-old beat Higgins in the semi-finals and Anthony Hamilton in the final to etch his name onto the silverware.

O’Brien would later feature in two more finals with ranking points on the line – finishing as the runner-up in the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy and again at the Gdynia Open PTC event of 2014.

Masters disappointment

The 2001 Masters final is fondly remembered for the comeback heroics of Paul Hunter, who enlisted an infamous “Plan B” to fight back from behind and claim the prestigious title for the first of three times.

Hunter’s opponent that day was, of course, Fergal O’Brien.

Participating in the invitational for only the second time, O’Brien beat world number one Mark Williams 6-5 in the first round.

A 6-2 triumph over fellow Dubliner Ken Doherty followed, and he subsequently reached the final with a 6-4 defeat of Dave Harold.

Everything was looking good for a maiden success in one of snooker’s majors, but O’Brien squandered a 7-3 lead as Hunter powered back with a burst of scoring before edging a dramatic decider.

Two-hour decider

Speaking of deciders, O’Brien was involved in another for the ages during qualification for the 2017 World Snooker Championship.

Already known for his dogged, never-say-die attitude and a robust temperament that earned him the nickname “Fearless Fergal”, O’Brien took it to extremes against David Gilbert in the final preliminary round in Sheffield that year.

The scores locked at 9-9 and with the winner set to book a hot ticket at the Crucible Theatre, O’Brien and Gilbert couldn’t be separated in a remarkable final frame that broke the all-time duration record.

After 123 minutes and 41 seconds, which included a half-hour battle on the yellow, O’Brien finally got over the winning line and entered the World Championship main draw for what proved to be his final time.

A top ten player

O’Brien, who scored a century break in his first ever frame at the Crucible in 1993, had a knack for losing regularly in the last round of the World Championship qualifiers.

As a result, he doesn’t feature in the history of the sport’s blue-riband competition as much as his long career probably merits.

But he did have his moments in Sheffield, particularly during a spell from 1998 to 2002 when he played at the Crucible five times in a row.

O’Brien’s finest hour at snooker’s spiritual home came in 2000, about a year after he had won the British Open and not long before he was to be denied at the Masters.

With victories against Chris Small and Stephen Lee, O’Brien reached the quarter-finals where his challenge was to be ended by eventual champion Mark Williams.

His consistency around that time helped to establish him as a top ten player, reaching a career-high of number nine in the world rankings.

Five-ton Fergal

O’Brien may have been known for his ability to grind out wins with a taxing style of play, but he could score heavily when in form as well.

He is one of only 43 people to have compiled more than 200 century breaks on the main tour.

Five of those were constructed in an incredible second-round match at the UK Championship in 2016.

During a 6-5 defeat of Barry Hawkins, O’Brien tallied a fantastic five century breaks that broke the record for a best-of-11 contest.

A well-liked character from the snooker circuit, we wish Fergal O’Brien a very happy retirement.

---

World Snooker Championship qualifiers draw

All matches are the best of 19 frames played across two sessions.
Scorelines in italics indicate the end of the first session.

–

Qualifier 1

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Jimmy White w/o Martin Gould	Jimmy White 3-10 Liu Hongyu	Liu Hongyu 4-10 Jack Lisowski
				Jack Lisowski 10-3 Matthew Stevens
2	Ryan Thomerson 3-10 Liam Davies	Liam Davies 2-10 Jimmy Robertson	Jimmy Robertson 6-10 Matthew Stevens

---

Qualifier 2

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
3	Ian Burns 10-1 Dean Young	Ian Burns 10-7 Mark Joyce	Ian Burns 7-10 Ricky Walden
				Ricky Walden 10-9 Mark Davis
4	Andy Lee 9-10 Andrew Pagett	Andrew Pagett 2-10 Mark Davis	Mark Davis 10-8 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

---

Qualifier 3

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
5	Rory Thor 10-2 Hamza Ilyas	Rory Thor 8-10 David Grace	David Grace 6-10 Dominic Dale
				Dominic Dale 10-8 He Guoqiang
6	Ross Muir 10-9 Cheung Ka Wai	Ross Muir 8-10 He Guoqiang	He Guoqiang 10-5 Anthony McGill

---

Qualifier 4

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
7	Alfie Burden 10-1 Rebecca Kenna	Alfie Burden 10-3 Xu Si	Alfie Burden 5-10 Jamie Jones
				Jamie Jones 10-9 Neil Robertson
8	Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6-10 Gao Yang	Gao Yang 6-10 Zak Surety	Zac Surety 2-10 Neil Robertson

---

Qualifier 5

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
9	Sean O’Sullivan 8-10 Bulscu Revesz	Bulscu Revesz 8-10 James Cahill	James Cahill 0-10 Zhou Yuelong
				Zhou Yuelong 4-10 Jak Jones
10	Andres Petrov 10-1 Ahmed Elsayed	Andres Petrov 7-10 Jamie Clarke	Jamie Clarke 6-10 Jak Jones

---

Qualifier 6

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
11	Adam Duffy 10-5 Mink Nutcharut	Adam Duffy 4-10 Ashley Hugill	Ashley Hugill 7-10 Stephen Maguire
				Stephen Maguire 10-6 Yuan Sijun
12	Andrew Higginson 10-7 Duane Jones	Andrew Higginson 8-10 Michael White	Michael White 8-10 Yuan Sijun

---

Qualifier 7

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
13	Louis Heathcote 10-4 Oliver Sykes	Louis Heathcote 10-7 Oliver Lines	Louis Heathcote 10-8 Elliot Slessor
				Louis Heathcote 8-10 Stuart Bingham
14	Stuart Carrington 10-5 Himanshu Jain	Stuart Carrington 10-9 Liam Highfield	Stuart Carrington 9-10 Stuart Bingham

---

Qualifier 8

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
15	Alexander Ursenbacher 10-0 Iulian Boiko	Alexander Ursenbacher 7-10 Anthony Hamilton	Anthony Hamilton 5-10 Robbie Williams
				Robbie Williams 10-9 Chris Wakelin
16	Allan Taylor 10-6 Vladislav Gradinari	Allan Taylor 9-10 Lukas Kleckers	Lukas Kleckers 5-10 Chris Wakelin

---

Qualifier 9

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
17	Marco Fu 10-1 Baipat Siripaporn	Marco Fu 10-6 Ken Doherty	Marco Fu 4-10 Hossein Vafaei
				Hossein Vafaei 10-5 Jiang Jun
18	Jiang Jun 10-6 Amir Sarkhosh	Jiang Jun 10-8 Fan Zhengyi	Jiang Jun 10-8 Sam Craigie

---

Qualifier 10

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
19	Hammad Miah 2-10 Haydon Pinhey	Haydon Pinhey 3-10 Julien Leclercq	Julien Leclercq 1-10 Joe O’Connor
				Joe O’Connor 10-8 Matthew Selt
20	Daniel Womersley w/o Muhammad Asif	Daniel Womersley 3-10 Aaron Hill	Aaron Hill 4-10 Matthew Selt

---

Qualifier 11

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
21	Ma Hailong 10-1 Victor Sarkis	Ma Hailong 10-7 Martin O’Donnell	Ma Hailong 4-10 Cao Yupeng
				Cao Yupeng 8-10 Pang Junxu
22	Oliver Brown 10-0 Reanne Evans	Oliver Brown 10-8 Dylan Emery	Oliver Brown 7-10 Pang Junxu

---

Qualifier 12

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
23	Fergal O’Brien 8-10 Mostafa Dorgham	Mostafa Dorgham 5-10 Graeme Dott	Graeme Dott 5-10 Jackson Page
				Jackson Page 10-9 Noppon Saengkham
24	Long Zehuang 10-1 Sydney Wilson	Long Zehuang 2-10 Andy Hicks	Andy Hicks 5-10 Noppon Saengkham

---

Qualifier 13

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
25	Rod Lawler 10-7 Gong Chenzhi	Rod Lawler 9-10 Ben Mertens	Ben Mertens 9-10 Si Jiahui
				Si Jiahui 10-4 Wu Yize
26	Stan Moody 6-10 Mohamed Shehab	Mohamed Shebab 8-10 Tian Pengfei	Tian Pengfei 8-10 Wu Yize

---

Qualifier 14

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
27	Xing Zihao 10-6 Michael Holt	Xing Zihao 5-10 Daniel Wells	Daniel Wells 8-10 Lyu Haotian
				Lyu Haotian 10-7 Jenson Kendrick
28	Jenson Kendrick 10-7 Bai Yulu	Jenson Kendrick 10-8 Ben Woollaston	Jenson Kendrick 10-5 Jordan Brown

---

Qualifier 15

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
29	Liam Pullen 10-3 Anton Kazakov	Liam Pullen 8-10 Sanderson Lam	Sanderson Lam 2-10 Xiao Guodong
				Xiao Guodong 6-10 David Gilbert
30	Peng Yisong 10-5 Manasawin Phetmalaikul	Peng Yisong 9-10 David Lilley	David Lilley 4-10 David Gilbert

---

Qualifier 16

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
31	Mohamed Ibrabim 6-10 Peter Lines	Peter Lines 6-10 Scott Donaldson	Scott Donaldson 10-6 Joe Perry
				Scott Donaldson 9-10 Ryan Day
32	Ashley Carty 10-4 Liam Graham	Ashley Carty 6-10 John Astley	John Astley 6-10 Ryan Day

---

Featured photo credit: WST