Mike Hallett
Born (1959-07-06) 6 July 1959 (age 64)
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Sport country England
Professional1980–1997, 1998/1999, 2000/2001, 2004/2005
Highest ranking6 (1989/90)
Tournament wins
Ranking1

Mike Hallett (born 6 July 1959) is an English former professional snooker player and commentator. He won the 1989 Hong Kong Open.

Career

Hallett was born in Grimsby on 6 July 1959.[1] Having won the national under-16 title in 1975, he turned professional in 1979.[1] His world ranking peaked at number six, in the 1989/1990 list.[2][3] His only ranking tournament victory was at the 1989 Hong Kong Open in which he defeated Dene O'Kane 9–8.[2]

In a semi-final match against John Parrott in the 1988 Benson & Hedges Masters, he recovered from needing three snookers to win the decider 6–5.[4] However, he lost 0–9 to Steve Davis in the final, the first whitewash in the Masters final.[5]

Three years later, in 1991 he reached the Masters Final again at Wembley where, in the best-of-17-frame match, he surged to a 7–0 lead over Stephen Hendry and missed a pink which would have put him 8–0 ahead. He then moved into an 8–2 lead and needed just the pink and black to clear for the match in the eleventh frame, but missed the shot with the rest. Hendry took that frame and managed to spring a comeback to win the match 9–8.[6] Hallett would go on to win two invitational World Series of Snooker events later in the year, but did not win another professional title after 1991.[2]

Hallett did reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship twice, but never progressed further. His final season on the main tour was in 2004–05, after which he went on to play in the Pontin's International Open Series.[7][2]

At the start of the 2011/12 season Hallett entered the Players Tour Championship and after winning his first two matches against Duane Jones 4-3 and Elliot Slessor also 4–3, he played Ronnie O'Sullivan and managed to take two frames in losing 4–2.[8]

In August 2021 the World Snooker Tour tweeted that Hallett was recovering from a stroke.[9]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1979/
80 		1980/
81 		1981/
82 		1982/
83 		1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		1991/
92 		1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95 		1995/
96 		1996/
97 		1997/
98 		1998/
99 		2000/
01 		2004/
05
Ranking[10] [nb 1] [nb 2] 29 31 32 25 28 27 16 9 6 7 8 17 19 23 34 46 [nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2]
Ranking tournaments
Grand Prix[nb 3] Not Held 2R 3R 3R 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R 3R 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
British Open[nb 4] Non-Ranking Event 2R 2R 2R F SF 2R QF 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event 1R 2R 3R QF 1R QF 2R 1R 3R 2R 1R LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 1R QF 1R 2R 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ
Malta Cup[nb 5] Tournament Not Held SF 1R 1R 1R 2R LQ 1R LQ LQ A LQ NH LQ
Irish Masters Non-ranking Event LQ
China Open[nb 6] Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ
World Championship LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R QF 2R QF 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A A A A A A A A F 1R 1R F 1R A A A A A A A A A
Premier League[nb 7] Tournament Not Held A Not Held A A A A A RR A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 8] NR Not Held Non-Ranking SF Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 9] Non-Ranking Event NH W Tournament Not Held NR NR Tournament Not Held
Classic Non-Ranking Event 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R SF QF Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open NH 1R MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 10] Tournament Not Held NR 1R QF 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ LQ A NR Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 11] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held 2R SF 2R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ NH
Scottish Open[nb 12] Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R SF 2R 2R Not Held 2R 2R 3R 1R LQ A LQ LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Bass & Golden Leisure Classic Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
UK Championship 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R Ranking Event
British Open[nb 13] LQ RR LQ LQ LQ Ranking Event
Costa Del Sol Classic Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 14] A A A A A A A A F NH R Tournament Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Fosters Professional Tournament Not Held A A A A W Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship NH 1R Not Held 2R SF QF QF W Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters Tournament Not Held A Not Held F QF Tournament Not Held
International League Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
London Masters Tournament Not Held A QF A Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Grand Prix Tournament Not Held A QF QF Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 3R Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters Tournament Not Held A A A A Not Held Ranking QF Ranking Event NH
Hong Kong Challenge Tournament Not Held A A A A A A NH QF 1R Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held QF 1R 1R QF A Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A A A A A A QF 1R 1R SF A A A A A A A A R
European Challenge Tournament Not Held SF A Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters Tournament Not Held QF W QF Not Held A Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A A A A A A Tournament Not Held 1R A F Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters Not Held A A A A A A A NH QF 1R W QF A QF A A A A A NH
Pontins Professional A A A A A A A A F QF F F QF SF QF QF QF QF QF QF Not Held
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
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.
  1. ^ a b He was an amateur.
  2. ^ a b c d New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ^ The event ran under a different name as Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983 to 1983/1984).
  4. ^ The event was known as British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982 to 1983/1984).
  5. ^ The event ran under different names such as European Open (1988/1989 to 1996/1997) and Irish Open (1998/1999).
  6. ^ The event ran under different names as China International (1997/1998 and 1998/1999)
  7. ^ The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), the Matchroom League (1986/1987–1991/1992) and the European League (1992/1993–1996/1997)
  8. ^ The event run under the name Canadian Open (1979/1980 to 1980/1981)
  9. ^ The event ran under different names as Australian Masters (1979/1980 to 1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995).
  10. ^ The event run under different names as Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  11. ^ The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
  12. ^ The event ran under different names such as International Open (1981/1982 to 1984/1985, 1986/1987 to 1996/1997) and Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986).
  13. ^ The event was known as British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982 to 1983/1984)
  14. ^ The event ran under different names as Australian Masters (1979/1980 to 1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995).

Career finals

[11]

Ranking finals: 2 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1988 British Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 2–13
Winner 1. 1989 Hong Kong Open Australia Dene O'Kane 9–8

Non-ranking finals: 14 (4 titles)

Legend
The Masters (0–2)
Other (4–8)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1984 Costa Del Sol Classic England Dennis Taylor 2–5
Runner-up 2. 1987 Australian Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 226–371 points
Runner-up 3. 1988 The Masters England Steve Davis 0–9
Runner-up 4. 1988 Pontins Professional England John Parrott 1–9
Runner-up 5. 1988 New Zealand Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 1–6
Winner 1. 1988 Fosters Professional Scotland Stephen Hendry 8–5
Winner 2. 1989 English Professional Championship England John Parrott 9–7
Runner-up 6. 1990 Pontins Professional (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9
Runner-up 7. 1990 Shoot-Out Wales Darren Morgan 1–2
Runner-up 8. 1991 The Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 8–9
Runner-up 9. 1991 Pontins Professional (3) England Neal Foulds 6–9
Winner 3. 1991 Scottish Masters England Steve Davis 10–6
Winner 4. 1991 Belgian Masters England Neal Foulds 9–7
Runner-up 10. 1993 Pot Black England Steve Davis 0–2

Pro-am finals: 4 (3 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1989 Dutch Open Wales Darren Morgan 6–5[12]
Winner 2. 1991 Pontins Spring Open England Wayne Brown 7–5
Winner 3. 1993 Pontins Spring Open (2) England Steve James 7–6
Runner-up 1. 2003 Pontins Spring Open England Judd Trump 2–4

Team finals: 3 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1986 World Doubles Championship Scotland Stephen Hendry England Steve Davis
England Tony Meo 		3–12
Winner 1. 1987 World Doubles Championship Scotland Stephen Hendry Canada Cliff Thorburn
Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor 		12–8
Winner 2. 1991 World Masters Doubles Scotland Stephen Hendry Canada Brady Gollan
Canada Jim Wych 		8–5

References

  1. ^ a b Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. pp. 43–44. ISBN 9780600557135.
  2. ^ a b c d Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. pp. 490–493. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  3. ^ Turner, Chris. "Historical World Rankings 1975/76 to 1989/90". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  4. ^ Lancaster, Joe (31 January 1988). "Masterly Hallett". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 45.
  5. ^ "The Masters". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Winning the hard way". BBC News. 11 February 2002. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2005.
  7. ^ "Snooker Player Ranking – Mike Hallett". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Livescores". 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011. 121 Round 3 RONNIE O'SULLIVAN 4 - 2 MIKE HALLETT
  9. ^ "World Snooker Tour on Twitter". 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Relive Mike Hallett's fantastic snooker career in Sport Bygones". Grimsby Telegraph. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Hallett wins a Dutch thriller". Pot Black. Brentwood: Pot Black Publishing. July 1989. p. 29.
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