# Peter Francisco (snooker player)

Peter Francisco (born 14 February 1962) is a South African former professional snooker player who won the African Snooker Championship 4 times and South African Snooker Championship 8 times and the South African Billiards Championship 13 times as an amateur and professional.

## Career

Francisco turned professional in 1984, and reached the final stages of the World Snooker Championship on five occasions: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1995. He reached the semifinals in two ranking events: the 1986 International Open and the 1987 Grand Prix.
In June 2013 he won the ABSF African Snooker Championship.
Francisco participated in the 2015 Six-red World Championship, playing five matches in his group. He lost 1–5 to Marco Fu and Jamie Clarke, 3–5 to Mark Williams and 4–5 to eventual champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and was eliminated after the group stage, but defeated Darren Paris 5–1 to record his first competitive victory since a 10–8 win over Mick Price in the 1995 World Championship.

## Controversy

In 1995, Francisco faced Jimmy White in the first round of the World Championship. Throughout the match, Francisco played numerous shots which caused bafflement on the part of BBC commentators Clive Everton, John Virgo and Dennis Taylor. There were an unusual number of bets made that the scoreline would be 10–2 in favour of White, which was the eventual outcome. Betting had been suspended on the match against the South African shortly before it began and a World Snooker Association panel analysed the match and later banned Francisco for five years for not conducting himself in a manner consistent with his status as a professional sportsman. At the same hearing he was not found guilty of match rigging. After the 5 years of his ban was up he did briefly resume his pro career in 2000 but failed to make any impact.

## Personal life

He is the nephew of fellow snooker players Manuel and Silvino Francisco.

## Performance and rankings timeline

| Tournament | 1984/ 85 | 1985/ 86 | 1986/ 87 | 1987/ 88 | 1988/ 89 | 1989/ 90 | 1990/ 91 | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 | 1994/ 95 |
| Ranking | | 59 | 26 | 18 | 14 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 25 | 38 | 61 |
| Ranking tournaments ||||||||||||
| Asian Classic | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | NR | QF | 2R | 3R | 1R | LQ | LQ |
| Grand Prix | 2R | 3R | 2R | SF | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ |
| UK Championship | LQ | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ |
| Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 1R | LQ | 2R |
| International Open | LQ | LQ | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ |
| European Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ |
| Thailand Open | Non-Ranking | Non-Ranking | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Not Held | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ |
| British Open | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R |
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R |
| Non-ranking tournaments ||||||||||||
| The Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD |
| Former ranking tournaments ||||||||||||
| Canadian Masters | NH | Non-Ranking | Non-Ranking | Non-Ranking | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Hong Kong Open | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | NH | 1R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | NR |
| Classic | LQ | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | MR | NR | NH |
| Former non-ranking tournaments ||||||||||||
| Australian Masters | A | 1R | A | A | NH | A | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A |
| South African Professional Championship | A | A | SF | A | A | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| World Matchplay | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | A | A | A | A | Not Held | Not Held |
| Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 3R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| World Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament 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 | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. |
| R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
* ↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
* ↑ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989) and Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995)
* ↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
* ↑ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1984/1985–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
* ↑ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1984/1985–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
* ↑ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)

## Career finals
### Amateur finals: 10 (10 titles)

| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 1981 | South African Amateur Championship | L Seranke | |
| Winner | 2. | 1982 | South African Amateur Championship (2) | S Davids | |
| Winner | 3. | 1983 | South African Amateur Championship (3) | Ayoub Majiet | |
| Winner | 4. | 1998 | South African Amateur Championship (4) | | |
| Winner | 5. | 1999 | South African Amateur Championship (5) | | |
| Winner | 6. | 2000 | South African Amateur Championship (6) | | |
| Winner | 7. | 2007 | South African Amateur Championship (7) | | |
| Winner | 8. | 2012 | ABSF African Snooker Championship | Mohamed Khairy | 6–2 |
| Winner | 9. | 2013 | ABSF African Snooker Championship (2) | Khaled Belaid Abumdas | 6–2 |
| Winner | 10. | 2016 | ABSF African Snooker Championship (3) | Wael Talaat | 6–1 |