Dominic Dale

Dominic Dale(born 29 December 1971) is a Welshprofessionalsnookerplayer, as well as snooker commentator and presenter for theBBCandEurosport.
Dale was born inCoventry,England.He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, which allowed him to compete at the World Amateur Championship in Bangkok. Dale reached the final, but lost 9–11 againstNoppadon Noppachorn. Dale turned professional for the1992–93 season.
He has won two ranking tournaments in his career, the first of which – theGrand Prixin 1997 – he won while ranked number 54 in the world, beating then world number 2John Higgins9–6 in the final. It took him a decade to repeat the achievement at the2007 Shanghai Masters, where he defeated compatriotRyan Day10–6 in the final, from 2–6 behind. On his way to the Shanghai final he beatRory McLeod,Ken Doherty,Adrian Gunnell,Dave HaroldandMark Selby.
Both of his ranking victories were in the season-opening tournaments; he also reached the semi-finals of the season-opening events in 2002 (LG Cup) and 2006 (Northern Ireland Trophy). He also beatPeter Ebdonat the2008 Malta Cup, despite a bout of stomach cramps and a drinking session the night before the match.
Dale is the only player to have won multiple ranking tournaments without ever reaching the top 16, but he was 14th on the one-year list for both 1997/1998 and 1999/2000 (missing out due to an unsuccessful 1998/1999 season).
His bestWorld Championshipperformances were in 2000 and 2014, when he reached the quarter-finals.
Dale won the third professional tournament of his career when he wonEvent 6of thePlayers Tour Championship 2010/2011, beatingMartin Gould4–3 in the final. This win, along with other consistent performances, were enough to see him back into the top 32 players. He also qualified for theWorld Championshipfor the first time since 2004,although he was comprehensively beaten 10–2 in the first round byRonnie O'Sullivan.
Dale had a good start to his2011–12 seasonas he reached the quarter-finals of the first event, theAustralian Goldfields Open. Dale was originally due to meetRonnie O'Sullivanin the first round, but due to his withdrawal for medical reasons he instead played amateurSteve Mifsudand won 5–2.He then beat home favouriteNeil Robertsonon the final black in a 5–4 win lasting almost four hours,before losing toMark Williamsin another final-frame decider, having never been behind in the match until the end.He then reached the final stages of theUK Championshipfor the first time since2005by beatingNigel Bondin the final qualifying round and was drawn againstJudd Trumpin the last 32. Dale led 4–2 before Trump had a large slice of fortune in the seventh frame byflukinga pink. Dale would eventually lose the match 4–6.He also reached the2012 PTC Finalscourtesy of finishing twentieth in theOrder of Merit.His qualification was largely due to making the final ofEvent 10, where he was beaten byMichael Holt2–4.In the Finals he lost 2–4 toXiao Guodongin the first round.Dale qualified for theWorld Championshipwith a 10–3 victory overBen Woollastonto set up another first round meeting with Judd Trump.He led the match 7–6 against an opponent who later revealed to be suffering from food poisoning, before conceding four successive frames to lose 7–10.Dale finished the season ranked world number 23, meaning he had climbed 8 places during the year.
Dale qualified for nine of the eleven ranking events during the2012–13 season, but lost in the first round in eight of them.The exception was at theInternational Championshipwhere he beatGraeme Dott6–3, before losing 5–6 to 14-year-oldLü Haotianin the second round.Dale's best run in thePTC'scame atEvent Threeby reaching the semi-finals in a run that included a 4–2 overMark Selby, but he lost to world number 65Rod Lawler0–4.Dale finished 28th on the Order of Merit, just outside the top 26 who qualified for theFinals.Dale reached the opening round of theWorld Championshipby dispatchingAlfie Burden10–5 and playedJudd Trumpat this stage for the second successive year where he was defeated 10–5.His end of season ranking was world number 23 for the second year in a row.
Dale reached his second quarter-final in theAustralian Goldfields Openin three years in the early stages of the2013–14 season. He eliminatedMike DunnandFergal O'Brien, but then lost 5–1 toMarco Fu.In the next four ranking events he lost in the first round of two and failed qualify for both of the others.
In January 2014, Dale won theSnooker Shoot-Outfinal in Blackpool, beating Stuart Bingham in a close frame. Dale had received significant support from the crowd and had promised to singMy Wayshould he win the event. In his post-match interview he sang a short rendition of the song, showcasing an impressive baritone voice.The result seemed to kick start his season as the following week he beatSteve DavisandJohn Higginsat theGerman Masters, but let a 3–1 lead slip in the last 16 againstDing Junhuito lose 5–3.Dale also won two matches before falling at the third round in theWelsh OpenandWorld Open, losing toMark SelbyandAlan McManusrespectively.
Dale qualified for theWorld Championshipcourtesy of defeatingAndrew Higginsonin the final round of qualifying.He facedMark Davisin the first round and beat him 10–5, marking his first win at the Crucible since 2000.Dale followed this up with a 13–4 win overMichael Wasley(who had beaten pre-tournament second favouriteDing Junhuiin his opening match) to reach the quarter-finals for the second time, 14 years after the first.Dale playedBarry Hawkinsand trailed 11–5 after the second session, but then amazingly won seven frames in a row to be just one away from reaching the semi-finals and matching the biggest comeback at this stage ever at theCrucible. However, Hawkins won the two frames he required without giving Dale a chance to beat him 13–12. Later, Dale revealed that he had reverted to an old cue action before the start of the final session.
Dale lost 5–3 toMark Davisin the first round of theAustralian Goldfields Openand he reached the semi-finals of theSix-red World Championship, whereRicky Waldenbeat him 7–1.At theShanghai Mastershe knocked outJudd Trump5–2, before losing 5–1 toStuart Bingham.This last 16 defeat would prove to be Dale's best finish in a ranking event this season as he could not win another match at a venue until theChina Open, when he oustedJimmy Robertson5–3, but then fell 5–2 toBarry Hawkinsin the second round.He had a consistent year in the minor-rankingEuropean Tourevents with a pair of last 16 exits helping him to finish 25th on theOrder of Meritto claim the last qualification place for theGrand Final, where he was whitewashed 4–0 byMark Selbyin the opening round.
At theInternational Championship, Dale defeatedMatthew Selt6–1 and then lost 6–3 toJoe Perryin the second round.His second round match withPeter Ebdonat theUK Championshipfinished at 1:30am as Dale relinquished a 5–4 advantage to be beaten 6–5.Breaks of 72, 73, 82 and 61 saw Dale sneak pastMark Williamsin the opening round of thePlayers Championship Finals4–3, before he lost 4–1 toShaun Murphy.Dale won more than one match at a ranking event for the only time this season when he knocked outJamie JonesandDarryl Hillat theChina Open, but then was beaten 6–1 byStephen Maguirein the third round.
Dale saw off Ishpreet Chadha 4–2 andMarco Fu4–0 to reach the third round of theIndian Open, where he lost 4–1 toPeter Ebdon. At thePaul Hunter Classiche enjoyed victories overBen Woollaston,Ian Glover,Michael Holt,Yan BingtaoandJimmy Whiteto play in the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time since 2007.Dale was defeated 4–2 byMark Selby.He lost in the second round of theInternational Championship6–2 toStuart Binghamand won three frames in a row to take his third round match withShaun Murphyat theUK Championshipin to a final-frame decider. He had chances in it but could not take them to be ousted 6–5.In the finalWorld Championshipqualifying round Dale made the 200th century break of his career, but would be defeated 10–5 byLuca Brecel.
Dale was originally namedChrisbut changed his name while working at a law firm, as they offered to do it for free. He choseDominicbecause he worked with two people called Dominic and Dominique and said he just "liked the name".
Dale's personality, dress sense and hair styles make him one of the more flamboyant players on the circuit. In his early years he wore a white suit with colourful shirts. In 2007 he sported bleached blonde hair with a bright pink shirt. His interests include snooker memorabilia,Art Decoand operatic singing. After his Shanghai Masters semi-final win, he celebrated by singing "My Way" at the post-match conference.and also did so after his victory in2014 Snooker Shoot-Out. In December 2007 Dale moved toViennawith his then girlfriend.His form declined after this move, which he attributed to not having a professional training partner in Vienna,and he returned to live in the UK four years later, although only for a year.