Doug Mountjoy

Douglas James Mountjoy Template:Needs IPA (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16.

Mountjoy enjoyed a resurgence in his 40s, and at the age of 46 he defeated Stephen Hendry in the final of the 1988 UK Championship. He followed up by also winning the next ranking event, the 1989 Classic, and by the end of the 1988–89 season he was back in the top 16, where he remained until 1992. His world ranking peaked at number five in 1990–1991. He also won five Welsh Professional Championship titles during his career.

Diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993, Mountjoy qualified for the World Championship at the age of 50, just weeks before having a lung surgically removed. He continued to play professionally until 1997, and he was coach to the United Arab Emirates snooker association between 1997 and 1999 and appeared sporadically at the World Snooker Championship until 2002. Mountjoy died in February 2021 after a stroke.

Early life

Mountjoy was born on 8 June 1942,<ref>'Snooker. Mountjoy takes two frames to level scores'. The Times, 12 February 1977. Retrieved 12 November 2024</ref><ref name="WHOWHO">Template:Cite book</ref> in Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales.<ref name="Eurosport">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was brought up just outside Ebbw Vale and worked for some years as a coal miner, playing snooker in his spare time.<ref name="Eurosport" /> At the age of 17 an underground accident trapped him for several hours when the roof collapsed; he was fortunate to escape.<ref name="theg_Doug"/>

A popular player in the South Wales Valleys as a junior, he won many amateur tournaments including two Welsh Amateur titles and the World Amateur title in 1976,<ref name="Eurosport" /> after defeating Paul Mifsud 11–1.<ref name="WHOWHO" /> After the World Amateur victory he turned professional at the age of 34.<ref name="WST">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Mountjoy's first professional tournament, which he entered as a late replacement, was the 1977 Masters at the New London Theatre.<ref name="Eurosport" /> After defeating former world champions John Pulman, Fred Davis, and Alex Higgins to reach the final, he beat the defending Masters champion and reigning world champion Ray Reardon 7–6 to win the title.<ref name="WST" /><ref name="87HALE">Template:Cite book</ref>

At the 1977 World Championship a couple of months later, he defeated Higgins again in the first round but lost to Dennis Taylor in the quarter-final 11–13.<ref name="WHOWHO" /> At the end of 1977, he reached the final of the first UK Snooker Championship, losing to Patsy Fagan 9–12.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He won the title at the 1978 UK Championship, however, beating David Taylor 15–9, and he defeated Ray Reardon in the same season to win the Irish Masters 6–5.<ref name="87HALE" /> He won the 1980 Champion of Champions, with a 10–8 victory over John Virgo in the final.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mountjoy also won the 1978 Pot Black event.<ref name=potblack/>

After being part of the winning Wales team in the first two snooker World Challenge Cups, in 1979 and 1980, and winning the 1980 Welsh Professional Championship he had an attack of Bell's palsy which partially paralysed his face.<ref name="Eurosport" /> Recovering from the attack, he reached the final of the 1981 World Championship, defeating Eddie Charlton, Dennis Taylor and, in the semi-final, Ray Reardon (against whom he made a 145 break, a championship record at the time). He then played Steve Davis in the final.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Davis was favourite to win his first world title, and appeared to be racing to an easy victory by winning the first six frames of the match. However, Mountjoy recovered and came close to drawing level on several occasions. Trailing 11–13, and with the score at 60–63 in the 25th frame, he looked certain to cut Davis's lead to one frame but missed a simple blue from its spot; Davis went on to clear the colours, Template:Cuegloss the final black. Mountjoy won only one more frame as Davis won the match 18–12.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After that run at the World Championship, he had only a short run of titles; he won the Welsh Professional Championship in 1982<ref name="87HALE" /> and 1984<ref name="87HALE" /> to go with his 1980 title. He was back in the final of a major again in the 1985 Masters tournament, losing to Cliff Thorburn 9–6.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mountjoy also reclaimed the Pot Black title in March that year.<ref name=potblack>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He won another Welsh title in 1987 but otherwise struggled to regain his previous form, including a 1–9 defeat to Steve Longworth in the first round of the 1986 UK Championship.<ref name="87HALE" /> By 1988 he was out of the top 16 in the world rankings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 1988–89 snooker season, however, he reached the final of the 1988 UK Championship where he met Stephen Hendry. He won 16–12 and gained his first ranking tournament victory, having at one stage scored centuries in three consecutive frames.<ref name="plGcM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In January 1989 he won the Classic, beating fellow Welshman Wayne Jones in the final, to win consecutive ranking titles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was enough for him to return to the top 16 the next season, and by 1990 he was number five in the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He remained in the top 16 until 1992.

Mountjoy was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993, having been a smoker for many years.<ref name="Eurosport" /> That year, at the age of 50, he defeated Alain Robidoux 10–6 in the first round of the World Championship, only weeks before an operation to remove his left lung. This was his last appearance in the final stages of the championship and for fifteen years he was the last player aged over 50 to appear at The Crucible. He survived the cancer and continued to play snooker until 1997, after which he concentrated on snooker coaching. He would coach in the United Arab Emirates,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but did appear in qualifying for the 2002 World Snooker Championship.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life and death

He married Mary (née Richards), a hairdresser and the couple had two children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He died on 14 February 2021, aged 78, following a stroke.<ref name="theg_Doug">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In a joint statement, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn and World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson said: "Doug was first and foremost a lovely man, who had great friendships with many players on the tour throughout the 1970s and onwards."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament	1976/ 77	1977/ 78	1978/ 79	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
Ranking<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	<ref group="nb">New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.</ref>	14	14	13	14	6	7	12	15	15	14	14	24	10	5	10	26	30	26	36	59
Ranking tournaments
Asian Classic<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)</ref>	Tournament Not Held												NR	F	QF	1R	2R	WD	LQ	LQ	LQ
Grand Prix<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984)</ref>	Tournament Not Held						1R	1R	QF	2R	3R	1R	3R	QF	1R	2R	1R	1R	2R	1R	LQ
UK Championship	NH	Non-Ranking Event							2R	2R	2R	1R	W	1R	2R	1R	2R	2R	1R	1R	LQ
German Open	Tournament Not Held																			LQ	LQ
Welsh Open	Tournament Not Held															1R	2R	1R	1R	LQ	1R
International Open<ref group="nb" name="auto">The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)</ref>	Tournament Not Held					NR	1R	QF	1R	2R	2R	1R	2R	1R	Not Held		1R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ
European Open	Tournament Not Held												3R	QF	QF	2R	3R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ
Thailand Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							Non-Ranking Event				Not Held		3R	3R	1R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ
British Open<ref group="nb" name="auto1">The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)</ref>	Not Held			Non-Ranking Event					1R	1R	3R	1R	3R	3R	2R	QF	1R	QF	1R	LQ	LQ
World Championship	QF	1R	1R	2R	F	2R	2R	QF	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	2R	1R	1R	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters	Tournament Not Held					QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	NH	A	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A
The Masters	W	QF	SF	A	QF	QF	SF	1R	F	1R	QF	1R	A	QF	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	A	A	A
Seniors Pot Black	Tournament Not Held																				QF
Irish Masters<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)</ref>	A	F	W	F	QF	QF	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A
Pontins Professional	RR	RR	W	A	SF	SF	W	QF	A	A	A	A	QF	A	SF	SF	A	A	A	A	A
European League<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984) and the Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							RR	Not Held		A	A	A	RR	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters<ref group="nb" name="auto2">The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)</ref>	Non-Ranking Event					Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking			2R	Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988 & 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995)</ref>	Not Held			Non-Ranking Event									NH	3R	Tournament Not Held				NR		NH
Classic	Not Held			Non-Ranking Event				1R	1R	SF	1R	2R	W	1R	2R	1R	Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open	Tournament Not Held															1R	MR	NR	Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters<ref group="nb" name="auto2" />	A	1R	A	A	A	Tournament Not Held				A	A	A	R	Tournament Not Held
Holsten Lager International	Not Held		1R	Tournament Not Held
Forward Chemicals Tournament	Not Held		RR	Tournament Not Held
Golden Masters	NH	W	SF	Tournament Not Held
Padmore Super Crystalate	Not Held			QF	Tournament Not Held
Bombay International	Not Held		A	RR	Tournament Not Held
Pontins Camber Sands	Not Held			SF	Tournament Not Held
Champion of Champions	Not Held		SF	NH	W	Tournament Not Held
International Open<ref group="nb" name="auto" />	Tournament Not Held					2R	Ranking Event								Not Held		Ranking Event
Northern Ireland Classic	Tournament Not Held					SF	Tournament Not Held
Classic	Not Held			QF	A	A	QF	Ranking Event									Tournament Not Held
Tolly Cobbold Classic	Not Held		RR	A	A	A	QF	A	Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters	Tournament Not Held							SF	A	A	A	Not Held		Ranking Event
UK Championship	NH	F	W	2R	1R	2R	2R	2R	Ranking Event
British Open<ref group="nb" name="auto1" />	Not Held			RR	RR	RR	2R	RR	Ranking Event
New Zealand Masters	Tournament Not Held							F	QF	Not Held			A	A	Tournament Not Held
Australian Masters<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)</ref>	Not Held			A	A	A	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	NH	R	Tournament Not Held				A	A	NH
Norwich Union Grand Prix	Tournament Not Held													QF	Tournament Not Held
Template:Nowrap	F	Not Held		W	SF	W	F	W	F	F	W	SF	W	F	A	Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Challenge<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Hong Kong Masters (1983/1984–1988/1989)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							W	F	A	A	A	A	NH	QF	A	Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters	Tournament Not Held														QF	A	A	Not Held		A	NH
Shoot-Out	Tournament Not Held														1R	Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay	Tournament Not Held												A	QF	1R	A	A	Tournament Not Held
World Masters	Tournament Not Held														1R	Tournament Not Held
Pot Black	F	W	F	SF	A	SF	A	1R	W	1R	Tournament Not Held					SF	A	A	Not Held
Template:Nowrap	Tournament Not Held															QF	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				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.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 4 (2 titles)

Legend
World Championship (0–1)
UK Championship (1–0)
Other (1–1)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Template:Abbr
Runner-up	1.	1981	World Snooker Championship	Template:Flagicon Steve Davis	12–18	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Winner	1.	1988	UK Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry	16–12	<ref name="plGcM" />
Winner	2.	1989	The Classic	Template:Flagicon Wayne Jones	13–11	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	2.	1989	Dubai Classic	Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry	2–9	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Non-ranking finals: 28 (15 titles)

Legend
UK Championship (1–1) <ref>The UK Championship did not become a ranking event until 1984</ref>
The Masters (1–1)
Other (13–11)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Template:Abbr
Runner-up	1.	1977	Pot Black	Template:Flagicon Perrie Mans	0–1	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	1.	1977	The Masters	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	7–6	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	2.	1977	Welsh Professional Championship	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	8–12	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	3.	1977	UK Championship	Template:Flagicon Patsy Fagan	9–12	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Runner-up	4.	1978	Irish Masters	Template:Flagicon John Spencer	3–5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	2.	1978	Pot Black	Template:Flagicon Graham Miles	2–1	<ref name="5wFNa" />
Winner	3.	1978	Golden Masters	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	4–2	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	4.	1978	UK Championship	Template:Flagicon David Taylor	15–9	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	5.	1979	Pot Black	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	1–2	<ref name="5wFNa" />
Winner	5.	1979	Irish Masters	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	6–5	<ref name="Kilkenny Irish Masters" />
Winner	6.	1979	Pontins Professional	Template:Flagicon Graham Miles	8–4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	7.	1980	Welsh Professional Championship	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	9–6	<ref name="Welsh" />
Runner-up	6.	1980	Irish Masters	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	9–10	<ref name="Kilkenny Irish Masters" />
Winner	8.	1980	Champion of Champions	Template:Flagicon John Virgo	10–8	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Winner	9.	1982	Welsh Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	9–8	<ref name="Welsh" />
Runner-up	7.	1983	Welsh Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	1–9	<ref name="Welsh" />
Winner	10.	1983	Pontins Professional (2)	Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon	9–7	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Runner-up	8.	1983	New Zealand Masters	Template:Flagicon Bill Werbeniuk	0–1	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	11.	1983	Hong Kong Masters	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	4–3	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	12.	1984	Welsh Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Cliff Wilson	9–3	<ref name="Welsh" />
Runner-up	9.	1984	Hong Kong Masters	Template:Flagicon Steve Davis	2–4	<ref name="AzLZP" />
Runner-up	10.	1985	The Masters	Template:Flagicon Cliff Thorburn	6–9	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	11.	1985	Welsh Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	4–9	<ref name="Welsh" />
Winner	13.	1985	Pot Black (2)	Template:Flagicon Jimmy White	2–0	<ref name="5wFNa" />
Runner-up	12.	1986	Welsh Professional Championship (4)	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	3–9	<ref name="Welsh" />
Winner	14.	1987	Welsh Professional Championship (4)	Template:Flagicon Steve Newbury	9–7	<ref name="Welsh" />
Winner	15.	1989	Welsh Professional Championship (5)	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	9–6	<ref name="Welsh" />
Runner-up	13.	1990	Welsh Professional Championship (5)	Template:Flagicon Darren Morgan	7–9	<ref name="Welsh" />

Pro-am finals: 4 (2 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Template:Abbr
Winner	1.	1974	Pontins Spring Open	Template:Flagicon John Spencer	7–4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	2.	1976	Pontins Spring Open (2)	Template:Flagicon Lance Pibworth	7–1	<ref name="Pontins" />
Runner-up	1.	1977	Warners Open	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	4–5	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Runner-up	2.	1984	Pontins Spring Open	Template:Flagicon Neal Foulds	4–7	<ref name="Pontins" />

Team finals: 5 (2 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Team/partner	Opponent(s) in the final	Score	Template:Abbr
Winner	1.	1979	World Challenge Cup	Template:Flagicon Wales	Template:Flagicon England	14–3	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	1.	1980	World Challenge Cup (2)	Template:Flagicon Wales	Template:Flagicon Canada	8–5	<ref name=team />
Runner-up	1.	1981	World Team Classic	Template:Flagicon Wales	Template:Flagicon England	3–4	<ref name=team />
Runner-up	2.	1982	World Doubles Championship	Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths	Template:Flagicon Steve Davis Template:Flagicon Tony Meo	3–4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	3.	1983	World Team Classic (2)	Template:Flagicon Wales	Template:Flagicon England	2–4	<ref name=team />

Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Template:Abbr
Runner-up	1.	1966	Welsh Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Lynn O'Neill	5–9	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winner	1.	1968	Welsh Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon John Terry	6–5	<ref name="GlobalSnooker" />
Winner	2.	1976	Welsh Amateur Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Alwyn Lloyd	8–6	<ref name="GlobalSnooker" />
Winner	3.	1976	World Amateur Championship	Template:Flagicon Paul Mifsud	11–1	<ref name="GBS81">Template:Cite book</ref>

External links

• Template:WST player
• Template:Snooker.org player