Alain Robidoux

Alain Robidoux
Born (1960-07-25) July 25, 1960
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Sport country  Canada
Professional 1987–2004
Highest ranking 9 (1996–1998)
Career winnings £636,999;[1] CN$1.31 million
Highest break 147 (1988 European Open)
Century breaks 37[1]
Best ranking finish Runner-up (1996 German Open)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 1

Alain Robidoux (born July 25, 1960) is a Canadian snooker player; he played on the World Snooker tour from 1988 to 2005 and continues to play in events in Canada.

Career

Born in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Robidoux joined the pro circuit in the late 1980s, playing as a "non-tournament" professional. This entitled him to be listed on official rankings, although he could not play in most competitions. In 1988, Robidoux amassed enough points in the World Championship qualifiers to finish in the top 128 players, and thus allowing him to join the tour full-time.

In September 1988, he became only the sixth player ever to record an officially ratified 147 maximum break in the qualifiers for the European Open.

Robidoux's best ranking event performance was reaching the final of the German Open in 1996 when he lost 7–9 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. In the first round of the 1996 World Championship, Robidoux was beaten 3–10 by O'Sullivan again, who although predominantly right-handed, played a number of shots with his left hand. This behaviour was described by one commentator as O'Sullivan "taking the mick". The matter came to a crux in the eleventh frame, with Robidoux 2–8 down, declining to concede the frame, instead continuing to play for snookers despite a 43-point deficit with only the pink and black on the table. Robidoux refused to shake O'Sullivan's hand at the end of the match. O'Sullivan responded that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right.

Robidoux reached the semi-finals of the 1997 World Snooker Championship, but subsequently slid rapidly down the rankings.[2] He blamed his decline on the destruction of his favourite cue,[2] which he referred to as "the Eel". Robidoux bought his cue 16 years ago in Toronto from a friend and maker Marcel Jacques. But when he took it back for repairs he had a Riley sticker on the cue case. In anger, Jacques allegedly snapped the cue over his knee. Robidoux said "I was horrified. I had known him for 25 years and he did that. I wanted to sue him but was told by lawyers all I would get back very little." Several years later, Robidoux was asked whether the passage of time may have eased his anger towards the cue maker; he responded "I want to kill him."

References

  1. 1 2 http://cuetracker.net/Players/Alain-Robidoux/Career-Total-Statistics
  2. 1 2 Hendon, David (26 May 2009). "Past Masters #2". Snooker Scene Blog: News, Opinion and Insight from the Green Baize. Halesowen, England: Snooker Scene Magazine. Retrieved 2010-01-17.

External links

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