David Gilbert (snooker player)

David Gilbert

David Gilbert at the 2012 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1981-06-12) 12 June 1981
Derby, England
Sport country  England
Professional 2002–2004, 2005–
Highest ranking 19 (December 2015)
Current ranking 22 (as of 2 May 2016)
Career winnings £393,106[1]
Highest break 147 (2015 Championship League)
Century breaks 154[2]
Best ranking finish Final (2015 International Championship)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 1

David Brown Gilbert (born 12 June 1981 in Derby) is an English professional snooker player. Gilbert is a former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction and practices in Tamworth, Staffordshire, at Tamworth Cue Sports Leisure Club. Having never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event, Gilbert reached the final of the 2015 International Championship where he lost 10–5 to John Higgins.

Career

Early career

Gilbert began his professional career by playing UK Tour in 1999, at the time the second-level professional tour.[3] In the 2007/2008 season Gilbert reached the last 32 of three tournaments without progressing further. Most notably he qualified for the 2007 World Championship where he led Stephen Hendry 1–5, before succumbing to a 10–7 defeat. Shortly before this match his mother Joan was diagnosed with breast cancer, though she ultimately recovered . To qualify he beat Alfie Burden, Gerard Greene and Mark King.

The other two were the 2007 Welsh Open – where he won his two qualifying matches then beat James Wattana in the last 48 in Newport, before losing 5–0 to Steve Davis[4] – and the 2008 Grand Prix, where he again faced Hendry and again challenged him before succumbing 5–4.

Gilbert went one better at the 2009 Welsh Open, beating Mark Williams and Joe Perry before losing to Mark Selby in the last 16.

2011/2012 season

The 2011/2012 season was somewhat of a breakthrough year for Gilbert as he reached the last 16 in two ranking event tournaments for the first time. He went from qualifying round 1 to the venue stage of the first tournament of the year, the Australian Goldfields Open, beating Passakorn Suwannawat 5–4, Alfie Burden 5–2, Dave Harold 5–4 and Mark King 5–0 to set up a wildcard round match at the venue against James Mifsud, which was later changed to a last 32 encounter due to the withdrawal of Graeme Dott.[5] Gilbert won 5–1 to meet Mark Williams in the last 16, and was beaten 2–5.[6]

Gilbert struggled to replicate the form he showed in Australia until the final and biggest tournament on the snooker calendar, the World Championship. He qualified with victories over Stuart Carrington, Jimmy Robertson (with a final frame decider), Mike Dunn and Fergal O'Brien and drew 11th seed Martin Gould in the first round. There he won his first ever match at the Crucible 10–8, although he had to withstand two comebacks after leading 6–2 and 9–5.[7] In the second round he was defeated by 2010 World Champion, Neil Robertson 9–13. Gilbert had led 3–1 after the first four frames, but then trailed 3–5 and 6–10 after the first and second session respectively.[8] He finished the season ranked world number 57, inside the top 64 who automatically retained their places for the 2012/2013 season.[9]

2012/2013 season

Following on from Gilbert's successful 2011/2012 season, he struggled for form this season as he could only qualify for the World Open in Haikou, China. There, he beat Lu Ning 5–0 in the wildcard round, before losing 4–5 to Matthew Stevens in the first round.[10] Gilbert played in eight of the ten minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events, but could only win three matches all year, to finish a lowly 86th on the Order of Merit.[11] He couldn't repeat last season's run to The Crucible as he was defeated 6–10 by Marco Fu in the final round of World Championship Qualifying.[12] He ended the campaign ranked world number 41.[13]

2013/2014 season

Gilbert's 2013/2014 season was his most consistent year to date as he qualified for all but two of the ranking events. In his opening match, he defeated Jak Jones 5–3 to qualify for the 2013 Wuxi Classic in China where he beat Andrew Pagett 5–2 in the first round. He went on to beat Alan McManus 5–2 to reach the last 16 of ranking event for the fourth time, but lost 5–2 to Joe Perry.[14] A month later at the minor-ranking Rotterdam Open, he defeated Ryan Day 4–3 in the last 16 and Stephen Maguire 4–1 in the quarter-finals. Gilbert led Mark Selby 2–0 in his semi-final match, but was beaten 4–3.[15] The tournament was one of the eight European Tour events on the calendar and Gilbert performed well in the others with two further last 16 runs to finish 16th on the Order of Merit and qualify for the Finals for the first time in his career.[16] There, Gilbert gained revenge over Selby by whitewashing him 4–0, but lost 4–1 to Perry in the second round.[17][18]

Gilbert played in his third World Championship this year after seeing off Jimmy Robertson in the final round of qualifying.[19] He faced last year's runner-up Barry Hawkins in the first round but from 4–2 up he lost eight frames in a row to succumb to a 10–4 defeat in a performance he branded as useless.[20]

2014/2015 season

Gilbert at 2015 German Masters

Gilbert lost 5–3 to Stephen Maguire in the first round of the 2014 Wuxi Classic and then failed to qualify for the next two ranking events.[21] At the International Championship he defeated Zak Surety 6–4, before withstanding three century breaks from Marco Fu to take the match into a deciding frame which Gilbert lost.[22] He won his first matches at the UK Championship 6–4 against Elliot Slessor and 6–2 against Mark Joyce, but lost in the third round 6–2 to David Morris. Gilbert was eliminated at the first round stage of the German Masters, Welsh Open and Indian Open.[21] He faced the winner of the previous ranking event Joe Perry at the China Open and won the last three frames to defeat him 5–3 and then saw off Zhou Yuelong 5–2 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the sixth time.[23] Gilbert's tournament ended with a 5–2 loss to reigning world champion Mark Selby.[24] Gilbert was ranked 35th after the World Championship, the highest he has finished a season to date.[25]

2015/2016 season

Gilbert was eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the opening two ranking events of the season.[26] At the minor-ranking Ruhr Open he won four matches to play in the quarter-finals where he beat Barry Hawkins 4–2, before losing 4–3 to Tian Pengfei in the semis.[27] Gilbert's form continued later in to the month at the International Championship as he knocked out Xiao Guodong 6–5, Oliver Lines 6–4 and Ryan Day 6–4 to play in the first ranking event quarter-final of his career. He came back from 4–2 down against Marco Fu to edge it 6–5 which included a 130 break and then saw off Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 9–5.[28][29] In the final, Gilbert was level with John Higgins at 4–4, but would lose 9–5. The £65,000 runner-up's cheque is by far the biggest of his career and he moved up to 21st in the world rankings afterwards.[30] Gilbert stated that his new found form was down to a new cue he acquired from fellow professional Matthew Selt six weeks previously.[28]

Performance and rankings timeline

[31]

Tournament 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17
Ranking[32][nb 1] UR[nb 2] UR[nb 2] UR[nb 2] UR[nb 3] 84 83[33][nb 2] 90 66[34] 45 43 51 55 76 57 41 37 35 22
Ranking tournaments
Australian Goldfields Open Not held 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Shanghai Masters Not held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ
International Championship Not held LQ 2R 2R F
UK Championship A A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 3R 3R
German Masters[nb 4] A NR Not held LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R LQ
Welsh Open A A A LQ LQ A LQ 2R 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 1R 2R
World Grand Prix[nb 5] A A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R NR 1R
Players Championship Grand Final[nb 6] Not held DNQ DNQ DNQ 2R DNQ 1R
China Open[nb 7] NR A A Not held A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 3R 3R
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ 1R LQ 1R
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A A LQ LQ LQ A A A LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A
Championship League Tournament Not Held A A A A A A A RR RR
Variant format tournaments
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held A A 1R 2R 1R 2R
Former ranking tournaments
Scottish Open[nb 8] A A A 1R LQ Not held MR Not held
British Open A A A LQ LQ A Not held
Irish Masters Non-ranking event LQ LQ A NH NR Not held
Malta Cup[nb 9] NH A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ NR Not held
Northern Ireland Trophy Not held NR LQ 1R 2R Not held
Bahrain Championship Not held LQ Not held
Wuxi Classic[nb 10] Not held Non-ranking LQ 3R 1R NH
Indian Open Not held WD 1R NH
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. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. 1 2 3 4 He was not on the Main Tour.
  3. ↑ New players don't have a ranking.
  4. ↑ The event was called the German Open (1997/1998)
  5. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1997/1998–2000/2001 and 2004/2005-2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  6. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
  7. ↑ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  8. ↑ The event was called the International Open (1997/1998) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  9. ↑ The event was called the Irish Open (1998/1999) and the European Open (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  10. ↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)

Career finals

Ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 2015 International Championship Scotland John Higgins 5–10

Non-ranking wins (1 title)

Personal life

He often helps out on his father's potato farm, and had planned to do so during the 2007 World Championship had he not qualified for the event.[35]

References

  1. ↑ "Career-total Statistics for David Gilbert – Professional". CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Centuries". Pro Snooker Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "David Gilbert – Season 1998/1999". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. ↑ (Archive)
  5. ↑ "Australian Goldfields Open (2011)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "David Gilbert 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "World Snooker Championship 2012: Mark Allen out in round one". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "World Snooker Championship 2012: Robertson beats Gilbert". BBC Sport. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "David Gilbert 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "David Gilbert 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "Selby to meet Williams in Rotterdam Open final". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "European Order of Merit 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Selby White-Washed By Gilbert". World Snooker. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Snooker – O'Sullivan dealt first defeat of year". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Dott / Williams / Stevens Miss Crucible". World Snooker. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "World Championship 2014: David Gilbert angered by display". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  21. 1 2 "David Gilbert 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  22. ↑ "Three-Ton Rocket Crushes McGill". World Snooker. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Selby Wins Despite Neck Pain". World Snooker. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  24. ↑ "World champion Selby ends Gilbert's run at China Open". Tamworth Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  26. ↑ "David Gilbert 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Rory Rules in Ruhr". World Snooker. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Un-Nooh to Meet Gilbert in Semis". World Snooker. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  29. ↑ "David Gilbert makes International Championship final". Eurosport. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  30. ↑ "Higgins Equals Davis Tally". World Snooker. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  31. ↑ "Latest Results and Rankings". Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  32. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  33. ↑ "Official Rankings". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007.
  34. ↑ "Official Rankings". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007.
  35. ↑ "David Gilbert". World Snooker Live Scoring. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.

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