- Dominic Dale
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Dominic Dale 
Dominic Dale at the 2011 Paul Hunter ClassicBorn 29 December 1971
Coventry, EnglandSport country 
WalesNickname Spaceman Professional 1992– Highest ranking 19 (1999/00) Current ranking 28 Career winnings UK£682,740[1] Highest break 145 1999 UK Championship[2] Century breaks 108 Tournament wins Ranking 2 Minor-ranking 1 Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale in Coventry, England[3][4] on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh[3] professional snooker player and occasional snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC.
Contents
Career
Dale 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 against Noppadon Noppachorn. Dale turned professional for the 1992/1993 season.[3]
He has won two ranking tournaments in his career, the first of which – the Grand Prix in 1997 – he won while ranked number 54 in the world, beating then world number 2 John Higgins 9–6 in the final. It took him a decade to repeat the achievement at the 2007 Shanghai Masters, where he defeated compatriot Ryan Day 10–6 in the final, from 2–6 behind. On his way to the Shanghai final he beat Rory McLeod, Ken Doherty, Adrian Gunnell, Dave Harold and Mark Selby.[5]
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 beat Peter Ebdon at the 2008 Malta Cup, despite a bout of stomach cramps and a drinking session the night before the match.[6]
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 best World Championship performance was in 2000, when he reached the quarter-finals with a 10–6 victory over Peter Ebdon and an emphatic 13–1 defeat of David Gray.
Dale won the third professional tournament of his career when he won Event 6 of the Players Tour Championship 2010/2011, beating Martin Gould 4–3 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 the World Championship for the first time since 2004,[7] although he was comprehensively beaten 10–2 in the first round by Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Personal life
Dale's personality, dress sense and hair styles make him one of the more colourful players on the circuit. His interests include snooker memorabilia, Art Deco and operatic singing. After his Shanghai Masters win, he celebrated by singing "My Way" at the post-match conference.[8] In December 2007 Dale moved to Vienna with his girlfriend Katharina.[9] His form declined after this move, which he attributed to not having a professional training partner in Vienna,[10] and he returned to live in the UK four years later.[8]
Career finals
Ranking event finals: 2 (2 titles)
Categories:- 1971 births
- Living people
- Welsh snooker players
- Snooker writers and broadcasters
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