Martin Gould
Encyclopedia
Martin Gould is an English
professional snooker
player from Pinner
in the London Borough of Harrow
. He practises at the Whetstone Snooker Club. He works part-time as a debt collector, where he picked up his nickname "Solid Gould".
, beating Craig Taylor in the final. Gould reached the semi-finals of the 2002 European Championship.
Gould enjoyed a good run in the qualification for the 2003 World Championship
, winning 8 matches, beating Alain Robidoux
and Stephen Maguire
. Gould's campaign ended when he lost to Patrick Wallace
. However, he dropped off the Main Tour after this sole season, and barely played for the next four years.
Gould won his second English Amateur Championship in 2007, beating David Lilley 8–7.
In 2007–08 he returned to the Main Tour. He reached the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Trophy, beating Matthew Stevens
5–4 from 3–0 down in the last 48. He also won multiple qualifying matches at both the UK Championship and World Championship qualifying events, although he did not ultimately qualify for either event. He finished the season inside the top 64.
Gould came through qualifying for the 2008 Maplin UK Championship, beating Supoj Saenla
9–1, Tom Ford
9–6, and in the final qualifying round Gould overturned a 5 – 2 deficit to overcome Dominic Dale
9–6. In the first round of the Maplin UK Championship, Gould faced eventual champion Shaun Murphy
, Murphy did go 7–3 ahead before Gould rattled off four frames in a row to bring the score back to 7–7, but Murphy held on to seal a 9–7 victory. Gould then also reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, at the 2009 Welsh Open, beating Stephen Hendry 5 – 3 in the last 32. Solid qualifying results in the remainder of the season have helped him into the top 48 in the world rankings for 2009/10. This means Gould will only have to win two matches to qualify for events. In the 2010 World Championship qualifying, Gould defeated Rodney Goggins
10–7, David Gilbert
10–8 and former top 16 player Matthew Stevens
10–4 to qualify for the World Championship, where he lost in the first round. However, he returned to the Crucible the following year and defeated Marco Fu
10–9 in the first round. In the second round he led Neil Robertson
6–0, 11–5 and 12–10, showing arguably his best snooker ever, before ultimately losing 13–12. Robertson went on to win the championship that year.
Gould had a strong start to the 2010/11 season, reaching the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters
after beating Stephen Hendry
5–3, and scored his best career result at the World Open
, reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost 1–3 to Peter Ebdon
.
Gould reached the final of the PTC
in March 2011, to be beaten 4–0 by Shaun Murphy. Gould once again qualified for the World Championship
, and defeated Marco Fu
10–8 in a repeat of the previous year's first round match. Gould was then defeated by reigning China Open
champion and eventual World Championship runner-up, Judd Trump
.
In 2011 Gould won the Masters of the varient form of the game Power Snooker
, beating reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
in the final. He also entered the world's elite top 16 for the first time.
| valign=top width=40% align=left |
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|Legend
|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"
| World Championship (0–0)
|- bgcolor="dfe2e9"
| UK Championship (0–0)
|- bgcolor=
| Other (0–1)
|}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
|width="80"|Outcome
|width="20"|No.
|width="50"|Year
|width="250"|Championship
|width="200"|Opponent in the final
|align="center" width="50"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
| 1.
| 2011
| Players Tour Championship – Finals
|
England
| align="center"|0–4
|}
|-
|width="80"|Outcome
|width="20"|No.
|width="50"|Year
|width="250"|Championship
|width="200"|Opponent in the final
|align="center" width="50"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
| 1.
| 2010
| Players Tour Championship – Event 6
|
Wales
| align="center"|3–4
|}
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
professional snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
player from Pinner
Pinner
- Climate :Pinner's geographical position on the far western side of North West London makes it the furthest London suburb from any UK coastline. Hence the lower prevalence of moderating maritime influences make Pinner noticeably warmer in the spring and the summer compared to the rest of the capital...
in the London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
. He practises at the Whetstone Snooker Club. He works part-time as a debt collector, where he picked up his nickname "Solid Gould".
Career
In 2002, Gould won his first English Amateur ChampionshipEnglish Amateur Championship
The English Amateur Championship is a snooker competition that has been played since 1916.The first two tournaments were won by Charles Nathaniel Jaques, who was subsequently shot through the wrist in World War I and unable to defend his title again....
, beating Craig Taylor in the final. Gould reached the semi-finals of the 2002 European Championship.
Gould enjoyed a good run in the qualification for the 2003 World Championship
World Snooker Championship 2003
The 2003 Embassy World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 19 April and 5 May 2003 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield....
, winning 8 matches, beating Alain Robidoux
Alain Robidoux
Alain Robidoux 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:...
and Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
. Gould's campaign ended when he lost to Patrick Wallace
Patrick Wallace
Patrick Wallace is a former professional snooker player from Dungannon in Northern Ireland. He is an accountancy graduate from Queens University, Belfast...
. However, he dropped off the Main Tour after this sole season, and barely played for the next four years.
Gould won his second English Amateur Championship in 2007, beating David Lilley 8–7.
In 2007–08 he returned to the Main Tour. He reached the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Trophy, beating Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
5–4 from 3–0 down in the last 48. He also won multiple qualifying matches at both the UK Championship and World Championship qualifying events, although he did not ultimately qualify for either event. He finished the season inside the top 64.
Gould came through qualifying for the 2008 Maplin UK Championship, beating Supoj Saenla
Supoj Saenla
Supoj Saenla is a Thai professional snooker player who lives in Chiang Mai.-Career:Saenla joined the professional tour for the first time in 2007. He earned his place on the tour by winning the biggest title of his career – the 2007 ACBS Asian Championship. He beat India’s Yasin Merchant 7–0 in...
9–1, Tom Ford
Tom Ford (snooker player)
-External links:*...
9–6, and in the final qualifying round Gould overturned a 5 – 2 deficit to overcome Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale
-External links:**...
9–6. In the first round of the Maplin UK Championship, Gould faced eventual champion Shaun Murphy
Shaun Murphy (snooker player)
Shaun Murphy is an English professional snooker player, who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. He is known for his dedication and for being a devout Christian.Born in Harlow, England, Murphy turned...
, Murphy did go 7–3 ahead before Gould rattled off four frames in a row to bring the score back to 7–7, but Murphy held on to seal a 9–7 victory. Gould then also reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, at the 2009 Welsh Open, beating Stephen Hendry 5 – 3 in the last 32. Solid qualifying results in the remainder of the season have helped him into the top 48 in the world rankings for 2009/10. This means Gould will only have to win two matches to qualify for events. In the 2010 World Championship qualifying, Gould defeated Rodney Goggins
Rodney Goggins
Rodney Goggins is an Irish professional snooker player.Born in County Wexford. He earned his place on the 2007/08 professional Tour by finishing top of the Irish senior rankings last season. Goggins won the IBSF World under-21 Championship in 1999 when he beat Rolf de Jong of the Netherlands 11–4...
10–7, David Gilbert
David Gilbert (snooker player)
David Gilbert is an English professional snooker player. Gilbert is a former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction. Gilbert practices in Tamworth, Staffordshire at 'Tamworth Cue Sports Leisure Club'.-Career:...
10–8 and former top 16 player Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
10–4 to qualify for the World Championship, where he lost in the first round. However, he returned to the Crucible the following year and defeated Marco Fu
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun , commonly known as Marco Fu, is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley. He is best known for winning the 2007 Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, and for being runner-up in the 2008 UK Championship...
10–9 in the first round. In the second round he led Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
6–0, 11–5 and 12–10, showing arguably his best snooker ever, before ultimately losing 13–12. Robertson went on to win the championship that year.
Gould had a strong start to the 2010/11 season, reaching the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters
2010 Shanghai Masters
The 2010 Roewe Shanghai Masters professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 6–12 September 2010 at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China.Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he has withdrawn due to personal reasons....
after beating Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
5–3, and scored his best career result at the World Open
2010 World Open (snooker)
The 2010 12bet.com World Open professional ranking snooker tournament was held at the S.E.C.C., Glasgow between 18–26 September 2010. This was the first time that the World Open was sponsored by 12bet.com....
, reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost 1–3 to Peter Ebdon
Peter Ebdon
Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
.
Gould reached the final of the PTC
Players Tour Championship
The Players Tour Championship is a snooker series comprising 12 regular events and a Grand Final. Each event lasts for at least three days, with a qualifying event for amateurs should the event be oversubscribed...
in March 2011, to be beaten 4–0 by Shaun Murphy. Gould once again qualified for the World Championship
2011 World Snooker Championship
The 2011 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 16 April and 2 May 2011 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 74th edition of the event and was the last ranking event of the 2010/2011 snooker season...
, and defeated Marco Fu
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun , commonly known as Marco Fu, is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley. He is best known for winning the 2007 Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, and for being runner-up in the 2008 UK Championship...
10–8 in a repeat of the previous year's first round match. Gould was then defeated by reigning China Open
China Open (snooker)
The China Open is a professional snooker tournament. It is one of a number of ranking tournaments and began in 1997.-History:The first international snooker tournament in China was the China International in September 1997, a non-ranking tournament for the top 16 players and local players. The...
champion and eventual World Championship runner-up, Judd Trump
Judd Trump
Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open...
.
In 2011 Gould won the Masters of the varient form of the game Power Snooker
Power snooker
Power Snooker is a variant of the cue sport snooker, first played competitively in July 2010 in the United Kingdom.The promoter of World snooker Barry Hearn stated Power Snooker is "designed to be faster and more exciting" than the traditional format of snooker. Players compete in time-limited ...
, beating reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
in the final. He also entered the world's elite top 16 for the first time.
Ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
{|| valign=top width=40% align=left |
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|Legend
|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"
| World Championship (0–0)
|- bgcolor="dfe2e9"
| UK Championship (0–0)
|- bgcolor=
| Other (0–1)
|}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
|width="80"|Outcome
|width="20"|No.
|width="50"|Year
|width="250"|Championship
|width="200"|Opponent in the final
|align="center" width="50"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
| 1.
| 2011
| Players Tour Championship – Finals
Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Finals
-Final:-Century breaks:* 143, 111 Mark Williams* 133 Anthony Hamilton* 128 Andrew Higginson* 126 Marcus Campbell* 116 Shaun Murphy* 113 Judd Trump* 110, 102 Michael Holt* 106, 100 Martin Gould* 103, 100 Stephen Lee...
|
England | align="center"|0–4
|}
Minor-ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
{| class="sortable wikitable"|-
|width="80"|Outcome
|width="20"|No.
|width="50"|Year
|width="250"|Championship
|width="200"|Opponent in the final
|align="center" width="50"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
| 1.
| 2010
| Players Tour Championship – Event 6
Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 6
The Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 6 minor-ranking snooker tournament took place over 14–17 October 2010, at the World Snooker Academy, Sheffield, England.Dominic Dale won in the final 4–3 against Martin Gould.-Prize fund and ranking points:1 Only professional players...
|
Wales | align="center"|3–4
|}