Tony Drago
Encyclopedia
Tony Drago is a professional snooker
and pool
player from Malta
. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament
beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship
. In 2008, Drago won the Predator International 10-ball Championship, beating Francisco Bustamante
13–10.
position was number ten (in 1998). He has reached two major finals – the Mita/Sky World Masters
in 1991 (losing to Jimmy White
), and the International Open
in 1997 (his only ranking event final, and his first run past a quarter-final beaten by Stephen Hendry
). He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship
in 1988. He has appeared in the tournament 11 times more, most recently in 2004/2005, with five further last sixteen runs. He lost to Matthew Stevens
in three successive years – 8–13 in the last 16 in 1999, 2–10 in the 2000 first round, and 1–10 in the 2001 first round.
After failing to qualify for the 2004 World Championships, Drago entered a decline in snooker. He dropped out of the top 32 of the rankings a year later, and after losing to Issara Kachaiwong
in his opening qualifier for the 2008 World Championship, he dropped off the tour.
In 2009 Drago won the EBSA International Open, which give him the chance to return for the 2009/2010 season
. He reached the third qualifying round of the Shanghai Masters, Grand Prix and UK Championship. He then qualified for the Welsh Open, by defeating Simon Bedford
(5–3), Peter Lines
(5–2), Jimmy Michie
(5–2) and Gerard Greene
(5–2), where he played against Ryan Day
in the first round, but he lost 4–5. In the China Open qualifying Drago defeated Lee Page
(5–2), John Parrott
(5–2), Anthony Hamilton
(5–4) and Stephen Lee
(5–2) to qualify for the televised stages of the China Open. After a solid 2009/2010 season, he got a place in the top 64 and finished 54th.
Drago again had an outstanding season, climbing 8 places to finish at 46 in the 2010/2011 World Snooker rankings. This means that potentially Drago will only need to win two qualifying matches to reach the final stages of ranking events.
Drago was member of the winning European team
at the 2007
and 2008 Mosconi Cup
. At 2007 in Las Vegas
, Drago won all of his single matches which earned him the Most Valuable Player Award.
In 2008, Drago won the Predator International 10-ball Championship, beating Francisco Bustamante
13–10.
.
In 1993 he recorded the fastest ever best-of-9-frames snooker victory by beating Sean Lanigan in just thirty-four minutes at the 2nd leg of the Strachan Challenge. He also holds the record for the fastest best-of-17 match, beating Joe O'Boye 9–0 in 81 minutes at the 1990 UK Championship. Conversely, he lost 4–13 against Ronnie O'Sullivan
in the second round in 1996 in just 167 minutes and 33 seconds, an all-time Crucible record and less than 9 minutes per frame. In the 1996 UK Championship he made a century break
in just three minutes and thirty-one seconds against John Higgins. In the third round of the Fidelity Unit Trusts International he won the fifth frame 62–0 in just 3 minutes.
It is possible he would have won more tournaments were it not for his main aberration: playing shots with the rest. Most professional snooker players dislike the rest, but view its use as a necessary evil; some of Drago's misses when using the implement in important matches have bordered on the farcical, and have certainly cost him victories.
has made him a popular character in snooker, although he was famously criticised by Steve Davis
for hurling his cue at the table and storming out of the arena following his 1–5 quarter final defeat to Mark Bennett
in the 1996 Grand Prix, with Drago later accusing his opponent of bad sportsmanship
, because the latter had twice in the match suggested that Drago missed the object ball deliberately while snookered. Similarly, he became visibly angry with Peter Ebdon
during their second round match in the 2003 World Championship, in which Ebdon repeatedly left the arena between frames. Drago took this as an attempt to disrupt the flow of his game, but apologised publicly when he later found out that Ebdon had been ill during the match.
Drago is known for his consistently high-speed play, similar to pool players Lou Butera
of the US and Luc Salvas
of Canada
, or snooker's Ronnie O'Sullivan
. His style has earned him the nickname "the Tornado" and in more recent times has been known among the pool community as the "Maltese Whippet" (due to another player using the Tornado nickname in pool).
Currently Drago plays with a John Parris
cue.
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 :...
and pool
Pocket billiards
Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...
player from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament
World Pool Masters Tournament
The World Pool Masters Tournament is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters until players from other parts of the globe were invited....
beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
. In 2008, Drago won the Predator International 10-ball Championship, beating Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante is a Filipino professional pocket billiards player from Tarlac, and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion., nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the film of the same name, and sometimes also called "Bustie", especially in the United States.-Early life:Bustamante is the...
13–10.
Snooker career
Drago's highest snooker world rankingsSnooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
position was number ten (in 1998). He has reached two major finals – the Mita/Sky World Masters
World Masters
The World Masters, known for sponsorship reasons as the Mita/Sky World Masters, was a snooker tournament held in January 1991. Conceived by promoter Barry Hearn, the tournament had a similar format to the Grand Slam events in tennis, with men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's...
in 1991 (losing to Jimmy White
Jimmy White
James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
), and the International Open
Players Championship (snooker)
The Players Championship was a professional snooker tournament. It is the most recent name of the ranking tournament held in Scotland every year. The tournament has had a bewildering number of name changes in its history. Until recently it was commonly known as the Scottish Open, and prior to that...
in 1997 (his only ranking event final, and his first run past a quarter-final beaten by 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...
). He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
in 1988. He has appeared in the tournament 11 times more, most recently in 2004/2005, with five further last sixteen runs. He lost to 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...
in three successive years – 8–13 in the last 16 in 1999, 2–10 in the 2000 first round, and 1–10 in the 2001 first round.
After failing to qualify for the 2004 World Championships, Drago entered a decline in snooker. He dropped out of the top 32 of the rankings a year later, and after losing to Issara Kachaiwong
Issara Kachaiwong
Issara Kachaiwong , is a Thai professional snooker player.-Career:He participated in 2005 Southeast Asian Games. He played in the 2006 Grand Prix in October in Aberdeen....
in his opening qualifier for the 2008 World Championship, he dropped off the tour.
In 2009 Drago won the EBSA International Open, which give him the chance to return for the 2009/2010 season
Snooker season 2009/2010
The snooker season 2009/10 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2009 and 2010. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.- Calendar :- Official rankings :...
. He reached the third qualifying round of the Shanghai Masters, Grand Prix and UK Championship. He then qualified for the Welsh Open, by defeating Simon Bedford
Simon Bedford
Simon Bedford is an English professional snooker player. His best run to date in a professional ranking event was to qualify for the 1998 World Championship beating Gary Wilkinson 10–9, before losing 10–6 to Steve Davis. He also reached the last 32 of the European Open in 2004 and the Grand Prix in...
(5–3), Peter Lines
Peter Lines
Peter Lines is an English professional snooker player from Leeds. He practices at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.He qualified for the World Championship in 1998, compiling a magnificent 141 total clearance in the process before losing 10–3 to John Parrott in Round One...
(5–2), Jimmy Michie
Jimmy Michie
-External links:***...
(5–2) and Gerard Greene
Gerard Greene
Gerard Greene is a left-handed Northern Irish professional snooker player, who has represented Northern Ireland in international events , as his parents are from Belfast. He lives in Rainham in Kent...
(5–2), where he played against Ryan Day
Ryan Day
-External links:* * *...
in the first round, but he lost 4–5. In the China Open qualifying Drago defeated Lee Page
Lee Page
Lee Page is a professional Snooker player from Kidderminster. He first entered the professional tour for the 2006/07 season, but was unable to retain his place for the following season's tour. He has qualified the second time for 2009/10 season-External links:****...
(5–2), John Parrott
John Parrott
John Parrott MBE is an English professional snooker player and TV personality.He won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times...
(5–2), Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton (snooker player)
Anthony Hamilton is an English professional snooker player noted for his strong break-building technique and distinctive appearance. He has spent five seasons ranked among the game's top 16, and fifteen in the top 32, reaching a career-high at number #10 in the world in the 1999/2000 season...
(5–4) and Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee
Stephen Lee is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, whose smooth cue action is regarded by some pundits as the most natural in the game. He has won four ranking titles, and spent 10 seasons in the Top 16 of the world rankings before dropping out for the snooker...
(5–2) to qualify for the televised stages of the China Open. After a solid 2009/2010 season, he got a place in the top 64 and finished 54th.
Drago again had an outstanding season, climbing 8 places to finish at 46 in the 2010/2011 World Snooker rankings. This means that potentially Drago will only need to win two qualifying matches to reach the final stages of ranking events.
Pool career
Drago's first major pool win was the 2003 World Pool Masters, which came just a few weeks after a run to the semi-finals of that year's World Pool ChampionshipDrago was member of the winning European team
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the 2007
2007 Mosconi Cup
The 2007 Mosconi Cup took place December 13–16, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada....
and 2008 Mosconi Cup
2008 Mosconi Cup
The 2008 Mosconi Cup took place between December 11–14, at the Hilton Conference Center, Portomaso, Malta.-The teams:-Session 1:-Session 2:-Session 3:-Session 4:...
. At 2007 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, Drago won all of his single matches which earned him the Most Valuable Player Award.
In 2008, Drago won the Predator International 10-ball Championship, beating Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante is a Filipino professional pocket billiards player from Tarlac, and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion., nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the film of the same name, and sometimes also called "Bustie", especially in the United States.-Early life:Bustamante is the...
13–10.
Accomplishments
Drago once achieved a 147 break in a practice match at West Norwood Snooker Club, against Nick Manning. Drago played in two professional matches where maximums were scored against him, once by Jimmy White, and another by James WattanaJames Wattana
James Wattana is a Thai professional snooker player.-Career:...
.
In 1993 he recorded the fastest ever best-of-9-frames snooker victory by beating Sean Lanigan in just thirty-four minutes at the 2nd leg of the Strachan Challenge. He also holds the record for the fastest best-of-17 match, beating Joe O'Boye 9–0 in 81 minutes at the 1990 UK Championship. Conversely, he lost 4–13 against 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 second round in 1996 in just 167 minutes and 33 seconds, an all-time Crucible record and less than 9 minutes per frame. In the 1996 UK Championship he made a century break
Century break
In snooker a century break refers to scoring 100 points or more within one at the table, without missing a shot. The player does this by potting and alternately. Scoring 100 points over the course of a whole frame is not a century, as it must be done during one turn at the table...
in just three minutes and thirty-one seconds against John Higgins. In the third round of the Fidelity Unit Trusts International he won the fifth frame 62–0 in just 3 minutes.
It is possible he would have won more tournaments were it not for his main aberration: playing shots with the rest. Most professional snooker players dislike the rest, but view its use as a necessary evil; some of Drago's misses when using the implement in important matches have bordered on the farcical, and have certainly cost him victories.
Playing style
His combination of exceptionally fast play and emotional temperamentTemperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
has made him a popular character in snooker, although he was famously criticised by Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
for hurling his cue at the table and storming out of the arena following his 1–5 quarter final defeat to Mark Bennett
Mark Bennett (snooker player)
Mark Bennett is a former Welsh professional snooker player from Newport.After winning the Welsh amateur title in 1985, he turned professional the followiing year. He was ranked in the top 32 for four seasons between 1991 and 1995, reaching a high rank of 24 in 1993...
in the 1996 Grand Prix, with Drago later accusing his opponent of bad sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
, because the latter had twice in the match suggested that Drago missed the object ball deliberately while snookered. Similarly, he became visibly angry with 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:...
during their second round match in the 2003 World Championship, in which Ebdon repeatedly left the arena between frames. Drago took this as an attempt to disrupt the flow of his game, but apologised publicly when he later found out that Ebdon had been ill during the match.
Drago is known for his consistently high-speed play, similar to pool players Lou Butera
Lou Butera
Lou Butera is an American professional pool player and an inductee into the Billiards Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1986....
of the US and Luc Salvas
Luc Salvas
Luc Salvas is a Canadian professional pool player. His quick-paced speed pool play earned him the nickname "Machine Gun". In 2006, he won the first International Speed Pool Challenge and the US$50,000 winner-take-all purse by defeating Great Britain's Dave Pearson...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, or snooker's 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...
. His style has earned him the nickname "the Tornado" and in more recent times has been known among the pool community as the "Maltese Whippet" (due to another player using the Tornado nickname in pool).
Currently Drago plays with a John Parris
John Parris
John Parris , of Forest Hill, London, England, is one of the most renowned manufacturers of handmade snooker cues in the world.A large number of professional players use John Parris' cues, including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Steve Davis, Tony Drago, Terry Griffiths, Dominic Dale, and Stephen Maguire.His...
cue.
Pool
- World Pool Masters – 2003
- Mosconi CupMosconi CupThe Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Europe and the USA since 1994. The trophy is named after American player Willie Mosconi, and is modeled on and compared to the Ryder Cup in golf...
– 2007 & 2008 - French Open – 2008
- Predator International 10-ball Championship – 2008