Dave Gilbert (snooker player, born 1961)

Dave Gilbert (born 15 August 1961) is an English former professional snooker player.

Career Gilbert was introduced to snooker by his father Les. In January 1977, Patsy Fagan hit the first maximum of his career, against Gilbert at the Clapton Bus Garage Social Club. He was later coached by Ron Shore at the Ilford Snooker Centre. In 1979, he defeated John Parrott to win the Pontins Junior title. In 1983, he beat Terry Whitbread in the final of the London Championship. He took up professional status in July 1985, and was a professional until 1995.

In the final round of qualifiers for the 1986 Snooker World Championship he lost 10-5 to Dave Martin. He made his television debut in 1987, in a match in which Gilbert defeated Cliff Wilson on the way to the last-16 of the 1987 International Open, before losing to Stephen Hendry. He finished 1987 ranked 82 in the world, but rose to a world ranking of number 57 in 1988. He reached the last-32 of both the 1988 and 1989 English Professional Championship, losing to Dean Reynolds and Joe Johnson, in those respective years. He beat former World Champion Dennis Taylor to reach the last-32 of the 1989 Asian Open. At the 1989 Snooker World Championship Gilbert lost 10-7 against Doug Mountjoy in the final round of qualifying before the Crucible Theatre section of the tournament.

Personal life He was born in Bethnal Green, London to Les and Brenda. His father Les was a London Transport bus driver. Gilbert worked at Smithfield meat market, and as an engraver at Hatton Garden, prior to becoming a professional snooker player. In 1980, he was involved in a head-on collision on the M6 near Stafford following a snooker tournament in Prestatyn in which his sister Sue was killed and required him to have a steel plate inserted into his left arm, and prevented him from being able again to straighten that arm from the elbow.

Performance and rankings timeline Tournament 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95RankingIt shows the ranking at the beginning of the seasonNew players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking728257637491154168206Ranking tournamentsDubai ClassicThe event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)Tournament Not HeldNRLQLQLQALQAGrand PrixLQLQLQ1R1RLQLQLQLQWDUK ChampionshipLQLQLQ1R1RLQLQLQLQWDEuropean OpenTournament Not Held1RLQLQLQALQAWelsh OpenTournament Not HeldLQALQAInternational OpenThe event was also called the Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)LQLQ3RLQLQNot HeldALQAThailand OpenThe event was also called the Thailand Masters (1985/1986-1986/1987, 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990-1992/1993)Non-RankingNot Held2RLQLQALQABritish Open1RLQ1RLQLQLQLQLQLQAWorld ChampionshipLQLQWDLQLQLQLQLQLQANon-ranking tournamentsThe MastersAAAAALQLQAAAFormer ranking tournamentsCanadian MastersNon-Ranking EventLQTournament Not HeldHong Kong OpenThe event was also called the Australian Masters (1985/1986-1987/1988)Non-Ranking EventNH1RTournament Not HeldNRClassicLQLQ1RLQLQLQLQTournament Not HeldStrachan OpenTournament Not HeldLQMRNRNHFormer non-ranking tournamentsEnglish Professional ChampionshipLQLQ1R1RTournament Not HeldShoot OutTournament Not Held3RTournament Not Held Performance Table LegendLQ 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-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD 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.

Career finals Non-ranking finals: 1 Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreRunner-up 1. 1989 WPBSA Non-Ranking - Event 2 Ken Owers 6–9

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreRunner-up 1. 1979 British Under-19 Championship Joe O'Boye 0–3Winner 1. 1979 Pontins Junior Championship John Parrott 3–1

References