Daniel Wells (born 31 July 1988) is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. He has twice come through Qualifying School to play on the professional snooker tour, and turned professional again at the beginning of the 2023âÂÂ24 season after placing top of the 2022âÂÂ23 One Year Ranking List for players outside the top 64, despite competing as an amateur for the entire season.
He was awarded the inaugural Paul Hunter Scholarship. This gave him the chance to practise in the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, alongside professional players, such as Peter Ebdon and Ding Junhui.
He first qualified for the Main Tour for the 2008âÂÂ09 season by finishing ranked fifth on the International Open Series rankings.
He had consistent results on his first spell on the main tour, winning his first qualifying match in most events, apart from defeat in the first qualifying round to Stefan Mazrocis in the Grand Prix. This was followed by a run to the penultimate qualifying round of the Bahrain Championship where he lost to veteran John Parrott 3âÂÂ5.
An impressive run to the last 16 of the Masters Qualifying tournament included a 5âÂÂ4 win over Crucible quarter-finalist Liang Wenbo. He followed this with a defeat to Li Hang in the first qualifying round of UK Championship 3âÂÂ9.
However, at the World Championship, Wells needed a good run of results to ensure his place on the tour for the following season. A sequence of 10âÂÂ9 wins over Li Hang, Ian Preece and Marcus Campbell took him to the final qualifying round where he lost 9âÂÂ10 to Barry Hawkins in the final qualifying match. In his 4 qualifying matches, he played the maximum 76 frames. His ranking rose to No. 70 as a result of his exploits that season.
Wells started the new season with a win over fellow Welshman Ian Preece 5âÂÂ3 in the Shanghai Masters before losing to Joe Delaney in the next round by the same scoreline. In the UK Championship, he narrowly lost 8âÂÂ9 to fellow Welshman Michael White. In his home championship, the Welsh Open, Wells narrowly lost in the first qualifying round to James Wattana 4âÂÂ5. Another first qualifying round defeat in the China Open meant that Wells was again in danger of losing his place on the tour. Wells failed to repeat his exploits of the previous season in the World Championship as he lost 7âÂÂ10 to former world No. 12 David Gray in the first qualifying round. This meant that he fell off the tour.
Despite not being on the main tour during the 2010âÂÂ11 season Wells entered many of the PTC and EPTC events, and recorded some impressive wins eventually finishing 29th on the Order of Merit. He regained a place on the main tour for 2011âÂÂ12 by finishing top of the Welsh rankings. Wells also won the European Snooker Championships and the European Team Championships (with team Wales).
As an unranked player on the tour Wells would need to win four qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the ranking events. However, he only won three matches during the season, including going without a single victory in the 11 of 12 Players Tour Championship events that he played. He finished the season without a ranking and had to enter Q School in an attempt to earn a place on the tour for the 2012âÂÂ13 season. In May, Wells won five matches at the second 2012 Q School event concluding with a 4âÂÂ3 win over Michael Wasley to earn a place on the tour for the next two seasons.
Wells did not win two consecutive matches in qualifying for any of the ranking events in the 2012/2013 season, and therefore did not reach the main draw for any tournaments. He played in all ten Players Tour Championship events this season, with his best results being two last 64 defeats, to be placed 101st on the PTC Order of Merit. His season ended when he was beaten 7âÂÂ10 by Aditya Mehta in the first round of World Championship Qualifying which saw him finish ranked world number 87.
Wells lost in the qualifying rounds of the first five ranking events in the 2013âÂÂ14 season, but received automatic entry into the UK Championship as all 128 players began the tournament in the first round. It was here that Wells won the first match at a main venue for the first time in his career by defeating Alfie Burden 6âÂÂ4, but he then lost 6âÂÂ3 to Joe Perry. The only event Wells qualified for this season was the German Masters, with an impressive 5âÂÂ1 victory over Nigel Bond, before he was eliminated in the first round 5âÂÂ1 by Gary Wilson. After Wells was beaten 10âÂÂ7 by Kurt Maflin in the second round of World Championship qualifying he was ranked world number 100 meaning he could no longer reach the top 64 and was relegated from the tour. He played in the 2014 Q School in an attempt to regain his place and came closest to doing so in the second event when he lost in the last 16 to Ashley Carty.
Wells was back to being an amateur player for the 2014âÂÂ15 season, but still considered himself as a professional as he was playing for his living. He faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the UK Championship and, despite his opponent playing with a broken ankle, Wells was beaten 6âÂÂ2. He lost 4âÂÂ2 to Gerard Greene in the first round of the Welsh Open. Wells qualified for his first China Open by defeating Robbie Williams 5âÂÂ3 and lost the last three frames in the first round against Graeme Dott to be eliminated 5âÂÂ3. At the first event of the 2015 Q School he eliminated Alexander Ursenbacher 4âÂÂ1 in the final round to earn a two-year tour card starting with the 2015âÂÂ16 season.
Wells played in his first International Championship by beating Rory McLeod 6âÂÂ1 and advanced through a wildcard round in China, before losing 6âÂÂ4 to Lee Walker in the first round. He won three matches to reach the last 16 of the Bulgarian Open where he was eliminated 4âÂÂ0 by Mike Dunn. He would finish 39th on the European Order of Merit. Wells saw off Rod Lawler 6âÂÂ4 at the UK Championship, despite abandoning his car due to traffic and running to the venue before the match. He lost 6âÂÂ3 to Ali Carter in the second round. Wells reached the same stage of the Welsh Open by beating Andrew Higginson 4âÂÂ2, but was knocked out 4âÂÂ1 by Marco Fu.
Wells began using a new cue at the beginning of the 2016âÂÂ17 season and it proved to be his most successful year to date. He qualified for the World Open by thrashing Tian Pengfei 5âÂÂ0 and then beat Xu Si 5âÂÂ3, before recording another 5âÂÂ0 whitewash this time over Kyren Wilson to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. After being 2âÂÂ0 down to Ali Carter he moved 4âÂÂ2 ahead, before missing chances to play in the quarter-finals and was defeated 5âÂÂ4. Wells qualified for the International Championship by overcoming Mark Allen 6âÂÂ5 and eliminated Stuart Carrington 6âÂÂ2 in the first round, but then lost 6âÂÂ5 to Michael Holt having been 5âÂÂ3 up. A 6âÂÂ5 win over Ian Burns at the UK Championship saw Wells face world number one Mark Selby in the second round. Wells was 3âÂÂ1 ahead, but would be defeated 6âÂÂ4. He advanced to the third round of both the Scottish Open and Gibraltar Open, losing 4âÂÂ3 to Yu Delu and 4âÂÂ0 to Nigel Bond respectively. Wells qualified for the China Open with a 5âÂÂ3 victory over Marco Fu and reached the last 16 for the second time this season by beating Jamie Cope 5âÂÂ3 and Matthew Stevens 5âÂÂ2, but lost 5âÂÂ1 to Stephen Maguire. Wells finished a season within the top 64 in the world rankings for the first time as he was number 62.
He advanced to the quarter-final of the Paul Hunter Classic losing 4âÂÂ3 to Kyren Wilson. Wells reached the semifinal of a ranking tournament for the first time at the 2018 Scottish Open, and despite leading 4âÂÂ0, and 5âÂÂ2 over Mark Allen he lost 6âÂÂ5. He advanced to the four round of both the English Open, Shoot-Out and Gibraltar Open, losing 4âÂÂ3 to Ali Carter, 1âÂÂ0 to Rod Lawler and 4âÂÂ3 to David Gilbert respectively.