Mark King (born 28 March 1974) is an English former professional snooker player.
Having turned professional in 1991, King was ranked within the world's top 32 players between 1996 and 2015, and won his first ranking event title in 2016, defeating Barry Hawkins 9âÂÂ8 in the final of the Northern Ireland Open. He has also appeared in two other ranking tournament finals: the 1997 Welsh Open, where he lost 2âÂÂ9 to Stephen Hendry; and the 2004 Irish Masters, where Peter Ebdon defeated him 10âÂÂ7.
King has reached the last 16 of the World Championship seven times, in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2013, but has never progressed beyond this stage.
In November 2024, it was announced that King had been banned from snooker for five years after being found guilty of match fixing and providing inside information relating to his match against Joe Perry at the Welsh Open on 13 February 2023. He had been provisionally suspended since 18 March 2023 when the investigation into irregular betting patterns on the match was launched.
King turned professional in 1991 and advanced steadily through the rankings, reaching the top 48 by 1996. His Welsh Open final run led to a top 32 place in the end of season rankings, and he continued to progress by reaching the top 16 a year later. He made his debut at the World Snooker Championship in 1994, losing to Darren Morgan in the first round.
He remained in the top 16 the following season without reaching a ranking quarter-final, but dropped out a year later. He made an immediate return in 2000âÂÂ01, climbing to a career-high of #11. A poor 2002âÂÂ03 season ended with him dropping out of the top 16 again after defeat to Drew Henry 10âÂÂ5 in the first round of the World Championship. In the post-match interview, King suggested that he had lost patience with the game and would quit because "I've just had enough of the game."
After the 2004 World Championship, King became involved in a tense battle with Quinten Hann after his friend Andy Hicks eliminated Hann in a controversial first-round clash. Hann had been making provocative gestures during the match and after Hicks took victory, the two players had an altercation, with an angry Hann squaring up to Hicks. Upset by Hann's behaviour, King challenged the Australian to a boxing match, for which King was later criticised, as Hann's behaviour had already put the game into disrepute. Nevertheless, the bout went ahead and Hann controversially won the fight on a points decision.
In December 2004, King beat Robin Hull, Mark Williams, Alan McManus and John Parrott en route to the semi-finals of the UK Championship, losing 9âÂÂ4 to eventual winner Stephen Maguire. At 8âÂÂ3, a mobile phone went off in the crowd, prompting King to quip "if that's my missus, tell her I'll be home soon". In 2005, King beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 9âÂÂ8 at the same event, having fought back from 5âÂÂ3 down in a match which saw his opponent sitting with a wet towel draped over his head when King was at the table. King would eventually lose 9âÂÂ6 in the last 16 to Joe Perry, but made a career best 146 break at the 2006 Championships.
Defeat to Neil Robertson (he was trailing 7âÂÂ2 but only lost 10âÂÂ9) in the qualifying for the World Championship in 2005 cost him the chance of a top 16 return, but King qualified a year later, resiliently losing 10âÂÂ6 to Stephen Maguire in the first round. In 2007, King went out to David Gilbert in the qualifying round for the event.
In the 2008 World Championship, King beat six-times runner-up Jimmy White to qualify, then shocked the previous year's runner-up Mark Selby 10âÂÂ8, having trailed 5âÂÂ3 overnight. After potting the match ball, King showed his delight by shouting "Get in". He lost to Peter Ebdon in the last 16, but his top-16 place was secure and he would start the 08/09 campaign ranked 15th.
A consistent 2008âÂÂ09 season saw King retain his top 16 spot.
At the 2009 Grand Prix King needed three snookers in the deciding frame against Ricky Walden to claim a 5âÂÂ4 victory. He managed to get them and won by potting the final black. In the next round he lost to Robert Milkins.
At the 2010 China Open King defeated Thai player James Wattana 5âÂÂ4 in the first round after trailing 2âÂÂ4. He then won his second match 5âÂÂ3 against Chinese player Tian Pengfei to reach his first Quarter final since the 2007 Malta Cup. A double triumph for King, the win helped to maintain his Top 16 place for the 2010/11 season.
At the 2010 World championship, King lost his first round match against former 6 times World Champion Steve Davis by 9âÂÂ10. In the deciding frame, Davis led 55âÂÂ37, with only 13 points available. King's attempts at getting the snooker he needed to win ended with him fluking the pink in the pocket.
King made an impressive start to the new season when he reached the Quarter Final of the 2010 Shanghai Masters. King was too strong for qualifier Joe Delaney in the first round, winning 5âÂÂ3. The same scoreline saw him overcome Peter Ebdon in the next round but King was then beaten comfortably by Mark Selby 5âÂÂ1. However his lack of form in the following ranking events made him fall out of the top 16 after the 2011 Welsh Open.
At the 2011 Masters, King beat defending champion Mark Selby 6âÂÂ4 to reach his first quarter-final at the event since 1999. After the match, King suggested that his comeback from 0âÂÂ2 down was prompted by his opponent's celebration to winning the second frame on the black, when he "put his cue up and it gave me the hump a bit" King then lost in the quarter-finals 1âÂÂ6 against Jamie Cope. He ended the season by losing 7âÂÂ10 to Graeme Dott in the World Championship and was ranked 26, dropping 11 places during the year. He was therefore out of the top 16 in the end of season rankings for the first time since the 2007âÂÂ08 season.
King's ranking meant that he would need to win a match to qualify for the ranking tournaments in the 2011âÂÂ12 season. He failed to qualify for four of the eight ranking tournaments during the season and was knocked out in the first round in two. However, he produced an excellent run in the Shanghai Masters where he reached his first semi-final since the 2005 Welsh Open. He required a final frame decider to beat Liu Song in qualifying 5âÂÂ4 and once in China he won by the same scoreline to knock out defending champion Ali Carter in the first round. Further wins followed over Fergal O'Brien and Anthony Hamilton, before he was whitewashed 0âÂÂ6 by Mark Selby in the last four. King also reached the quarter-finals of the World Open by beating Mark Williams 5âÂÂ1 and Tom Ford 5âÂÂ4, but then lost 1âÂÂ5 to Mark Allen. King lost to seventeen-year-old Luca Brecel in qualifying for the World Championship and finished the season ranked world number 31, dropping five places during the year.
King began the 2012âÂÂ13 season by failing to qualify for three of the first four ranking events. The one he did reach was the Shanghai Masters, where he beat Zhao Xintong 5âÂÂ3 in the wildcard round and local favourite Ding Junhui 5âÂÂ4 in the first round, having trailed 0âÂÂ3. He lost 3âÂÂ5 to Shaun Murphy in the following round. King defeated Mark Williams 6âÂÂ3 in the first round of the 2012 UK Championship, before surrendering a 3âÂÂ0 lead against 17-year-old Luca Brecel to lose 4âÂÂ6. He also reached the second round of the German Masters by whitewashing Stephen Maguire 5âÂÂ0, but then lost in a deciding frame to Matthew Stevens.
King failed to qualify for the World Open and lost in the first round of the Welsh Open and China Open. He faced Mark Allen in the opening round of the World Snooker Championship and produced a shock by fighting back from 6âÂÂ8 down to produce his best snooker at the end of the match in a 10âÂÂ8 win. He raced into a 6âÂÂ2 lead in the first session of his second round match against Ding Junhui, before falling 7âÂÂ9 behind in the next session and ultimately lost 9âÂÂ13. King ended the season ranked world number 29.
King had his best results in the Chinese ranking events during the 2013âÂÂ14 season, beginning with the Wuxi Classic where he beat Rory McLeod 5âÂÂ3 and Marco Fu 5âÂÂ4, before being thrashed 5âÂÂ0 by Neil Robertson in the last 16. At the Shanghai Masters he knocked out Graeme Dott, but Robertson was again victorious when the pair met in the last 16 this time winning 5âÂÂ3. During King's tie with Fergal O'Brien in the last 64 of the 2013 UK Championship, he made 15 consecutive foul and misses in the sixth frame and went on to lose 6âÂÂ3. The match was played in a sports hall as the Barbican Centre itself was too small to accommodate enough tables, with King saying afterwards that the conditions were not good enough and as long as the top players were okay the governing body did not care. At the China Open, King saw off Aditya Mehta 5âÂÂ4, Fu 5âÂÂ3 and Jamie O'Neill 5âÂÂ3 to reach his only quarter-final of the season. He faced Ding Junhui who had already won four ranking events during the season and lost 5âÂÂ2. King failed to reach The Crucible this year as Jamie Cope beat him 10âÂÂ7 in the final round of World Championship qualifiers.
King lost in the qualifying rounds of three of the first five ranking events of the 2014âÂÂ15 season and was knocked out in the first round of the other two. He defeated Steven Hallworth and Michael White both 5âÂÂ3 to qualify for the German Masters and eliminated world number five Barry Hawkins 5âÂÂ3 in the first round. In the last 16 he lost 5âÂÂ2 to Stephen Maguire. A consistent season in the European Tour events saw King finish 24th on the Order of Merit to make his debut in the Grand Final. King secured another win over Hawkins this time 4âÂÂ2 and looked like moving 3âÂÂ2 ahead of Judd Trump in the last 16. However, Trump got the snooker he needed and won the next frame to defeat King. King closed the season with a 5âÂÂ4 loss to Robin Hull in the second round of the China Open and was narrowly edged out 10âÂÂ9 by Anthony McGill in the final round of World Championship qualifying. He fell outside the top 32 in the rankings for the first time since 1996 at the culmination of the season as he was 36th.
King was knocked out in the first round of the 2015 Australian Goldfields Open 5âÂÂ1 by Mark Selby. At the Paul Hunter Classic, King advanced to the semi-finals with the loss of just one frame. He moved 3âÂÂ0 up on Shaun Murphy with two 123 breaks but then missed multiple chances to win the match, as well as Murphy getting some flukes, to be beaten 4âÂÂ3. He was also a losing quarter-finalist at the Gibraltar Open and Gdynia Open to finish ninth on the Order of Merit. In the Grand Final he lost 4âÂÂ2 to Mark Allen in the second round. King overcame Ali Carter 5âÂÂ2 at the China Open and beat Murphy 5âÂÂ3 and Martin O'Donnell 5âÂÂ0 to reach his first ranking event quarter-final in two years. He could not win a frame after being 3âÂÂ2 up on Judd Trump to lose 5âÂÂ3.
King failed to get past the second round in the first eight events of the 2016âÂÂ17 season. At the inaugural Northern Ireland Open, King beat Igor Figueiredo, Liang Wenbo, Fergal O'Brien, Kurt Maflin, Hossein Vafaei Ayouri and Kyren Wilson to reach his first ranking event final since 2004. He was 5âÂÂ1 down to Barry Hawkins, before winning six successive frames. King went on to be 8âÂÂ7 up, with the 16th frame going to a re-spotted black after King had needed a snooker and he missed a double on it to win. King took the deciding frame to win a ranking event for the first time in his 25-year career. He paid tribute to his father who had lent King money for the trip to Belfast.
King defeated Stephen Maguire and Ali Carter both 4âÂÂ3 to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, where he lost 4âÂÂ2 to Marco Fu. For the fourth year in a row King could not play in the World Championship as he was beaten 10âÂÂ4 by Xiao Guodong in the final qualifying round.
On 15 November 2024, it was announced that King had been banned from snooker for five years and ordered to pay ã68,299.50 in costs after an Independent Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information relating to a match he played against Joe Perry at the Welsh Open on 13 February 2023. He had been provisionally suspended since 18 March 2023 when the investigation into irregular betting patterns on the match began and his ban was backdated meaning he is eligible to return to professional snooker on 18 March 2028. King unsuccessfully appealed against the decision and his punishment in April 2025.
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