Tony Jones (snooker player)
Tony Jones is an English former professional snooker player from Nottinghamshire.
Early life
From Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, he won the Nottingham Junior Championship at the age of 15 years-old, but only started playing snooker seriously in 1981. That year, he moved to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, to become resident player/coach at the Chesterfield Snooker Centre despite never having been coached himself.Career
In 1983, Jones became the English Amateur Champion, beating Neal Foulds in the southern area final, and then John Parrott in the final itself, 13–9. He turned professional in 1983 and joined Ron Gross in London. He made his Crucible Theatre debut at the 1985 Snooker World Championship, losing 10-8 to Tony Knowles. He was also a World Championship doubles finalist in 1985, losing in the final 12-5 to Steve Davis and Tony Meo.He had a run to the last 16 of the 1988 British Open ended by eventual winner Stephen Hendry. His ranking fluctuated inside the top-64 in the late 1980s, moving from world number 55 to no. 42 in 1987-88, and then to no. 49 and to no. 62 in 1989-90.
Jones was the surprise winner of the 1991 European Open in Rotterdam, when, ranked no. 35 in the world, he beat Mark Johnston-Allen 9–7, despite never having previously been beyond the quarter-final stage of a ranking tournament. He reached no. 15 in the 1991/1992 rankings as a result. He dropped out of the top sixteen the following season and slid down the rankings over the following seasons.