Barry Pinches
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:BLP sources Template:Infobox snooker player Barry Pinches (born 13 July 1970) is an English former professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a former top 32 player and ranking-event quarter-finalist. He has compiled over 100 century breaks in his career.<ref name="Chris Turners TOP CENTURY MAKERS">Template:Cite web</ref> He has also made one maximum break.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Pinches was born in Catton, Norwich on 13 July 1970.<ref name="Profile on Sporting Life"/> He won the English Amateur Championship in 1988, enabling him to turn professional in 1989.<ref name="BH">Template:Cite book</ref> He was runner-up to James Wattana at the 1988 World Amateur Championship.<ref name="BH"/>
After a largely unsuccessful start to his career, he hit good form for a while in the 2000s.<ref name="Profile on Sporting Life">Template:Cite web</ref> He defeated Jimmy White 10–8 in the 2004 World Championship, in a match which overran and had to be completed after other matches,<ref name="White falls to Pinches">Template:Cite web</ref> then led Stephen Hendry 11–9 before losing 12–13 and has lost in the first round twice more – the 13-year gap between his first two Crucible appearances (1991–2004) is an all-time record. In his first appearance at the Crucible, in 1991 he lost 3–10 to Terry Griffiths. His best ranking tournament run to date, was in the 2003 UK Championship, where he reached the quarter-finals with victories over Marco Fu, Graeme Dott and Stephen Lee, before Stephen Hendry ended his run.
At one point he was established in the world's top 32, and provisionally 14 at one point – advancing 82–56–36–21 in the rankings over a strong sequence of seasons up to 2003–04. However, he dropped out of the top 32 two years later, and then won only one knock-out match in 2006–07, dropping to number #56. He attributed this loss of form to attempting to change his cue action.<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> However, he won an invitational event that featured many top players, the 2007 Paul Hunter Classic that August, beating Neil Robertson and Ken Doherty en route.<ref name="Barry pinches German Open">Template:Cite web</ref> He also showed a return to form in the 2008 China Open by reaching the last 16, beating the defending champion, Graeme Dott 5–1 in the process, before going down by the same scoreline to Nigel Bond, who also beat him 7–10 in the final qualifying round of the 2008 World Championship.<ref name="Pinches crashes out of China Open">Template:Cite web</ref> The 2008/2009 season was less successful for him however.
After reaching the final of Event 2 of the Players Tour Championship where he lost 3–4 to Mark Selby he went one better in Event 4 beating Mark Williams 4–1 and Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–3 in the semi-final and final respectively to record the best win of his career to date.
In the 2011–12 season Pinches narrowly missed out on a maximum 147 break at Event 2 of the Players Tour Championship in Gloucester, making it to the final black.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He would later finish the season ranked world number 64, grabbing the final spot on offer through the world rankings to play in the 2012–13 season. He fell 23 places in the rankings during the season – the most of anyone on the snooker tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Pinches won two matches but then lost in the final round in qualifying for the first three ranking events of the season.<ref name="2012/13">Template:Cite web</ref> He made it to the main draw at the next event, the 2012 International Championship, thanks to wins over Daniel Wells, Xiao Guodong and Joe Perry.<ref name="2012/13"/> He had to play in a wildcard round once at the venue in Chengdu, China, and lost 5–6 to Lu Ning.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was the furthest Pinches got in a ranking event this season, with it coming to an end when he was defeated 9–10 by Liam Highfield in the second round of World Championship Qualifying.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He finished the year ranked world number 62.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Pinches qualified for the 2013 Indian Open, the fourth ranking event of the 2013–14 season with a 4–1 victory over Chris Wakelin. He almost pulled off a huge shock in the first round as he led Ding Junhui 3–2, but was beaten 4–3.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pinches also reached the main draw of the World Open and China Open but lost in the first round both times.<ref name="2013/14">Template:Cite web</ref> Due to all 128 players on the tour earning a place in the first round of the Welsh Open, Pinches did not need to qualify and beat Nigel Bond 4–1, to set up a second round meeting with Ronnie O'Sullivan. Pinches stated before the match that he would stick to his percentage game with a defensive approach as he has always played the same no matter who the opponent is and he was defeated 4–1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pinches had a consistent season in the European Tour events with his deepest runs being last 16 defeats at the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup and Gdynia Open which saw him finish 49th on the Order of Merit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He dropped out of the top 64 in the rankings during the season as he ended it at number 76, but his European Tour results earned him a place on the tour for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons as the sixth highest non-qualified player.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He edged out Peter Ebdon 5–4 to qualify for the 2014 Wuxi Classic, but lost 5–1 to Yan Bingtao in the first round. Pinches won three games to play in the final qualifying round for the Australian Goldfields Open where he lost 5–3 to Ebdon. He qualified for the International Championship and was beaten 6–2 by Robert Milkins in the opening round.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pinches' sole win in a ranking event this season came at the Welsh Open by defeating Jimmy White 4–3, but he was knocked out 4–2 by home favourite Mark Williams in the second round.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>-
Pinches had a very poor 2015–16 season as he only won two matches all year, both of these coming at the Haining Open. He was involved in two frames of note during the season. At the Ruhr Open, Pinches and Alan McManus set the record for the longest official snooker frame at 100 minutes and 24 seconds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The record stood until April 2017. In the final frame of his 4–1 defeat of Pinches in the first round of the Welsh Open, Ronnie O'Sullivan learned that the prize for making a 147 was £10,000 and decided after potting the 14th red to pot a pink and make a 146 instead as the prize money was not enough.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pinches dropped off the tour at the end of the season and he failed to regain his place on the main tour through the 2016 Q School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He qualified for the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic, but lost 4–3 to Cao Yupeng in the first round.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2017 Gibraltar Open, Pinches lost in the second qualifying round; however, during the 2017–18 season, having again lost in Q-School in his attempt to re-qualify for the main tour, he qualified for that season's Paul Hunter Classic. He recovered from 1–3 behind in the first round to beat Matthew Bolton 4–3, but lost in the last 64 to fellow amateur George Pragnall by the same scoreline.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 14 October 2017 Barry entered the World Seniors Championship 1st Qualifying in Newbury for the Snooker Legends Tour. He lost 1–3 in the semi-finals to fellow amateur Matt Ford. In the frame that he won in the semi-finals he made a total clearance of 133 and won a pair of Oakley sunglasses for the highest break of the event. He entered the 2018 Q School in May in the hope of winning back his place on the main snooker tour. In the second round he was drawn against his son Luke. It was the first time a father played his son in a world snooker event since Neal Foulds played his father Geoff Foulds in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Barry beat son Luke 4–1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the following round he defeated fellow former pro Fang Xiongman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In June 2019, Pinches came through the third event of the 2019 Q School by winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–2020 and 2020–21 seasons.
In June 2021, Pinches came through event 2 of the 2021 Q School by winning five matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 seasons.
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 1989/ 90 |
1990/ 91 |
1991/ 92 |
1992/ 93 |
1993/ 94 |
1994/ 95 |
1995/ 96 |
1996/ 97 |
1997/ 98 |
1998/ 99 |
1999/ 00 |
2000/ 01 |
2001/ 02 |
2002/ 03 |
2003/ 04 |
2004/ 05 |
2005/ 06 |
2006/ 07 |
2007/ 08 |
2008/ 09 |
2009/ 10 |
2010/ 11 |
2011/ 12 |
2012/ 13 |
2013/ 14 |
2014/ 15 |
2015/ 16 |
2016/ 17 |
2017/ 18 |
2018/ 19 |
2019/ 20 |
2020/ 21 |
2021/ 22 |
2022/ 23 |
2023/ 24 |
2024/ 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking<ref group="nb">From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season</ref> | <ref group="nb" name="UR">New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking</ref> | 82 | 73 | 103 | 109 | 141 | 132 | 79 | <ref group="nb" name="AMA">He was an amateur</ref> | <ref group="nb" name="UR"/> | 113 | 97 | 82 | 56 | 36 | 21 | 18 | 33 | 56 | 50 | 52 | 57 | 41 | 64 | 62 | <ref group="nb" name="ET">Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points</ref> | 94 | <ref group="nb" name="AMA"/> | <ref group="nb" name="AMA"/> | <ref group="nb" name="AMA"/> | <ref group="nb" name="QS">Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points</ref> | 75 | <ref group="nb" name="QS"/> | 83 | <ref group="nb" name="AMA"/> | <ref group="nb" name="AMA"/> | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | RR | RR | RR | 2R | RR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English Open | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 3R | Tournament Not Held | 2R | LQ | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | LQ | LQ | 1R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | Tournament Not Held | WR | LQ | 1R | LQ | A | A | A | LQ | Not Held | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | 1R | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | NH | NR | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the International Open (1989/1990, 1992/1993-1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)</ref> | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | Tournament Not Held | MR | Not Held | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | A | NR | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Open<ref group="nb">The event was called the Grand Prix (1989/1990–2000/2001, 2004/2005–2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)</ref> | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | 3R | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | QF | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | Not Held | A | A | A | 1R | Not Held | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship<ref group="nb">The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011–2015/2016)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | 2R | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | A | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Seniors Championship | Not Held | A | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | A | 1R | NH | A | QF | A | A | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classic | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strachan Open | Not Held | LQ | MR | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dubai Classic<ref group="nb">The event was called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and the Asian Classic (1996/1997)</ref> | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thailand Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)</ref> | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | NR | Not Held | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | LQ | 1R | NH | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Trophy | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bahrain Championship | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic<ref group="nb">The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | LQ | LQ | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open<ref group="nb" name="AUS">The event was called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990), the Australian Open (1994/1995–1995/1996) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)</ref> | 2R | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Non-Ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic<ref group="nb">The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | Pro-am Event | Minor-Ranking Event | 1R | 2R | 1R | NR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | NH | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open<ref group="nb" name="CHN">The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)</ref> | Tournament Not Held | Minor-Rank | A | A | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Championship | Tournament Not Held | NR | A | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | RR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gibraltar Open | Tournament Not Held | MR | LQ | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters<ref group="nb">The event was called the European Open (1989/1990-1996/1997, 2001/2002-2003/2004), the Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)</ref> | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | NH | LQ | Not Held | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | LQ | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | NH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Masters | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | NH | 1R | Tournament Not Held | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | A | A | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Template:Nowrap | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | LQ | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | 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-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | 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. | |||
| PA / Pro-am Event | means an event is/was a pro-am event. | |||
Career finals
Minor-ranking finals: 2 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2010 | Players Tour Championship Event 2 | Template:Flagicon Mark Selby | 3–4 |
| Winner | 1. | 2010 | Players Tour Championship Event 4 | Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan | 4–3 |
Non-ranking finals: 2 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2019 | Seniors Masters Qualifying Event | Template:Flagicon Aaron Canavan | 3–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2019 | The Seniors Masters | Template:Flagicon Joe Johnson | 1–2 |
Pro-am finals: 4 (2 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1987 | Pontins Spring Open | Template:Flagicon Stefan Mazrocis | 2–7 |
| Winner | 1. | 2007 | Paul Hunter Classic | Template:Flagicon Ken Doherty | 4–0 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2007 | Dutch Open | Template:Flagicon Michael Holt | 4–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 2010 | Dutch Open | Template:Flagicon Bjorn Haneveer | 6–3 |
Amateur finals: 5 (3 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1986 | British Under-19 Championship | Template:Flagicon James Wattana | 3–0<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Winner | 2. | 1988 | English Amateur Championship | Template:Flagicon Craig Edwards | 13–6 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1988 | World Amateur Championship | Template:Flagicon James Wattana | 8–11 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1989 | English Amateur Championship | Template:Flagicon Nigel Bond | 11–13 |
| Winner | 3. | 2018 | Challenge Tour – Event 3 | Template:Flagicon Jackson Page | 3–2 |