Patsy Fagan

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox snooker player Patsy Fagan (born 15 January 1951) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Having been runner-up in the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he turned professional in October 1976. He experienced early success with victories at the 1977 UK Championship and the 1977 Dry Blackthorn Cup but following a car accident, developed a psychological block when using the Template:Cuegloss which affected his playing and he did not win another title. He lost his professional status in 1989 following a 2–9 playoff defeat by Brady Gollan and now works as a snooker coach. His highest career ranking was 11, in 1978/79.

Early life and amateur career

Fagan was born in Dublin on 15 January 1951,<ref name="87HALE">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp one of twelve children.<ref name="HAMLYN">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp He started playing snooker at the age of 12,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and moved to London in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He played at the Chiswick Memorial Club, and in 1974 it was reported in a local newspaper that in a six-frame session he had recorded a break of 106, another over 80, and three more over 70.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he defeated Mick Fisher 6–1 in the Southern section final before being beaten 7–11 by the reigning world amateur champion Ray Edmonds in the main final.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="GUINNESS">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="ACTON1">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1975, Fagan became the youngest player ever to win the London and Home Counties billiards championship, playing with a focus on potting the red ball as he defeated Ron Riggins 1,176–881 in the final.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1975 English Amateur Snooker Championship he lost 1–4 to Terry Griffiths in the Southern region quarter-finals,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in the 1976 Southern area final he lost 6–8 to Chris Ross despite making a tournament record break of 115.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp

In 1974, Fagan won a money match against Alex Higgins for £2,000,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> an amount equal to that received by the winner of the 1974 World Snooker Championship.<ref name="GUINNESS" />Template:Rp

Early professional success

Regarded as "one of the most exciting players of the mid-seventies",<ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp and "one of the men most likely to succeed when he turned professional",<ref name="KARNEHM2">Template:Cite book</ref> Fagan turned professional in October 1976.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made his first maximum break on 15 January 1977, his 26th birthday, against Dave Gilbert at the Clapton Bus Garage Social Club.<ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp At the 1977 World Snooker Championship, he beat Jim Meadowcroft 11–9 in qualifying and then lost 7–13 to defending champion Ray Reardon in the last 16,<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> having finished the first session of the match level at 4–4 and the second 7–10 behind.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reardon then won all three Template:Cuegloss in the final session, taking the last two of them on the black.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The matches between Fagan and Reardon, and between Fred Davis and John Pulman, were the first to be held at the Crucible Theatre,<ref name="CRUG">Template:Cite book</ref> which as of 2022 had remained as the venue for the World Snooker Championship for 45 years.<ref name="WST2022">Template:Cite news</ref>

At the UK Championship in 1977, which at the time was a non-ranking event open only to UK passport holders,<ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp Fagan beat Jackie Rea 5–1 in the first round, and Fred Davis 5–0 in the second round. He won in the deciding frame in each of the next two rounds, 5–4 against Jim Meadowcroft in the quarter-finals and 9–8 against John Virgo in the semi-finals, to reach the final against another player in his first year as a professional, Doug Mountjoy.<ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp<ref name="CUESPORT" /> The two finalists shared the first four frames but Fagan won the next four to take a 6–2 lead, after which Mountjoy also won four frames in a row to level the match at 6–6. Fagan then took the next two frames to lead 8–6,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> eventually winning the match 12–9.<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp

Before the UK championship, Fagan had been announced as one of the four invited contenders for the 1977 Dry Blackthorn Cup,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> along with world championship winners Alex Higgins, John Spencer and Reardon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He beat Spencer in the semi-final then Higgins 4–2 in the final to win the tournament.<ref name="LEDBT">Template:Cite news</ref> He received £2,000 prize money for his Dry Blackthorn Cup win, the same amount he had received for his UK championship victory a couple of weeks earlier.<ref name="HAMLYN" />Template:Rp

Later professional career

Fagan failed to make an impact at the 1978 Masters, losing 2–4 to John Pulman in the first round. At the 1978 World Snooker Championship he beat John Dunning 9–5 and then Alex Higgins 13–12. In the match against Higgins, Fagan was 10–12 behind but won two frames on the black and the last on the pink. He lost 10–13 to Fred Davis in the quarter-finals.<ref name="CUESPORT" /><ref name="FARCE">Template:Cite book</ref>

In the 1970s and until 1982, the Irish Professional Championship was played on a challenge basis,<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp and in April 1978 Fagan played defending champion Alex Higgins for the title. Fagan was a frame ahead after the first day of the match, at 5–4. At the start of the next day's play he extended his lead to 8–5 before Higgins drew level at 8–8 and then won seven of the next nine to leave Fagan 10–15 behind at the end of the second day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Higgins won the match 21–13.<ref name="IRISH78">Template:Cite news</ref>

Entering the 1978 UK Championship as defending champion, Fagan lost the first four frames of his opening match against David Taylor before tying the match at 4–4,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> eventually losing 7–9.<ref name="CUESPORT" /> He was also defeated by Taylor in the first round of the 1979 Masters, losing 3–5 after having been 3–2 ahead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From late 1978, following a car accident, Fagan started to experience a psychological block when using the Template:Cuegloss. This version of the "yips" caused him to spend a long time cueing and then usually Template:Cuegloss; because of this, he would play left-handed rather than using the rest where possible.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="STRIB">Template:Cite news</ref> This problem affected his match against Taylor at the Masters in January 1979.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two months later, he challenged Higgins again for the Irish Professional title. Higgins won the match 21–12, making a break of 124 in 2 minutes and 45 seconds on the final day.<ref name="IRISH79">Template:Cite news</ref>

Fagan was part of the "rest of the world" team at the 1979 World Challenge Cup, along with Perrie Mans and Jimmy van Rensberg. In their match against the Northern Ireland team, Fagan lost 0–1 to Dennis Taylor on the first day,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in a match where Taylor asked him to play again after Fagan had fouled by touching the blue ball with his sleeve whilst using the rest in attempting to hit the yellow ball. Fagan was quoted afterwards as saying "Dennis took advantage of my rest problems but it didn't bother me."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the second day, he beat Jackie Rea 1–0 but then lost 0–3 to Higgins on the second. Northern Ireland won the match 8–7 after having been 2–7 behind.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Fagan and his fellow team members also lost 7–8 against the England team.<ref name="GUINNESS" />Template:Rp

Dennis Taylor also beat Fagan in the quarter-finals of the 1979 UK Championship, 9–6, after Fagan had knocked out Mike Hallett 9–4 and Graham Miles 9–5. In the 1980 World Snooker Championship Fagan lost in his first match, 6–10 to Steve Davis.<ref name="CUESPORT" /> He lost to Dennis Taylor in a challenge for the Irish Professional Championship in 1981, coming from 0–3 down to lead 5–4 at the end of the first session,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 10–8 at the close of the second session.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The third session saw Fagan make a break of 107 on his way to building a 15–12 lead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, Taylor retained the title, winning 22–21.<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp

A 2–9 professional playoff defeat by Brady Gollan in April 1989 meant that Fagan lost his professional status.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His highest career ranking had been 11, in 1978/79, and his best finish in a ranking tournament was reaching the quarter-final at the 1978 World Snooker Championship.<ref name="CUESPORT">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="KOBY">Template:Cite book</ref> He subsequently worked as a landscape gardener and a night-shift sorter for the Post Office.<ref name="STRIB" /> Fagan works as a snooker coach and has coached the Paddington professional Alfie Burden, who was the world amateur champion in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ronnie O'Sullivan sought coaching advice from Fagan in 2011.<ref name="O'Sullivan2013">Template:Cite book</ref>

He entered the 2021 World Seniors Championship, losing 0–3 to Stephen Hendry in the first round.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78	1978/ 79	1979/ 80	1980/ 81	1981/ 82	1982/ 83	1983/ 84	1984/ 85	1985/ 86	1986/ 87	1987/ 88	1988/ 89	1989/ 90
Ranking<ref name="Ranking history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	<ref group="nb" name="AMA">He was an amateur.</ref>	<ref group="nb" name="AMA"></ref>	<ref group="nb">New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.</ref>	19	11	16	18	27	23	25	38	33	42	75	103	123
Ranking tournaments
International Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							NR	LQ	LQ	LQ	1R	WD	LQ	LQ	A
Grand Prix<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)</ref>	Tournament Not Held								1R	1R	WD	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	A
Dubai Classic<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)</ref>	Tournament Not Held														NR	LQ
UK Championship	Not Held			Non-Ranking Event							LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Classic	Tournament Not Held					Non-Ranking Event				1R	1R	LQ	WD	LQ	LQ	A
British Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)</ref>	Tournament Not Held					Non-Ranking Event					LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
European Open	Tournament Not Held														LQ	A
World Championship	A	A	1R	QF	LQ	1R	LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	2R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	A
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters	A	A	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Irish Masters	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	SF	A	A	A	A
Pontins Professional	A	A	A	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)</ref>	Non-Ranking Event							Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking			LQ	NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Watney Open	QF	Tournament Not Held
Dry Blackthorn Cup	Not Held			W	Tournament Not Held
Champion of Champions	Tournament Not Held				SF	NH	A	Tournament Not Held
Holsten Lager International	Tournament Not Held				1R	Tournament Not Held
Bombay International	Tournament Not Held				RR	A	Tournament Not Held
International Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)</ref>	Tournament Not Held							1R	Ranking Event
UK Championship	Not Held			W	2R	QF	2R	LQ	2R	A	Ranking Event
British Open<ref group="nb">The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)</ref>	Tournament Not Held					RR	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	Ranking Event
Pot Black	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	Tournament Not Held
Template:Nowrap	Tournament Not Held			F	F	A	F	QF	SF	NH	SF	1R	1R	1R	WD	NH

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.

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 6 (3 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Winner	1.	1977	UK Championship	Template:Flagicon Doug Mountjoy	12–9	<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp
Winner	2.	1977	Dry Blackthorn Cup	Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins	4–2	<ref name="LEDBT" />
Winner	3.	1978	Suffolk Professional Invitational	Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins	7–3	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Runner-up	1.	1978	Irish Professional Championship	Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins	13–21	<ref name="IRISH78" />
Runner-up	2.	1979	Irish Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins	12–21	<ref name="IRISH79" />
Runner-up	3.	1981	Irish Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Dennis Taylor	21–22	<ref name="87HALE" />Template:Rp

Amateur finals: 1

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Runner-up	1.	1974	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	7–11	<ref name="GUINNESS" />Template:Rp

External links

• Template:Snooker.org player