Marcus Willoughby Owen (4 April 1935 – December 1987)[1][2][3] was a Welsh professional snooker player.
| Born | 4 April 1935 Carmarthenshire, Wales |
|---|---|
| Died | December 1987 (aged 52) Hackney, London |
| Sport country |  Wales |
| Professional | 1973–1985 |
| Highest ranking | 17 (1976–1977) |
| Best ranking finish | Quarter-final (x1) |
Career edit
Before turning professional, Owen won the English Under-16 Championship in 1949, and reached the final in 1950.[4] Owen also won the English Amateur Championship on four occasions, in 1958, 1959, 1967 and 1973.[5]
His elder brother Gary was a professional snooker player,[6] and Marcus followed him into the professional game in 1973, entering the 1974 World Championship. As an unknown quantity, Marcus was not expected to progress far; however, he beat Dennis Taylor and Maurice Parkin to set up a last-16 meeting with Gary. Gary held Marcus to 5–5 at one point, but could not prevent him from pulling away to reach the quarter-final with a 15–8 victory. There, Marcus faced Ray Reardon, but having recovered from 3–9 to 7–9, was eventually defeated 11–15.
Owen next played a quarter-final at the 1982 Welsh Professional Championship, which was itself an eight-man event. He lost his first match 0–6 to Cliff Wilson.
Owen had no further success in professional snooker, his last match being a 0–6 loss to Tony Chappel in the first round of the 1985 edition of the Welsh Professional Championship; having held 17th place in the inaugural world rankings in 1976, he had not occupied a position on the list since 1980.
He resigned as a professional player in 1987.[6]
Personal life edit
Owen died in hospital in December 1987,[1] under 'tragic circumstances'.[7]
Performance and rankings timeline edit
| Tournament | 1973/ 74 |
1974/ 75 |
1975/ 76 |
1976/ 77 |
1977/ 78 |
1981/ 82 |
1982/ 83 |
1983/ 84 |
1984/ 85 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[8] | No ranking system | 17 | 23 | UR | UR | UR | UR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional Players Tournament | Tournament Not Held | LQ | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Open | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | QF | A | LQ | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Professional Championship | Not Held | A | NH | QF | QF | QF | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norwich Union Open | 1R | 1R | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Watney Open | NH | WD | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | A | LQ | A | R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 edit
Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles) edit
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1958 | English Amateur Championship |  Jack Fitzmaurice
|
11–8 |
| Winner | 2. | 1959 | English Amateur Championship (2) | Allan Barnett
|
11–5 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1966 | English Amateur Championship | John Spencer
|
5–11 |
| Winner | 3. | 1967 | English Amateur Championship (3) | Sid Hood
|
11–4 |
| Winner | 4. | 1973 | English Amateur Championship (4) | Ray Edmonds
|
11–6 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Marcus Owen". The Times. 22 December 1987. p. 30.
- ^ "FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016.
- ^ "FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016.
- ^ "Juniors - EABA". Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "English Amateur Championship" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Resigned". Cue World. Birmingham: Snooker Publications. April 1987. p. 31.
- ^ Wildman, Mark. "Reminiscences of a Billiards Man". Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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