Mark King (snooker player)

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Mark King
Born	March 28, 1974
Nationality	English
Nickname(s)	The Romford Battler
Professional	1991 - present
Highest ranking	11 (2002/03)
2006/07 ranking	29
Career prize money	£698,885 [1]
Highest break	146 (2006 UK Championship)
Best ranking performance	Runner-up: Regal Welsh 1997, Irish Masters 2004

Mark King (born 28 March 1974) is a professional snooker player.

King has never quite reached the top echelons of snooker. He has never won a ranking tournament, his closest attempt being runner-up in the 1997 Regal Welsh Open and the 2004 Irish Masters. In 2003 a poor season saw him drop out of the top 16, at which point he declared that he would "never set foot on a snooker table again", although he has since changed his mind and has not retired from the game.

In December 2004 he reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship, losing 9-4 to eventual winner Stephen Maguire. At 8-3 a mobile phone went off in the crowd, prompting King to quip "if that's my missus, tell her I'll be home soon". Defeat to Neil Robertson (he was trailing 7-2 but only lost 10-9) in qualifying for the World Championship in 2005 cost him the chance of a top 16 return, and on improving his record of reaching four last-16 matches without success. However, he did qualify for the 2006 event, resiliently losing 10-6 against Stephen Maguire in the first round.

He has reached the last 16 of the World Snooker Championship 4 times, in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.

His mother was jailed for life in 2004 for murdering her cousin.^[1]