Darren Morgan at the 2008 European Snooker Championship |
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| Born | 3 May 1966 Newport, Wales |
|---|---|
| Sport country | Wales |
| Nickname | Welsh Wizard, Dazza |
| Professional | 1988–2007 |
| Highest ranking | 8 (1994/95, 1995/96) |
| Highest <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">break</dfn> | 145 (UK Championship) |
| Century breaks | 111 |
| Best ranking finish | Runner-up (3 times) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Non-ranking | 6 |
Darren Morgan (born 3 May 1966 in Newport, Wales) is a Welsh snooker player, who won the World Amateur Championship in 1987, and played on the main World Snooker tour from 1988 through 2007. He earned just under £1 million in prize money, reached a high ranking of eight, and was ranked within the top 16 for many years despite never winning a ranking event. He compiled 111 <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">century breaks</dfn> in his career, one of only 42 players to have completed a century of centuries in professional play.[1]
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His best achievements as a professional were to win the Irish Masters in 1996, beating Steve Davis 9–8 in the final, and he captained Wales to victory in the 1999 Nations Cup. He was also a semi-finalist in the 1994 World Championship, beating Mark King 10–5, Willie Thorne 13–12 and John Parrott 13–11 before losing to Jimmy White 9–16. He was also a quarter-finalist on three occasions, beating Ken Doherty and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 1996 and 1997 respectively at the Crucible.
Morgan still plays in amateur and pro-am events, and won the European Masters and World Masters Championship titles in 2007.
On 22 October 2009 he won the TCC Pro-Am by beating fellow Welshman Mark Williams 7–4 in the final.[2]
On 23 November 2009 Morgan won his second IBSF World Snooker Championship in the Masters section, defeating three-time defending champion Dene O'Kane of New Zealand 6–0 in the final.[3]
Morgan entered the World Open 2010 as an amateur along with fellow senior Tony Knowles and caused an upset by reaching the last 64 of the competition, before narrowly losing to former world number four Matthew Stevens 3-2 in round three.
In November 2011, he entered the World Seniors Championships in Peterborough and came away with victory over Steve Davis in the final. Morgan beat former world champion Cliff Thorburn and 'Whirlwind' Jimmy White in the previous rounds before facing the six-times world champion in the final. In fact, Morgan had to win qualifying matches just to reach the final stages of the tournament. He beat Davis 2-1 in the final and came home to his Club in Cross Keys with the trophy.
He lives with his wife, Tracey, and their three daughters in Newbridge, and owns a nearby snooker club in Crosskeys, Newport, named The Red Triangle, where he coaches young players.[4]