Sam Baird

Sam Baird
Born 17 June 1988
Uffculme, England
Sport country  England
Nickname The Blade
Professional 2009/10, 2011–
Highest ranking 67 (May–June 2014)[1]
Current ranking 72 (as of 6 April 2015)
Career winnings £103,742[2]
Highest break 142 (2013 World Championship Qualifying)
Century breaks 56[2]
Best ranking finish Last 16 (2013 Welsh Open, 2014 International Championship)

Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is a professional snooker player from England. He first entered the professional tour for the 2009/10 season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-Offs.

Career

2011/2012 season

Baird reached the main draw of a ranking event for the first time in 2012 by coming through four qualifying matches, concluding with a 4–2 win over Dominic Dale, to make the 2012 Welsh Open.[3] He played against world number 1, Mark Selby in the first round of the event and almost pulled off the result of his career as he led the best-of-seven match, 3–2. Baird then missed a blue off the spot with 2 balls remaining when he required just the blue and pink for the match and, despite chances in the decider, he would lose the game 3–4.[4] Baird also qualified for the 2012 World Open in Haikou, China. He again won four matches, sealing his place with a 5–4 victory over Mark Davis.[5] He was required to play in a wildcard round in China to make the last 32 of the event and was beaten 3–5 by Jin Long.[6]

Baird failed to win a match in qualifying for the final three ranking events and finished the season ranked world number 76, out of the top 64 who retain their places on the tour.[7][8] Baird therefore entered Q School in a bid to play in the 2012/2013 season and succeeded at his first attempt by winning each of his five matches 4–0 to gain a two-year spot on the main tour.[7]

2012/2013 season

Baird produced his best snooker towards the end of the 2012/2013 season as he beat Luca Brecel and Martin Gould to reach the main draw of the Welsh Open for the second successive year.[9] He whitewashed Gerard Greene 4–0 in the first round, before losing 2–4 to Robert Milkins.[10] In qualifying for the World Championship Baird defeated Chen Zhe 10–7, Peter Lines 10–9 and Rory McLeod 10–9 to find himself just one match away from playing in the biggest tournament on the snooker calendar.[9] He faced world number 20 Joe Perry, but it was world number 83 Baird who played by far the better as he won 10–3 and in the 12th frame made a break of 142, the highest of the whole qualifying tournament.[11][12] Baird played Stuart Bingham in the first round, losing 2–10 to finish the year ranked world number 81.[13][14]

2013/2014 season

Baird had a very successful year in European Tour events as he reached at least the last 16 stage in five of the eight events. At the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup he won through to the quarter-finals where he lost 4–1 to Ben Woollaston and he went one better at the Gdynia Open, losing 4–1 against Fergal O'Brien in the semis.[15] This helped Baird finish 11th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals for the first time.[16] He faced Anthony Hamilton in the opening round and was edged out 4–3.[15] Baird's only win in a full ranking event match this season came at the Welsh Open by beating Robbie Williams 4–2 before being defeated 4–3 by reigning champion Stephen Maguire, having led 3–1.[17] Baird ended the year ranked world number 67, just outside the top 64 who keep their playing rights for the coming season.[18] However, his impressive displays on the European Tour handed him the first of eight spots available to non-qualified players for a new two-year place on the tour.[16]

2014/2015 season

Baird's five appearances at ranking events this season represents the most he has ever played in in a single season. At the 2014 Wuxi Classic he defeated Fraser Patrick 5–3, but lost 5–2 to Michael Holt in the second round.[19] Baird gained some revenge over Holt by beating him to qualify for the International Championship and then saw off Kyren Wilson 6–2 and Mark Davis 6–5 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time in his career. Baird built up a 4–3 and a 61–0 points lead, but Mark Williams made a 71 break to level and won the last two frames to progress.[20] At the Welsh Open he overcame Fergal O'Brien 4–3 and Dave Harold 4–0, before losing 4–2 to Stephen Maguire and he was knocked out in the first round of the Indian Open following a 4–0 defeat against Rod Lawler.[21] In the second round of World Championship qualifying, Baird missed the final pink when on a 147 against Adam Duffy and his season would end in a 10–7 loss.[19]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2009/
10 		2010/
11 		2011/
12 		2012/
13 		2013/
14		 2014/
15
Ranking[22][nb 1] UR[nb 2] UR[nb 3] 82[23] 76[nb 4] 81 67[nb 5]
Ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic[nb 6] Non-Ranking LQ LQ 2R
Australian Goldfields Open Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ
Shanghai Masters LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ
International Championship Not Held LQ LQ 3R
UK Championship LQ A LQ LQ 1R 1R
German Masters NH A LQ LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open LQ A 1R 2R 2R 3R
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ 1R
Players Championship Grand Final[nb 7] NH DNQ DNQ DNQ 1R DNQ
China Open LQ A LQ LQ WR LQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters LQ A A A A A
Variant format tournaments
Shoot-Out NH A A A A 3R
Former ranking tournaments
World Open[nb 8] LQ LQ WR LQ LQ 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.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ↑ He was an amateur.
  4. ↑ Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points.
  5. ↑ Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points.
  6. ↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2009/2010)
  7. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
  8. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (2009/2010)

References

  1. ↑ "Prize Money Rankings after the World Championship 2014" (PDF). World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Career-total Statistics for Sam Baird - Professional". CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sam The Man Dominates Dale". 13 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Lucky Selby sneaks through to second round of Wales Open". Daily Mail. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Fu Through With A 147". WPBSA. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Baird and Bond ousted at World Open". Eurosport. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Sam Baird 2011/2012". Snooker Database. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Sam Baird 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Rising Devon snooker star Sam Baird ready for Crucible test". This Is North Devon. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "White Denied By Milkins". World Snooker. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers Centuries". worldsnookerdata.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bingham Blasts Into Second Round". World Snooker. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Official World Snooker Ranking List For The 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Sam Baird 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "European Order of Merit 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Welsh Open: Stephen Maguire survives second round scare in Newport". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Sam Baird 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "O'Sullivan and Williams Into Quarters". World Snooker. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Welsh Open: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out by Matthew Stevens". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  22. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  23. ↑ "Rankings after PTC1 2011" (PDF). World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

External links