Alfie Burden

Alfie Burden

Alfie Burden at the 2015 German Masters
Born (1976-12-14) 14 December 1976
Paddington, London
Sport country  England
Professional 1994–2008, 2010–
Highest ranking 38 (2001/02–2002/03)
Current ranking 61 (as of 26 June 2017)
Career winnings £412,258[1]
Highest break 147 (2016 English Open)
Century breaks 107[2]
Best ranking finish Quarter-Final (2016 China Open, 2016 European Masters, 2017 Gibraltar Open)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 1

Alfred Burden (born 14 December 1976 in Paddington, London) is an English professional snooker player who lives in London.

Career

Burden originally had his eyes set on making a career as a professional footballer, but a badly broken leg curtailed this ambition. He spent a couple of seasons at Arsenal F.C. as a schoolboy apprentice, but was with Swindon Town F.C. at the time of the injury. Burden soon showed he was well above average at snooker and qualified for the World Championship in 1998. He gave Tony Drago a run for his money before losing 8–10.

In the 2006/2007 season, Burden qualified for the China Open. He defeated Shokat Ali, Rod Lawler and former top-16 player David Gray to qualify for the tournament. Unfortunately for Burden, he lost his opening Wild Card game to local player Mei Xiwen, 2–5. He dropped off the main tour after the 2007/08 season.

On 25 November 2009 he won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Hyderabad, India. He won in the final 10–8 against Brazilian Igor Figueiredo. With this he earned a place on the 2010/2011 professional main tour.[3] He started the 2010/2011 season well, by winning 3 qualifying matches, beating Reanne Evans 5–1, Matthew Selt 5–4 and Marcus Campbell 5–3 before losing narrowly against Andrew Higginson 4–5.

In the 2011/2012 season, Burden reached the final qualifying round in the ranking event tournaments twice (at the World Open and the World Championship). He lost to Marcus Campbell 3–5 and Peter Ebdon 0–10 respectively.[4] Burden finished the season ranked world number 60, inside the top 64 who retained their places for the 2012/2013 season.[5]

Burden had an exceptional 2012/2013 season in the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events. In the Second Event he beat Andrew Higginson, James Wattana, Barry Hawkins, Robert Milkins and Ryan Day to reach the semi-finals. There, he was defeated 1–4 by Martin Gould.[6] In the European Tour Event 3 played in Antwerp, Belgium, Burden beat Gareth Allen, Joe Swail and Mark King, before losing 3–4 to Neil Robertson in the last 16.[6] These results, together with three other last 32 defeats, helped Burden to 23rd place on the PTC Order of Merit, just inside the top 26 who qualified for the Finals.[7] In the Finals, Burden beat world number one Judd Trump 4–3, clinching the match with a 116 break to reach the last 16, the joint furthest he has ever been in a ranking event and the first since 2000.[8] Burden lost 2–4 to Xiao Guodong in the last 16.[6] He reached the final round of World Championship Qualifying with wins over Paul Davison and Dave Harold, but lost 5–10 to Dominic Dale to end the season ranked world number 53.[9][10]

Alfie Burden at 2015 German Masters

Burden qualified for the first round of the 2013 Wuxi Classic to begin the 2013/2014 season, but lost 5–2 to Ali Carter in the opening round.[11] He saw off three players to reach the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open and then beat Michael Holt 5–2 to match his best ever performance in a ranking event.[11] In the last 16 he lost 5–3 against Mark Davis.[12] At the European Tour event, the Gdynia Open, Burden won four matches but was then defeated 4–3 by Sam Baird in the quarter-finals.[13] He finished 34th on the Order of Merit, nine places outside of qualifying for the Finals.[14] Burden got through to the second round of the China Open courtesy of Tony Drago's withdrawal and then lost 5–3 to Jimmy White.[15]

Burden won just two matches in his first eight events of the 2014/2015 season.[16] He won four matches to advance to the quarter-finals of the Xuzhou Open, but lost 4–2 to Tom Ford. He beat David Grace 5–3 and Sam Baird 5–4 in qualifying for the German Masters.[17] Burden defeated Michael Georgiou 5–3 in the first round, closing the match with a 112 break, but fell short of reaching the first ranking event quarter-final of his career as Ryan Day knocked him out 5–2.[16][18] He ended the season 67th in the world rankings which would have relegated him from the tour, but his Asian Tour performances earned him a new two-year card.[19][20]

Four successive wins saw Burden reach the quarter-finals of the minor ranking 2016 Gibraltar Open, where he lost 4–2 to Michael White. 5–3 and 5–1 victories over Ricky Walden and Robin Hull helped him qualify for the German Masters for the second year in a row, but he was whitewashed 5–0 by Zhang Anda. Burden also qualified for the China Open courtesy of a 5–2 success over Robbie Williams.[21] He then beat Joe Perry 5–0, Rhys Clark 5–4 and Rory McLeod 5–1 to play in the first ranking event quarter-final of his career, but lost 5–1 to Stephen Maguire.[22] He held a 9–5 advantage over Ryan Day in the second round of World Championship qualifying, before being defeated 10–9.[23]

Burden edged out Ryan Day 4–3 to qualify for the 2016 European Masters and then beat Yu Delu 4–1 and Ricky Walden 4–3 to play in his second career ranking event quarter-final, where he was thrashed 4–0 by Mark Selby.[24][25] In January 2017, Burden was found guilty of placing bets totalling £25,000 on snooker matches including those he had played in. He had bet on himself to win and over the 86 bets in 10 years he had lost £2,995. Burden was fined £5,000 and given a six-month ban, which will only come into force if he bets on snooker again before January 2018.[26] His second quarter-final of the season came at the Gibraltar Open and he made breaks of 131 and 109 to force a deciding frame with Nigel Bond, but lost it.[27]

He has the highest number of centuries for any player never to have been ranked in the top 32.

Performance and ranking timeline

Tournament 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18
Ranking[28][nb 1] UR[nb 2] 262 186 122 77 61 50 38 38 59 70 70 67 74 UR[nb 3] UR[nb 3] UR[nb 2] 57 60 53 50 67 65 61
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 4] Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank. LQ LQ
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 5] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 1R
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ LQ NH 1R
World Open[nb 6] LQ LQ LQ 4R LQ 2R 2R 2R LQ 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ A A LQ LQ LQ 1R Not Held 1R
European Masters[nb 7] LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NR Tournament Not Held QF
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R
International Championship Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held 1R
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ 3R 4R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R 1R 1R
Scottish Open[nb 8] LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 4R 1R LQ 2R LQ Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 1R
German Masters[nb 9] NH LQ LQ LQ NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 1R LQ
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held Variant Format Event 3R
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ A A LQ LQ LQ 2R 2R 2R 2R
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR QF
Players Championship[nb 10] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
China Open[nb 11] Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ WR LQ A A LQ LQ LQ 2R 2R QF 1R
World Championship LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 12] LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Non-Ranking Event 2R NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 13] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ NR Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
British Open LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ NH NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ A Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 15] NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 2R 2R 1R 3R 4R A Ranking
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
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.
RV / Ranking & Variant Format Event means an event is/was a ranking & variant format event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
VF / Variant Format Event means an event is/was a variant format event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. 1 2 New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. 1 2 He was not on the Main Tour.
  4. ↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  5. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  6. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1994/1995–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  7. ↑ The event was called the European Open (1994/1995-1996/1997 and 2001/2002-2003/2004) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  8. ↑ The event was called the International Open (1994/1995–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  9. ↑ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  10. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  11. ↑ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  12. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and the Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  13. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Open (1994/1995–1996/1997)
  14. ↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  15. ↑ The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)

Career finals

Non-ranking event finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1998 UK Tour Event 1 Wales Anthony Davies 6–5

References

  1. ↑ "Career-total Statistics for Alfie Burden - Professional". CueTracker Snooker Results & Statistics Database. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Centuries". Pro Snooker Blog. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "2009 IBSF World Snooker Championships". Global Snooker. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  4. ↑ "Alfie Burden 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Alfie Burden 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Dawes, Mike (14 March 2013). "Trump dumped out by Burden in Galway as World No 1 suffers shock defeat". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Official World Snooker Ranking List For The 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Alfie Burden 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Snooker - Fu recovers to knock out Murphy in Australia". Eurosport. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Gdynia Glory For Maximum Man Murphy". World Snooker. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "European Order of Merit 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "China Open: Jimmy White and Peter Ebdon win second-round ties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Alfie Burden makes last 16 of snooker’s German Masters". Welwyn Hatfield News. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Alfie Burden 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Berlin loss for Welwyn Garden City’s’s Alfie Burden". Welwyn Hatfield News. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Asian Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Alfie Burden 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Maguire Snatches Crucible Seeding". World Snooker. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ryan Day comeback denies Alfie Burden as Ding Junhui remains on course for World Snooker Championship qualification". Live Snooker. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "Alfie Burden 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Mark Selby storms past Alfie Burden to reach Bucharest semi-finals". Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Alfie Burden: Snooker player banned for betting on matches". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  27. ↑ "Alfie Burden 3–4 Nigel Bond". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  28. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

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