Lee Spick (25 April 1980 – 26 January 2015) was an English professional snooker player. A former English under-15 champion, he reached the last 48 of ranking events on five occasions, including twice in the World Championship.
| Born | 25 April 1980 Mansfield, England |
|---|---|
| Died | 26 January 2015 (aged 34) |
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 2000/2001, 2002/2003, 2005–2010, 2013–2015 |
| Highest ranking | 65 (2007/2008) |
Career
editHe reached the Quarter-Final of the 2000 Benson and Hedges Championship, with wins against Darren Morgan and Dean Reynolds, as well as others, before losing to Mark Davis 4–5. He also reached the Quarter-Final of the 2001 event, beating the likes of World Championship runner-up Nigel Bond, before losing out to future World Champion Shaun Murphy 3–5
He reached the last 48 of the 2006 World Championship and the 2007 China Open. Previously in the 2005 World Championship he had victories over David Gilbert 10–5, before a remarkable 10–7 win over Ding Junhui, which put him only 2 matches away from a place at the Crucible, but Stuart Bingham denied him with a 10–2 victory. In the 2007 China Open he defeated Jeff Cundy, Tony Drago and Dominic Dale.
In the 2007 UK Championships qualifying, he defeated Jimmy White 9–7 in arguably one of the best results during his career, but he lost 8–9 to Andrew Higginson in the following round.
At the 2008 China Open, Spick defeated Ashley Wright, Rod Lawler and Mark Davis, before losing in the Last 48 to Dave Harold 0–5.
2008/09 season started relatively quiet for Spick. However, after recording impressive wins over Stephen Craigie (10–5), Barry Pinches (10–5) and Adrian Gunnell (10–2), he was within one match of reaching the Crucible for the first time in his career but lost narrowly 8–10 to Steve Davis. Spick seemed to carry that form into the next season, as he reached the last 48 stage of the Shanghai Masters, however he failed to win a further match during the season and as a result was relegated from the tour.
After having missed the opportunities to return to main tour via the 2011 and 2012 Q Schools, Spick announced his retirement from snooker.[1] However he decided to come try again at the 2013 Q School, and at Event 3 he defeated Darrell Whitworth, Sanderson Lam, Darren Cook and Duane Jones to win a two-year card for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. Spick's return proved to be short-lived however, as he only played two matches, losing both, and had multiple withdrawals due to lack of sponsorship and a resulting depression. He never entered another professional tournament after the 2013 UK Championship.
Illness and death
editWorld Snooker announced the death of Spick on 26 January 2015, after a liver-related illness.[2][3]
Performance and rankings timeline
edit| Tournament | 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 |
2012/ 13 |
2013/ 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[4][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 73 | 65 | 67 | 68 | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | Tournament Not Held | A | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | WD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Open[nb 4] | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Tour Championship Finals[nb 5] | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | A | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open[nb 6] | NR | A | A | LQ | A | Not Held | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thailand Masters | A | A | A | LQ | NR | Not Held | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open[nb 7] | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | Tournament Not Held | MR | NH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | Non-Ranking Event | A | LQ | A | NH | NR | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Cup[nb 8] | Not Held | LQ | A | A | LQ | LQ | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Trophy | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bahrain Championship | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters Qualifying Event[nb 9] | 2R | A | A | QF | QF | 2R | A | NH | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | A | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | |||
- ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
- ^ a b c d e f g h He was not on the Main Tour.
- ^ a b c d New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking
- ^ The event ran under the names Grand Prix (1997/1998–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
- ^ The event ran under the name Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
- ^ The event ran under the name China International (1998/1999)
- ^ The event ran under the name Players Championship (2003/2004)
- ^ The event ran under the names Irish Open (1998/1999) and European Open (2001/2002–2003/2004)
- ^ The event ran under the name Benson & Hedges Championship (1997/1998–2002/2003)
Career finals
editNon-ranking finals: 2 (2 titles)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2002 | Challenge Tour – Event 3 | 5–2[5] | |
| Winner | 2. | 2002 | WPBSA Open Tour – Event 5 | 5–3[6] |
Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles)
edit| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1994 | English Under-15 Championship | 4–0[7] | |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1995 | UK Under-15 Championship | 2–3[8] | |
| Winner | 2. | 2001 | English Open | 8–0[9] |
References
edit- ^ "Lee Spick announces retirement from snooker". Chad.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ "Snooker's Spick dies, aged 34". sportinglife.com. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ "Lee Spick Dies Age 34". World Snooker. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ "World Snooker Challenge Tour". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Suffolk: Rose Villa Publications. pp. Introduction & 178–186. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
- ^ "Career on cue". Grimsby Daily Telegraph. 16 December 1994. p. 39.
- ^ "Murphy is a marvel". Wellingborough & Rushden Herald & Post. 27 April 1995. p. 64.
- ^ "Country Page - England". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2024.