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Biography |
Ian joined the Main Tour in 1992/93 but it
was not until the 1996/97 season that he managed to progress
beyond the qualifying stages of any ranking event although he
had steadily climbed the rankings to 105th. The turning point
came in the Welsh Open of 1997 when he reached the last 64 and
then went one round further in the British Open a couple of
months later moving up to 76th. That seemed to give his career a
lift as, in the following season he reached the last 64 or
better in five events and moved up another 16 places in the
rankings.
The next campaign provided similar success including qualifying
for the Crucible for the first time. Although he had still not
got beyond the last 32 he was now inside the top 40 and pushing
for a place in the top 32. 1999/2000 brought Ian his first
quarter final in the Welsh Open but otherwise there was a lack
of consistency and the next season he only made the last 32 once
and last 48 twice, falling back to 48th. Four last 32 finishes
in 2001/02 moved him up five places but, for the second year
running, he failed at the last hurdle in an attempt to return to
the Crucible.
The British Open of 2002 proved to be a landmark. Victories over
John Higgins and Mark Williams took him into his first final
where, despite losing to Paul Hunter, he collected his biggest
ever pay cheque of £26,000. Although he did not progress beyond
the last 32 in any other event, he only lost his opening match
in one and it was this consistency which ensured him a place in
the top 32 with a career best 26th. He also reached the Crucible
for the second time.
Chris Turner - May 2003
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