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Biography: |
Tony Drago made an
immediate impact on the professional scene picking up significant
points in his first few events. He had however already come
to the attention of a lot of people. His phenomenal speed around
the table led to him being likened to Jimmy White. Of his talent
there is no doubt but his very obvious nervousness and the way
he allows himself to be seriously affected by any bad mistake,
has meant that, so far, he has failed to win a major ranking
title although he has come close on a couple of occasions
Vic Harris, himself a professional player and the man who
identified Steve Davis as a future world champion at the age
of 12, was the first to spot the talent of the young Drago
and he had the same feeling about Tony after he had won the
Maltese amateur title in 1984. When he followed that victory
with an appearance at the world amateur event, he set a new
record high break at the time, of 132 and everyone was talking
about this young wizard. He only reached the quarter finals
of that amateur championship but nevertheless was accepted
into the professional ranks the following year. He was not
the first professional to come from Malta. In 1983 Paul Mifsud,
later world amateur champion, had become a pro but returned
to the unpaid ranks after just one season.
After losing his opening professional match he went on to
reach the last 16 of his second event, the 1985 Grand Prix,
where he beat Eddie Charlton. In his next, the UK Championship,
he reached the last 32 before Steve Davis ended his hopes.
Despite early exits in the three other ranking events and
failing to qualify for the final stages of the world championship,
he ended that first season at 37th in the rankings. The following
season was much the same. He reached the last 32 of two ranking
events and the UK quarter-final but failed in the others.
However he had done enough to get into the top 32 – just.
In 1987/88 he again got to the last 16 in the Grand Prix but
his best performance to date came at the season’s end
in the world championship. He defeated Alex Higgins and Dennis
Taylor before losing out to Steve Davis in the quarter-final
but this gave him his biggest cheque to date, £14,250.
He was now up to 20th in the rankings and everyone expected
him to move on into the top 16 the following year. In the
event he did not get beyond the last 32 in any major tournament
although he did reach his first final, the Pontins Professional.
The next season he made it to the last sixteen in a couple
of events but he was back at the bottom of the top 32 again.
In 1990/91 he got to the quarter-finals of the Mercantile
Credit Classic but his best result was in the non-ranking
World Masters. Victories over John Parrott and Terry Griffiths
among others took him to his first really big final and he
collected £70,000 as runner-up losing 10-6 to Jimmy
White.
Over the next two or three seasons, although there were one
or two quarter-finals, he could not achieve the consistency
needed to break into the very top level. His first, and to
date only, victory came in the 1993 Third Strachan Challenge,
a minor ranking event. He followed this with a much more consistent
run in 1993/4 and at last he was in the top 16. He still could
not make it to a semi-final despite several more quarters.
When Rothmans sponsored an invitation event in his home country
in 1994, The Malta Grand Prix, Tony reached the final but
lost out to John Parrott in the deciding frame. Two years
later he got to the same stage but this time Nigel Bond took
the honours. He followed that with his only full ranking final,
the 1997 Highland Spring International Open in Aberdeen. He
came up against Stephen Hendry in top form and lost 9-1. However
after another consistent season in 1997/98 he reached his
highest ever ranking of tenth.
Sadly he did go on to greater things. 1998/99 proved a poor
season. He lost his opening match in six of the nine ranking
events and despite reaching the Irish Open semi final, he
dropped out of the top 16 after five seasons amongst the elite.
In 1999/2000 things were no better and he was down to 26th.
When at his best, Tony is one of the most exiting players
to watch, potting balls at tremendous pace almost without
thinking. However he usually misses an easy one sooner or
later and this has really been the story of his career. He
is good enough, if he really set his mind to it, to be one
of the very best but he does not seem to have the temperament
to be a consistent match winner.
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