Joe Swail
Swail at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1969-08-29) 29 August 1969
Sport country Northern Ireland
NicknameThe Outlaw[1]
Professional1991–2012, 2013–2019
Highest ranking10 (2001/02)
Century breaks124
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)
Tournament wins
Minor-ranking1

Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Championships but only one final. Swail is renowned for playing well at the Crucible Theatre, having reached the last 16 on four further occasions. He is also a former English amateur champion and Northern Ireland amateur runner-up, and has captained Northern Ireland internationally.[2] He was Irish champion in 1992 and 2005.

Career

Swail has had a very mixed history in the rankings. He took just two seasons to reach the Top 32, and three to reach the top sixteen, but only remained there for one season,[3] before sliding out of the Top 32 after winning just two matches in 1997–98. His 2000 Crucible achievement made him the second player (after Rex Williams) to return to the Top 16 in the rankings after dropping out of the Top 32 in between. He climbed to No. 10 after his 2001 semi-final, but dropped to 16–27–30–40 in the next few years, finishing with a nightmare season in 2004–05. He then bounced back with an impressive and consistent showing in 2005–06 that brought him back into the Top 32. He came close to the Top 16 in 2006/2007, finishing one place short at 17 despite beating Mark Williams in round 1 of the 2007 World Championships from 0–4 down[4][5] He came from 7–9 behind to beat Judd Trump 10–9 in qualifying for the 2008 World Championship.[6] Swail scored a comprehensive 10–4 victory over Stephen Lee in the first round at the Crucible, before a 12–13 defeat by Liang Wenbo in the second round, after a trademark comeback from 8–12 down, due to a bad miss on the brown in the decider. This caused him to again miss the top 16, finishing the season in 20th place.

He started 2008–09 poorly, with four successive first-round defeats. His first victory of the season was against Liang Wenbo in qualifying for the 2008 UK Snooker Championship. He then reached his first[7] ever ranking final in his 18-year professional career at the 2009 Welsh Open.[8] Swail led the match 5–2, but never won another frame, losing 9–5 to Ali Carter.

After finishing 69th the end of the 2011–12 season, outside of the top 64 that retain their professional status, Swail dropped of the tour after 21 years as a professional.

As an amateur, Swail played in many of the Players Tour Championship events. At the Paul Hunter Classic, Swail defeated players such as Jimmy White, Shaun Murphy and Barry Hawkins en route to the final, doubling the black ball in a final frame decider against Hawkins. In the final, he was defeated 1–4 by Mark Selby. This not only booked his place on the tour for the following season, but also qualified him for the PTC Finals in Galway, Ireland, where he defeated Stephen Maguire 4–3, despite being 0–3 down. He lost 0–4 in the Last 16 to fellow Northern Irishman Mark Allen. At the 2013 World Snooker Championship, Swail entered the pre-qualifying rounds for amateur players, he won 3 of these matches, as well as his Last 96 and Last 80 matches against Pankaj Advani, and Adam Duffy respectively. He lost his Last 64 match against Mark Joyce 7–10, picking up £4,600 for his efforts.

After regaining his professional status due to his performances in the previous season's PTC events, Swail was able to play in ranking events during the season. He lost in the Last 96 of the Wuxi Classic, 2–5 to Ken Doherty, in the qualifiers for the Australian Open, he beat Darren Cook 5–2, before losing 4–5 in the Last 96 to Pankaj Advani.

Playing style

Swail is known for his very unorthodox way of cueing up. Instead of keeping his cue-arm vertical as most players do, Swail cues up with his arm bent at least 45 degrees outwards, and his elbow towards his back. Although it appears to be extremely difficult to actually pot balls when cueing like that it has worked for Swail and provides him with an abundance of cue power.

Personal life

Swail is congenitally hearing-impaired, and his brother Liam is completely deaf.[9] He has told the BBC that he regards this as an advantage for snooker, as he is less likely to be distracted by crowd and other background noise. Swail's nickname, "the Outlaw", is a pun on his name "Joe Swail" and The Outlaw Josey Wales, the 1976 film. He has a son, Joe Jr.[10] and supports Liverpool F.C.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 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		 2018/
19
Ranking[11][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] 53 25 12 19 17 22 36 28 16 10 16 27 30 40 30 17 20 22 39 54 [nb 4] [nb 5] 72 64 53 [nb 6] 91
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 7] Tournament Not Held MR 1R A 2R
World Open[nb 8] A LQ 1R 1R SF QF 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R SF 2R 1R 2R 3R RR QF LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 9] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 2R 3R 2R
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ
European Masters[nb 10] A LQ QF LQ 1R SF 1R NH LQ Not Held 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQ NR Tournament Not Held LQ 1R LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 3R 2R 1R
International Championship Tournament Not Held A LQ 3R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 3R
UK Championship A LQ QF 1R 3R 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ A 1R 1R 4R 1R 1R 2R
Scottish Open[nb 11] Not Held LQ QF 1R 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R QF 2R QF 1R Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 3R 2R 2R
German Masters[nb 12] Tournament Not Held 1R LQ LQ NR Tournament Not Held QF LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open A LQ SF 3R QF 1R 2R 1R SF 2R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R 1R F LQ LQ LQ A 1R 1R 2R 1R A 2R
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 3R 2R 2R
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ 2R NH 2R LQ 2R
Players Championship[nb 13] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ 2R DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 1R WD 2R
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ
China Open[nb 14] Tournament Not Held NR 1R 1R 1R 1R Not Held LQ QF 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
World Championship A LQ 1R LQ 2R LQ LQ 1R LQ SF SF 1R 1R 2R LQ 1R 2R 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ WR 1R WR LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A
Championship League Tournament Not Held RR RR RR A A A A A A A A A
World Seniors Championship NH A Tournament Not Held LQ A A A LQ A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Classic LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open[nb 15] NH 2R MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 16] LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R QF LQ Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-ranking 1R NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 17] LQ SF 3R QF 1R 2R LQ 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R NR Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
British Open LQ LQ 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R SF 2R 3R 2R 3R 1R Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event 1R LQ LQ NH NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR 1R 2R 1R Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 18] Tournament Not held Non-Ranking Event A LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 19] Tournament Not Held NR Tournament Not Held LQ A LQ LQ LQ Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ A LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ NR
Former non-ranking tournaments
World Masters 1R Tournament Not Held
Kent Cup W NH A Tournament Not Held
King's Cup W NH A A A Tournament Not Held
Charity Challenge Tournament Not Held 1R A A A A A A A Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters A A A Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A A A A A A QF A A A Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held SF A QF A A R RR Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A SF SF A A A A A 1R Ranking Event NH QF Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A A A A A A A A A A LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Irish Open Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held QF Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
Irish Professional Championship NH W QF Tournament Not Held W QF QF Tournament Not Held
Malta Cup Ranking Event Tournament Not Held Ranking Event RR Tournament Not Held Ranking
Irish Classic Tournament Not Held QF SF W A SF Tournament Not Held
Six-red World Championship[nb 20] Tournament Not Held 2R A 2R NH A A A 2R A A A
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 1R 1R A A 1R SF 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 Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventevent is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ He was an amateur.
  3. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  4. ↑ He was not on the Main Tour.
  5. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  6. ↑ Players qualified through Q School started the season without prize money ranking points.
  7. ↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  8. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1991/1992–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  9. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  10. ↑ The event was called the European Open (1991/1992–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004), Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  11. ↑ The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  12. ↑ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  13. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  14. ↑ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  15. ↑ The event was called the Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)
  16. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Classic in 1995/1996 and the Asian Classic in 1996/1997
  17. ↑ The event was called the Asian Open (1991/1992–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  18. ↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  19. ↑ The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  20. ↑ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2009 Welsh Open England Ali Carter 5–9

Minor-ranking finals: 2 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1992 Strachan Challenge - Event 1 Netherlands Stefan Mazrocis 9–4
Runner-up 1. 2012 Paul Hunter Classic[12] England Mark Selby 1–4

Non-ranking finals: 8 (7 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner1.1990King's CupThailand James Wattana8–4[13]
Winner2.1991Kent CupScotland Marcus Campbell5–0
Winner3.1992Irish Professional ChampionshipNorthern Ireland Jason Prince9–1
Winner4.1998UK Tour - Event 2England Alfie Burden6–1
Runner-up1.2000Scottish Masters Qualifying EventEngland Jimmy White2–5
Winner5.2003Irish OpenRepublic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien10–3[14]
Winner6.2005Irish Professional Championship (2)Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty9–7
Winner7.2009Irish ClassicRepublic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien5–0

Pro-am finals: 12 (5 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1990 Pontins Autumn Open England Anthony Hamilton 1–5[15]
Runner-up 2. 2003 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 5–6[16]
Winner 1. 2005 Pontins Autumn Open England Dave Harold 5–3[15]
Winner 2. 2006 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy Northern Ireland Jordan Brown 6–1[17]
Runner-up 3. 2007 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (2) Northern Ireland Mark Allen 1–3[18]
Runner-up 4. 2008 Dutch Open England Stuart Bingham 3–6[19]
Runner-up 5. 2009 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (3) Northern Ireland Jordan Brown 1–3[20]
Runner-up 6. 2011 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (4) Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace 2–3[21]
Winner 3. 2014 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (2) Republic of Ireland Michael Judge 3–0[22]
Winner 4. 2015 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (3) Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace 3–0[22]
Winner 5. 2017 Barry McNamee Memorial Trophy (4) Republic of Ireland Rodney Goggins 3–2[23]
Runner-up 7. 2018 PMK Invitational Pro-Am Scotland Graeme Dott 0–4[24]

Amateur finals: 4 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up1.1988Northern Ireland Amateur ChampionshipNorthern Ireland Paul Doran7–10
Winner1.1988British Under-19 Amateur ChampionshipEngland Anton Bishop3–0[25]
Winner2.1990English Amateur ChampionshipScotland Alan McManus13–11
Runner-up2.1991Northern Ireland Amateur Championship (2)Northern Ireland Michael Duffy9–10

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Joe Swail". wst.tv. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Profile on Sporting Life". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Profile on Global Snooker Centre Archived 15 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "World Snooker Championship 2007 – Day 4". The Tablet. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Donaldson applauds Northern Ireland Snooker Players". uuptoday.org. 2007. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  6. ↑ "World Snooker News - 888.com World Snooker Championship Qualifying - WONDERFUL WENBO". Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  7. ↑ The Strachan Challenge which Swail won in 1993 only carried a fraction of the points of a regular ranking tournament so is often dismissed as a ranking tournament since most of the top pros did not compete in it.
  8. ↑ BBC Sport: Snooker – Swail makes semis after epic win
  9. ↑ "Learn to Sign". Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  10. ↑ "Profile on northernshow.biz". Northern Show Biz. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  11. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  12. ↑ Swail entered the tournament as amateur, having been relegated from the main-tour the previous season, so he received no ranking points.
  13. ↑ "Round-up: Snooker". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 December 1990. p. 31.
  14. ↑ "Swail lifts Irish crown". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Pontin's Roll of Honour". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "On this week". Eurosport. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Swail wins Dungannon tournament". BBC Sport. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Allen completes Trophy hat-trick". BBC Sport. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "2008 Dutch Open". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  20. ↑ "Jordan leaves Swail Browned Off". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Super Wallace retains McNamee title". Tyrone Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  22. 1 2 "SNOOKER: Swail wins McNamee Trophy without losing a frame". Tyrone Times. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Rodney right on cue". New Ross Standard. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "Dott Defends PMK Invitational Title". The Cue View. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  25. ↑ "Swail's title". The People. London. 29 May 1988. p. 45.
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