Alain Robidoux

Alain Robidoux (born July 25, 1960) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Robidoux played on the sport's main tour from 1987 to 2004 and continues to play in events in Canada.

Alain Robidoux
Born (1960-07-25) July 25, 1960
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Sport country Canada
Professional1987–2004
Highest ranking9 (1996–1998)
Career winnings£637,624[1]
Highest break147: 1988 European Open
Century breaks37[1]
Best ranking finishRunner-up (1996 German Open)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking1

Career

He was born in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec and joined the pro circuit in the late 1980s, playing as a "non-tournament" professional. This entitled Robidoux to be listed on official rankings, although he could not play in most competitions. In 1988, Robidoux amassed enough points in the World Championship qualifiers to finish in the top 128 players, and thus allowing him to join the tour full-time.

In September 1988, Robidoux became only the sixth player ever to record an officially ratified 147 maximum break in the qualifiers for the European Open. The same month, he won his sole professional title, the Canadian Professional Championship. In October 1988 he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, where he recovered from 0–7 down against Alex Higgins but ultimately lost the match 7–9.

Robidoux's best ranking event performance was reaching the final of the 1996 German Open when he lost 7–9 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. In the first round of the 1996 World Championship, Robidoux was beaten 3–10 by O'Sullivan again. Although he is predominantly right-handed, O'Sullivan played a number of shots with his left hand. This behaviour was described by commentator John Virgo as O'Sullivan "taking the mick". The matter came to a crux in the eleventh frame, with Robidoux 2–8 down, declining to concede the frame, instead continuing to play for snookers despite a 43-point deficit with only the pink and black on the table. Robidoux refused to shake O'Sullivan's hand at the end of the match. O'Sullivan responded by claiming that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right.[2]

Robidoux reached the semi-finals of the 1997 World Snooker Championship, defeating Brian Morgan, Stefan Mazrocis and Lee Walker before losing to eventual champion Ken Doherty. He subsequently slid rapidly down the rankings.[3] Robidoux blamed his decline on the destruction of his favourite cue,[3] which he referred to as "the Eel". When Robidoux returned the cue to the man from whom he had bought it to have it mended, the man objected to Robidoux having fixed a sponsor's logo to the butt and smashed the cue to pieces. Several years later, Robidoux was asked whether the passage of time may have eased his anger towards the cue maker; he responded "I want to kill him."[3] Robidoux at a dead end.

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1987/
88		 1988/
89		 1989/
90		 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
Ranking[4] [nb 1] 102 35 16 13 14 18 32 20 14 9 12 36 49 78 77 91
Ranking tournaments
World Open[nb 2] A SF 3R 3R 3R 2R 2R 2R 3R QF 1R 2R WD LQ LQ LQ LQ
British Open A 2R 3R QF QF 1R 2R 3R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship A 1R QF 2R 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R QF 1R 1R WD LQ 1R LQ 1R
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 1R 3R 1R 1R 1R 3R 1R 3R WD LQ LQ LQ WD
European Open[nb 3] NH 3R 2R 1R QF 2R LQ 1R LQ 2R NH 1R Not Held LQ LQ LQ
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ WD
Players Championship[nb 4] A 2R SF Not held 1R 1R 3R SF 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ WD
World Championship LQ LQ 1R 2R 2R 1R LQ 1R 1R SF 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A A A WR QF 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters NR LQ Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 5] NR NH 2R Tournament Not Held NR NR Tournament Not Held
Classic A LQ LQ 2R 3R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 2R MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 6] NH NR 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R QF 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 7] Tournament Not Held LQ F 1R NR Tournament Not Held
China Open[nb 8] Tournament Not Held NR 1R WD LQ LQ Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9] Not Held LQ 1R QF 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R WD LQ LQ NR NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Canadian Professional Championship A W Tournament Not Held
World Masters Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A A A A QF A A A A A A A A Tournament Not Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held A QF A Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay NH A A A A 1R Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A A A A 1R A Tournament Not Held
Charity Challenge Tournament Not Held A A 1R A A A A A Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held A A SF QF A R A Not Held
Scottish Masters A NH A A A A A A A A 1R A A A A A NH
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 Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  2. The event ran under different names such as Grand Prix (1987/1988 to 2000/2001) and LG Cup (2001/2002 to 2003/2004).
  3. The event ran under different names such as European Open (1988/1989 to 1996/1997 and 2001/2002 to 2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999).
  4. The event ran under different names such as International Open (1987/1988 to 1996/1997).
  5. The event ran under different names as Australian Masters (1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995).
  6. The event run under different names as Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  7. The event ran under different name as German Open (1995/1996 to 1997/1998).
  8. The event ran under different names as China International (1997/1998 and 1998/1999)
  9. The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1996 German Open Ronnie O'Sullivan 7–9

Non-ranking finals: 1 (1 title)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 Canadian Professional Championship Jim Wych 8–4

Team finals: 1 (1 title)
Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Winner 1. 1990 World Cup  Canada  Northern Ireland 9–5

Amateur finals: 7 (7 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1983 Canadian Amateur Championship Tom Finstad 9–3
Winner 2. 1985 Canadian Amateur Championship (2) Michael Sobala 9–6
Winner 3. 1987 Canadian Amateur Championship (3) Jeff White 7–1
Winner 4. 2003 Canadian Amateur Championship (4) Cliff Thorburn 6–2
Winner 5. 2004 Canadian Amateur Championship (5) Tom Finstad 6–2
Winner 6. 2006 Canadian Amateur Championship (6) John White 6–2
Winner 7. 2009 Canadian Amateur Championship (7) John White 6–1

References
  1. http://cuetracker.net/Players/Alain-Robidoux/Career-Total-Statistics
  2. "Anger over left-leaning O'Sullivan". The Independent. 1996-04-22. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  3. Hendon, David (26 May 2009). "Past Masters #2". Snooker Scene Blog: News, Opinion and Insight from the Green Baize. Halesowen, England: Snooker Scene Magazine. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  4. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
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