Alan McManus
Name: Alan McManus
DOB: January 21st, 1971
Nationality: Scottish
Turned Pro: 1990
Highest Ranking: #6 (1993-7)
Current Ranking: #41
Highest Break: 143 (1994 World Championship)
Career Highlights: 1994 Masters Champion, 1994 Dubai Duty Free Classic Champion, 1996 Thailand Open Champion, 1990 Masters Qualifying Event Champion,
In short
Alan ‘Angles’ McManus has been one of snooker’s consistent players for well over 15 years now, though in recent years his results have not been as strong as they might have been, resulting in him losing his top 16 place in 2006. At the time of writing Alan is 10th on the all-time list of semi-final appearances with 26, as well as having 48 quarter-finals behind him which shows just how strong he was during his peak years. John Higgins said recently that at one point he felt that it would be Alan who would take over from Stephen Hendry at the top of the game, but for whatever reason that never quite happened.
After a couple of less successful seasons which have seen him slip down out of the top 32, Alan finally changed his cue for the first time though he has not been able to improve his results significantly in the years since.
As well as his playing career we have also seen Alan involved with both Eurosport and the BBC in a media role recently so perhaps we will see (or hear) from him for a while yet…
Early career
Following victory in the 1990 Scottish Amateur Championship and the pro-ticket qualifiers of the same year, Alan turned professional at the start of the 1990/1 season.
As far as debut seasons go, Alan’s was a resounding success. He was not only consistent, only twice failing to make the last 64 of a ranking event, but he also managed to really make a name for himself at the UK Championship where he made the semi-finals before losing to countryman Stephen Hendry.
In addition he also reached the last 16 of the Mercantile Credit Classic, before qualifying for the final stages of the World Championship at the Crucible. Once there he defeated Willie Thorne in the first round before narrowly losing out to former world champion Terry Griffiths 13-12 in his next match. Still, he had done enough to move straight into the rankings at 41st and be voted as the WPBSA Young Player of the Year.
Top 16
1991/2 was to be even better for Alan as he built on his previous success by reaching his first ranking event final at the Asian Open, although he ultimately lost out to Steve Davis. He also reached the semi-finals of two of snooker’s biggest tournaments, the Grand Prix and the World Championship, losing out to Jimmy White in the latter. These performances ensured that he moved into the elite top 16 of the rankings for the first time after just two seasons, a phenomenal achievement that few others have matched.
Once there he showed no signs of letting up, though that elusive first ranking event title would still have to wait a little longer as Ireland’s Ken Doherty defeated him in the final of the Regal Welsh Open. Still though, four more ranking event semi-finals including a second at the World Championship where he lost out to Hendry, took him up to a career high of 6th, a position he would retain for a total of four years.
Masters glory
1993/4 was to bring more of the same for Alan on the ranking circuit, another final defeat and three more semis, but it was in the invitational B&H Masters where he was to really make a breakthrough. Not only did he make the final, but he ended the long winning run of Stephen Hendry who had dominated the event since 1989, winning the final 9-8.
He built on this in the next season as he finally won his first ranking event title, the 1994 Dubai Classic where he defeated Peter Ebdon 9-6 in the final. The rest of his season was not quite as strong though as he surprisingly only got past the last 16 at one other ranking event. In addition, the defence of his Masters title was to end at the last 16 stage in 1995 as he lost out to fellow Scot John Higgins.
The next season saw his consistency return at least as he took his second ranking title at the 1996 Thailand Open as well as reaching another three semi-finals. With fellow Scots Stephen Hendry and John Higgins he was also part of the successful world cup winning team and again ended the season at 6th in the rankings.
Tough competition
By this time things were starting to get really competitive though and Alan could not add a third ranking title to his CV during 1996/7. Although he continued to make quarter and semi-finals, this was not enough to keep in the top 6 as he dropped four places to 10th. Alan did recover though and with a few more semi-finals managed to improve to 8th position for 1998/9, where he would remain for the next three seasons.
Unfortunately though for Alan, he never really looked like winning another event and in 2002/3, almost lost his top 16 place as he dropped to 15th in the rankings. He did recover during the next season, improving to 10th position, but a 10-3 defeat to Marco Fu at the 2006 World Championship finally saw his run end as he dropped to 19th as a result
Life at Pontin’s
Following relegation from the top 16, Alan began to really struggle, as many top players do when they drop out and have to qualify for events at Prestatyn. During 2006/7 he was to lose four of his opening round matches and as a result was to drop out of the top 32 for the first time since his debut season. The following season was little better as he made it to the last 32 of just one ranking event and fell just short of reclaiming a top 32 place.
2008/9
A change of cue for the 2008/9 season however brought about fresh optimism and the early signs were good as he defeated Andy Hicks and Matthew Stevens to reach the last 32. He then beat Mark King to go even further and looked set to move past fellow Scot Stephen Maguire in the last 16 as he led 4-2, but eventually lost out in a deciding frame.
This however proved to be something of a one-off as for the rest of the season he often won his opening match, before falling short in the last 48 and not making the venues. This proved to be the case in the season-ending World Championship, though with his terrific victory over Stuart Pettman, having at one staged trailed 8-5, he kept himself well-inside the top 48 for another year.
Website: http://www.alanmcmanus.com/home.html
Tournament Victories:
Ranking Event wins (2)
| Event | Year |
| Dubai Duty Free Classic | 1994 |
| Thailand Open | 1996 |
Non-Ranking Event wins (2)
| Event | Year |
| B&H Masters | 1994 |
| B&H Championship | 1990 |
Other wins (2)
| Event | Year |
| World Cup | 1996 |
| Nations Cup | 2001 |
