Jimmy Michie
DOB: August 4th, 1971
Nationality: English
Turned Pro: 1991
Highest Ranking: #41 (2000/1)
Current Ranking: #48
Highest Break: 139 (1991 B&H Championship)
Career Highlights: 1999 British Open Semi-finalist, 2002 LG Cup Semi--finalist, 1994 Grand Prix Quarter-finalist, 1996 World Championship Last 32
Career highlights
A pro for nearly 20 years, it is fair to say that Jimmy is one of snooker’s journeymen, but you have to give him credit for maintaining his place on the tour for so many years now. Indeed now in 2008/9 he is ranked higher than he has been since the 2001-2 season when he was 42nd in the list so it shows that he still has the desire to perform and try to better his career high ranking of 41.
His best runs in ranking tournaments were semi-final appearances in the 1999 British Open and the 2002 LG Cup, losing to Anthony Hamilton and Chris Small respectively. He also qualified for the Crucible once in 1996, though having arrived in a stretch limo things didn’t go to plan as he lost out in round one to Thailand’s James Wattana.
Unfortunately for Jimmy though, following his LG Cup run, his cue was stolen along with his car and despite offering £1,000 for its return, he would never see it again. It is probably no coincidence that his ranking dropped by around 20 places for the next few years and he has struggled to repeat his semi-final heroics since.
As well as his role as a player, Jimmy is also a regular face at the big world ranking events as he entertains fans in the ‘Cuezone’ for the week. In recent years he has also sought to improve his fitness and taken part in a number of charity events in honour of the late Paul Hunter. It is probably no coincidence that this improved fitness has brought about his best run of results on the main tour for a while, moving him back into the top 48 once again.
2008/9
2008/9 was much of the same for Jimmy, the highlight being a run to the last 32 of the Grand Prix before he eventually lost out to defending champion Marco Fu. A disappointing 10-6 defeat to Paul Davies in his opening match at the World Championship qualifiers left him sweating on other results but he just about managed to retain his top 48 status for 2009/10.
