Michael Judge
Name: Michael Judge
DOB: January 12th, 1975
Nationality: Irish
Turned Pro: 1991
Highest Ranking: #24 (2002/3)
Current Ranking: #36
Highest Break: 144 (2004 European Open)
Career Highlights: 2004 Grand Prix Semi-Finalist, 2001 World Championship Last 16, 2007 & 2008 Welsh Open Last 16, 2007 Grand Prix Last 16
Early career
A strong junior, winning both the Irish under-18 Championship and the All-Ireland under-16 Championship in 1991, Michael turned professional a year later and began his career on the main tour.
Success was not to come as easily as a pro however and ending his debut season ranked 262nd, it took him a number of years to really make his mark. 1994/5 brought progress though as he made the last 32 of a tournament for the first time, moving him up into the top 100 of the rankings.
Top 32
Slow progress continued until the 2000/1 season where after years of trying, Michael finally made the last 16 stage of a ranking event. As the saying goes in England though, just like waiting for buses he waited for years and then four came along at once! His most notable run was in the World Championship where having beaten six times finalist Jimmy White in the final qualifying round, he defeated John Parrott at the Crucible to make round two. Despite a 13-7 defeat to Ken Doherty, his performances had at least done enough to boost his ranking to a new high of 28.
2001/2 was not quite as good, but a second appearance at the World Championship and a couple of other good runs saw him move up to his highest ranking to date at 24. Things were to go downhill from here though as for the next four seasons his ranking was to get progressively worse, slipping to 44 for 2006/7. He did at least record his best ever run at an event during this spell though, making the semi-finals of the 2004 Grand Prix in Preston. Beating Tom Ford, Mark Williams, Marcus Campbell, Marco Fu and Joe Perry to get this far, he eventually lost out to local favourite Ian McCulloch 6-1.
Recent form
His last couple of years have been reasonable too as he has moved back up the rankings and into the top 32 for the second time. His best results came at the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix in 2007 where he reached the last 16, before qualifying for the World Championship again at the Crucible where he lost out to Ryan Day in the first round.
2008/9
The 2008/9 season was a tough one for Michael as he managed to win just four matches on the ranking event circuit and was to lose his place among the top 32 as a result.
