 Melling in 2012 | |
| Born | (1979-01-27)27 January 1979 (age 46)[1] Keighley,Bradford,West Yorkshire[1] |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Nickname | The Magician[2] |
| Professional | 1998 |
| Best ranking finish | Quarter finals 2013WPA World Nine-ball Championship |
| Tournament wins | |
| World Champion | English eight-ball (2001,2003) |
Christopher Melling (born 27 January 1979) is an English professionalpool andsnooker player fromKeighley,Bradford,West Yorkshire.[1] He is a former world number 1 at World Rules British Eight-Ball. He won theWEPF World Eightball Championship twice, in 2001 and 2003. He was ranked #1 in 2003 by theWorld Eightball Pool Federation.[3] Melling has also twice won the International Pool Masters (2001 and 2002) and the European Professional title (2002). He was the first player to win two International Tour events back to back.
In 2001, Melling reached the last 16 of the2001 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, beatingSteve Davis along the way.[4]
In October 2010 he won his first European 9-ball event, the Portugal Open. On 12 June 2011 Melling was crowned China Open champion and received $40,000. This was his first major 9-ball pool tournament victory.
In December 2011, Melling participated in the 18th annualMosconi Cup, and won four of his six matches.[5] A year later he won the Most Valuable Player Award in the2012 Mosconi Cup.[6]
In January 2013, he reached the final of the Chinese 8-Ball Masters, losing toGareth Potts. He also lost to Potts in the final of the 2005 World Rules 8-Ball Championship. Also in 2013 he reached the quarter finals of the2013 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, the World Masters, World Cup of Pool and finished 5th in the US Open 9-Ball Championship.
In May 2014, Melling entered the snooker2014 Q School in an attempt to regain his professional status and defeated the likes of former professionalsDaniel Wells andChen Zhe 4–3 and 4–1 respectively, before winning his quarter-final match againstDuane Jones 4–3 to earn a two-year tour card for the2014–15 and2015–16 seasons.[7]
His first match as a professional saw him beat2003 UK Championship winnerMatthew Stevens 5–4 to qualify for the2014 Wuxi Classic, but he lost 5–1 to Zhao Xintong in the first round.[8] Melling also played in the first round of theInternational Championship by defeatingLuca Brecel 6–5 and was knocked out 6–1 byZhou Yuelong. His first victory at the venue stage of a ranking event came at theWelsh Open after he edged outNigel Bond 4–3, before being whitewashed 4–0 by home favouriteMichael White in the second round.[8]
The2015–16 season proved harder for Melling as he could only win four matches all year.[9] He dropped off the tour at the end of the season and could not win enough matches at the2016 Q School to win his place back.[10]
In July 2024 Melling won the Ultimate Pool Masters.[11]
| Tournament | 2000/ 01 | 2001/ 02 | 2002/ 03 | 2003/ 04 | 2004/ 05 | 2006/ 07 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[12][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | [nb 3] | 79 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | LQ | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | LQ | 2R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | NR | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Tour Championship Finals | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Open | A | LQ | Not Held | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thailand Masters | A | LQ | NR | Not Held | NR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open[nb 4] | A | LQ | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irish Masters | NR | A | LQ | A | NR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta Cup[nb 5] | NR | LQ | A | LQ | A | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Trophy | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Prix[nb 6] | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic[nb 7] | Tournament Not Held | 1R | NH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | 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 Held | means an event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
| PA / Pro-am Event | means an event is/was a pro-am event. | |||
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