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Martin Gould

Gould struggled for form for much of the 2009/10 season, losing his opening match in four of the first five ranking events, but then came alive when it mattered most - at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

In the qualifiers he beat Bjorn Haneveer 10-8 and Nigel Bond 10-4 to book his place at the Crucible for the second consecutive year. "My long potting was frightening, every ball was screaming in," said London's Gould. "I wasn't quite perfect but I played high level snooker."

He continued that high level at Sheffield with a superb 10-9 victory over Marco Fu in the first round, making an excellent break of 90 under intense pressure in the deciding frame.

He then threatened the shock of the tournament when he led Neil Robertson 11-5 after two sessions. But with Steve Davis waiting in the quarter-finals, Gould finally succumbed to the pressure, losing 13-12 as Robertson went on to take the title.

A few weeks later, Gould reflected: "If I’d beaten Neil then I would have fancied going all the way. Some of the other big names were out by then, and looking back I really think it could have been my name on the trophy rather than Neil’s if I had beaten him and carried on playing the way I did to go 11-5."

On his Crucible debut a year earlier, Gould faced Mark Allen and lost 10-6. Earlier in the same season he beat Stephen Hendry 5-3 in reaching the last 16 of the Welsh Open. 

Gould earned a place on the pro Tour for the second time by winning the 2007 English Association for Snooker and Billiards play-offs. He beat David Grace 6-3 in the final at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.

Gould has twice been English Amateur champion. He beat Craig Taylor in the 2002 final then took the title again in 2007 when he edged out David Lilley 8-7, thanks to a dramatic in-off from Lilley as he potted the final black.

The Pinner potter enjoyed a tremendous run in the qualifying rounds of the 2003 World Championship. He won eight matches, beating the likes of Alain Robidoux and Maguire, before he was stopped by Patrick Wallace just two hurdles short of the Crucible.

He used to work part time as a croupier in a casino in North London.

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