Career
Hallett was a consistently solid snooker player, but never reached the very top ranks. After winning the national under-16 title in 1975, his world ranking peaked at number six in 1989–90, after his only ranking tournament victory at the 1989 Hong Kong Open in which he beat Dene O'Kane 9–8.
In a semi-final match against John Parrott in the 1988 Benson & Hedges Masters, he recovered from needing four snookers to win the decider, 6–5. However, he lost 9–0 to Steve Davis in the final.
In 1991 he reached the Masters Final again at Wembley where, in the 17-frame match, he surged to a 7–0 lead over Stephen Hendry and missed a pink which would have put him 8–0 ahead. He then moved into an 8–2 lead and needed just one frame to win the tournament (in fact, he had just the pink and black to clear for the match in the eleventh frame, but missed with the rest). Hendry managed to spring a comeback to win the match 9–8. To make matters worse, Hallett returned home to find that his house had been burgled.
Hallett did reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship twice, but never progressed further than that. His final season on the main tour was in 2004–05, but went on to play in the Pontin's International Open Series. During his career he won approximately £920,000.
Recently, Hallett has been commentating on Premier League Snooker for Sky Sports, and all major Snooker events on Eurosport. At the start of the 2011/12 season Hallett has entered PTC1 and after winning his first two matches against Duane Jones 4-3 and Elliot Slessor also 4-3, he played Ronnie O'Sullivan and managed to take two frames in losing 4-2.
Read more about this topic: Mike Hallett
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)