Rod Lawler
Lawler at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1971-07-12) 12 July 1971
Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Sport country England
NicknameRod the Plod[1]
Professional1990–2021, 2022–present
Highest ranking20 (1996/1997)
Current ranking 83 (as of 18 December 2023)
Century breaks114 (as of 15 January 2024)
Best ranking finishRunner-up (x1)
Tournament wins
Minor-ranking1

Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".[1]

After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament final—the 1996 International Open—where he lost 3–9 to John Higgins, and has won one minor-ranking tournament – Event 3 of the 2012/2013 Players Tour Championship – where he defeated Marco Fu 4–2 in the final.

Lawler has compiled over 100 competitive century breaks during his long career. His highest is a 143, in qualifying for the 2003 World Championship.

Career

Early career

Lawler turned professional in 1990. His first season proved to be quite successful as he reached the last 32 in the Dubai Classic, losing out 2–5 to former World Billiards Champion Rex Williams. He then followed this up with a run to the Quarter Finals of the Classic, beating John Virgo 5–3 to qualify, as well as Joe Johnson 5–3 in the second round, before losing 2–5 to Mike Hallett. His best run in a ranking tournament was in 1996, when he reached the final of the International Open, beating World Champion Stephen Hendry 5–3 in the second round, but his run ended in the final where he lost 9–3 to John Higgins.[2]

He also reached the final of the 1994 Benson and Hedges Championship, losing 5–9 to Mark Williams in the Final.

In 1995, Lawler reached the semi-final of the Malta Masters, beating future UK Champion Matthew Stevens in the Quarter Final, however he lost in the semi-final to the home favourite Tony Drago. He followed up this result by reaching the last 16 of the Grand Prix, beating the aforementioned Tony Drago in the last 32, before being whitewashed 5–0 by Stephen Hendry.

Lawler has qualified for the final stages of the World Championship on two occasions, the first being in 1995, where he beat a young Marcus Campbell in qualifying, before losing to Peter Ebdon in the last 32 at the Crucible. He qualified again in 1996, beating former World Champion Dennis Taylor in the final qualifying round. At the Crucible he then beat 1991 World Champion John Parrott 10–6, before losing in the last 16 to Dave Harold by 13 frames to 6. This was, to date, his best World Championship performance.

In 1997, Lawler reached the semi-final of the Benson and Hedges Championship, losing a final frame decider against Andy Hicks.

His best result in the UK Championship came in 1998, where he beat Jamie Burnett and John Read, before losing to Matthew Stevens in the last 16.[3]

Lawler also reached the Quarter Finals of the 2003 Welsh Open, beating players such as Stephen Maguire, Jimmy White and Michael Holt before losing 2–5 to seven time World Champion Stephen Hendry

Recent years

Lawler narrowly missed out on a place in the last 32 in the 2009 China Open, winning three qualifying matches, the last of which was against Matthew Stevens, to reach the venue in Beijing, only to lose 3–5 to local wildcard Yu Delu.[4] In 2010 however, Lawler did reach the last 32 of the China Open, winning three qualifying matches against Matthew Selt, Dominic Dale, and Ricky Walden. Also defeating wildcard Supoj Saenla 5–3, before losing to then number 8 seed Mark Selby

The 2011–12 was a disastrous season for Lawler. He reached the third qualifying round in three ranking events. Apart from that he lost a lot of matches which then proved quite costly at the end of the season as he finished ranked 73, losing his place on the main tour. He then entered the 2012 Q School and reached the semi-finals of Event 3 by beating another former professional Joe Delaney to regain his tour place for the next two seasons.

Lawler had a great start to the 2012–13 season as he won all four matches to qualify for the Wuxi Classic. At the venue he defeated Li Hang and Stephen Maguire to reach the last 16 where he was narrowly beaten 4–5 by Graeme Dott. In September he won his first professional title at the UK PTC 3 event defeating Marco Fu 4–2 in the final[5] in Gloucester, Beating the likes of Stuart Bingham, Stephen Lee and Dominic Dale en route to the final.

Following his Gloucester success, he continued to perform well, reaching the final qualifying round of both the UK Championship and Haikou World Open tournaments, with his results enough to move him back inside the top 64 provisionally.

His victory over Fu at the UK PTC along with a semi-final run in the European Tour 2012/2013 – Event 6 meant that he qualified for the PTC Finals ranked 7th on the Order of Merit. At the venue in Galway he beat Cao Yupeng by a 4–2 scoreline, only to lose to Kurt Maflin in the last 16 by 4 frames to 3, having led throughout the match.

At the 2013 World Championship, Lawler beat Scottish Amateur Fraser Patrick 10–5, he then resisted an admirable fightback to beat Anthony McGill 10–9, after being 7–2 and 8–3 up. However, in the final qualifying round, he lost 7–10 to World number 21 Martin Gould, despite being 5–2 up at one point in the match, however, the progression to the final qualifying round netted him £8,200.

Lawler earned £49,050 during the 2012–13 snooker season. He also made 15 century breaks, more than in any previous season.[6]

2013/2014 season

Rod Lawler at 2014 German Masters

At the Start of the 2013–14, Lawler was ranked 59th in the World rankings. In the qualifiers for the 2013 Wuxi Classic, Lawler lost his qualifying match 2–5 against Chinese youngster Lyu Haotian. In the qualifiers for the Australian Goldfields Open, Lawler lost his opening match in the last 96 to Scotsman Ross Muir 1–5. Lawler lost his opening game in the Shanghai Masters 1–5 to Mohamed Khairy. Lawler ended this run of bad results to beat Jak Jones 4–0 to qualify for the inaugural Indian Open. He defeated Indian wildcard Kamal Chalwa 4–1, before receiving a bye to the last 32, due to the withdrawal of Ali Carter, however, he was defeated 2–4 by Neil Robertson. He followed this up with a run to the last 16 of the third European Tour event, beating James Cahill, Liam Highfield and John Higgins before losing to Mark Allen 2–4. Lawler also qualified for the International Championship, beating Ian Burns 6–4 in qualifying, he then beat Aditya Mehta 6–4, before losing 4–6 to Fergal O'Brien in the last 32. Lawler lost in the last 64 of the UK Championship, having defeated Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon 6–3, before losing 1–6 to John Higgins, he also qualified for the German Masters, defeating Mitchell Travis 5–1 in qualifying. He also qualified for the World Open, this time defeating Elliot Slessor, also by a 5–1 scoreline.

2014/2015 season

2016 Paul Hunter Classic

Lawler qualified for the first ranking tournament of the season, the Wuxi Classic, beating Vinnie Calabrese 5–3. In the first round proper, he faced Shaun Murphy who won the match 5–1. Lawler failed to qualify for both the Shanghai Masters and the Australian Goldfields Open but then reached the semi-finals of the second Euro Tour (PTC) event, eventually losing 3–4 to Mark Allen in a deciding frame. A solid run of results followed, reaching a quarter-final in PTC4 where he eventually lost 3–4 to Robert Milkins, and also reaching the fourth round of the UK Championship where he pulled one back against Mark Allen by beating him 6–4 in the third round, eventually losing 3–6 to Judd Trump. Lawler failed to achieve another deep run in a tournament for the rest of the season, but was consistent in qualifying for the main stages of ranking tournaments, and therefore accumulated enough prize money to finish 39th on the rankings list at the end of the season.

2018/2019 season

In November 2018, after winning his first round match against Anthony Hamilton at the UK Championships, Lawler was criticised for his slow play by World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn taking an average of 39.8s per shot.[7] Despite this, he reached the quarter final of the Shootout, where players have a limited time (15 seconds for the first five minutes; ten seconds thereafter) to play each shot.

2022/2023 season

Lawler regained his Main Tour Card in May 2022 by qualifying through the first Q School event at Sheffield. The final qualifying round saw him beat Brandon Sargeant 4–3 which earned him a two year card.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18		 2018/
19		 2019/
20		 2020/
21		 2021/
22		 2022/
23		 2023/
24
Ranking[8][nb 1] [nb 2] 54 45 45 45 40 20 26 40 51 51 64 66 53 57 60 46 49 60 61 49 58 [nb 3] 59 39 39 47 [nb 4] 94 [nb 4] 81 [nb 5] [nb 3] 85
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event RR RR RR RR
European Masters[nb 6] 1R 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ 1R NH LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R A LQ LQ
British Open LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ 1R WD 3R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held A LQ 2R
English Open Tournament Not Held 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R A LQ LQ
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held 1R
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R A LQ 1R
International Championship Tournament Not Held LQ 2R 3R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ
UK Championship 1R 2R LQ 1R 1R LQ 2R 1R 3R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 4R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R A LQ LQ
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R 3R QF 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R
Scottish Open[nb 7] Not Held LQ 1R 1R F 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ 2R Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A LQ LQ
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held QF LQ LQ NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ SF LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ WD A LQ LQ
Welsh Open NH 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R LQ 1R LQ 1R QF LQ 2R LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A 2R
Players Championship[nb 9] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ 2R DNQ 1R DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Open[nb 10] 1R LQ 1R LQ 3R 1R 1R 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R Not Held 1R LQ 1R LQ Not Held
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Six-red World Championship[nb 11] Tournament Not Held A A A NH A A A A RR A A A Not Held LQ
World Seniors Championship NH A Tournament Not Held A A A A LQ LQ A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Classic QF 2R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open[nb 12] NH LQ MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 13] 2R 2R 3R LQ LQ LQ 2R Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-ranking Event 1R NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 14] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NR Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event 1R LQ LQ NH NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR 1R 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 15] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R LQ 1R Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 16] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Non-Ranking Not Held NR
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 17] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 3R 2R 3R NR Tournament Not Held
Indian Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R NH LQ 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
China Open[nb 18] Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ WR 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 3R LQ LQ 3R Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 19] Tournament Not Held MR LQ WD 1R 1R Tournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Not Held
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR A 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Finnish Masters Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
China Masters Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Masters Qualifying Event[nb 20] 2R 5R MR 4R F QF 2R SF 3R 1R 3R 1R 1R SF NH 1R A 2R LQ A Tournament Not Held
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 1R Ranking Event
Shoot Out 2R Tournament Not Held 2R 1R 1R 1R 3R QF Ranking Event
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
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Heldevent was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventevent is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventevent is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventevent is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ↑ New players don't have a ranking
  3. 1 2 Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points
  4. 1 2 Players qualified through the One Year Ranking List started the season without ranking points
  5. ↑ He was an amateur
  6. ↑ The event was called the European Open (1990/1991–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004), Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  7. ↑ The event run under different names as International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)
  8. ↑ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. ↑ The event run under different name as Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
  10. ↑ The event run under different names as Grand Prix (1990/1991–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  11. ↑ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  12. ↑ The event run under different name as Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)
  13. ↑ The event run under different names as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  14. ↑ The event run under different names as Asian Open (1990/1991–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/97)
  15. ↑ The event run under different name as Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  16. ↑ The event run under different names as Australian Open (1994/1995) and Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  17. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  18. ↑ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  19. ↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  20. ↑ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Championship (1990/1991–2002/2003)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1996 International Open Scotland John Higgins 3–9

Minor-ranking finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2012 Players Tour Championship – Event 3 Hong Kong Marco Fu 4–2

Non-ranking finals: 5 (3 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1994 Benson & Hedges Championship Wales Mark Williams 5–9
Winner 1. 1995 Merseyside Professional Championship England Dean Reynolds 5–4[9]
Winner 2. 1996 Finnish Masters England Stefan Mazrocis 6–2
Winner 3. 1996 China Masters Pakistan Shokat Ali 6–3
Runner-up 2. 2000 Merseyside Professional Championship England Michael Holt 3–5[9]

Amateur finals: 2 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1987 Pontins Junior Championship England Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0[10]
Winner 2. 1990 British Under-19 Championship England Lee Richardson 3–0[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Rod downs Dale". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Sweater Shop International Open". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  3. ↑ "Rod Lawler – Season 1998/1999". CueTracker – Snooker Database. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Rod Lawler – Season 2008/2009". CueTracker – Snooker Database. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Lawler Wins First Pro Title". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Rod Lawler - Season 2013/2014". CueTracker – Snooker Database. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "UK Championship: Rod Lawler defends slow style after Barry Hearn criticism". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  9. 1 2 Turner, Chris. "Merseyside Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Morrison, Ian (1986). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 0600501922.
  11. ↑ "For the record: snooker". The Times. London. 14 May 1990. p. 37.
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