Fergal O'Brien

{{Infobox snooker player

| name = Fergal O'Brien

| image = Fergal O’Brien PHC 2016.jpg

| caption = O'Brien at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1972|3|8}}

| birth_place = County Dublin, Ireland

| Sport country = {{IRL}}

| Professional = 1991–2024

| High ranking = 9 (2000/01)

| Official maximums = 1

| Ranking wins = 1

| World champ = -

}}

Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish retired professional snooker player who competed on the World Snooker Tour from 1991 to 2024. He won one ranking title during his career, defeating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final of the 1999 British Open. He was runner-up at the 2001 Masters, where he lost the final 9–10 to Paul Hunter.{{cite web |title=Echo Sports Awards 2019: Ireland snooker great Fergal O'Brien receives 'Hall of Fame' accolade |url=https://www.echo.ie/sport/article/echo-sports-awards-2019-ireland-snooker-great-fergal-o-brien-receives-hall-of-fame-accolade |website=echo.ie |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612153725/https://www.echo.ie/sport/article/echo-sports-awards-2019-ireland-snooker-great-fergal-o-brien-receives-hall-of-fame-accolade |url-status=dead }} His best performance at the World Snooker Championship was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2000 event, where he lost 5–13 to eventual champion Mark Williams. He reached his highest world ranking of ninth in the 2000–01 season, but spent only three seasons of his 33-year career ranked inside the top 16. He retired from professional competition at the end of the 2023–24 season, intending to remain active in the sport as a coach and a commentator for Eurosport.{{Cite web |date=2 January 2024 |title=Eurosport snooker pundit and former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien announces retirement at end of season |url=https://www.eurosport.com/snooker/eurosport-snooker-pundit-and-former-british-open-champion-fergal-o-brien-announces-retirement-at-end_sto9941684/story.shtml |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Eurosport}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-04-09 |title=Crucible Qualifying Day Two: Revesz Weathers The Storm |url=https://www.wst.tv//news/2024/april/09/revesz-claims-landmark-win/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=World Snooker Tour |language=en}}

Career

O'Brien is the only player to score a century in their first frame at the World Championships in the Crucible, which he achieved against Alan McManus in 1994 (though he lost the match 10–7 and did not qualify again until 1998). His greatest achievement was winning the British Open in 1999, beating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final. Hamilton opened with two centuries, but O'Brien won five frames on the final black to defeat the Nottingham man.

O'Brien also came close to winning the Masters title in 2001. After beating Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Dave Harold, he lost in the final to Paul Hunter after leading 7–3. He has reached one further ranking final, and three semi-finals

O'Brien peaked at No. 9 in the rankings following his sole title, but nosedived after this. He narrowly retained his top 16 place for the 2001/2002 season, but dropped out a year later – and then out of the top 32 a year later. Three further falls down the rankings left him at No. 45, before beginning to recover.

O'Brien's best run at the World Championship is the quarter-final and 2005 he became the first player to beat John Parrott in a World Championship qualifier.

File:Fergal O’Brien at Snooker German Masters (DerHexer) 2015-02-04 12.jpg]]

O'Brien started the 2007–08 campaign in Shanghai where he had beaten Paul Davies and Barry Hawkins in qualifying rounds, however, he lost to Steve Davis in the first round. O'Brien also qualified for the Grand Prix but lost four of his group matches to finish 5th in his group ahead of only Graeme Dott.

After qualifying for the main draw of the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy by beating Barry Pinches in a deciding frame, O'Brien went on to beat Dave Harold in the first round of the main draw. Victories over John Higgins (in a decider), Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, before he reached the second ranking-event final of his career by beating Mark Allen by 6 frames to 3. He lost the final to Stephen Maguire, 5–9. This run helped him return to the top 32 of the Snooker world rankings 2007/2008, but the early part of the 2008–09 season proved disappointing, O'Brien not reaching the last sixteen of any of the first four tournaments.

As of the end of 2009 O'Brien had compiled 101 competitive century breaks in his career.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

He qualified for the Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Finals held in Galway but lost his Last 24 match 0–4 to Joe Perry.

On 12 April 2017, O’Brien qualified for the 2017 World Snooker Championship after a record-breaking victory in the final qualifying round match against David Gilbert. The final frame set the record for the longest frame of the modern era, lasting 123 minutes and 41 seconds.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/39581570|title=World Snooker Championship: Fergal O'Brien wins longest frame in snooker history to qualify|date=13 April 2017|work=BBC|access-date=13 April 2017}}

Performance and rankings timeline

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%"

! Tourname

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Ranking{{cite web|title=Ranking History|url=http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp|publisher=Snooker.org|access-date=6 February 2011}}From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season

|align="center"|New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

|align="center"|192

|align="center"|100

|align="center"|42

|align="center"|38

|align="center"|36

|align="center"|23

|align="center"|20

|align="center"|11

|align="center"|9

|align="center"|16

|align="center"|23

|align="center"|33

|align="center"|41

|align="center"|44

|align="center"|46

|align="center"|37

|align="center"|24

|align="center"|31

|align="center"|47

|align="center"|37

|align="center"|34

|align="center"|36

|align="center"|31

|align="center"|27

|align="center"|40

|align="center"|45

|align="center"|51

|align="center"|63

|align="center"|Players qualified One Year Ranking List started the season without ranking points

|align="center"|76

|style="text-align:center;"|Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points

|align="center"|94

colspan="40"|Ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Championship League

|align="center" colspan="16" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" colspan="13" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|European MastersThe event was called the European Open (1991/1992–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004), the Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="8" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|British Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="16" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|English Open

|align="center" colspan="25" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Wuhan Open

|align="center" colspan="32" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Northern Ireland Open

|align="center" colspan="25" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|International Championship

|align="center" colspan="21" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|UK Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shoot Out

|align="center" colspan="19" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" colspan="6" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|4R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Scottish OpenThe event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="8" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Grand Prix

|align="center" colspan="23" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|German MastersThe event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="11" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Welsh Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Players ChampionshipThe event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2015/2016)

|align="center" colspan="19" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World OpenThe event was called the Grand Prix (1991/1992–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Tour Championship

|align="center" colspan="27" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

colspan="40"|Non-ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|The Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Championship League

|align="center" colspan="16" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Seniors Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="18" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

colspan="40"|Former ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Classic

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Strachan OpenThe event was called the Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Asian ClassicThe event was called the Dubai Classic (1991/1992–1994/1995) and the Thailand Classic (1995/1996)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Malta Grand Prix

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" colspan="5" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Thailand MastersThe event was called the Asian Open (1991/1992–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Irish Masters

|align="center" colspan="11" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Northern Ireland Trophy

|align="center" colspan="14" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Bahrain Championship

|align="center" colspan="17" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Wuxi ClassicThe event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)

|align="center" colspan="17" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|{{nowrap|Australian Goldfields OpenThe event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995–1995/1996) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)}}

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking

|align="center" colspan="15" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shanghai Masters

|align="center" colspan="16" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|WR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Paul Hunter ClassicThe event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)

|align="center" colspan="13" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" colspan="6" style="color:#555555;"|Pro-am Event

|align="center" colspan="6" style="color:#555555;"|Minor-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Indian Open

|align="center" colspan="22" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="5" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|China OpenThe event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)

|align="center" colspan="6" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|WR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="5" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Riga MastersThe event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

|align="center" colspan="23" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|China Championship

|align="center" colspan="25" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|WST Pro Series

|align="center" colspan="29" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Turkish Masters

|align="center" colspan="30" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Gibraltar Open

|align="center" colspan="24" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|4R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|WST Classic

|align="center" colspan="31" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

colspan="40"|Former non-ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Finnish Masters

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|China Masters

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Pakistan Masters

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Malta Grand Prix

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|R

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Champions CupThe event was called the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Scottish Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Irish Open

|align="center" colspan="11" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Irish Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Ranking Event

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Irish Professional Championship

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="12" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

|align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Irish Classic

|align="center" colspan="16" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:thistle;"|F

|align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shoot Out

|align="center" colspan="19" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="40" style="color:#555555;"|Ranking Event

class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"

! colspan=6|Performance Table Legend

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|LQ

| lost in the qualifying draw

| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R

| lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)

| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| lost in the quarter-finals

align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

| lost in the semi-finals

| align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;"|F

| lost in the final

| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

| won the tournament

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|DNQ

| did not qualify for the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|A

| did not participate in the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|WD

| withdrew from the tournament

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|DQ

| disqualified from the tournament

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan=4\|NH / Not Held	event was not held.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan=4\|NR / Non-Ranking Event	event is/was no longer a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan=4\|R / Ranking Event	event is/was a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan=4\|MR / Minor-Ranking Event	event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

=Ranking finals: 2 (1 title)=

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"| Outcome

!width="20"| No.

!width="50"| Year

!width="250"| Championship

!width="200"| Opponent in the final

!width="100"| Score

style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 1.

| 1999

| British Open

| {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sortname|Anthony|Hamilton|Anthony Hamilton (snooker player)}}

| 9–7

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 2007

| Northern Ireland Trophy

| {{flagicon|SCO}} {{sortname|Stephen|Maguire}}

| 5–9

=Minor-ranking finals: 1 =

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"| Outcome

!width="20"| No.

!width="50"| Year

!width="250"| Championship

!width="200"| Opponent in the final

!width="100"| Score

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1

| 2014

| Gdynia Open

| {{flagicon|ENG}} Shaun Murphy

| 1–4

=Non-ranking finals: 9 (2 titles)=

class="wikitable"

! Legend

bgcolor="ffffcc"

| The Masters (0–1)

Other (2–5)

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"| Outcome

!width="20"| No.

!width="50"| Year

!width="250"| Championship

!width="200"| Opponent in the final

!width="100"| Score

bgcolor="ffffcc"

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 2001

| The Masters

| {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sortname|Paul|Hunter}}

| 9–10

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 2.

| 2003

| Irish Open

| {{flagicon|NIR}} {{sortname|Joe|Swail}}

| 3–10{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/2791171.stm | title=Swail lifts Irish crown | work=BBC Sport | access-date=16 February 2020}}

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 3.

| 2007

| Irish Professional Championship

| {{flagicon|IRL}} {{sortname|Ken|Doherty}}

| 2–9

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 4.

| 2007

| Irish Classic

| {{flagicon|IRL}} {{sortname|David|Morris|David Morris (snooker player)}}

| 3–5

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 5.

| 2008

| Irish Classic (2)

| {{flagicon|IRL}} {{sortname|Ken|Doherty}}

| 2–5

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 6.

| 2009

| Irish Classic (3)

| {{flagicon|NIR}} {{sortname|Joe|Swail}}

| 0–5

style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 1.

| 2010

| Irish Classic

| {{flagicon|IRL}} {{sortname|Michael|Judge}}

| 5–1

style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 2.

| 2011

| Irish Classic (2)

| {{flagicon|IRL}} {{sortname|Ken|Doherty}}

| 5–2

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 7.

| 2015

| World Seniors Championship

| {{flagicon|WAL}} {{sortname|Mark|Williams|Mark Williams (snooker player)}}

| 1–2

=Team finals: 1 =

class="wikitable sortable"

!width="80"|Outcome

!width="20"|No.

!width="50"|Year

!style="width:250px;"|Championship

!style="width:200px;"|Team

!style="width:200px;"|Opponent(s) in the final

!style="width:50px;"|Score

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 1996

| World Cup

| {{flagcountry|IRL}}

| {{flagcountry|SCO}}

| align="center"|7–10

References

External links

{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923184839/http://fergalobrien.ie/ |date=dmy |title=Official website}}
{{WST player|fergal-obrien|archive=20230331061919}}
{{snooker.org player}}

Category:1972 births

Category:Irish snooker players

Category:Bayside, Dublin

Category:Living people