Name: Michael Judge
DOB: 12th January 1975
Nationality: Irish
Turned Pro: 1991
Highest Ranking: #24 (2002/3)
Highest Break: 144 (2004 European Open)
Career Highlights: 2004 Grand Prix Semi-Finalist, 2001 World Championship Last 16, 2007 & 2008 Welsh Open Last 16, 2007 Grand Prix Last 16
Early career
A strong junior, winning both the Irish under-18 Championship and the All-Ireland under-16 Championship in 1991, Michael turned professional a year later and began his career on the main tour.
Success was not to come as easily as a pro however and ending his début season ranked 262nd, it took him a number of years to really make his mark. 1994/5 brought progress though as he made the last 32 of a tournament for the first time, moving him up into the top 100 of the rankings.
Top 32
Slow progress continued until the 2000/1 season where after years of trying, Michael finally made the last 16 stage of a ranking event. As the saying goes in England though, just like waiting for buses he waited for years and then four came along at once! His most notable run was in the World Championship where having beaten six times finalist Jimmy White in the final qualifying round, he defeated John Parrott at the Crucible to make round two. Despite a 13-7 defeat to Ken Doherty, his performances had at least done enough to boost his ranking to a new high of 28.
2001/2 was not to be quite as strong, but a second appearance at the World Championship and a couple of other good runs saw him move up to his highest ranking to date at 24. Things were to go downhill from here though as for the next four seasons his ranking was to get progressively worse, slipping to 44 for 2006/7.
He did at least record his best ever run at an event during this spell though, making the semi-finals of the 2004 Grand Prix in Preston. Beating Tom Ford, Mark Williams, Marcus Campbell, Marco Fu and Joe Perry to get this far, he eventually lost out to local favourite Ian McCulloch 6-1.
Recent form
The following couple of years were to be reasonable as he has moved back up the rankings and into the top 32 for the second time. His best results came at the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix in 2007 where he reached the last 16, before qualifying for the World Championship again at the Crucible where he lost out to Ryan Day in the first round.
2008/9
The 2008/9 season was a tough one for Michael as he managed to win just four matches on the ranking event circuit and was to lose his place among the top 32 as a result.
2009/10
Michael’s poor form continued into 2009/10 with opening round defeats to Lee Spick and Mark Joyce in the first two events of the season.
Michael during the 2011 World Championship qualifiers
Following this though results were to improve as he enjoyed a 9-5 victory over countryman Joe Delaney to progress to the last 48 of the UK Championship where he lost out 9-7 to Steve Davis. His best run however was to come at the Welsh Open where having defeated Thepchaiya un-Nooh in his opening match, he then added the scalp of Liang Wenbo to qualify for the venue stage where he lost out to eventual winner John Higgins in the last 32.
Another opening round win was to follow at the China Open but unfortunately Michael’s season was to end in disappointment as he lost 10-8 to Mark Joyce in qualifying for the World Championship.
2010/11
Having struggled during the previous season, Michael’s form did not improve early in 2010/11 as he won just one match from the first eight tournaments carrying ranking points. As a result the Irishman slipped to 60th place in the rankings and as the season continued there was to be no change in his fortunes, his sole win coming during the Welsh Open qualifiers as he defeated Reanne Evans 4-1 to progress to the second round.
Michael during the 2011 World Championship qualifiers
His final match on the tour proved to be his World Championship qualifier where having led Chinese opponent Liu Song 6-1 towards the end of the first session, he eventually succumbed to a 10-8 defeat after a re-spotted black towards the end of the match proved to be particularly costly.