John Lardner

John Lardner (born 10 May 1972 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a former professional snooker player. His best performance came in the 1999 World Snooker Championship, where he reached the last 32. He reached a peak world ranking of 67th in 2000–01. Early life Lardner was born in Glasgow in 1973. He left school early to spend time practising snooker, confident that he could become a professional player. In 1988 Lardner won the Star of the Future award at a competition in Prestatyn. Professional career Lardner turned professional in 1991. In the 1993–94 season, he reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Championship, losing 6–9 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. In 1999, at the age of 26, Lardner reached the first round of the World Snooker Championship by defeating Neal Foulds, Quinten Hann and Martin Clark in the qualifying rounds. In his first round match against world number 9 Stephen Lee, Lardner trailed 3–9 before recovering to lose only 7–10. Despite the defeat, he described the Crucible Theatre as "the best place I've ever played snooker".