Peter Francisco (born 14 February 1962) is a South African former professional snooker player who won the African Snooker Championship 4 times and South African Snooker Championship 8 times and the South African Billiards Championship 13 times as an amateur and professional.
Career Francisco won the South African amateur snooker championship each year from 1981 to 1983. He turned professional in 1984, and reached the final stages of the World Snooker Championship on five occasions. He reached the semifinals in two ranking events: the 1986 International Open and the 1987 Grand Prix.
In June 2013 he won the ABSF African Snooker Championship.
Francisco participated in the 2015 Six-red World Championship, playing five matches in his group. He lost 1–5 to Marco Fu and Jamie Clarke, 3–5 to Mark Williams and 4–5 to eventual champion Thepchaiya and was eliminated after the group stage, but defeated Darren Paris 5–1.
Controversy In 1995, Francisco faced Jimmy White in the first round of the World Championship. Throughout the match, Francisco played numerous shots which caused bafflement on the part of BBC commentators Clive Everton, John Virgo and Dennis Taylor. There were an unusual number of bets made that the scoreline would be 10–2 in favour of Jimmy White, which was the eventual outcome. Betting had been suspended on the match against the South African shortly before it began and a World Snooker Association panel analysed the match and later banned Francisco for five years for not conducting himself in a manner consistent with his status as a professional sportsman. At the same hearing he was not found guilty of match rigging.
Personal life He is the son of snooker player Manuel Francisco and another professional player, Silvino Francisco, was his uncle.
Performance and rankings timeline Tournament 1984/85 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 RankingNew players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.59261814252419253861 Ranking tournaments Asian ClassicThe event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989) and Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995)Tournament Not HeldNRQF2R3R1RLQLQ Grand Prix2R3R2RSF1R1RQF1R1R1RLQ UK ChampionshipLQ2R2R2R2R3R2R2R1R1RLQ Welsh OpenTournament Not Held3R1RLQ2R International OpenThe event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)LQLQSF1R1R1RNot Held1RLQLQ European OpenTournament Not Held1R1R3R2R1RLQLQ Thailand OpenThe event was also called the Thailand Masters (1984/1985–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)Non-RankingNot Held3R2R1R1RLQLQ British Open1R3R2R2RQF3R2R2R1R1R3R World ChampionshipLQLQLQ1R1R1RLQ1RLQLQ1R Non-ranking tournaments The MastersAAAA1RALQLQLQLQWD Former ranking tournaments Canadian MastersNHNon-RankingLQTournament Not Held Hong Kong OpenThe event was also called the Australian Masters (1984/1985–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)Ranking EventNH1RTournament Not HeldNR ClassicLQ3R3R3R1R3R1R1RNot Held Strachan OpenTournament Not Held1RMRNRNH Former non-ranking tournaments Australian MastersThe event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)A1RAANHATournament Not HeldA AASFAATournament Not Held World MatchplayTournament Not Held1RAAAANot Held Shoot-OutTournament Not Held3RTournament Not Held World MastersTournament Not HeldQFTournament Not Held
Performance Table LegendLQ 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-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournament NH / Not Held means an event was not held.NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
Career finals Amateur finals: 10 (10 titles) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1981 South African Amateur Championship L Seranke Winner 2. 1982 South African Amateur Championship (2) S Davids Winner 3. 1983 South African Amateur Championship (3) Ayoub Majiet Winner 4. 1998 South African Amateur Championship (4) Winner 5. 1999 South African Amateur Championship (5) Winner 6. 2000 South African Amateur Championship (6) Winner 7. 2007 South African Amateur Championship (7) Winner 8. 2012 ABSF African Snooker Championship 6–2Winner 9. 2013 ABSF African Snooker Championship (2) 6–2Winner 10. 2016 ABSF African Snooker Championship (3) 6–1
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