Tony Drago

[rivercard]

Well, to be fair he did win an invitational tornament, the Guangzhou Masters in 1996 beating Steve Davis 6-2 in the final (http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...ead.php?t=7454).

I've tried to find more information (ie. who was invited) about that tournament before, but no-one could help. It was probably a non-televised tournament which tried to help snooker getting more popular in China (looks like it was quite successful).

[Mal]

yeah, the closest thing he ever got to winning was the Mita World Masters losing to Jimmy.

He reached the final of one ranking tournament as well - the International Open in 1997 where he beat the likes of John Parrott and John Higgins before losing to the maestro Hendry 9-1 in the final.

Back in around 86/87, he played Davis in the UK and should have beat him, but missed a frame ball yellow and I think his safety, shot selection and long ball potting are the reasons why he wasn't one of the great talents, but his speed of play, fluency in the balls and general demenour made him a joy to watch and he has done well at pool as well.

[wildJONESEYE]

Mark Allen reminds me of Tony a player that got in to the top 16 on natrual ability alone without any structure to his game .....however i think Mark will use his brains and realise as the years go by when to slow down a touch unfortunally Drago never learned that important aspect of the game...

[Mal]

Yeah, Mark needs to improve some other aspects of his game like percentage play, concentration, but he still has time on his side at 23 - the same age Williams was when he started to make a mark. However, it is over the next couple of years that he will have to make a move. He didn't progress this season as I thought (unless he has a run in the WC, where he'll probably have Ronnie in the 2nd round)

[The Boss]

The Biggest Boss to play the game, on and off the table. If frames were won for authority, Drago would have never lost. Now the closest we have to someone with Drago's characteristics is King and Perry

[archalf1471]

Big boss this...great presense that......total tosh, like wildeyejones said he won nothing!

You score no more for having an average shot time of 3 seconds or breaking the back of the pockets so in terms
Of success on the table he is not a top player, legend, or any other title you would like to attribute to davis, hendry, williams, o,sullivan et al

[vainparasite]

I for one enjoyed watching him play, I also like watching non league football, its not always about winning or losing but the enjoyment of watching someone exciting. I dont think anyone said he was as good or consistant as hendry but to me he was more interesting to watch than hendry.

[Geoff Large]

Tony Drago is doing an exibition at the Stapleford Cue Club near Nottingham / Derby on Saturday Evening 11th April 2009 .

[spike]

Thanks for the info Geoff.

[Geoff Large]

Thanks for the info Geoff.

thats o.k , if anyone wants tickets contact Adam Chester on 07976589101
there is also a raffle to play him or you can pay to play him . in the past they have had jimmy white and rocket Ronnie , they try to put on one of these Exhibitions every year . it's only a small club so youre on top of the Action .

[Geoff Large]

Re Tony drago at the Stapleford cue club 11th april 2009, an excellent evening of Exibition Snooker , he took on allcomers inc one ex pro circuit player Steve Judd , made a few good high 80 and 90 breaks early in the evening and added a 117 and 114 to that tally of breaks against some good and not so good players from Stapleford cue club and the visiting Newark cue club , a good evening was had by all , and Stapleford cue club will put on more of these Exibition matches in the future , hopefully Steve Davies , Ive been told is the next target they hope to Book.

[davis_greatest]

I used to love watching him play, he was so exciting and always had a smile.

Just seen this on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVaUh...eature=related

Nice break. I was at that match and what some people may not know is that Drago was playing two other matches at the same time. That's why in the video you will keep seeing him disappearing off the left and right of the frame, and explains why he seems to take so long between shots on the table you can see.

[vmax4steve]

At his absolute best he was better than anyone, it's just that his absolute best didn't last very long. Also he wasn't a lucky player, any run he got was usually bad and he let it get to him. Plus the shaving of the cloths ruined his natural game of using side just as much as it affected Alex Higgins.

Go back in time, two matches are available for you to go and watch,
Hendry v Davis and White v Drago, which one would you choose, and forget about the context of the matches, which one would you expect to see the sort of snooker that you might wish to remember for the rest of your life.

Hendry making his mechanical hundreds, position on every ball : Davis making 50+'s and running away behind the baulk colours : or Drago and White with their speed and flair using screw and side every other shot, not because they need to, but because they can.
I know where my front seat would be, White v Drago, Why ?

Because even when Hendry makes a ton, you won't remember any of the shots in it, whereas when White and Drago are on song, you will remember their shots, not their breaks.
It's not all about winning, it's how you do it.
Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Tony Drago could have done a Ronnie and started playing percentage snooker to be more successful, but they chose not to and they will always remain the hurricane the whirlwind and the maltese falcon. Ronnie used to be the rocket but I'm afraid he fizzled out many years ago.

[1lawyer]

One of the best matches I ever watched was one between Tony Drago and a guy called Alfie Burden. Drago was out of sorts and could not pot a ball and was loosing 4 - 0.

Suddenly Alfie misses game ball in the middle pocket and Drago jumps up as if he has spings on his feet and puts in a great clearance.
He the proceeds to Knock in ton after ton and looks like the greatest player who ever lived making it 4-4- in 40 minutes of super fast break building. He gets to game ball on another break in last frame and he is China'd and misses an easy little shot. Alfi went on to win and I just thought I would mention it as for entertainment value that was one of the best games I have ever seen.

Drago's head was his main weakness. He was quite impatient and he would have won something had he sorted that out IMO.

[circle]

better than anyone

no bottle , couldnt use the rest, not fit to chalk Ronnie's cue!