“He was as daft as a brush. He always appreciated a joke.”
Mandy MacDonald, Paul’s daughter.
Introduction
The history of snooker is full of characters and one face that springs to mind is the late Paul Medati. Paul died from lung cancer in 2008 at the age of 65. The grandfather of six was a professional snooker player for over thirty years and was involved in a notorious fight with Alex Higgins in 1986. Paul won several titles during his snooker career including the Double Diamond Amateur Championship and the Coral Pairs Championship in 1976, both with John Virgo. He also won a Pontins event in 1980. A professional from 1981-1995, Medati had his highest ranking of 58th in the 1986-1987 season and got to the last 32 of a tournament four times.
A True Diamond
Born in Ordsall, Salford, Lancashire in 1943, Paul was born to Maltese parents. A pupil at St. Joseph’s Primary School. Turning professional in 1981 after many years as an amateur on the thriving Lancashire snooker scene, Paul’s most notable win came when he reached the last 16 of the 1983 UK Championship beating Dean Reynolds 9-3 before losing to Alex Higgins 1-9. Alex would go on to win his only UK Championship, beating Steve Davis 16-15 in the final. Alex would come off worse when Medati had a fight with the Northern Irishman at the 1986 Classic, appearing at the event with a black eye. Medati also had some good wins in his career, defeating John Parrott, John Spencer and Dean Reynolds. He could often be seen playing in Ron Gross’s snooker club in Neasden.
After retiring as a snooker player, Medati went on to become a pool player. He also ran the Masters Snooker Club in Stockport. As a pool player, he had notable success, helping Great Britain reach the quarter-finals of the European Championships and he also beat nine-ball world champion Daryl Peach to Stretford’s Monday Night Pool League title. He also came eighth out of the 128 players at the GB9 Southern Masters. He played pool for two years until the age of 60 when he had a car accident and injured his neck. A great mentor for pool and snooker, Medati was very good at showing young players where they were going wrong.
