By Elliott West
Introduction
Winding back the snooker clock to the 1980s, one such player that comes to mind is Barry West. Barry who is sadly no relation of mine, was born in 1958 and a professional player from 1985-1997. West enjoyed a pretty healthy spell on the main tour, reaching the last 32 of a ranking event on fifteen occasions, the last 16 on five and reached three quarter-finals.
Career
Turning professional in 1985 after two failed attempts, Barry had a pretty uneventful first season with a string of defeats such as the 1-9 loss to Steve Davis in the quarter-final of the 1985 UK Championship. Moving forward to 1988, West was defeated by Jimmy White, 2-5 at the International Open and at the tail end of the year in the UK Championship, Barry fell foul to Terry Griffiths with a 5-9 defeat. He also reached the semi-final of the English Professional Championship that, ending up at the wrong end of Neal Foulds, losing 6-9.
However, at the start of the 1990s, Barry’s form declined and as a result he fell to 66th in the World rankings at the end of the 1993/93 season. This decline continued and by the 1996/97, West had dropped down to 179th and was relegated from the tour as a result, aged 38.
After several years away from the main tour, West decided to attempt a return to competing again. An entry into the 2010 World Championship, led to defeat in his first qualifying match, being beaten by Del Smith, 1-5. He also tried his hand at the Seniors and entered the 2012 World Seniors Championship. A promising start, led to winning three qualifying matches and a place in the last 16. However, he lost in the first round to New Zealand’s Dene O’Kane, 0-2. He also took part in the 2013 event, losing his first match to Les Dodd, 1-2.
Summary
Barry West is one of a group of players at this time that didn’t quite hit the heady heights. Clearly an accomplished player and a regular at the North Midlands Snooker Centre in Worksop and then the Doncaster Snooker Centre, Barry climbed up the rankings, reaching the highest of 21st in the 1989-90 season. A player who made his highest break of 134 professionally at the 1988 English Professional Championship and earned £147,407 in career winnings and five centuries. He also won the Pontins Autumn Open in 1984. and a member of the all-conquering Yorkshire team that twice won the inter-counties title. A master of his craft but limited in success.
