Quinten Hann

Quinten Hann (born 4 June 1977) is an Australian former professional pool and snooker player.

Born on 4 June 1977 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Hann is the only child in a single-parent family.

His father was absent from his life after his parents separated while the family was in Melbourne.

He attended Redden Catholic College.

When he turned nine, Hann's mother Amanda purchased a snooker table for him to practise the game.

He later took up pool at the age of ten after being introduced to it through a friend in Brisbane.

Hann played pool during the weekends, until his mother swayed him away from playing in public houses.

She telephoned a snooker coach to teach her son the game.

In June 1989, at age 12, Hann became the youngest qualifier for the Australian men's open snooker championship, only losing in the last 16 stage to the Under-21 national champion Steve Mifsud.

Hann's mother sold the family's home, car, and some other possessions to finance her son's career, and the family moved from Wagga Wagga to England in late 1989.

She wrote to Matchroom Sport founder Barry Hearn, who offered his services to Hann.

At the age of 13, Hann compiled his first century break (a 103) in a match against Melbourne Senior Champion Garry Cullen.

Although he broke his left wrist in a motorcycle accident which caused him to play in a plaster cast, he won the Victoria Under-12 Championship in March 1990.

Three months later, Hann finished runner-up in his group at the 1990 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship.

But with six victories from eight matches, Hann did not qualify for the following rounds due to percentage.

He later produced a break of 100 at the 1991 World Masters under-16 tournament, making him the youngest player to compile a televised century break.

He reached the final of the Australian Amateur Championship at age 14 and he then took part in the IBSF World Snooker Championship.

On 13 October 1991, Hann was given a suspended ban by the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council from all domestic and overseas competitions for spitting on a competitor's mother.

In the meantime, he won the 1992 Australian Open 8-ball Championship, defeating Lou Condo 6–1 in the final and later beat David Gray 11–10 to win the 1994 IBSF World Under-21 Championship.

One month earlier, Hann became the first Australian player since Eddie Charlton in 1992 to qualify for the World Snooker Championship.

He was eliminated by Mark Williams 9–10 in the first round, ending the season ranked No. 45 in the world.

This was invoked after the New South Wales country junior championship in January 1993 when he swore at the referee following a decision that favoured his opponent and entered the Lithgow Workmen's Club licensed poker-machine area.

Hann's family appealed the ban to the High Court of Australia, and it was reduced to one year.

Hann became a professional player in 1995.

Within five months of the start of his first season, he reached No. 237 in the world by competing in satellite tournaments.

Not discouraged by this, he met Brandon Parker through another player and Parker agreed to manage Hann's career.

Hann was now able to enter tournaments abroad in the 1996–97 season, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1997 Thailand Open, and rising to No. 104 in the world.

In 1996, he was paired with Robby Foldvari and Stan Gorski to represent Australia at the Snooker World Cup.

The trio lasted until the quarter-finals, being defeated 5–10 by England.

His highest snooker was a 141 which he made at the 1997 Grand Prix tournament.

For the 1997–98 season, Hann reached the televised stages of more tournaments, lasting until the second-rounds of the Grand Prix (where he set a record of 13 consecutive victories with a 5–4 margin and compiled the highest break of his career, a 141), the UK Championship, and the German Open tournaments.

He lost in the first round of the preliminary stages of the British Open with a 5–0 whitewash to Drew Henry in April 1998.

Hann won the Lindrum Masters multi-format tournament in Newcastle, New South Wales in September 1998.

After the tournament, he met with his mother and World Snooker chairman Rex Williams, and agreed to change his lifestyle and public image.

Hann advanced to the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix tournament in the following month, losing to Stephen Lee in a 5–0 whitewash.

He lost 5–9 to Marcus Campbell in the second round of the UK Championship in November; Hann's opponent criticised him for conceding two frames in the match.

He was the 1999 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion and the 1994 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Champion.

Hann replicated this performance once more during the season, this time in the Scottish Open in February 1999, losing 2–5 to Graeme Dott.

He concluded the season ranked No. 26 in the world.

In February 2006, he was banned from pro snooker for eight years for match-fixing at the 2005 China Open, shortly before which he had resigned his membership of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).