Sport country England Century breaks 1 Career winnings £48,951 | Highest ranking 24 (1983/1984) Professional 1979–1997 Name Mark Wildman | |
Born 25 January 1936 (age 88) ( 1936-01-25 ) Highest break 115 (1982 UK Championship) | ||
Mark Wildman Fred Davis 6 of 7
Mark Wildman (born 25 January 1936) is an English snooker and pool commentator and a retired professional snooker and English billiards player. He made the first televised century break (107 points) in November 1960 on ATV.
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He won the World Professional Billiards Championship in 1984 and was runner up in 1980 and 1982.
As a snooker professional, he ran Terry Griffiths to 10-8 in the first round of the 1984 World Championship.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he was a distinguished snooker commentator for ITV until snooker was dropped by the channel. Between September 1999 and September 2002 he was Chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). In recent years, he resumed commentary for Sky Sports and British Eurosport, but was dropped by Sky Sports when they ceased coverage of WPBSA-backed tournaments in 2004. He was also dropped by Eurosport as a commentator in 2004. In July 2006, Wildman returned to Eurosport as the leading commentator of their coverage of the new International Pool Tour (IPT).
The IPT folded later in 2006, and Wildman has since retired to Spain where he continues to play carom billiards for enjoyment.
Wildman was also a highly respected and successful Coach/mentor to a number of internationally successful Billiards players including former World No4 Roxton Chapman, 5 times English Champion Mathew Sutton & 2 times English Champion Phill Welham.
The Peterborough-based Coach also ran a Junior Academy at Raunds during this period which produced 2 national Junior Billiards Champions in a 5-year period.
He is also the former coach of 2005 World Snooker Champion Shaun Murphy.