Michael Judge is a former professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. He has not won a ranking event, coming closest in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals after victories over Mark Williams among others. His first ranking quarter-final was at the 1997 British Open
He has qualified for the World Championship three times, his best performance coming in the 2001 tournament, after knocking Jimmy White out in qualifying and John Parrott in the first round, before being knocked out by fellow Dubliner Ken Doherty. He lost to eventual champion Peter Ebdon in the first round a year later. He has lost in the final qualifying round on seven occasions, a record .
In 2006/2007 he had something of a return to form, climbing 10 places in the rankings to #34, after five successive falls from his career high of #24, aided by a last 16 run in the Welsh Open. He then reached the last 16 of the Grand Prix early in the 2007/2008 season, and repeated this at the Welsh Open in Newport, by beating Nigel Bond and Graeme Dott, both 5–4, before succumbing to a 5–2 defeat by Stephen Lee. He did enough in the rest of the season to return to the top 32 of the rankings. However, he slipped straight back out the following season after two last sixteen runs were tempered by six first round defeats. In January 2010 he qualified for the Welsh Open, losing to John Higgins in the first round proper. He quit after the following season.
Famous quotes containing the words michael and/or judge:
“Bill McKay: I thought the point was to say what I wanted.
Lucas: Well, it is. But in the right way, and at the right time.”
—Jeremy Larner, U.S. screenwriter, and Michael Ritchie. Bill McKay (Robert Redford)
“The explanation of the propensity of the English people to portrait painting is to be found in their relish for a Fact. Let a man do the grandest things, fight the greatest battles, or be distinguished by the most brilliant personal heroism, yet the English people would prefer his portrait to a painting of the great deed. The likeness they can judge of; his existence is a Fact. But the truth of the picture of his deeds they cannot judge of, for they have no imagination.”
—Benjamin Haydon (1786–1846)