World ranking: 22
Last five seasons: 14-16-20-39-52
Date of birth: 28-03-74
Lives: Romford, Essex
Turned professional: 1991
Ranking tournament victories: 0
Last season’s prize money: £60,585
Career prize money: £281,660
Highest tournament break: 143

Mark King is still waiting to fulfil his lifelong ambition of winning a major tournament, although he came pretty close at the 1997 Regal Welsh.

Victories over Steve Davis, Michael Judge, Tony Chappel, Fergal O’Brien and Mark Williams took him through to his first major final, where he found Stephen Hendry too strong, going down 9-2.

That performance propelled the Essex professional up the world ranking list, but he had to wait another season before claiming his place among the world’s elite top 16.

King’s stay in the top 16 lasted two seasons. He slipped to 22nd in the rankings after a disappointing 1999-2000 campaign.

His best performance came in the Thailand Masters in Bangkok, where he upset Ronnie O’Sullivan before losing 5-2 to Dominic Dale in the quarter-finals.

He reached the second round of the Embassy World Championship in 1998 and 1999 but was beaten 10-8 by Drew Henry in the first round in 2000.

A more than useful footballer, King used to rush back from tournaments to turn out for Gidea Park Rangers in the Romford Sunday League but hung up his boots because of the risk of injury.

His main ambition however remains the same.

“I would love to win a tournament - any tournament, I’m not greedy,” he says.