Dave Harold
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Dave Harold at 2013 German Masters
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| Born |
9 December 1966 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |
 England
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| Nickname | The Stoke Potter |
| Professional | 1991–2015 |
| Highest ranking | 11 (1996–1997) |
| Career winnings | £1,094,982 |
| Highest break | 143 (2007 Grand Prix) |
| Century breaks | 143 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
| Non-ranking | 1 |
David "Dave" Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of potting snooker balls). He was also the first player on the television circuit to sport a plaster on his chin as a guide for his cue, which is a practice now adopted by Graeme Dott. As an amateur he played as David Harold, but since turning professional in 1991 he was registered as Dave Harold. He has three children, and is separated from his wife.
He won one ranking title, reached two further finals and several semi-finals, and spent four seasons ranked among the top 16. Harold was renowned for both his very strong defensive play and his unusual cue-action, with which he is able to unleash a great deal of power on a shot without using backswing on the cue. Despite safety play ultimately being considered his strong point, he compiled 143 century breaks, putting him 22nd on the all-time list.Steve Davis has commented that he is not the most naturally gifted player, but makes up for this with strong tactical play. For his technique and grinding play he has been compared to Cliff Thorburn.
Soon after turning professional, Harold won the 1993 Asian Open, beating Darren Morgan 9–3 in the final. Ranked 93rd in the world at the time, he became the lowest-ranked player ever to win a ranking tournament. He never repeated this achievement, although he reached his second ranking final in the 1994 Grand Prix, losing 6–9 to John Higgins.
After 1994 Harold did not reach a third ranking final until 2008, although he has career reached a total of ten semi-finals in ranking tournaments to date, and was a Top-16 player for four seasons between 1995/1996 and 2001/2002, reaching a career-best position of no. 11 in the world rankings in the 1996/97 season. In the 1996 Welsh Open, he lost in the semi-finals, 1–6, to eventual winner Mark Williams.
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