Jamie Cope

D.O.B: 12 Sep 1985
Lives: Longton, Stoke on Trent
Turned Pro: 2001
Best Ranking Performance: Runner-up - Grand Prix 2006, China Open 2007
Last season World Snooker Tour prize money: £97,500
Highest Tournament Break: 147 - Grand Prix 2006, Roewe Shanghai Masters 2008

The 2010/11 season saw Cope climb into the top 16 of the world rankings for the first time in his career.

His best run took him to the semi-finals of the Roewe Shanghai Masters, courtesy of victories over Steve Davis, Ding Junhui and Mark Davis. He must have fancied his chances of reaching the final, but fell to a surprise 6-1 defeat against Jamie Burnett.

The points he gathered from that event vaulted him into the top 16. Cope failed to hit the same heights in the remainder of the campaign, though he did crucially win his opening match at the Betfred.com World Championship, beating Andrew Pagett 10-7.

"We both started well, then after that things didn't fall for us," said 25-year-old Cope. "We were both tense and there were a couple of big frames, especially the one I won to go 8-5. I had to dig deep. I felt as if I was close to playing well and hopefully in my next match I can be more fluent and start scoring."

However, things didn't work out that way for the Stoke cueman as he fell to Mark Williams in the second round by a 13-4 scoreline.

In the 2008 Roewe Shanghai Masters, the player nicknamed the Shotgun for his explosive, attacking style made a 147 break in match against Mark Williams - the second maximum of his career.

He reached the last 16 at the Crucible in 2009 and pushed eventual champion John Higgins all the way, losing 13-12 having led 12-10. "Jamie's going to be feeling devastated but I have no doubt in my mind that he'll come back one day and win it," said Higgins. "Players like him are the future of this game."

In 2006/07, Cope reached two major televised finals to establish himself as a name to watch for years to come.

The first was at the Grand Prix in Aberdeen. He fired out a warning during the group stages with a maximum break in a match against Michael Holt. It was his first competitive 147 and was worth a £20,000 bonus. Cope has made hundreds of maximums in practice and is the only player ever known to make a 155 in practice, the highest possible break.

After progressing from the round robin phase, he went on to beat Robert Milkins, Joe Perry and Mark King before losing 9-5 to Neil Robertson in the final.

He didn't have to wait too long to taste that final atmosphere again. After qualifying for the China Open in Beijing, he beat Yang Qintain, Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham to reach the quarter-finals then whitewashed Shaun Murphy 5-0 and edged out Barry Hawkins 6-5 in a black ball finish.

But again Cope had to settle for the runner-up cheque as he lost 9-5 to Graeme Dott in the final. "I think it's just a question of getting that winning belief," he said. "Once I get my first title it will set me off and by the law of averages I must win one eventually."

Cope had an outstanding record as a junior, winning nearly 50 tournaments.
He married Danielle in the Bahamas in the summer of 2010.